Yogurt, Potato Flour & 7 Other Ingredients That Make Dull Hair Shine Like Silk

Let’s kick off with aloe vera, the hero hydrating ingredient. Brimming with water, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, it’s an incredibly moisturizing ingredient—and you can’t achieve shiny hair without moisture. “Studies have focused on skin benefits primarily, but one can make some extrapolations to hair given that it is also composed of keratin,” board-certified dermatologist Cynthia Bailey, M.D., a diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, tells us about aloe vera for hair.

Aloe contains seven of the eight amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, and valin, in case you’re curious), which can “help repair hair damaged by coloring or overdrying,” says Gary Goldenberg, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Dabble with this DIY hair mask to keep strands smooth and shiny.