A Simple DIY Spa Day Hair Care Routine You'll Love

There are very simple recipes you can use with completely natural ingredients to make your own DIY Spa Day hair care routine.

If there is one part of the body that tends to get more abuse during the summer months, it’s the hair. There’s the extra sun exposure, the salt water from the beach, and whatever extras we put it through with any primping and prepping that goes into the extra social activity.

It definitely needs a little extra something by the time Fall comes around.

Hair is trickier than skin, because unlike skin, which is continuously sloughing off the old cells and resurfacing the new, the hair shaft is technically dead. Once broken or damaged it’s very hard to repair it.

You can however, stimulate new healthier growth and try to condition and protect the rest.

Below is a VERY simple DIY spa day hair care routine anyone can do, using only basic ingredients and tools you probably already own (like say, a hair brush). There’s the regular version and also a ‘no-poo’ variation, for people who don’t want to use foam cleansers.

Table of Contents

BASIC DIY SPA DAY HAIR CARE ROUTINE

STEP 1 – Upside-down hair brushing

The best starting point to a thorough DIY spa day hair care routine should be a good brushing out. But If you don’t do this every day already, you’re also missing out.

I talked about the benefits of a good upside-down hair brushing on a previous post about the best natural and minimalist hair care solutions, if you’re curious.

It’s the perfect way to begin an at home spa hair treatment, since the bristles will help exfoliate the scalp, while also stimulating blood flow to it.
This will make nutrients and active ingredients in the hair masks that follow penetrate better.
Make sure you’re using a hairbrush with strong, natural bristles: you want to reach the scalp but not damage it by scraping the surface with wire or plastic. The best type of hairbrush for this is some kind of wood, bamboo or boar bristle hairbrush.
Brush your hair and scalp all around from the base to the top of the head. Do this for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

STEP 2 – Hair mask

This is a classic step in any DIY spa day hair care routine. Depending on your needs, you might choose between different types of mask.

You can do an oil-based hair mask, or a gel based one. You could also mix both kinds, or add other ingredients.

You can find a lot of the carrier oils and essential oils mentioned online easily, but if you’re looking for a reliable source, I’d recommend Mountain Rose Herbs (they have high standards and excellent quality).

For dry or dull looking hair

A nurturing oil-based mask is best. You can try any of the following combinations:

2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or more if your hair is long) + 1 egg yolk.
Or 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (or olive oil) + 1 tablespoon of castor oil.
Or 2 or 3 tablespoons of coconut oil.
Or, if you want something a bit more exotic, try 2 or 3 tablespoons of argan oil.

You can play around with these oils as much as you like, according to your personal preferences or what is handiest to you at the moment. All of them are nurturing and help to soften and repair the shaft (especially coconut oil).

Feel free to add a few drops of essential oils (between 3 and 5) to whatever oils you choose. Excellent choices are:

Rosemary and peppermint – strengthening, growth stimulant, antioxidant, energizing, antimicrobial, antibacterial.
Lavender – calming, regenerative (healing), antimicrobial, antibacterial.
Chamomile – soothing, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial.

For oily hair or people who don’t want to use foam cleansers – “no-poo” version

A hydrating and regenerating aloe vera mask is ideal.

1 or 2 tablespoons of aloe vera gel + 3 to 5 drops of any of the essential oils mentioned above.
Make sure the aloe vera gel you choose is as pure as possible so that it’s simple to wash off your hair. Sometimes they come mixed with glycerin or small amounts of oils to make it feel more moisturizing.

for normal hair

Feel free to do either type of mask, oil-based or water-based (aloe vera), or to mix both together to make a kind of cream.
Again, add whatever essential oils are best suited to your needs from the list above.

How to apply the hair masks

Apply to the scalp, separating the hair in rows one at a time.
Use whatever is left of the mixture to spread on the hair shaft, concentrating on the ends.
Massage the scalp for a few minutes, using the balls of your fingers in circular motions all around, but without scrubbing the scalp.
Now leave on as long as you can. The best thing is to either sleep with the mixture on or to do it on a day when you are just going to be laying around the house.
You can wrap it in a shower cap or towel if you want (the body heat will be more trapped and the nutrients will sink into the hair and scalp more easily). I usually just put my hair up with a few pins and go about my day.

STEP 3 – Wash hair

The next step in your DIY spa day hair care routine is to thoroughly wash your hair from the mask. You can use your favorite shampoo or shampoo bar.

Alternatively:

Make a herbal liquid shampoo by boiling some soapnuts in water for a few minutes. Let that cool off, shake it with a whisk or fork so that it foams up. Use the liquid to wash your hair in the shower.

Or, you could make a pretty effective herbal paste by mixing natural henna with green clay and soapwort powder (or Sidr, or Shikakai). Add hot water to make a paste and apply the paste to your scalp and hair. Massage thoroughly for a few minutes and wash off.
If you’ve used the aloe vera mask you can just wash your hair by rinsing it thoroughly with warm to hot water.

Finish off with a cold water rinse.

STEP 4 – Conditioner

After washing your hair, do a final rinse with a leave-in vinegar water mixture.

Dilute 1 part of vinegar in 7 or 8 parts of water

Use whatever vinegar you have on hand. Many people prefer apple cider vinegar, but I personally don’t mind so much, as long as it’s organic and NOT cleaning vinegar.

Make sure the acidity percentage on the bottle is not over 5%. In this particular scenario – a hair rinse – I personally don’t like vinegar with the mother, as it can leave a residue.

Wring off the excess water from your hair and wrap your hair in a towel.

STEP 5 – Leave-in moisturizing treatment

The final step in this basic DIY Spa Day hair care routine is to treat the hair ends with some coconut or jojoba oil, to lock in the moisture and help protect the ends from splitting.

Alternatively, you can also rub a dollop of Shea or mango butter between your palms and apply that.

You should do this while the hair is still damp.
Put a dollop of coconut or a few drops of jojoba oil on the palm of your hand and hang your head upside down again.
Rub both hands together to distribute the oil evenly between both hands and scrunch your hair ends with your hands.

If your hair is thick and a bit coarse or frizzy you can apply a bit more further up the hair shaft. Just make sure to keep away from the roots.
You can also use Shea butter instead of oils. Cocoa butter is also good, but it’s fattier than Shea so take that into account.

Make sure to use only a pea-sized amount to begin with – you don’t want to weigh down the hair with too much oil. You can add another bit if your hair is longer or thicker and you feel you need it.

So that’s it! After this simple DIY spa day hair care routine your hair should feel softer and look shinier. It’s pretty basic but effective and you should notice results even after just one treatment.

Of course, for even better results you can make it into a semi-regular hair care routine, for instance every week or so. From my own personal experience, my hair always looks and feels its most amazing whenever I’m using essential oils on a regular basis.

I hope you find this DIY Spa Day hair care routine useful and are inspired to give it a try. Please let me know what you think in the comments if you do.

A Simple DIY Spa Day Hair Care Routine You’ll Love