Hair Detox 101: How To Detox Your Hair At Home

You probably know about detox diet and detox facials, but did you know that you can also resort to a full spa day at home and detox your hair too? 
The hair detox is the latest beauty craze to land on the industry, and it’s here to stay (or so I hope, as it feels beyond amazing!). But what is it, and how can you achieve it with some good old DIY? Read on to know more! 

Hair Detox 101: What Is A Hair Detox? 

Let’s start with the basics. What is a hair detox? The answer is quite simple. To detox your hair means to give your scalp a deep cleanse, the kind of treatment that helps you restart your hair care routine after years and years of low-quality shampoo and conditioner, treatments, relaxers and what not. If you’ve been wearing clip-in hair extensions for extended periods of time, there’s also a good chance you will need to give a good rinse to your scalp (and don’t forget to periodically wash your hair extensions too). 

What Are The Benefits Of Hair Detox? 

Detoxifying your hair helps you rebalance your scalp, getting rid of the suffocating product and protein build-up, and it removes the toxins from hair that have been exposed to air pollution.  
With the right detoxifying routine, you also protect your hair from the damage of sun exposure and UV rays; last but not least, as it’s a scalp nourishing treatment, it stimulates your hair follicles – promoting your hair growth – and it restores dull and lifeless hair. So? Why are we not resorting to this technique immediately? 

Hair Detox 101: How To Remove Product Build-up From Hair At Home? 

If you’re a fan of DIY or you’re simply looking to reduce the cost of your beauty routine, don’t worry: once again, we got you covered. Hair detoxing doesn’t have to drain your finances to make your scalp happy and healthy. As per usual, whenever trying a product within the comfort of your own home, always remember to do a patch test before applying anything to your scalp – and rinse it immediately if the mix feels uncomfortable on your skin. Now, let’s have a look at the main steps of a hair detox routine! 

Hair Detox 101: DIY Hair Detox Mask Ideas 

First, on the list, we have a curious idea: a bentonite clay powder based scalp and hair treatment. 

Ingredients: 

• Bentonite clay powder 
• Apple cider vinegar 
• Aloe vera gel 

Instructions: 

1. Combine ½ cup of bentonite clay powder, apple cider vinegar and aloe vera gel. 
2. Spread on your scalp, working your way down the shaft of your hair.
3. Tuck your hair in a shower cap and let the product sit for around half an hour. Make sure the mixture doesn’t dry out whilst sitting on your hair. 
4. Rinse your hair with a mix of water and 1 cup of white vinegar, then let it sit for 3 minutes. 
5. Wash with a clarifying shampoo 
6. (optional, you can follow up with a shine boost apple cider vinegar rinse) 

And if your hair is more on the greasy side, this might be just the thing you need: the same recipe, but swapping the clay with lemon juice. 

Ingredients: 

• Aloe vera gel 
• Apple cider vinegar 
• Lemon juice 

Instructions: 

1. Mix the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice together, making sure you give them a nice stir to help with the final consistency of your hair mask. 
2. Add the aloe vera gel and mix until you get an even texture and cohesive consistency. 
3. Apply on your scalp and hair! Ideally, this mask would need to sit overnight for a stronger effect. If you’re in a hurry, half an hour will do. 
4. Rinse well and proceed with your regular shampoo and conditioner routine. 

Hair Detox 101: Massage Your Scalp

Giving some love to your scalp is an essential and yet overlooked practice. Why would one think that a massage can work wonders on your back and shoulders, but wouldn’t apply the same concept to their own hair? 

Like a regular skin massage, any friction applied to your scalp should be gentle and accompanied by a soothing essential oil. Depending on your hair and scalp type, there are many different oils that you can choose from. Here’s a list with the essentials: 

• Coconut Oil: moisturises damaged hair 
• Olive Oil: best moisturiser for thick and processed, damaged hair 
• Jojoba Oil: perfect moisturiser for damaged hair and itchy scalp 
• Argan Oil: improves scalp health and protects against hair damage and loss 

• Lavender Oil: soothing oil for irritated scalp, promotes hair growth 
• Castor Oil: powerful moisturiser, soothing, has antifungal properties 

Hair Detox 101: Choose The Best Detox Shampoos

When it comes to shampoos, you want to pick the right cleansing product for your hair type. When your scalp is unhealthy and your hair overly treated, it can be tricky to know what exactly your hair type is. For example, is your hair really greasy because of hormonal factors, or is it just the result of your scalp struggling with protein and product build-up? Is your hair thin, thick, damaged or coloured? All these factors play an important role in deciding what detox shampoo and conditioner are the best for you, otherwise, you will keep on damaging your own hair and scalp and preventing them from reaching their optimal shine and softness levels. As you can see from the DIY recipes above, Aloe vera is a wonderful, powerful ally against toxins. Therefore, ideally, you want to start looking for products that are Aloe based (make sure that it’s 100% natural Aloe vera). Another great ingredient present in many detox recipes is aquatic mint, that with its antioxydant properties provides a refreshing, cooling sensation.

Clarifying shampoo is a great option for the more aggressive build-up and to rinse out oil-based masks and such; designed to get rid of grease without being too aggressive on your strands, it’s a great option for coloured hair as well. This type of shampoo is the perfect choice for those looking to get rid of hard water minerals residues and styling products’ build-up.

Hair Detox 101: Use The Right Tools

Wide-toothed combs, a detangling brush and a scalp scrubber will be your best friends, to detangle your hair with no damage and to stimulate your scalp during shower time. 
A scalp scrubber should always be used underwater, moving it in a circular motion to rinse out any residues of your detox mask for example. It can also be used to apply conditioner or your mask (if its consistency is smooth enough). 

Hair Detox 101: Ditch The Heat 

Yep, you read that right. I know how important is to have your hair always look on point, and a lot of times this includes heat-based styling that will save you a lot of time. If you can’t give up on this daily styling process, you may want to consider investing in heatless styling methods and practising with Velcro rollers and flexirods to style your hair overnight. And every time you have to resort to heat-based styling tools, don’t forget to protect your hair with a heat protecting spray, to shield from further heat damage. Last but not least, if you’re wearing hair extensions, don’t forget to moisturise your hair daily.  

Hair Detox 101: Conclusion 

Keep in mind that, as with everything when it comes to hair, results may take way more than a single day to be visible. With the clay mask, for example, the first results should appear around a week later. Last but not least, remember that routine is key: once you start seeing payback after your hard work and dedication to your roots, don’t ditch them there and then. Keep on using natural ingredients, keep the use of heating tools down to the minimum, take the necessary time to get to know and understand your hair and scalp in different situations (wintertime, or when exposed to the sun, and how it reacts to major changes in your diet and hormonal situations for example)! For damaged and heavily treated hair, it may take a longer while for your hair to recover: be patient.