To make sure that you look your best at any given time, ample attention should be given to the most important yet ignored part of our body, that is our hair. People put a lot of focus on the perfect outfit and makeup but fail to understand the impression a healthy head of hair is capable of making. Shiny locks of hair glisten and make any hairstyle look good. Healthy hair is easier to style, manage and makes the head look fuller. It’s also free from split ends and is less brittle. It also snubs compliments anywhere you go and makes people turn their heads. Now let’s be honest, we have all fawned over Rapunzel and her beautiful blonde hair and longed for that. There are a lot of ways one can look after their hair but there seems to be an ongoing debate between the pros and cons of both homemade and store bought hair treatments. This article aims to answer most of your questions and would help you choose what is better for your hair. Healthy hair is when the cuticle of the hair is intact, and there is good lubrication from natural oils. We use the best shampoos and conditioners and follow the ritual of washing our hair twice a week to safeguard the natural oils in our hair, to keep it nourished and healthy and to ensure that those natural oils that are present in our scalp aren’t stripped off by the constant use of shampoos. These shampoos should be clarifying but free of sulfates and parabens which are very damaging to the hair in the long run. In fact nowadays, there are now many Do-It-Yourself (DIY) treatments which can be found on the internet, being within the reach of all as it just a Google search away. In order for the hair to be healthy, it needs a ton of nourishment, namely Vitamin A, B, C and E as well as minerals and proteins which we can ingest through our food and other supplements. The biggest disadvantage of home made hair treatments is related to molecular weight. Components that are high and low in their molecular weight are able to penetrate the scalp, which upon successful absorption reduces hair breakage and restores its condition. These high and low MW compounds also help in increasing the volume of the hair and repairing damage caused by hair dyes and pollution. These components are usually found in lab- formulated treatments which are rich in keratin peptides, hydrolyzed proteins, wool derived keratins and other chemical substances that help with the texture of hair. So to make it easier and simplifying it without the use of scientific terms, until or unless what you are applying in your hair has the right molecular weight, it would not really do any good to your hair and those treatments would not be able to solve your hair woes. In some cases, depending on the sensitivity of your scalp and the texture of your hair, it could end up doing some irreparable damage and causing an allergic reaction. Home made treatments that involve the usage of items like eggs, avocados and curd etc are still good for the hair but they would provide the same type of nourishment when ingested like they are meant to be. Topical application of these superfoods would not be able to battle hair related concerns that a store bought remedy formulated by scientists who have studied for years, would. Store bought treatments also contain substances and chemicals that have been backed by years of research with emphasis on their impact on hair and these provide necessary solutions to common hair related problems. However there are many treatments which involve items that are most probably available in your kitchen right now, such as coconut oil, olive oil, and almond oil. Due to their fine molecular weight these oils are able to penetrate into the hair and scalp which make them a great pre-shampooing treatment which softens the hair, helps with detangling and prevents your hair from losing any extra natural oils. So the conclusion is that for many centuries before modern medicine came into existence, people used to take care of their hair using natural remedies, which was the only thing that was available. And as a matter of fact, there are many such old rituals which are still used in today’s time and age. So, to quickly sum it up with the advantages and disadvantages of using natural items over store bought ones, I want to reiterate the fact that it’s homemade and easily customizable. It’s also readily available, in most cases just a trip away from the grocery store. But some of the cons are that it’s very time consuming. It can be very expensive as well and unpredictable. Many home made treatments for hair are based on anecdotes and personal experience and may not have the same result on everybody that tries them because not everyone has the same hair type. People with a sensitive scalp are more likely to encounter irreversible damage which could also result in pain. People claim that apple cider vinegar brings a lot of shine to hair and makes it soft but in my case, using it just once led to considerable hairfall. There are also people who suffer from scalp related conditions like psoriasis, alopecia, tinea capitis etc who would not benefit from home made remedies and would likely worsen their condition with application of food on their hair. In such cases especially, dermatologist recommended store bought treatments are the best option to salvage the hair and to cure their condition. However like I mentioned above, there are a lot of natural treatments such as oiling your scalp and leaving it overnight and rinsing off with a shampoo that help immensely with hair and don’t cost a dime. Such treatments are also less likely to cause an allergic reaction and buildup. Combine the goodness and purity of natural methods with the modern day treatments and embrace the benefits of both, you don’t have to necessarily choose one and stick to it forever. Mix it up and welcome healthy hair with your arms open wide.