An essential part of maintaining healthy hair is making sure it’s getting enough essential fatty acids. If you have a deficiency in these essential fatty acids, then your hair will be dry, brittle and weak. It will lack luster and movement, and instead hang flat, lifeless and dull. Raw African shea butter is a rich source of hair and skin repairing essential fatty acids, and can be combined with other EFA rich oils to create a therapeutic hair treatment that helps to seal in moisture and provide your hair with some of the EFAs it so desperately needs.
Below you will find a fun and easy DIY hair mask treatment featuring raw African shea butter:
Ingredients:
· 3 Tbsp Raw African Shea Butter
· 1 tsp Evening Primrose Oil
· 1 tsp Jojoba Oil
· 2-5 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
In a double boiler, slowly melt shea butter over medium low heat. When the shea has liquefied, transfer to a small bowl, and combine with the evening primrose, jojoba, and rosemary essential oil. Mix well.
On damp or dry hair, thoroughly apply mixture to hair ends and work your way up to your scalp, taking a few moments to massage it in and create a bit of warmth on the hair shaft. When the entirety of your hair has been covered, put your hair in a braid, bun, or hair net of choice, and leave on for a minimum of 20 minutes. If you would like, you can even leave this hair mask on over night!
When you are ready to wash it out, make sure to shampoo thoroughly in the shower twice, otherwise the African shea butter and other oils will not completely come out and your hair will have an oily residue.
Intensive therapeutic treatments such as this are great for both general hair maintenance and for when your hair is struggling and needs some extra TLC. The raw African shea butter is full of vitamin E and deeply moisturizing and protective oleic acid, while the evening primrose oil contains hair-softening GLA (gamma linoleic acid). Golden jojoba mimics the skin’s own sebum, and rosemary essential oil increases circulation to the scalp. The synergy of these four simple ingredients creates a deeply healing balm that can help restore your dry and damaged hair to its former bouncy and beautiful glory.