Regardless of our age, hair type, colour or ethnicity, most of us want our hair to look as shiny as we can, and the great news is the best way to achieve this is naturally.
Here’s our guide to the top ways to get a super smooth shine, without resorting to artificial chemicals and harsh treatments:
Check Your Conditioner for Silicone:
Traditional ‘mainstream’ conditioners often rely on silicone to smooth the hair shaft and create that ‘glossy’ look we all long for.
The problem is they’re not water soluble, so coat the hair, and over time the hair becomes weighted down and looks dull.
You don’t have to be a professional to spot silicone as an ingredient. Simply look for words that end with the following: -cones, -conols, -silanes, and -siloxanes.
For example, dimethicone, cetyl dimethicone, cetearyl methicone, dimethiconol, stearyl dimethicone, cyclomethicone, amodimethicone, trimethylsilylamodimethicone, and cyclopentasiloxane are all examples of non-dissolvable silicones that will cause issues with your hair.
Regularly Clarify
Even if you’re not using silicone-based conditioners and treatments, environmental damage (pollution, smoke and grease from food) can create a build up on your hair, so it can be helpful every now and then to clarify your hair.
All this means is give it a good wash with a product designed to cut through difficult to remove toxins. Organic Skikakai powder works beautifully to cleanse the hair gently without stripping the natural oils that protect your hair (and it doubles up as a conditioning treatment to add natural shine).
Mix it with a relevant tea and apply as a rinse to add a protective shine and hint of colour to your hair, for example chamomile to clarify blonde and grey tresses. If you make it more of a ‘yoghurt’ texture, it can be used as a treatment.
Don’t Brush It…
… Or if you do, do it very gently indeed (and never when wet). Once upon a time, we were told to brush our hair 100x a night for the ultimate gloss. Now, we know that that puts far too much stress on the hair and leads to breakages.
The right type of comb or brush for you is entirely dependent on your hair type – but look for something made with natural fibres, wider spaces between teeth and clean it regularly to avoid dulling the hair by coating it with leftover oils.
Feed your hair:
Like the rest of your body, your hair condition benefits hugely from a good diet and nutrition. In addition, natural hair treatments that contain Vitamin C can do wonders to promote shine and feed the structure of the hair.
Organic Amla Powder is particularly beneficial for this, especially if you have curly or very porous hair. Simply mix it with water and apply as a treatment to enhance shine. If you mix it with Henna it can also help to tone the colour out to a browner, ‘ashier’ shade.
Consider a treatment:
If your hair is very fine, or flyaway, heavy treatments like wax or oils should be used very sparingly to avoid weighing it down. However, if you’ve curly, dry, grey or dyed hair, treatments are an essential part of maintaining and creating a high shine finish.
Look for ingredients like rose, which soothes the scalp. Sesame oil offers a natural alternative to silicone, smells amazing and is fully water soluble so won’t cause the same issues long-term. We also rate coconut oil, especially for thicker hair.
If you’re allergen prone, you can just coat your hair in extra virgin olive oil, wrap in a beeswax wrap or hot organic cotton towel and leave for up to eight hours. Rinse very thoroughly and enjoy the shine.
Do a cold rinse:
Using a quick blast of cold water on your hair seals the hair shaft. When the shaft is rough, it shines less, so by closing it, you instantly create more shine.
Cold water is also amazing to give you a quick ‘whoosh’ of energy so it’s good for hair, mind and body!
Take it easy on the processing:
If you blow dry your hair every day, you damage it, and it’s much harder for damaged hair to shine. Use natural hair dye instead of harsh box colours, and never heat treat your hair (for example with straighteners) without using a natural heat protector.
Try Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is an amazing, old-school natural way to add masses of shine to dark and brunette shades of hair.
Simply mix two tablespoons of ACL with four tablespoons of warm water and rinse through the hair. Don’t worry, the dilution means your hair just smells fresh instead of vinegary, and the added rinse helps remove any final residue a water rinse might have missed.