4 Honey Treatments for Dry and Damaged Hair
Hair is pretty incredible. Although technically dead when it is outside of your scalp, it can still be “healthy” or damaged. Today we put so many products into our hair, apply high levels of heat to it, just to sculpt it a certain way, achieve a certain look, without second thought about what we’re actually doing. In my opinion, beautiful hair is healthy hair, and healthy hair is not the product of what you find on the shelves in stores, but rather in your own kitchen.
Why Honey (and the other stuff)?
If you have dry or damaged hair, honey can help. A natural humectant, honey attracts moisture. It’s also full of antioxidants and nutrients to feed hair follicles that house the live part of hair, encouraging hair growth. That being said, it also needs a medium to help spread it around, otherwise you can end up with just a sticky mess, so the recipes include other natural ingredients that help you restore dry hair to a health and luster, from the scalp up.
1. Just Honey
This recipe contains just honey and water, nothing extra added or needed!
You will need…
-1/4 cup of organic raw honey
-Fresh water
Directions
Mix ¼ cup of organic raw honey with just enough fresh water to thin it out to the point where you can spread it around your hair (add it tablespoon by tablespoon.)
Obviously this depends on how much hair you have-you can up the amount of honey if you need to. When you’re ready, apply as you would shampoo to damp hair and let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
2. Honey and Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is added here as it leaves hair with lovely shine and acts a natural conditioner.
You will need…
-1/4 cup of organic raw honey
-10 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Directions
Mix together honey and ACV. Apply as you would shampoo to damp hair, and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse out with warm water.
3. Honey and Olive Oil
Olive oil can create a big difference in moisture after just a few uses, and promotes a healthy scalp and hair roots. It also helps smooth and coat dry and damaged hair shafts.
You will need…
-1/2 cup of honey
-1/4 cup of olive oil
Directions
Mix together ½ cup of honey and ¼ cup of olive oil, warming the mixture slightly if you need to. Apply to hair as needed.
4. Honey and Coconut Oil
Coconut oil, like olive oil, helps moisturize hair and hair roots. It seems to add a little bit more shine (in my opinion) and is a little lighter as well. It’s packed full of nutrients that make it an automatic go to ingredient in hair treatments.
You will need….
-1/4 cup of honey
-3 tablespoons of warmed coconut oil
Directions
Combine coconut oil and honey and blend thoroughly. Work into damp hair as you would shampoo. Let sit for 10 minutes, and then rinse with warm water.
Much of what you see in stores is just different ratios of basically the same stuff with different fragrances. With honey , you know what you’re getting every time, and personally, I love the results. I like to think of my hair as fairly healthy overall, but with the dry winter months coming up, a little extra moisture and conditioning is always wanted.
Tips for Using Honey in Your Hair
-Stick to raw organic honey. If you have to warm it a little bit that’s fine, but the ultra-pasteurized clear stuff you buy at the supermarket really doesn’t have many benefits.
-Try adding some honey to your regular shampoo or conditioner if you don’t feel like making up a separate treatment.
-Avoid harsh products and heat treatment (like straightening your hair every day.) Natural is beautiful!
-Be aware of the type of hair that you have. Applying olive oil and honey to limp, thin, hair that is prone to getting oily will probably just make it greasier and heavier.
-There’s no need to use these treatments every day. Once or twice a week should be sufficient.
-Be patient. Applying honey to damaged and dry hair is not going restore it to perfect condition right away.
P.S. Make sure to take a look at the Everyday Roots Book with 350+ pages of the best home remedies, natural beauty recipes, homemade cleaners and diy household products. View Remedies
By Claire Goodall
Claire is a lover of life, the natural world, and wild blueberries. On the weekend you can find her fiddling in the garden, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the great outdoors with her horse. Claire is very open-minded, ask her anything 🙂 Meet ClaireWe Want to Hear from You! Let us know which remedies work and do not work for you, ask a question or leave a comment:
Was wondering when is the best time to apply the honey mixture? Before washing hair or after? Dry or wet hair?
I would say before because most likely your hair will be kind of sticky. When I do hair tonic rinses for my hair I always do them before shampooing to get any thing out. Hope this helps.
These treatments sound great, thank you, but I was wondering if you put them onto damp hair before shampooing is it enough to just rinse them out with warm water or can you go ahead and shampoo as normal afterwards? I’ve used coconut oil in particular on my hair before (overnight) and I think just rinsing it out with water would leave the hair quite greasy.
i don’t know about these treatments…but i have been doing treatments at home since i was a kid…my mom and i did them. i always have used olive oil in my hair. my guess is leave it in for at least an hour…try to warm it up too. i like to make a pot of tea or coffee and i boil a little extra water. i use a bowl and fill the extra water in that and set the jar with my treatment in the bowl to heat it but not over heat it. the longer you leave the treatment in the better…if you can do it over night great…but most likely not. just wrap you hair to 1. not drip and make a mess and 2. to use your body heat to work the treatment into your hair.
so like a day you are going to stay in the house make the pot of coffee, put in treatment, listen to the radio while doing laundry and dishes and all other house work. then wash out hair.
