When it comes to keeping up with the growth and health of your hair, finding the right ingredients to support your goals is key. From retaining length to preventing breakage, sometimes the cost of maintenance can be an investment within itself. But there’s nothing wrong with getting a little crafty with our hair care concoctions, especially when you have the right ingredients to whip up a miracle hair mask of your own.
Hair masks have always been a go-to solution for repairing damaged hair strands, deep conditioning our hair, or simply being a mode of relaxation within our self-care ritual. While many brands offer hefty-priced jars of creams and treatments that can restore and strengthen our hair, DIY masks can be a cost-efficient alternative that offers the same conditioning, soothing, and corrective benefits as many store-bought products.
10 DIY Hair Masks for Hair Growth and Scalp Care
If you’re ready to start whipping up your own DIY hair care cocktails, we’ve got the best mixtures and combinations to try out.
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DIY Aloe Vera Hair Mask To Promote Hair Growth
Aloe vera is known for its numerous benefits for hair, including promoting hair growth, reducing dandruff, and adding shine and moisture. It contains enzymes that can help stimulate hair follicles while adding moisture and hydration to your hair, making it soft and manageable. Aloe vera's antibacterial and antifungal properties can help alleviate dandruff and an itchy scalp and contains vitamins and amino acids that can repair damaged hair and reduce breakage.
In order to make an aloe vera hair mask at home, take aloe vera gel and combine it with two tablespoons of olive oil or castor oil and an egg. Mix it until smooth. Once smooth, apply the paste mixture to your scalp for 20-25 minutes.
Coconut Oil And Cinnamon Hair Mask
A coconut oil and cinnamon hair mask may sound like the start of your favorite baked good, but the mixture can help promote hair health by providing nourishment and stimulating the scalp. With coconut oil fatty acids that penetrate the hair shaft, paired with cinnamon’s stimulating properties that promote blood circulation to the scalp and hair growth, this all-natural conditioner will leave your hair soft and smooth.
In order to make it, combine warmed coconut oil with a tablespoon of honey and two tablespoons of cinnamon. Mix until it becomes a thick paste. Apply it to your scalp and leave the mixture there for at least 20 minutes.
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DIY Deep Conditioning Moringa and Fenugreek Hair Growth Mask
Both fenugreek seeds and moringa have been the center of many recent hair growth trends, and for good reason. Together, this mask can be a natural remedy to improve growth and scalp health by reducing issues like itchiness and dryness. Fenugreek seeds contain compounds that may stimulate hair follicles, while moringa is rich in vitamins and minerals that support hair growth. Whip them together with a yogurt-based mask, and over time, your hair will be giving inches.
Brands like kCurlsys offer a deep conditioning smoothie featuring those nourishing ingredients as a part of their product line. If you want to make your own at home, YouTuber CRYSTAL MADUKA provided an in-depth tutorial on how to make your own moringa and fenugreek hair growth mask. You can find that tutorial here.
Deep Conditioning Rice and Avocado Hair Mask For Low Porosity Hair
When it comes to this hair mask, you can shop your refrigerator for all the ingredients you’ll need. A rice and avocado hair mask is a nourishing and moisturizing treatment that can help improve hair health and manageability due to avocado’s rich, healthy fats and vitamins that moisturize and condition the hair, leaving it soft and silky. Rice comes into play since it contains amino acids that can help strengthen the hair, reducing breakage.
To learn how to make this, YouTuber Chrissy Got The Coils has the perfect rice and avocado hair mask recipe that you can DIY here.
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DIY Apple Cider Vinegar Deep Conditioning Hair Mask Recipe
We may not love the smell of apple cider vinegar, but we absolutely adore what it can do to make our hair flourish. An ACV mask can help balance the pH of your scalp and remove product buildup and excess oil, all while promoting healthier, shinier hair.
The apple cider vinegar hair mask recipe calls for 1 ½ tablespoons of ACV, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and two tablespoons of honey. Mix the ACV with the olive oil and honey and gently apply it to your hair for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water, and your hair will thank you.
Avocado And Banana DIY Hair Mask Recipe
If your hair is in need of some hydration and moisture, this DIY hair mask may be for you. Made up of avocado for its healthy fats and vitamins, along with bananas, which contain natural oils and vitamins, this duo will provide intense moisture to dry and damaged hair, leaving it soft and supple.
To make it, mix half of an avocado, half of a ripe banana, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and an egg to create a thick mixture. If needed, add some water to the paste. Apply the paste-like mixture to your hair and leave the mask on for at least 30 minutes, preferably with heat.
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Egg Yolk Nourishing Hair Mask Recipe
We know, we know. The thought of putting egg yolks into your hair may give you the ick, but if you knew some of the benefits, you might reconsider. An egg yolk hair mask is a natural and cost-effective way to improve the health and appearance of your hair. They are rich in proteins, particularly keratin, which is the primary structural component of hair and can help restore hair strands and reduce breakage.
According to Byrdie, a simple way to make a DIY egg yolk hair mask is by mixing two egg yolks and a tablespoon of mayonnaise together. Apply the mix to your hair and allow it to sit on your hair and scalp for 20 minutes.
DIY Castor Oil Deep Conditioning Hair Mask
For textured hair, in particular, castor oil is going to be your hair’s best friend. With castor oil’s ricinoleic acid, which has been shown to promote hair growth, added to your scalp, it’ll help stimulate dormant hair follicles, leading to thicker and longer hair over time.
