Why do some people have dull hair, while others have proud, shiny hair? Injustice! A lot of factors come into play here, and it's hard to pinpoint just one culprit. If you have dull hair and lack shine, we have some natural and DIY tips to offer you. So, interested?
Focus on shine and dull hair
Dull hair is hair lacking luster and shine. Conversely, shiny hair reflects light, which is a sign of good health. The deterioration of the cuticles, the outer part of the hair shaft, is largely responsible for the lack of shine. Indeed, the cuticles of healthy, bright hair are smooth, while the cuticles of dull hair have irregularities at the scale. Damaged, it does not allow light to reflect. The hair is therefore dull!
Causes of dull hair
Hair becomes dull due to different internal and external factors.
- They sometimes reflect a nutritional deficiency. Indeed, dull hair is generally dry, devitalized, dehydrated... It lacks iron , vitamin B6, essential fatty acids, nutrients. Hair is dull due to lack of nutrition and hydration: this is a common cause that can be remedied with appropriate care.
- The pollution trapped in our hair reduces its shine and makes it duller as the days go by. Everything is explained in our article on the effects of pollution on hair , and in particular the solutions to put into practice!
- Chemical coloring and bleaching, which damages hair, can make it duller over time. You must choose your natural colorings as well as your shades carefully so as not to affect the shine of the hair.
- Heated styling devices are far from our friends. Using these devices that operate at high temperatures can make hair dry, dull and brittle. Better to use them at low temperatures, or even do without them altogether. The same goes for water that is too hot: avoid it!
- In areas with high water hardness, hard water residue attaches to the hair and accumulates. This has the effect of obscuring their natural shine.
Our natural tips to give shine to dull hair
Adopting good reflexes and healthy habits for your hair should help you restore its legendary shine.
Use natural ingredients in your care
No need to burn your bank card to buy the “best treatments” on the market to make your hair shiny... Especially since they are often full of chemicals and unsavory. Some ingredients that we all have in our cupboards will do the trick perfectly. You will find some of them in our traditional DIYs at the end of the article. Among them, we include beer, to apply before or after shampoo (remember to fan it before application). There is also vinegar and lemon juice, to use in rinsing water. To these are added honey (excellent daily care, by the way) and carrot, which we associate with avocado (but all that happens below!).
Rinse your dull hair with cold water to restore shine
In addition to vinegar and lemon juice, try rinsing your dull hair with cold water! This helps seal in the cuticles and the moisture they contain. After shampooing, rinse your hair with lukewarm water, then finish with a small jet of cold water. A word of advice: do it upside down, especially in winter... No, don't thank us? To dry, let the air dry or go gently with a microfiber towel or cotton t-shirt.
Avoid treatments that are too heavy for the hair
We avoid coloring, bleaching , perming, straightening and other heavy, hot or chemical treatments for our poor hair. They damage and dry out hair by peeling off the cuticles in order to penetrate the fiber's bark. You should really avoid them if you are looking for more shine in your hair. Favor gentle care and natural solutions for styling your hair, so as not to damage your hair.
Pay attention to your diet
As we previously mentioned, deficiencies and poor dietary habits have a considerable influence on the beauty of hair... And therefore on its shine! Remember to stock up on vitamins, minerals, trace elements, antioxidants and good essential fatty acids daily to provide your hair with everything it needs.
For vitamins and minerals, we favor fruits and vegetables, obviously. B vitamins are also found in cereals, oilseeds, brewer's yeast and even wheat. For zinc , you'll find it in egg yolks, seafood and lentils. Omega 3 is present in many vegetable oils (hemp, perilla, flax, etc.), as well as in fatty fish and avocado. Iron is present in meat, among other things.
If your diet does not sufficiently adapt to your needs, you can also rely on food supplements such as our Resolution No. 1 , as well as our Hair Boost , Monsieur , Little President (children) and Mama (pregnancy) gummies.
Latest tips to restore shine to dull hair
For curly and frizzy hair, it is absolutely necessary to maintain moisture and seal it to the hair to keep it shiny. It will also certainly be necessary to increase the number of deep moisturizing treatments, with regular masks. As for the ends, don't hesitate to cut them quite often if they split! Above all: avoid non-organic detangling balms and leave-in treatments that contain silicone (boo!). This sticks to the cuticles and damages them. For shampoos, we also require them to be sulfate-free. And these two tips apply to all hair types.
DIY: give shine to dull hair with homemade recipes
Want home recipes to add shine to your hair in a simple and natural way? As always, you have come to the right place…
A carrot and avocado mask
Carrot and avocado are not only good in salads, they are also very popular in hair masks. So, to restore shine to your hair and nourish it, you will need:
- A carrot ;
- An egg yolk;
- Half an avocado.
We grab our trusty blender, mix all these little ingredients and make a homogeneous paste to apply to our hair. Leave to act for around twenty minutes before rinsing thoroughly with lukewarm water. Also consider lemon juice or vinegar as the final rinse water! And that's how to add shine to dull hair.
An oil bath to restore shine to dull hair
Once or twice a month, before slipping into the sheets, you can bathe your hair in oil. To do this, you must soak them with natural vegetable oils such as castor, coconut, jojoba, nigella or argan oil (you can create your own apprentice chemist mixtures if you feel like it). Please note, it is not a question of bathing them, only of impregnating them (wet effect, not fryer effect!). Take :
- One or two spoons of vegetable oil of your choice, preferably organic and adapted to the nature of your hair ;
- Five drops of ylang-ylang essential oil.
If you have oily hair, just apply the mixture to the ends. Conversely, you can soak the entire scalp and remove everything in a towel to leave on overnight. And since two precautions are better than one, also remember to place a towel on your pillow. In the morning, after proper shampooing and rinsing, your hair will have regained its shine and shine.
DIY shampoo for dull hair
Jojoba oil is particularly effective in restoring shine to dull hair. And sparkle, of course. For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- A cleansing base or a neutral organic shampoo (use the dose necessary to shampoo);
- Half a teaspoon of jojoba oil;
- Four drops of ylang-ylang, healthwood or lavender essential oil, your choice.
Just add the vegetable oil and essential oil to the cleansing base and mix well. Make your shampoo, taking care to distribute it well and massaging gently. Leave on for a few minutes if you can, then rinse. And to vary the pleasures this time, use a rosemary rinse water!
Rosemary rinse water: DIY shine for dull hair
Rosemary has plenty of benefits for hair. It soothes itchy scalp, rids it of dandruff ... But it also brings shine to dull hair (a bit like vinegar and lemon, yes). The rosemary rinse water then helps balance sebum production and the pH of the scalp. It also helps close cuticles, making them shinier. To do this, you need:
- 50 grams of rosemary leaves;
- A liter of water.
Infuse your rosemary leaves in boiling water, then let cool. Once the mixture has cooled, add four tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to it, then use your water to rinse your hair.
There you go, with all that, shine is guaranteed! And we don't hesitate to combine them with Resolution N°2 , our hair detox tea, which purifies the scalp, for healthy and in great shape hair!