A super formula for protecting healthy hair. However, if you wanted to give your hair and scalp an extra dose of pantothenic acid, I’d suggest adding to your formula, a teaspoon of fresh royal jelly, the richest source of pantothenic acid found in nature.
Hi, can i apply these formulas on my scupl too? I am planning to do my own hair mask this weeks ends 🙂 When do i actually apply them? Before washing hair or after ? Thank you 🙂
You shampoo first and then apply the treatment as you would a conditioner.
Hello,
Can’t wait to try your home remedies.was wondering if there was a remedy for unwanted hair.plz let me kno.
Thanks
Have just started using it hope it do me great.
How did it go for you ? Did it work ?
Hi Y’all,
I started using honey and olive oil mixture when my friend told me its benefits. I have really dry and frizzy hair. I leave the mixture on for 30mins before shampooing. Its a good natural conditioner. After the treatment my hair feels soo soft and healthy that i cant stop touching them. 🙂 So go ahed and try the treatment esp if u have dry and damaged hair. Works like magic!
Hi Smita,
My hair has been badly damaged by frequent rebonding and it’s now too dry and frizzy. Will try your suggested treatment and hope that it will work on my hair too. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Wow I sell honey and I have been wondering how else to use it other than stomach consumption. Thanks for the tip. So 30mins befor shampooing right? got it
I have used Aloe vera and Honey and Apple Cider Vinegar was good then I stop as I have no to treat my hair as I work and so I began to go back to the hairdresser again but now my hair is getting worse as It is dry and is falling.
I will go back to that treatment again. Kindly advise if it makes hair grow. Thanks
My hair is a bit drier than it was when I was younger (im 45+). I also live in a very dry climate in western Colorado which also contributes to the dryness of my hair. I use the Shielo Restore Oil because its perfect for making my hair soft and moist again. I have short hair so I only use a small amount on my fingers and spread it through all of my hair. I can shower twice a day when necessary and if I use the Shielo Oil, my hair does not dry out. I like the result!
I always use the coconut oil and honey. It makes my hair more manageable. I pre-poo with it. It’s amazing. (I use honey and water for my niece)
Is there anything for falling hair…my hair its not damage or anything its just falling out and a lot…why can I do??
believe it or not, rosemary, applied topically helps to grow hair. rosemary tea, when you drink it, encourages hair growth too. i have found though, that when i drink it, ALL my hair grows. (sigh) including my eyebrows! try it! steep rosemary in hot water, let cool, and massage into hair and scalp. i even add the tea mixture to my favorite shampoo. 🙂
I just added honey and aloe vera gel to my hair cream. To apply on my hair without raising it off. Hope it won’t damage my scalp and hair please? I need ur advice please. Thank you.
Lilian
Tnx for these tips. My question is: can I apply the honey & water mixture without Washing it off ie simply using it as a moisturizer? Pls I need a reply cos I need a cheap & easily available moisturizer for my dry frizzy hair. Thank you.
Thank you so much for the honey and olive oil recipe!! I don’t usually post testimonials unless the “product” is outstanding. I applied this to the extremely dry, frizzy, flat ends of my hair for 25 minutes, and when I rinsed it off they were re hydrated, not frizzy and curly again! thank you! going to do it to all of my hair on a regular basis!
I use apple cider to treat dandruff especially when I often use hair styling products. It’s very effective although it may bring sour smell after using but thorough washing will remove its smell. I love honey-olive oil best for moisturizing. I used to have dead frizzy hair before due to over-processing of hair but after a month or two of natural treatments my hair is back to its healthy state. Ever-since then it’s part of my routine to treat hair every week.
Thanks for the tips… But my question is: what if we have the pasteurised honey,, the crystal clear one… So is there any other ingredient to compensate raw honey?? PLEASE REPLY ASAP
If u dont have organic raw honey can you use normal honey for healthier hair products ?
Thank you so much fir the tips. My question is that can I use honey after hair wash with my daily conditioner with every hair wash??? Is it safe or not ???
These tips look awesome! I’ve just had my hair ombred and have been recommended argon oil to prevent drying out, the only problem with this is that it’s super expensive! Do you know of any substitutes?