Find out the features of using honey to maintain the beauty and health of your hair. How to use it correctly, and in what cases it can be harmful. Loose, dull and weakened hair cannot be saved by any expensive shampoo. Most girls refuse to use ready-made hair masks, as they are afraid of harming the health of the strands with "chemistry". But there is a way out of this situation, because you can make your own strengthening and nourishing masks using only natural products. For example, some of the most useful and effective masks are those that contain honey, because it contains a large amount of valuable vitamins and minerals.
Honey is a unique, natural and very useful beekeeping product. It has a powerful healing power, which is why it is widely used in informal medicine and home cosmetology. You can safely add flower honey to a variety of cosmetics designed to care for weakened and injured curls. Regular use of masks containing honey helps to strengthen the hair and saturate it with useful substances.
What are the benefits of honey for hair?
Honey today has no analogues, because it is the only natural product that has a lot of positive qualities and is one of the most popular products in home cosmetology. Damaged hair and delicate scalp are saturated with minerals and beneficial vitamins contained in honey.
It is the regular use of honey-based hair masks that is an excellent opportunity for a course of healing and restoration of weakened strands. This unique product contains a lot of valuable substances, which provide complete care:
- Fructose or fruit sugar provides bonding of split hair ends.
- Glucose or grape sugar has a smoothing effect on curls, making them smooth and manageable, greatly facilitating the styling process.
- Vitamin B2 or lactoflavin normalizes the process of sebum production, has a moisturizing effect on dry curls, and also gently dries very oily strands.
- Vitamin B3 or niacin returns hair to its natural color, making it more saturated and deep, perfectly nourishes hair follicles, prevents the formation of premature gray hair.
- Vitamin B5 or pantothenate helps to strengthen the hair roots, prevents the onset of hair loss.
- Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine provides additional moisture to dry and weakened hair, helps to quickly cure dandruff and seborrhea.
- Vitamin B9 or folic acid helps to reduce hair sensitivity and protects against negative influences from the environment (cold wind, sun, salt water, etc.), while helping to endure sudden temperature changes much easier.
- Vitamin C or ascorbic acid provides restoration of the natural structure of hair, takes control of the production of elastin and collagen, due to which the volume and elasticity of the strands is restored.
- Potassium normalizes water balance and prevents increased dryness or fragility of curls.
- Iron promotes increased blood circulation, which has a positive effect on accelerating hair growth.
The main advantage of honey in hair care is that its composition is as close as possible to the composition of blood. Thanks to this, the body absorbs this product much better. Regularly using honey masks, tired and weakened hair is restored much faster, returns elasticity, shine and softness.
Contraindications of honey hair masks
Trichologists say that not everyone can use masks containing honey. Despite the fact that such products have a cosmetic, prophylactic and therapeutic effect, they can cause serious harm.
The main disadvantage of honey masks is that the active ingredient is a strong allergen. It is strictly forbidden to use hair masks containing honey if there is an individual intolerance to this bee product.
Before applying honey externally, it is necessary to conduct a small sensitivity test, even if there were no previous negative manifestations of this product.
There are times when honey is used for food and no discomfort appears, but after contact with the skin it can provoke a rather strong allergic reaction.
Therefore, a small amount of honey is applied to the skin behind the ear or the bend of the elbow. If for several hours irritation, redness or itching does not appear, you need to wash off the honey with water and masks that include it in their composition can be safely applied.
If even a slight feeling of discomfort appears, it is worth refusing to use such cosmetics.
How to use honey in home cosmetology?
Natural honey contains more than 400 useful substances that are absorbed into the hair, provided that this product is used correctly:
- During the preparation of a caring cosmetic product, it is necessary to use only a fresh and natural product, it is advisable to purchase it not in a store, but in an apiary. It is not recommended to use candied honey for hair care, as it will bring little benefit.
- Before mixing honey with other ingredients, it must be slightly heated, but not overheated, as the natural substance will simply lose its beneficial qualities. At the moment when essential oils, eggs or other components are added to honey, its temperature should not be more than 35 degrees. The product is brought to the necessary state with the help of a water bath.
