Five Hair Care Tips from Around the World

You’ve all known the drills about proper hair care: Shampoo moderately, towel-dry hair, limit the use of heated hair tools, let hair loose once in a while. And so on and so forth. But have you ever thought of quirkier ways in which people across the world care for their hair?

Let’s take a quick trip around the world to see diversified hair care routines! Who knows, you might just take one or two tried-and-tested international suggestions to ramp up your own hair care routine!

 

1. Italy – Olive Oil for Hair Conditioning

Authentic Italian pizzas taste even better when topped with a generous amount of olive oil. But this versatile oil isn’t just for gastronomic use – it’s also a well-kept beauty secret of Italian ladies!

Generations of Italian families use olive oil in their hair. They often massage this rich oil through their strands after their bath. Italians believe that olive oil has strong moisturizing properties that help enhance their hairs’ luster.

Olive oil helps smooth the hair’s outer cuticles, sealing in moisture, softness, strength, and shine on the strands. It’s packed with squalene and vitamin E – two nutrients that have amazing moisturizing and anti-aging properties. Olive oil is great for:

• Detangling hair
• Improving the texture of dry and damaged hair
• Eliminating frizz
• Improving hair elasticity

Take a tablespoon of olive oil, rub it on your palms, and massage your scalp with it for 5 minutes. Smooth the oil over your strands as you rub your scalp. Cover your head and hair with a shower cap and let the oil sit for 15 minutes. Rinse your hair with a gentle shampoo and dry completely. You may need to shampoo twice, especially if you’ve used lots of oil on your hair. Do this at most once a week.

Remember that deep-conditioning with olive oil is recommended only for people with

• Thick hair
•  Dry, damaged locks
• Hair with split ends
• Heavily-processed tresses

Using olive oil on thin hair might weigh it down instead of moisturizing it.

2. Germany – Beer Rinses

Germany is well-known as a beer-loving country. But brewed alcoholic drinks aren’t just all for their Oktoberfest drinking spree. Beer is also used as an ingredient in hair rinses!

Beer rinses are thought to enhance your locks’ strength and shine. Indeed, beer packs a punch in giving your hair its needed minerals, including:

• Phosphorus
• Copper
• Silica
• Iron
• Magnesium

Beer can tackle hair damage by infusing hair with proteins and B vitamins found in its malt and hops. The beverage can also help strengthen and tighten hair cuticles through its natural sugars, specifically maltose and sucrose.

There are lots of ways you can use beer, but here’s a simple rinse formula. Mix half a liter of beer with some lukewarm water. Transfer the mixture to a spritz bottle, then spray it on your dry hair. Scrunch your hair a bit to help it absorb the beer rinse. Leave it on hair for around 20 minutes, then rinse off with cold water.

3. India – Amla as a Hair Superfruit

Indians swear by the use of Amla to fortify their hair with that much-needed nourishment. Amla is also known as Indian Gooseberry and is among the Ayurvedic herbs used in hair protection and regrowth.

Amla has lots of nourishing nutrients such as:

• Essential fatty acids
• Antioxidants
• Iron
• Flavonoids
• Carotene
• Vitamin C

All these nutrients are proven effective in improving scalp circulation, aiding in hair regrowth, stopping hair fall, and delaying premature hair graying.

In Ayurveda, amla aids in calming the dosha pitta. An imbalance of pitta is believed to be the cause of hair fall and hair loss.

Indians often massage amla oil into their scalps to aid in healthier scalp blood circulation. The superfruit’s powdered form can also be mixed with other oils such as olive or coconut oil and then used as a hair treatment, leaving it for 30 minutes before washing it off with cool or lukewarm water. Amla powder is also mixed with lime juice and left on the scalp for an hour, then rinsed off with water.

Amla is also powerful when taken internally. You can:

• Eat amla fruit daily, especially during its peak months of October to March
• Use amla powder in place of fresh fruit for off-season months, taking in ¼ to 1 teaspoon of the powder daily
• Extract the juice of fresh amla fruits and drink them daily

Include amla in your hair care routine and see your tresses become healthier and stronger than ever before!

4. Philippines – Gugo Shampoo

Gugo (Entada phaseoloides) is a climbing vine characterized by its large, fibrous, and woody bark. The plant can be found throughout the Philippines, but it also grows in other wild areas with mild or tropical climates, such as in parts of Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Pacific Islands.

Gugo is used in traditional Filipino herbal medicine to treat a wide variety of conditions including jaundice, edema, wounds, ulcers, and skin itching. But its most popular use is on hair care.

Generations of Filipinos use gugo’s bark to create natural shampoos that effectively cleanse the scalp and hair. Gugo bark rinses are also used to:

• Promote healthier hair growth
• Treat dandruff
• Tone down scalp irritations
• Softens and smoothens hair

Saponins in gugo create lather and effectively cleanse hair. The plant also contains entagenic acid that exhibited antibacterial properties as well as antifungal properties.

Filipinos prepare gugo hair rinse through this process:

• Take a sheet of gugo bark and soak it in a basin of water until softened.
• Scrub the bark’s fibers while it is soaked in the water. You’ll get a foamy lather as a result.
• Use the water as hair shampoo, applying the lather onto the scalp and hair then using the gugo water to rinse.

You may also add other ingredients such as rosemary, apple cider vinegar, and lemon to improve the quality of gugo shampoo.

Gugo is typically found in wet and dry markets for locals who live in the city. But some Filipinos today who find it hard to get their hands on natural gugo barks use commercially-prepared organic gugo shampoos with the bark present inside the liquid.

5. Australia – Eucalyptus Oils

The eucalyptus plant is known to be native to Australia. Hence, several Aussies use its oil to get beautifully healthy tresses.

Eucalyptus oils come from the distillation of the eucalyptus tree’s leaves. It is extensively used in Australian hair care to:

• Hasten healthy hair growth
• Stimulate hair follicles
• Relieve scalp itchiness
• Ease dandruff
• Improve overall hair health

Eucalyptus oil showed antifungal properties that make it effective dandruff and hair loss busters. It also exhibits anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activity.

Mix a few drops of eucalyptus oil to any carrier oil you desire, such as jojoba, sweet almond, castor, olive, or coconut oil. Massage the eucalyptus oil mixture to the scalp and hair and leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse with your usual shampoo and conditioner.

Some Australians also prefer massaging the oils onto their scalp and leaving them on overnight. They just wash off the eucalyptus oils in the morning. Doing so lends added shine and moisture, and hastens hair growth.

The Wrap-Up

There you have it, five different hair care tips people swear by across the globe! We’ve checked out five countries and now we know what their hair care routines are usually made of:

• Italy – Olive oil use
• Germany – Beer hair rinses
• India – Amla hair superfruit
• Philippines – Gugo bark rinses
• Australia – Eucalyptus oil scalp massages

Get your hands on these treatments and say hello to gorgeous and healthier hair!

Meanwhile, have you tried any of the following treatments? How did your hair feel afterward? Do tell us your experiences in the comments section below.

Stay tuned for more international hair care tips in the following days!