I am a sucker for expensive hair care products. Pricey shampoos and conditioners, any kind of serum that promises shiny results and expensive visits to the salon for a new color are all part of my hair routine. But I also know that fancy packaging and a big price tags don't necessarily guarantee quality, and that there are plenty of inexpensive alternatives.

Many of these can be found at home -- in your refrigerator. A couple of years ago I embarked on my only little adventure wherein I tried out a few of the food products that I'd heard were great on your hair to see if they really worked. I was surprised and impressed that most of them did! Although I didn't stick with any of them (lets face it -- hair that smells of mayo isn't as enticing as hair that smells like Aveda), I still think they're worth giving a try if you're curious.

My first at-home attempt at foodie beauty was mayonnaise conditioner. Check out this site for more information about how it works and what you should do for best results. Basically once you apply the spread, you have to wrap up your head and let the mayo sit for about 15 minutes, then rinse and shampoo as normal. Apparently it's ingredients like egg and soybean oil that do wonders for your mane. As the piece mentions, as long as you rinse it all out, your hair should end up soft and shiny.

My next adventure involved attempting to lighten my sister's blond hair (I'm a brunette) using lemon juice. This article, that appears to have been written ages ago but has still made it onto the net, lists a huge variety of natural ways to color your hair no matter what the shade. After washing a lemon-rinse through my willing participant's hair and making her sit in the sun while it dried, we were impressed to observe that her locks did seem lighter. Admittedly, I don't think that you could use lemon to achieve major highlights (although, please prove me wrong if you've tried it and had it work) but I think it's definitely worth a try for anyone who wants to brighten an already-blond mane. According to the piece, chamomile and rhubarb root can also be used to lighten and brighten hair.

My final -- and favorite -- experiment involved beer. To be honest it was my favorite as I got to drink the bottles that I didn't use but either way it was still a fun one to try. I used a simple beer rinse like the first one listed on this page. As the article states, my hair did seem shinier after completing the rinse. However I didn't, as the piece recommends, think to pick a beer with a faint odor and so ended up smelling a little bit like I'd spent my afternoon in a brewery.

The article listed above also offers a few other ideas on beer hair rinses including a beer and jojoba oil conditioner. There are lots of other ideas listed on the web as well including this one, which offers a step-by-step procedure for making and using a beer and vinegar hair conditioner, as well as this site with information on a beer and chamomile conditioner.

As I said, I don't know if I would necessarily use these food-based treatments again but I really think it's worth a try if you're interested.