- To prepare a honey mask, you need to use a ceramic or glass container. It is not recommended to mix the ingredients in a metal container, as the oxidation process may begin, which will reduce the effectiveness of the mask.
- You can not combine honey with components that have just been in the refrigerator. It is important that all food is at room temperature. If necessary, some ingredients can be heated in a water bath to warm them up. However, you cannot warm up essential oils and vitamin solutions, since in this case they will simply lose their beneficial properties.
- To make it convenient to prepare and apply a honey mask to your hair, you must put on thin latex gloves in advance.
How to properly apply honey masks to your hair?
In order for hair masks to have the maximum benefit, you need to follow a few tips for applying them:
- any mask must be rubbed in with soft massage movements, pressing slightly, but not hard;
- it is convenient to apply honey masks to damp hair, due to which the composition is evenly distributed over the entire length, you can use a special brush;
- do not use honey masks to care for colored hair, as this natural product can return the natural shade of the strands;
- after the honey mask is applied to the hair, you need to insulate your head so that the active substances are absorbed into the skin much faster;
- to create a thermal effect, you can use a simple plastic bag or a shower cap, after which a terry towel is wound on top;
- depending on the composition of the mask, the time of its exposure will also change - for example, if irritating ingredients (mustard, cinnamon or ginger) are used, the product cannot be left on the hair for more than 15 minutes;
- after a honey mask, an unpleasant sticky film may remain on the hair; to remove it, you need to mix 1 liter of water and 50 g of vinegar (you can replace it with concentrated lemon juice). The hair is rinsed with the resulting solution, after the honey mask is washed off;
- if honey masks are used to solve the problem of hair loss or dandruff, such procedures can be performed every other day;
- after 10–12 masks have been used, a short break is taken and, if necessary, it will be possible to repeat the course, but not earlier than 30 days later.
Honey Hair Mask Recipes
Today there is a fairly large number of a wide variety of hair care masks, which include honey. Taking into account the existing problem, the means should also be selected. With the regular use of honey masks, the hair is quickly restored, acquires a healthy shine, becomes soft and silky.
Classic mask with honey
You will need to take:
- honey - 1 tbsp. l.;
- egg yolk - 1 pc.;
- cognac - 1 tbsp. l.;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- kefir - 1 tbsp. l.
Preparation:
- The onion is peeled and finely chopped, then wrapped in cheesecloth folded in several layers and the juice is squeezed out.
- Take 1 tbsp. l. onion juice and mixed with honey, then cognac and kefir are added - all components are thoroughly mixed.
- At the end, the egg yolk is introduced and all the ingredients are mixed again.
- The resulting mass is evenly distributed over the hair.
- After 45 minutes, you need to wash your hair with plenty of warm water and baby shampoo, then a moisturizing balm must be applied.
- It is necessary to make such a mask 2-3 times a week.
Mask with honey against hair loss
You will need to take:
- cognac - 1 tbsp. l.;
- burdock oil - 1 tbsp. l.;
- honey - 1 tbsp. l.;
- egg yolk - 1 pc.
Preparation:
- All components are mixed, as the result should be a mass of uniform consistency.
- The finished mask is applied to damp hair and left on for 30 minutes.
- After the specified time, you need to wash your hair with baby shampoo and warm water.
- You need to do such a therapeutic mask every 12-14 days.
Mask with honey against hair loss
You will need to take:
- cinnamon - 1 dessert spoon;
- egg - 1 pc.;
- honey (flower) - 1 tbsp. l.;
- burdock oil - 2 tbsp. l.
Preparation:
- Honey is heated in a water bath, but not much, otherwise it will lose its beneficial properties.
- An egg, burdock oil and cinnamon are introduced into honey - all components are well mixed until a homogeneous composition is obtained.
- The finished mass is applied to the hair, evenly distributed over the entire length and left for 60 minutes.
- The mask contains oil, so the head will need to be washed several times to remove the oily film.
Regular use of honey masks for hair care helps to achieve amazing results. Honey has a lot of useful qualities, so it makes the strands stronger and stronger, they return to their natural shine and the problem of loss is eliminated.
The recipe for a nourishing honey-based balm for blonde hair in this video: