How Honey Helps Hair

April

Ally asks: I have heard that honey will make your hair shiny and add moisture. And that it is a good alternative to ‘cones in conditioners. Does it really moisturize?

The Right Brain responds:
Ally, we’ve blogged before about the beneficial antibacterial properties of honey for your skin. But what about honey for hair? Good question!

Honey honey

Honey is a humectant, which means that it holds on to water molecules. This is a desirable property in a moisturizer, especially for skin. But unlike skin, hair is not alive and it doesn’t need as much moisture. What it does need is something to smooth the cuticle so the hair feels soft and looks shiny.

Sugar sugar

Unfortunately honey is not a good lubricant, so it doesn’t make hair slippery and smooth. In fact, it’s the opposite of slippery– it’s sticky because it’s basically a sugary solution. (Rub some between your fingers and you’ll see!) So it will not smooth your cuticles or help a comb pass through your hair without damaging it. So any moisture-grabbing benefits that honey might give your hair are off set by it’s stickiness.

The Beauty Brains bottom line:

There are plenty of honey based hair care products on the market but we’ve never seen any that use honey at effective levels for moisturization. Silicones are better for that purpose, even though people think ‘cones are bad for hair.

What do YOU think? Is honey an effective natural shine agent or just more marketing hype?

17 Responses to “How Honey Helps Hair”

teddyp Says:

Out of curiosity, purely scientific of course , seeing as surgeons and dermatologists have managed to inject or implant silicones into all sorts of parts of the body, why not a hair cuticle? I know it would be hard but I’m sure there would be some demand among the hollywood elite for weaves made from silicone impregnated human or synthetic hair. Surely someone has already thought of or tried out this hare-brained idea before?
Teddy
Pluche Says:

I don’t use honey to add shine, but to add moisture. It does help for dry hair, especially if you have long hair as the ends then tend to be dry.
I mix it with vegetal oil and warm the mixture gently to make it melt and be more fluid. I apply it to the ends of my hair and let it on for an hour (or more if I can), before shampooing.
Kelly Says:

Thanks for this. I had been wondering about honey for hair just the other day. Love the blog. Thanks to the Brains, I fed my hair some coconut oil last night, and it’s beautiful!
sofi Says:

Teddy:

Silicones only help on the OUTSIDE of hair by smoothing the hair shaft, and keeping it smooth. They effectively “seal” down your hair cuticles (that’s what theey’re called, right?). They don’t add water or moisturize, but by sealing the cuticle they keep moisture getting out and from your hair drying out. Therefore, injecting silicone would do nothing. Furthermore, your hairs aren’t tubes, and injecting them would “spread” the liquid throughout the hairs. You’d also have to inject every single hair. You’re much better off just washing your hair and using conditioner.

I’m no expert, but I’ve been a loyal reader of the brains since their earrrrrly days, and this is my understanding.
sofi Says:

**wouldn’t “spread”
teddyp Says:

Oh I’m fully aware that it would be complicated and involve every strand. But, although having never had one myself, isn’t getting a full-length weave of long, high-quality hair insanely expensive and time-consuming to begin with? Ex. Beyonce Knowles. Over the past ten years her hair styles, colors, and lengths, have changed dramatically all the time, and I’m sure she has enough dough to pay for a radical new procedure for permanent shiny hair (japanese hair straightening anyone?).
Teddy
Dreniva Says:

Does we really need humectants to our hair? Is there really effective humectants that can moisturize hair for a long time? And my last question is what is the best humectant for the hair if any?
Jen Says:

I actually just used a home treatment made of warm olive oil and honey, and it worked very well to moisturize and smooth my hair! I have also heard of people mixing honey with their conditioner to add an extra punch of moisture to their routine. Although you mention its obvious stickiness, it seems to rinse out pretty easily in water IF it is mixed with at least one other ingredient.
Also, I would definitely suggest shampooing after your treatment to avoid residue.
Fatima Says:

I gave been using honey in my shampoo .My hair used to be dry but now it is soft and straight.my hair colour is black but after using honey my hair colour has changed to brown. Will honey eventually whiten your hairover time.pl advise
Shilpa Says:

Honey is a bleach. It will lighten your hair (remove pigmentation) overtime. People in my home country use it to lighten their skin color.
Harmony8 Says:

Honey worked miraculously for me. I have very fine frizzy wavy hair. Wet hair enough to be able to apply honey. Leave honey on for about 20 minutes. Shampoo as usual. The cuticle of my hair has never been smoother! I didn’t even need conditioner THATZ A MIRACLE however will probably use conditioner but very lightly next time.
lauren Says:

So I have dry hair and it likes honey as long as I mix it with oil.
Chiqui Says:

I dont belive moisture is offset by the stickyness because it leaves just by rinsing i dont even have to shampoo!(Try not shampooing especially if u hav dry hair and see what happens!)

My hair is long, thick, dry, frizzy, and extremely curly. I have put honey on my damp hair and covered it w/ a shower cap for about an hour.

Then I rinse until it no longer feels sticky (may take awhile) then use Treseme’s Vitamin e Moisture Rich conditioner(the best!)as a shampoo. Then sqeeze out excess water and apply the same conditioner again and left in on for the remainder of my shower.

Doin this has made my hair incredibly shiny, 100% less frizzy, tuned my curly poof into defined waves and made it slippery soft! Also easier to straighten since its healthier. My hair is however slightly lighter which i dont like since i love my dark hair.

Another great honey treatment is diluting one tablespoon and a half of honey into 2liters of water (i use a soda bottle) and using it as rinse after conditioning. Dont rinse afterward! Promise it wont feel sticky n it will make hair SUPER smooth!!!
Chiqui Says:

uhh.. when i mentioned try not shampooing and see what happens i mean it will feel tons better and softer.

Sodium sulfate in shampoos only dry out hair since its technically detergent!

Conditioner does the job aslong as you concentrate in the scalp and rub your scalp in circles. This motion is what truly cleans your hair not he shampoo.

If your hair is excessively dirty try using apple cider vinegar or white vinager.

And if u MUST shampoo i suggest purchasing a sulfate-free shampoo.
Rosa Says:

I have just tried an experiment with honey after reading how it helps with hair.

I have been trying to find some way to rejuvenate my hair b/c I blow dry and flat iron it alot! which leaves it dry, which leads to split ends. Well I want my hair healthy [again] and I’m trying to grow it back out so I need to correct what damage I have done.

So I took a gold dollar size amount and massaged it throughout my hair and let it set for few min, and then added some conditioner, and let that set for about 5 minutes. and then rinsed it before shampooing and it seems to have my hair noticeably shiner and softer. I would recommend using honey to wash your hair. = D
Celia Says:

I have tried yesterday honey melted with some water as a curl ,activator and it does wonders!!!! My curls are really good – just like with a gel. I usually wahs my hair only once a week as I have dry hair. Will the honey be damaged to the hair if left for so long? ( I don’t comb my hair when dry)
Please help!!!!!
ashley Says:

I will have to disagree with your post because honey is a humectant and it does great things for dry hair. I use honey once a week and nothing can moisturize my hair like honey does. My mixtures is adding at least 5 tablespoons to a papercup. Warm it up in the microwave for NO more then 30 seconds and some conditioner to it and mix it together. I then wet my hair and then apply the mix and let it penetrate while I finish taking a shower. It rinses out without any sticky residue left on my hair because when you mix honey it basically liquifies.