This Stylist-Approved Hair Mask Can Be Made With Ingredients You Already Have In Your Kitchen

With celebrity clients like Laura Harrier, Stella Maxwell, Ashley Graham, and Olivia Culpo, it’s safe to assume hair stylist Justine Marjan has several tricks up her sleeve for making hair look good in a pinch. And considering everyone is getting creative in finding ways to keep their cuts and color intact sans pro services, her insight and tips are more than just welcome, they’re crucial. That said, according to the beauty expert, some of the most valuable hair treatments of the moment can be found in your kitchen. That’s right, Marjan says the best DIY masks for hair (growth in particular) are sitting in your pantry right now.

“I love kitchen ingredients like coconut oil, olive oil, and castor oil — like that kind of stuff,” says Marjan in an interview with The Zoe Report (facilitated by supplement brand OLLY). “Even rice water — it’s great for hair growth. You basically soak rice in water overnight and strain it the next morning. It has amazing proteins — you can apply the water to your scalp as a rinse and just let it sit in your hair for like 30 minutes, then shampoo and condition it out.”

Yes, with professional salon services off the menu at the moment, the celebrity stylist says she’s encouraging her clients to use this time to get hair healthy. Instead of reaching for the scissors or boxed hair dyes, she’s instead suggesting homegrown remedies like the above — and anything else you can whip up on your own. “For curly hair, it’s great to use bananas for hydration and moisture,” Marjan explains. “You can mash up a banana with an egg and then put it in your dry hair for like 30 minutes or overnight. Then, shampoo and condition it as normal.”

Some other DIY mask pairings the hair pro suggests are coconut oil and honey (“honey is really great because it’s a humectant so it seals in the moisture your hair needs”) and coconut oil and olive oil.

Marjan also suggests minding every mother's advice and taking your vitamins to treat hair from the inside out. “I love the OLLY Undeniable Beauty and the Heavenly Hair gummy vitamins,” she says. “I have long hair for the first time in my life. My whole life I’ve had a bob. So, I feel like they made such a difference in my own hair health and growth. There’s only so much you can do on the outside if you’re not getting the vitamins and nutrients you need on the inside.”

Fair enough. But some external hacks definitely come in handy, especially when you have to look presentable from the waist up for a Zoom conference call. “Adding a cute hair accessory definitely is a nice touch because it looks a bit more elevated,” says Marjan. “A simple low bun is also a great option — middle part, sleek low bun. Think Hailey Bieber. Put on some hoops and a hoodie and you still look really chic and cute.”

And the tips don't stop here. Just a scroll through Marjan's Instagram will leave you with about five hair style tutorials, ranging from how to blow dry your own hair to how to get heatless waves using just socks (yes, you read that right — socks). At this point, the hair pro understands that everyone is their own stylist at the moment and that a few shortcuts are worth their wait in gold.

But, doing what you can with what you can is the key, says Marjan: “Do all the masks, do all the at-home treatments, give your nails a break from the acrylics, and just let yourself detox from all the stresses and everything we normally do to ourselves."

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