THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF HONEY FOR ALL HAIR TYPES

Honey is an organic sweetener found in nature and is utilized as a natural sugar in foods. Because of its many beneficial properties, it has even been used to treat wounds by indigenous cultures since it contains nutrients and antioxidants.

You don’t typically associate honey with your typical routine when it comes to your hair. After all, it’s a sticky, sweet substance – why would you want to make your hair sticky? However, though it may surprise you, honey has multiple benefits when used for your hair care. 

Honey is an ingredient in multiple hair products and is common in hair masks and treatments. It’s easily accessible and has various benefits for your hair. While you must steer clear of harmful ingredients in hair products, honey is not one of them.

So, what sort of evidence is there that honey can benefit all hair types? Let’s explore all of the fantastic things that honey can do for your hair.

Honey Prevents Dandruff and Dry Scalp

Honey has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, and with its vital moisture agents, it can give your scalp more conditioning. Sometimes during dryer seasons, people suffer from dry scalp and dandruff. 

Dry scalp due to psoriasis, dermatitis, other skin issues, and dandruff is caused by fungus or bacteria that make your skin shed at a faster rate, which causes the unsightly dry flakes. The result is that your scalp skin becomes inflamed, and since honey is an anti-inflammatory, it works to fight and prevent that dry skin from surfacing.

Honey Provides The Hair With Moisture

When you apply honey directly to your hair and scalp, it supplies your hair with skin regenerative properties. However, the most significant aspect that honey can provide is giving your hair back its moisture. It gives your skin and scalp hydration and works to seal in moisture to prevent water loss.

Conditioning treatments and masks for the hair are designed to do the same for your hair, with many of them containing vitamins and minerals. Honey has similar moisturizing benefits that keep the hair conditioned and feeling healthy.

Honey Provides The Hair With Shine

Since honey has the emollient and humectant properties to lock in richness for your hair, it also smooths hair follicles. When it adds all of that moisture back in you, get a noticeable shine to your hair as well, since the honey helps to restore your more natural luster. 

You can look for a shampoo with honey to keep your hair clean and help bring back that beautiful shine. The most common type of honey to look for with hair care is Manuka honey since it is the most natural form of honey and will help provide needed hydration to your hair, skin, and scalp.

Honey Prevents Hair Breakage and Loss

Protein treatments to hair are popular because they provide strength to your hair, restoring weak and brittle or breaking strands. Surprisingly enough, honey also contains protein, and while it is not much (about 0.5%), it is still very beneficial to the hair in providing it with more strength, so there is less breakage.

Our hair sheds during the natural growth cycle, but if you notice that your hair sheds more often or are concerned that you may be suffering from hair loss, you might want to add honey into your hair care to help restore moisture and prevent breakage. Honey provides a lot of help to damaged hair and can bring more restorative properties so that you lose less hair. 

Honey Helps Your Hair to Grow

Since honey contains many natural vitamins and antioxidants, it promotes cell growth. A review published in 2013 demonstrates evidence that honey works to grow skin cells, and since the scalp is full of them, it works well to help your hair grow.

You might consider doing a hair detox, which is stripping your hair of all unnatural products and ensuring that your hair and scalp are clean and moisturized. Honey can give your hair a nice boost of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. It’s really great for curls even after detoxing to keep them growing, moisturized, and providing added shine.

How To Use Honey for Your Hair?

Besides buying hair-care products containing honey, you can use honey on its own by mixing it with some water and massaging it directly to your hair and scalp as a treatment paste or mask. You can also add it to your regular shampoo and conditioner, but only a few drops each time to avoid it getting too sticky. It works well with coconut or other carrier oils that add moisture if you mix with honey and your regular hair treatment.

It is important that you first test a small area of your scalp before applying it to your entire head, just to be sure you don’t have any reaction to the honey. Sometimes, people who are allergic to bee pollen could react to the honey on their skin.

Honey For All Hair Types

Whether your hair is straight, wavy, curly, dry, oily, or color-treated, all hair types can benefit from adding honey. It’s safe for anyone to use. However, those with more dry hair or scalp, brittle or damaged hair may find that honey is more helpful in providing softness, moisture, and shine. 

However, anyone with naturally wavy or curly hair can gain the added proteins from honey. So, don’t wait and make sure to add honey into your hair routine and enjoy its benefits.