Hi friends! I recently tried my hand (and hair) at a
do-it-yourself deep conditioner. I figured it would be an experiment that may
result in me saving some extra money on product. The first recipe I used was a
homemade deep conditioner/ protein treatment. Keeping in mind I had no idea if
my hair was protein sensitive or not (it pays to know your own head), I whipped
this recipe up and placed it in my hair.
First Recipe:
•
1 cup regular Mayonnaise
•
1/3 cup plain yogurt
•
1/3 cup olive oil (or coconut oil)
•
2 tablespoons honey
•
plastic conditioning cap
In a glass or ceramic bowl, whip all ingredients together and
stir until evenly smooth. Apply to wet or damp hair, cover with plastic
conditioning cap and leave on for one hour before rinsing.
*You can substitute the yogurt for two eggs.
Background:
Remember that I’m in the middle of transitioning? 5 months
into transition, so there is a TWA meets relaxed ends situation. Well my natural
hair seems to be coming in as a 4a-4b texture, but I still have quite a bit of
relaxed ends. I followed the directions and substituted the yogurt for two
eggs.
My results:
Disastrous. The natural hair felt over moisturized to the
point of mushy while the relaxed ends felt like straw or hay. I had no idea my
hair could feel like that… and not in a good way. I ended up rinsing all of
that out and going back to my old faithful conditioner for the week because I couldn’t
walk around like that. Would I recommend trying it? Only if you know your
protein tolerance. If you’re not sure, test a small section first. But it is
definitely protein rich.
So then I decided to research some more into other DIY deep
conditioner options. I found another recipe; this one was for heads that were
protein sensitive. One of the symptoms of being protein sensitive is that after
trying a conditioner that is protein rich (like the one above- remember the
eggs), your hair fails to be moisturized and feels like straw. I still wanted to save more so I figured “why
not?”
Recipe:
·
1 banana
·
1 cup of aloe vera
Mix these in a blender on your smoothest setting. Strain
the mixture through a strainer with TINY, TINY holes.
·
½ can of coconut milk
·
¼ cup of olive oil
·
Optional: oils of your choice
Whisk all of this together until smooth. Paint the
mixture into your hair from scalp to end. Saturate under a plastic cap for 30
minutes-1 hour. Rinse out and style as usual.
Background:
It’s wash day and my hair is already clean from a co-wash. I
don’t have a strainer with TINY, TINY holes, but I have a colander with small
holes.
Results:
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!! I have banana bits stuck in my
hair!!!!! Not fun at all!!!! But my hair was moisturized. It took me three
washes to get MOST (not all) of the banana out of my hair, but once that was
out of the way, it felt soft and clean. However, next time I’m not trying the
banana in the mixture, even if I had a strainer. Would I recommend it? Yeah, I
think so. Just make sure your strainer has very, very fine strains to catch
blended banana pulp. Banana in your curls is definitely not worth the hassle
otherwise.
Conclusion:
Before trying any new products or concoctions, know your own
hair. Follow directions and when in doubt, have plenty of your tried and true
products on hand. You never know when you may need them. Test a few of your
strands first before painting all of them into a product. Trial and error is
simply that trial and error. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. But
it’s fun to learn during the process and laugh later.
To Happy Curls!
