Thursday, May 31, 2012

DIY: Natural Hair Lengthener

Not too long ago I donated eight inches of my hair. Although it was going to a good cause and I don't regret donating, I do miss having my long hair. Luckily, my hair grows pretty fast, but I really wanted to kickstart it as well as I could. So I looked around a bit and found some natural ingredients that supposedly help hair growth and I came up with a recipe that I'm hoping will show some real results.

In addition to boosting hair growth, this should soften and subtly lighten hair. I tried it out and although I can't speak of it's hair growing properties, it did soften my hair.

Here are the ingredients:
Coconut Oil
Lemon Juice (optional: I've wanted to subtly lighten my hair)
Dry Rosemary Leaves (or Rosemary Oil)

Also optional is rinsing it out with Apple Cider Vinegar.
Melt the coconut oil and mix it together with the lemon juice in a 2:1 ratio. 
Now take your dry Rosemary leaves and crush them as fine as you can. Having a mortar and pestle really helps with this step!
Mix up the Rosemary leaves with the coconut oil and lemon juice mixture and you're done!













What you're going to want to do is massage this mixture into your scalp and through your hair. Leave it in your hair for about four hours, or ideally, overnight then rinse it out with cold water. (Make sure it's mixed really well before you put it in your hair - separation is natural.)

I really liked this treatment (even though I smelled a little bit like a salad...) and will probably do it once a / every other week. I can't wait to see how it works in a few months.

35 comments:

  1. Hi, do you think refined coconut oil would be okay for this?

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    1. I don't think it should make much of a difference. :)

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  2. Replies
    1. I really enjoyed how my hair felt after this treatment, and I'm happy with the hair growth I've had while I was religiously using it.

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  3. Did this treatment actually work?

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    1. I was happy with my hair growth while I used this, but everyone's hair is different of course. :)

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  4. How much of each ingredient? And do you put it on wet hair or dry hair, both?

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    1. I used coconut oil and lemon juice in a 2:1 mixture and about a half of a teaspoon of crushed rosemary. I put this on dry hair and slept in a shower cap overnight and rinsed it out the next morning.

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    2. Ok thank you! :)

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  5. did u rinse it using shampoo? or just water?

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  6. and do u think its ok to substitute rosemary leaves with rosemary oil?

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  7. can you also use conditioner to rinse out

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    1. I would stick with washing it out with shampoo and then optionally using conditioner.

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  8. How did this work for growth?

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    1. I liked the results, but everyone's hair is different! No matter what, this is a great moisturizer for hair.

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  9. Do you think it is ohkay to use lemon juice from a bottle or does it have to be freshly squeezed ? As for the 2:1 ratio for the coconut oil and lemon juice what does that exactly mean ? Also do you think it is better to receive a hair trim before starting to use this remedy or will it still work if you havnt had a hair trim in about a year? thank you really excited to try this !

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    1. I would say either way for the lemon juice, but if you wouldn't want your hair lightened I would just leave it out. Trimming your hair is really important to keep it healthy; I would definitely recommend getting a trim.

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  10. I read somewhere that coconut oil might make your hair oily , i have oily hair so will.it make it worse ?

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    1. Great question, but I confess I don't much about oily hair or how this would effect it. If you decide you would like to try it, I might suggest just doing the length of your hair and not your scalp.

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    2. It only makes your hair oily if you don't double shampoo it

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  11. Replies
    1. I wish I could say I've been using this faithfully enough to have good analysis! I haven't been able to use this much (especially during the semester months), but since I posted this, I've had hair growth of about 6 to 8 inches. Of course, keep in mind that hair growth largely depends upon your genetics.

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  12. I chopped off my hair & donated over 10 inches last year. I've been struggling to grow it out since then so I'm definitely going to give this mixture a shot. Will this be soothing for people who have dry scalp? My scalp had been extra dry during this winter season so I feel that's the reason why it's not growing. Thanks!

    Elaiine27.blogspot.com

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    1. The coconut oil will definitely hydrate your dry scalp while moisturizing your hair. Good luck!

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  13. What leaves would work if you don't have rosemary? And does this need to be washed out? Or just combed in. Thanks!

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    1. You can try adding peppermint oil. And you should soak your hair in it (especially concentrating on the scalp area), leave it for a few hours or overnight and then wash it out with shampoo.

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  14. I've heard that mayonnaise works as well to moisturize, and since coconut oil is expensive, could i substitute it with mayonnaise? or even olive oil?

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    1. I've never tried a mayonnaise mask, but I've heard it's very good to use. I've never used olive oil either, but if you use it, I would suggest using it in its purest form – extra virgin olive oil. I've never used either, but I know both can be healthy for your hair. I wouldn't hesitate to use either.

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  15. Has this worked better than your last treatment (http://afourthleaf.blogspot.com/2012/06/leave-in-hair-growth-treatment.html)? My hair grows extremely slow, so I'd love to do anything to help it grow faster.

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    1. I prefer this one over the leave-in simply because you can feel more of a difference in hair texture after using it. In my personal experience, I can't say either one works better than the other.

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  16. can i use limes instead of lemons because i live where lemons are not available

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  17. Hi, if i do this recipe and keep it in a bottle/container, is it safe to use the same spray for days until it is finished?

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  18. Wa, this is shelf stable so the ingredients won't go bad but they will separate. It's not like mayonnaise where you are mixing vinegar and oil together with an emulsifier like raw egg. I make a nice lemon rosemary vinegar for cleaning and it has been shelf stable for at least 2 years. The rosemary and lemon peels are still sitting in the vinegar with no problem. I take lemon peels and fill up a quart jar. I put in a bunch of rosemary and then cover with white or apple cider vinegar. Use after it sits for a month or 2. I think I'll use the lemon rosemary vinegar in this recipe. Thanks so much!

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