Benefits and recipes for hair masks from lemon

Lemon juice has proven itself in hair care and you can try using lemon hair masks in the comfort of your home.

Those who have problems such as increased oiliness of the scalp, dandruff, hair loss, will be helped in solving them by applying lemon juice diluted with water to the scalp and a light "lemon massage" for one to two minutes. And rinsing the hair with water with the addition of lemon juice (50 ml per liter) will make it shinier.

Benefits of lemon for hair

According to trichologists, the benefits of lemon for hair and scalp are in its organic acids (among the dozen and a half of which citric and malic acids are the most abundant), as well as vitamins and microelements, especially zinc.

The outer layer of hair, the cuticle, which protects the cortex and the medulla inside the hair shaft, consists mainly of α-keratins, fibrous structural proteins whose molecules are formed by cysteine sulfur-containing amino acids. Keratin is quite strong, but the cuticle has a scaly structure (for more details, see Hair structure ).

The natural acidity level of hair (pH) is 4.5-5. Studies have shown that when exposed to liquids with a pH of 4-9, the structure of the hair remains almost unchanged, and at low and high pH values, the structure of the cuticle proteins changes and it becomes denser. Lemon juice has a pH of 2-3, so after rinsing your hair with water and lemon juice (or table vinegar), it begins to shine.

However, this only happens when the hair is healthy enough, i.e. the cuticle scales are tightly attached to the hair shaft, and the carbonic hydroxy acids of lemon juice cannot penetrate the hair shaft. And if the hair is overdried by dyes and a hair dryer, the acid easily penetrates through the poorly attached scales and corrodes the cuticle protein, destroying the hair. Moreover, alkaline solutions act similarly.

That is why you can use lemon hair masks only if you have fairly healthy hair, and by type - oily or normal with a tendency to be oily. At the same time, the amount of juice in the masks should be minimal.

Hair mask recipes with lemon

To strengthen hair and stimulate its growth, a mask consisting of burdock or olive oil (tablespoon), glycerin (teaspoon) and lemon juice (teaspoon) is recommended.

Rub this mixture into the scalp, wrap your head in a towel and leave for 25-30 minutes. Wash off with shampoo, then rinse with chamomile or nettle decoction (3 tablespoons of herbs per liter of water).

Hair mask with honey and lemon

This mask can be useful for oily and normal hair, as honey nourishes the scalp and hair, and lemon cleanses.

To prepare, you will need about 100 ml of water, a tablespoon of natural liquid honey and a teaspoon of lemon juice. You need to lubricate both the scalp and hair, wrap it in a towel and hold it for about a quarter of an hour.

If your scalp is itchy, add 5 drops of sage oil or lavender essential oil to the mask.

Hair mask with lemon and egg

If you regularly dye your hair, then it suffers from a lack of moisture, and a mask with egg and lemon juice will help - but only with oily hair. In fact, this mask can not only moisturize your hair, but also remove excess oil from the scalp.

1-2 raw eggs (the amount depends on the length of the hair) and a teaspoon of lemon juice are mixed well, applied to the scalp and hair for 10-15 minutes and washed off (without detergents).

Hair mask with lemon and kefir

This recipe is also for those with hair prone to increased oiliness, and with its help you can reduce this oiliness a little.

For 150-200 ml of 1% kefir, take a teaspoon of lemon juice and aloe juice. All other manipulations are described above.

Hair mask with lemon for dandruff

This composition for combating dandruff is recommended by trichologists – specialists in hair pathologies and their treatment.

For a month, rub a mixture of one teaspoon of burdock oil, one egg yolk, one teaspoon of lemon juice and 5 drops of eucalyptus or tea tree oil into your scalp once every 5-6 days. After rubbing, wrap your head in a towel and leave the mask on for 20-25 minutes.

And to rinse your hair after washing off this mask, prepare a decoction of medicinal plants such as sweet clover, peppermint, oregano, sage or celandine (all of them, like lemon, contain zinc). By the way, green tea will also work.

The few reviews of lemon hair masks concern the use of lemon oil (for massaging the scalp) and the same procedure using fresh lemon juice. They say that this method reduces skin oiliness and eliminates dandruff.