And that’s because the same active ingredients that you’ll find in your favorite shelfie-worthy products are also in these at-home staples: think pantry basics like olive oil, fridge essentials like eggs, and even that overripe banana that’s been in a bowl on your counter for a few days too long. Translation: If you want to get shiny hair at home, you may not even need to make a trip to the grocery store. Most of our favorite get-glossy finds are actually common household staples. So go ahead and look through your kitchen’s pantry, fridge, and cabinets for these grocery finds that are arguably the best home remedies for shiny hair.
1. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Olive Oil
While it’s incredible in sautees and salads, olive oil is actually a brilliant choice to get gleaming strands. You can try using it in a multitude of ways: As a hot oil pack treatment (place a baggie of oil in a bowl of hot water to heat), as a bonus infusion to your existing conditioner, or in small (very small!) amounts on dry hair to tame flyaways and keep frizzies at bay.
2. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Eggs
Forget making an omelette for breakfast—today, we’re going to use those eggs on your strands for an instant at-home shine boost. And both egg yolks and egg whites can help fortify your hair due to their different chemical makeups. The yolks, for example, have a uniquely rich nutritional profile that includes vitamins A, E, biotin, and folate—all ingredients that have been linked to healthier, and therefore shinier, hair. Alternatively, the egg whites are rich in protein that’ll repair the appearance of split ends, making hair look instantly more lustrous.
3. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Beer
While cracking open a beer at the end of a long day sounds good, you may be better off if you save that IPA or pale ale for your hair. Depending on the brew, it’s likely got some combination of malt and hops, both of which are loaded with fortifying proteins, along with the B vitamins in the alcohol itself, which famously add sheen to all types and textures of hair.
4. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Coconut Oil
Just like many other oils (including the aforementioned and beloved olive oil), coconut oil instantly imparts sheen to strands thanks to the large amount of fatty acids. Adding just a speck to hands and rubbing between palms before combing through hair will leave any texture or type of hair looking healthier and shinier. You can also try using a bit more coconut oil all over your hair and scalp as an overnight, beauty-sleep treat—but make sure to use an old pillowcase before you hit the hay.
5. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Mayonnaise
Although mayo tends to draw a love or hate reaction when it’s spread on a sandwich, the beauty world is in universal agreement that it makes for an excellent shine-inducing hair mask. Since the main ingredients in mayonnaise are egg and oil, you get both the strengthening protein and the fatty acid chain benefits of each in one single jar. Leave in for at least ten minutes for up to an hour, and cover with a shower cap to reap bonus benefits of a warmed scalp’s opened pores.
6. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Honey
This serious shine maker has all the components a product could need to make locks incredibly lustrous. It’s rich in both humectants, which attract hydration, and emollients, which smooths the hair’s cuticle for an instantly repaired appearance. Together, that one-two punch not only moisturizes, but also seals in shine. Aim for using a raw, organic honey (even better if it’s the hard-to-find Manuka variety), which is far less processed and therefore more chockfull of antioxidants than its pre-packaged counterpart.
7. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a delicious staple in salad dressings and is beloved in the wellness world for its fat-burning prowess. But it also happens to be an ideal home remedy for boosting shine thanks to its clarifying properties. Specifically, the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar balances the ph level of your scalp and hair shaft, which boosts overall hair health and shine, particularly when used weekly as part of your complete hair care routine.
8. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Yogurt
Yogurt should be a go-to for those with particularly parched or damaged strands. Similar to ACV, it has lactic acid which helps remove scalp buildup, but is also laden with proteins to help fortify strands from the outside in. Try loading up your mane with an extra-protein rich Greek iteration after intensive heat styling (and the required debut of said styling) and let it sink in for a couple of hours to really reap its shine-enhancing benefits.
9. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Brown Sugar
Although you might not traditionally think of a scalp scrub as a shine inducer, brown sugar—especially when paired with a tablespoon or two of olive oil—almost always does the trick. By massaging the combo into your roots and hair shaft for several minutes before rinsing, you’ll stimulate new, healthy growth, remove buildup, and hydrate for some serious sheen. Figure half a cup of brown sugar will do the trick, but this recipe also works equally well with some coarsely-ground sea salt or pink Himalayan salt.
10. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Avocado
The millennial-favorite fruit doesn’t just serve justice when whipped up on toast—in fact, this piece of produce has reportedly been used since days in Ancient Egypt for beautification purposes. Not only is avocado rich in sheen-boosting B vitamins, but it’s also rich in omega-9 fatty acids, which deeply penetrate the hair shaft, improving texture and appearance. Try using a mask with a few of the other must-haves that made this list: think olive oil, egg yolk, or yogurt.
11. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Banana
Excuse the incredibly obvious and cheesy pun, but I’m actually bananas for the benefit of this DIY at-home shine remedy for hair. Mashing an overripe one into strands provides hair with a cocktail of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and magnesium, all of which nourish hair, helping to repair it and ultimately restore hair’s luster, too.
12. Hero At-Home Shine Booster: Lemon Juice
Although lemon juice has a well-known rep for adding blonde streaks to already light hair in the sun, it turns out it can help all types of hair shine, too. Its astringent-like effects balance the scalp’s natural oil production, while also busting any buildup that may be making hair look dull, lifeless, or heavy. Plus, the acidity of lemon actually flattens the hair’s cuticle, which brings out shine and eliminates frizz for blondes, brunettes, redheads, and every other color hair under the rainbow.
The Bottom Line on Home Remedies for Shiny Hair
Of course you can go to the drugstore or salon to stock up on shiny hair finds. But if you’re in a pinch—or just looking to do a little DIY or something different—these at-home remedies for shiny hair are brilliant solutions for instant sheen.
