I try putting carrot juice on my hair - a quick treatment if you're stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak

I'm always down to trying out new hacks, especially if it means improving the condition of my hair or skin. Recently, I found that people have been putting carrot juice on their hair, giving them shiny tresses and I couldn't wait to jump on it. 

A couple of months ago, I shared about a hair wash hack which gave me healthier hair, and I've sworn by it ever since. But to make my strands look shiny, I've been using a hair oil serum and was hoping that if I tried the carrot juice hack, I wouldn't need to rely on hair oil products anymore. 

ALSO READ: I didn't wash my face (in the morning) for a week, and I don't intend to anymore

Before I go into the process and results of the carrot juice hair hack, let's delve into the benefits of using carrot juice — you know how your mum always nags at you to finish up your veggies? She has a point, especially since carrots are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Carrots provide a slew of health benefits when ingested, but it is also said to fight ageing, reduce blemishes and many more when applied to the skin.

As for using it topically on the hair, it has been used as a treatment for hair loss, and is believed to strengthen your locks and prevent breakages, while giving you shinier hair.

You could use carrot juice as a hair mask by combining it with other ingredients, but I decided to use it as a pre-shampoo with just the juice alone.

Juicing the carrot

I don't have a juicer at home, so I made do with a blender. If you're using the blender, remember to add some water, or you'll end up with carrot bits.

I estimated that I only needed half a carrot for pre-shampooing my mid-length hair, and it was sufficient to cover my entire head of hair. So if you have thicker and longer hair, you may want to increase the number of carrots used.

I'm not sure if using pre-bottled carrot juice would work, and in any case, I don't think dousing my hair in artificial sugar or preservatives which usually come with bottled juices is a good idea.

Spray carrot juice on hair 

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After extracting the carrot juice, pour it into a spray bottle, then spritz it evenly over your hair. Make sure you cover the roots of your hair, all the way to the ends.

At this point, you'll be dripping in carrot juice and it's going to be quite messy, so take this process to the bathroom.

Leave the carrot juice on your hair for 15 minutes to absorb the nutrients. I loved how fresh my hair smelt from the carrot juice! After this step, simply condition and shampoo your hair as per usual. 

I gave my hair a blowout and it was noticeably smoother and lighter to the touch. I wasn't expecting the carrot juice to work on the first try, but I was amazed. I couldn't stop running my finger through my freshly-washed hair; it was as if I had just stepped out of a salon.

End result

I usually wash my hair at night, and I was surprised to see that my hair still remained tamed, light and soft the next morning.

There were fewer tangles to fix and it was only after taking the before and after photos that I noticed my hair had more volume too.

However, my hair wasn't shiner after the carrot juice treatment and I still had to rely on using hair oil after taking the photo above.

I tried the carrot juice pre-shampoo again the next night to find out if my hair will get softer with each wash. Sadly, I didn't see any drastic difference on the second day. 

However, my tresses did look glossier and my head of hair appeared fuller in the photo. But the one good thing that I got out of it was that my scalp, which used to get oily by the middle of the day, now doesn't smell bad at all after the carrot juice pre-shampoo. I even woke up with a subtle carrot scent lingering on my hair.

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Maybe the carrot juice pre-shampoo isn't meant to be used daily, which can be a bit of an overkill. Instead, try it as a quick treatment done once a week to nourish your hair.

To be honest, it took quite a bit of time to blend the carrot juice before jumping in the shower, plus the results from this carrot juice pre-shampoo hack weren't enough to warrant an additional step in my daily hair wash routine. 

For those who are stuck at home on self-quarantine or have stockpiled food due to the coronavirus outbreak, here's something you can try if you have too many carrots in your fridge.

melissagoh@asiaone.com