4 Deep Conditioning Treatments For Shining, Beautiful Hair Straight From Your Kitchen

Caring for your hair is a tricky business indeed, especially with the amount of product they would be dabbed in for your grand bridal hairstyle. They require tender love and care to face it all. How? Through homegrown deep conditioning hacks that you can work in by yourself. Here we navigate a host of these DIY methods that neither pinch your pocket nor require an elaborate shopping list.

The Need For Deep Conditioning

Preparing yourself for your big day means months of prepping and priming - from skincare to beauty treatments, exercise to relaxation. This applies to your hair too, which may have already faced the heat - courtesy colouring whims and fancies, heat treatments, chemical straightening methods and much, much more.

Then there's all that would happen to give you the perfect bridal look for your big day. Your wedding makeup artist may consider lightening your strands or adding curls, making it flat or adding strong holding products. All of this means a huge amount of stress for your locks, in a bid to get that perfect Indian bridal hairstyle.

That means that you need to give a thought to your overall hair health. It's needed both as a pre-treatment and aftercare. Trust me, you don't want to glow on one day and then worry over split ends and rough tresses over your honeymoon.

What's Deep Conditioning All About?

Deep Conditioning is a way to add essential oils and moisture to your hair, let it penetrate your shaft and lock it in. It's needed to balance the rigours that your hair may have suffered owing to a bevvy of hair treatments and products.

You could either do it with store-bought products or homegrown mixes. While we don't prefer one over the other, we bring you a list of the ones that you can whip in a tizzy and watch them work their wonders.

1. Honey and Olive Oil

The honey and olive oil deep conditioning mix is as basic as it gets when all you need for your hair is some base moisture. However, before you reach for those bottles that line your kitchen, it would be prudent to find out the porosity of your hair (something we've explored earlier in our hairstyles for curly hairpiece).

What do you need -

Honey - 2 Tablespoons

Olive oil - 4 Tablespoons

How to do it -

Whip the two together gently and then apply it your hair, section by section. Once it's all in, tumble your tresses in a shower cap and find some good wedding themed reading material to sit with for about half an hour.

After you've crowned yourself with a shower cap, apply some low-level heat to it. Either use your blow dryer around it for 2 minutes at low heat or park yourself out on a sunny day.

Next, open it up and rinse your hair. If you're worried about the oil grease, use a mild shampoo, preferably a sulphate and silicone free variant.

Expert tip - Redo twice a month for natural hair and once a week for heavily damaged hair.

2. The curd, coconut and aloe mask

Image courtesy: Hold the Hairline

Another deep conditioning treatment that will hydrate your locks to the nth level, this super-easy mix requires three easily available items, 20 minutes and a shower cap.

This deep conditioning treatment is a cooling hack as well and much, much better than a day under the AC in summers.

What do you need -

Curd - 2-3 tablespoons (depending on your hair length)

Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon

Aloe vera - 1 tablespoon

How to do it -

Gently combine the three items and then apply them to your hair section by section. Cover your tresses with a shower cap and keep for 20 minutes before you rinse it all with room temperature water.

Expert tip - Add a tablespoon of honey in case your hair is excessively damaged. Repeat once a week for good results.

3. The egg mask

Image courtesy: Pexels

Moving from moisturising deep conditioning treatments to protein-based ones, nothing gets the job done as an old faithful egg. Here's how you need to break one over your head twice a month.

Remember, this deep conditioning treatment is meant to be a heavy application, so consider it accordingly. If you have light hair or low porosity hair, then you may keep apple cider vinegar around for the wash after.

What do you need -

Eggs -2

Natural mayonnaise - 1/4 cup

Olive oil - 1 teaspoon

How do you do it -

Whisk the eggs before you spoon in the mayonnaise and add the oil.  Apply this mix to your hair from root to tip before you leave it to simmer for nearly 30 minutes under a shower cap.

Wash after with a mild shampoo or apple cider vinegar.

Expert tip - Normally a protein treatment is done to add lustre and bounce to your locks, so do this once a month.

4. Fermented rice water or sabudana water

Image courtesy: Pexels

Odd, but rice water or sabudana (tapioca) soaked water is a good go-by if you're looking for a deep conditioning hack which barely requires anything. This also a moisturising treatment which is protein-free and works in case your hair doesn't want an extra dollop of nutrient P. The shine is an added extra!

What do you need -

Fermented rice water (make a litre at least)

Or Fermented tapioca water

How to do it -

Keep white rice/tapioca in water for a day before you strain the water and keep it in a cool environment (your fridge is perfect). Flip your hair upside down, pour the water over it and massage it into your scalp and hair length.

Catch the water while you're doing this, so as to repeat it 5-6 times. Pile your hair into a shower cap and keep for 5-10 minutes, before you rinse it out and rub in a few drops of heavy oil (coconut, olive or castor - any would work) to lock the moisture in.

Did any of these deep conditioning treatments pique your interest? If yes do try them all out and figure out which works best for you.

Meanwhile, do close on a bridal makeup artist who can give you that perfect hairdo.