By Miriam Christie
Secret #1 Coconuts
Hawaiian women often use this local fruit to nourish their hair from the inside out. Coconut milk is the thick liquid that you get when you blend coconut meat with water and then strain it. Drinking coconut milk regularly moisturises and nourishes your hair (and skin), on top of many other health benefits.Applied to your hair, coconut oil provides shine and helps to prevent a flaky scalp. You can reap the benefits of coconut oil at home with your own Hawaiian hair mask: massage a palm’s amount of organic, unfiltered coconut oil into your scalp, working it through to the ends of your hair with fingers or a comb. Leave the oil in overnight and shampoo your hair the next morning to create instant gloss.
Secret # 2 Bananas
Thanks to high levels of potassium, bananas help to improve the natural elasticity and strength of the hair. If your hair is damaged by cold weather, heat styling or colour treatments, try this Polynesian saviour to restore bounce and shine: mash up one banana into a bowl and apply the mixture from root to ends. Leave the treatment to work its magic for about 15 minutes, then shampoo and rinse.Secret #3 Scalp massage
Massaging your scalp increases the blood flow to your hair follicles, which helps to encourage swifter hair growth by delivering to your follicles important nutrients, including protein, iron, vitamin C, omega-3s, vitamin A, zinc, selenium, and vitamin B.The Ulupono Academy, a Paul Mitchell beauty school in Hawaii, also provides scalp brushing treatments to exfoliate the skin and invigorate the scalp and hair follicles. The good news is you can recreate this treatment easily at home: using a large paddle brush, part your hair into sections and brush your scalp from the hairline to the back of your neck.
