Save your hair (and your beauty budget) with these cheap, easy and effective DIY home remedies for dry and damaged hair. Many of these ingredients are right in your kitchen, or can be found in any supermarket. You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to bring back your hair’s strength and shine.

Coconut oil mask

Hair stylist and salon creative director Amy Abramite calls coconut oil a natural beauty powerhouse. “It’s easily absorbed into the hair due to its fatty acids, it contains both vitamin E to promote hair growth and a UV filter to stop sun damage, and its moisturizing properties protect hair from drying out.”

Coconut oil can be applied before shampoo (leave on for 10 minutes before the rest of your usual haircare rouine), or in place of conditioner. If you have time, rub it into your scalp. It is a natural anti-microbial and can help fight dandruff, unclog pores and promote hair growth.

For best results, warm it in your palms to melt it, and then comb it through hair with a wide tooth comb. Use a teaspoon if you have fine hair, and a tablespoon if you have thick hair.

Avocado hair mask

Don’t throw away that overripe avocado! Just mash it up with an egg and massage into your hair and scalp. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then rinse off well.

This DIY hair tip comes from no less than Stephen Sanna, one of New York’s most popular hair colorists. “Avocados are rich in vitamins, essential fatty acids, and minerals that will help restore lustre to your hair.”

DIY hot oil

Warm up 1/2 cup of olive oil on your stove, then rub it into your hair and scalp. Cover with a shower cap, which will help retain the heat. “Heat will open up your hair cuticles, so the oil can penetrate deeper,” says natural beauty enthusiast Samantha Wreeley. Leave on your DIY hot oil for 45 minutes, then shmapoo and rinse well.

Tea rinse

Tea can help enhance your hair colour and give it a natural shine. Use either freshly brewed or instant tea as the final rinse after you wash your hair. The kind of tea depends on your current hair colour: black tea for black or dark brown hair; chamomile tea for bleached or blonde hair.

Apple cider vinegar mask

If your hair is limp and dull, this DIY hair remedy acts like a clarifying shampoo and conditioning treatment. Mix 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (which helps remove residue and oil) and 2 tablespoons olive oil and 3 egg whites (which strengthen your hair cuticle). Rub the mix into your hair, and cover with a plastic shower cap for about 20 minutes. Shampoo and rinse well.

Milk and honey spray conditioner

Honey contains keratin, so it can help regenerate the cells in the scalp and strengthen brittle hair. Milk has proteins, amino acids, and other vitamins that can soften your hair and make it more flexible.

Mix one cup of milk along with a tablespoon of honey into a spray bottle. Spritz it into your hair after shampooing, and leave on for a few minutes. Rinse with warm water.

Banana and olive oil mask

Put that overripe banana to good use. Bananas have vitamins and minerals (such as potassium) that can strengthen the hair and balance the pH of the scalp. Mix it with olive oil — which contains healthy fats and vitamin E — to make hair shiny and sleek. Olive oil is rich in healthy fats and vitamin E, which can make the hair look more shiny and sleek.

Mix a banana and olive oil and mash until it is smooth and creamy. Massage into your scalp and hair with your fingers and leave for 15 minutes before washing.

Egg yolk hair mask

Egg yolk is a great source of biotin, vitamins A and E and other nutrients that can heal dry hair and scalp. Just beat one egg yolk and massage from the scalp and to the hair tips. Rinse with cold water (you don’t want scrambled egg in your hair!)