Probably one of the simpler hair masks featured on this list; in order to make this one, just apply castor oil to the scalp and hair directly, from roots to ends. Leave the oil in your hair as a mask for two hours with heat before washing it out.
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DIY Olive Oil And Coconut Oil Hair Mask
For a deep conditioning and nourishing hair mask, we recommend one with olive oil and coconut oil. Coconut oil has become a bit controversial in the natural hair space, but as a mask, it still holds its weight. These oils contain essential nutrients that can strengthen hair strands, reducing breakage and split ends. Coconut oil has also been shown to reduce protein loss from hair, helping to maintain its structural integrity. So, if you want a more healthy scalp, this could be worth a try.
In order to make this DIY hair mask, combine one cup of warmed coconut oil and a 1/2 cup of olive oil. After mixing it together, apply the mixture to your hair as a mask. Leave it there for 45 minutes, or even overnight, if you want to wear it as an overnight deep conditioning hair mask.
Yogurt Hair Mask
One thing our hair loves is moisture, so trust us when we say that if your hair has been in need of it, a yogurt hair mask could be the answer you're looking for. Yogurt is rich in lactic acid, which helps moisturize and hydrate your hair, making it ideal for dry or damaged hair. It also contains protein, which helps repair and restore damaged hair. On the other side, yogurt is packed with natural probiotics that can serve as the perfect scalp treatment for reducing flakiness and dandruff.
Make your own yogurt hair mask at home by following YouTuber Yasser K's five-minute tutorial for making a yogurt hair mask here.
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Eldest Daughter Syndrome had its viral moment online last year, and for good reason. The term gave language to the silent pressures so many eldest daughters tend to carry as a result of their birth order. Beyond that very needed conversation, birth order as a whole can offer insight into not only our traits and tendencies, but also how we show up in life, love, and even our work.
Below, we’re breaking down the traits most commonly associated with each birth order. Keep reading to learn what your birth order might say about you.
If you are the oldest...
Let's be real, being the firstborn often comes with a lot of responsibility. And it's usually not by choice. From early on, they’re the ones who set the tone, carry the weight, and take on the title of "the responsible one." Because of that, they often grow into reliable, high-achieving adults. But the pressure of being "the blueprint" and the one to "lead by example" can also be a heavy burden to bear.
Oldest child traits may look like:
- Natural leaders that take charge even when they didn’t mean to (read: she's bossy, but keeping it cute)
- High standards (for yourself and everyone else)
- Motivated, goal-oriented, and always chasing that next accomplishment
- Reliable and conscientious
- Perfectionist tendencies that can lead to burnout
- Struggles with being controlling or micromanaging
- Often cautious, craving stability over spontaneity
- Finds it hard to rest or ask for help
If you are the middle child...
Season 2 Netflix GIF by Gilmore Girls GiphyIn the grand scheme of the birth order lineup, the middle child can be the quiet MVPs. As the child who falls in the order "in-between," they’re used to being the one who keeps the peace while also fighting to stand out. But being the “in-between” can also mean feeling overlooked or forgotten. In some families, especially ones with toxic dynamics, the middle child may even take on the role of the "black sheep," while their siblings are seen as the golden children. Still, despite (or maybe because of) that, middle children tend to thrive socially and can read a room like the back of their hand.
Middle child traits may include:
- Top-tier peacemakers who can smooth over almost any situation
- Adaptable and easygoing (even when they’re lowkey screaming inside)
- Often feel overlooked or like they have to do the most to be seen
- People-pleasers who put everyone else first
- Social butterflies and community-minded, with strong friendships outside the family
- Can be rebellious when they feel boxed in
- Thrive when they’re allowed to define success on their own terms
- The ultimate go-between, translating vibes between generations, personalities, and moods
If you are the youngest...
Season 1 Ff GIF by FreeformGiphyThe baby of the family walks through life knowing how to charm, persuade, and perform. They often grow up with more freedom and fewer expectations, which fuels their adventurous and carefree side. But that same freedom can sometimes lead to entitlement, or a tendency to seek validation by being the "fun one."
Youngest child traits might include:
- Social butterflies who light up a room and don’t mind the spotlight
- Natural charmers, funny, flirtatious, and usually down for anything
- Can be a little self-centered or attention-seeking (but you still love them for it)
- Tend to keep things uncomplicated… unless they’re not getting their way
- Known to be manipulative when trying to get what they want
- Free-spirited and bold in their choices
- Often underestimated, but capable of big things when they focus
- Thrive in spaces that let them express, explore, and be a little extra
If you are the only child...
High School Drama GIF by HBO MaxGiphyOnly children can be the ultimate "one woman show" as they are often a mix of all the birth orders rolled into one. Without siblings, they learn to entertain themselves, advocate for their needs, and navigate adult conversations early. That independence can make them magnetic, mature, and deeply introspective, but it also comes with a deep craving for validation and control.
Only child traits can include:
- Mature and wise beyond their years, often viewed as old souls
- Conscientious and responsible, usually the go-to person in their circle
- Seek approval and validation more than they let on
- Natural leaders with big ideas and even bigger plans
- Can be sensitive and deeply affected by criticism
- Prefer structure, routines, and control (sometimes to a fault)
- Like things done their way (and don’t love compromising)
- Thrive in solitude but still want to feel seen and celebrated
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