Yoghurt Is Good For Hair And Scalp

Double cream Greek Yoghurt

Not only is yoghurt very good for our bodies when eaten or ingested but it is apparently very good for our skin and hair as well. I did a ‘yoghurt and honey’ deep conditioning treatment recently and posted pictures as well on how my hair responded to it and thought I should let you in on the benefits of yoghurt for our hair and scalp.

To begin with, let’s be reminded that yoghurt is made from milk so it follows that yoghurt possesses animal protein, vitamin B2, B12, potassium and magnesium which are also found in milk while lactic acid is found in sour milk. Let us concentrate on the lactic acid for a moment. Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid ‘AHA’. Alpha hydroxy acids are often used topically to treat extremely dry and scaly skin because of their capability of gently exfoliating the scalp of dead cells and moisturising the scalp relieving you of an itchy scaly scalp. The lactic acid also helps in tightening the pores on the scalp and clarifying them to keep your scalp healthy and able to sustain healthy locks of hair.

Most yoghurt brands have active cultures added to them which are often termed probiotics and this simply means ‘for life’. These active cultures adjust or balance the micro flora of the skin and scalp when applied topically making yoghurt a natural anti-fungal and antibacterial.  This may be especially helpful to diabetic people because most experience overgrowth of fungus and bad bacteria on the scalp, resulting in lots of dandruff. However, yoghurt that specifically mentions on the label that it has active cultures should be used in this case.

Yoghurt also possesses antioxidants which are known to protect the cell membranes from damage and this is particularly good for the scalp as it keeps the hair follicle healthy and protected which will inevitably result in healthy hair. The high protein in yoghurt, which some claim it almost equals that found in meat, is beneficial in strengthening the hair shaft and increasing its ability to retain more moisture. Yey! That makes yoghurt a potent protein treatment. The full cream yoghurt has a substantial amount of fat in it and this helps to give the hair a healthy shine to it while making the hair soft to the feel and full of lustre.

There you have it. Next time you feel your hair needs some tender loving care ‘TLC’ and there is some yoghurt in the fridge, why not splash some in your hair and this time put it on your scalp as well as both will benefit in a biiiiig way. For best results, use the unsweetened full cream plain yoghurt. Just add an egg or olive oil or honey like I did and bag it. Leave it on your hair for at least 15 minutes and rinse it off. You can then co-wash your hair or shampoo it with a gentle shampoo.

PS. Am going to do a post on the benefits of honey for hair soonest, so keep watching this space.

So till then, here is to healthy hair!