i am literally going to put banana… in my hair (climbing deeper into this natural ish, pt 3)
the continuation of my search for the perfect hair products…
so, feb. 13 is my next ‘hair take down’ day, and i’m happy to announce that progress in the length department has been made. i’ve been in protective style bootcamp since, well, pretty much since i went natural (27 months since the big chop.) we uber-kinky ladies can’t be doin that free-flowin ish all the time. anyway, i undid a box braid at the back of my head, to get a sneak preview… and was shocked/overjoyed to find that, when stretched, it was only 2/3 inches away from my bra strap. ok, i swear that i teared up a little bit, and heard a gospel choir in my head singing, “it’s over noooow… it’s over noooow… i feel like i can make it… the storm is over noooowww…” i mean, the storm isn’t *quite* over, actually. my goal is to get middle strands to bra strap length… so i can’t climb out of the boat just yet.
anyway, i will post a photo of it in a few days. i actually already took a pic, but i had to twist my arm grotesquely to pin the hair down on my back. so i will spare you the horror, and just retake a pic with my boyfriend pinning the hair down for me.
now, to the products. when we last spoke, i was uber giddy about trying rhassoul clay as a deep conditioner. having had great luck clarifying with bentonite, i wanted to continue my c.k. or ‘clay kick’ (i know, that didn’t really need an acronym.) anyway, apparently rhassoul is bentonite’s unpopular cousin… cuz i called around to several health stores with no luck. i could have ordered some online, but i already have a new daily moisturizer in the mail and i’m too broke smart to become a crazy product junkie.
so, i’ve been searching around for a replacement, browsing the fotki albums of women with similar texture… some women deep condition with oils, but in my experience they seal my hair shaft, not penetrate it. and i wasn’t about to try pure honey again. also, i don’t want to try manufactured conditioners just yet (want to be all natural for as long as possible.)
so… after much research, i’ve decided to deep condition with this:
yes, it’s a banana, it’s crazy, i kno.
here’s the recipe:
1-2 very ripe bananas
1/4-1/2cup coconut cream or milk
1-2tablespoon(s) honey
1-2tablespoon(s) extra virgin olive oil.
(i might add a little yogurt… cuz i love that thickness…)
ok, first let me say… i copped this recipe from a hair twin, and this is how her hair looked after the deep condition.
the shine is beautiful, she said the curl definition is good, and the thickness of the mixture will be good for my extra-kinky napps.
i did some research on bananas and found this…
“Bananas contain tryptophan, a rich amino acid that is known to be extremely beneficial for hair and skin. They are chock full of potassium which adds super softening properties to the hair shaft. Along with vitamins A, B, C and E bananas contain rich natural oils and carbohydrates. All these goodies shore up the natural elasticity of the hair and prevents split ends.”
my only concern is that amino acids are protein building blocks… and i’m already dumping a lot of protein in my hair with the elasta qp mango butter. but the protein content in bananas is low, and frankly i’m just too curious about bananas-in-hair to care about protein right now. plus i’m phasing the mango butter out. if the hydratherma moisturizing lotion i ordered is good, then i can retire my elasta qp for good.
so what do you think? crazy?
have any of you tried a banana conditioner? did it work for you? did it not work for you?
***and here’s a shameless plug: don’t forget to comment about your moisturizing issues (on this post). i need it for the comprehensive moisture diagnostic j and i are working on***
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
Wow bananas! They sound good for the hair though. I’m thinking about trying that. I would try it now but I have braids.
i also heard that there is an enzyme that softens the hair too. i occasionally baggy over night with whatever i can find in my kitchen, to great success. avocado’s nice too.
Knowing me, I would mix the first three ingredients together and bake something sweet, so I won’t try to put it in my hair.
ive tried bananas and yogurt as a facial mask, but not a hair trt..yet.. just be sure to blend VERY WELL, lol!
I’ve tried banana in my hair as a variation of the infamous caramel treatment. I mixed up banana, honey, molasses, coconut oil and a splash of acv. It left my hair really soft, defined and moisturized (not straighter, don’t believe the hype!). I used babyfood bananas (just banana and citric acid) because if the bananas aren’t really ripe and mashed/processed really well, you might end up with chunks of banana in your hair!
I’m not sure about the bananas but I know there’s a woman on youtube who uses coconut cream and yogurt as a “natural relaxer” she says it softens and loosens the curl pattern.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQD5vt5-3AI
I’ve tried this same conditioner and my hair was very soft but I did have to pick(just a little) bananas out of my hair so please listen to Lina40 and BLEND VERY WELL!!!!! lololol
ive tried the banana baby food as well and ut worked great. i was going to order som rhassoul clay from brambleberry.com .let me know if u want to go in on an order. i stay in hyde park.
@ msjaim… yeh! email me… contro_versial@hotmail.com
@ beautifully.conjured.up… LOL! i thought the same thing! hopefully my greed will not prevent me from putting this mix in my head, as opposed to my stomach…
@ flowerchild… i’m going to watch that vidi right now! ahhh! i hope this doesn’t straighten my hair!!
Hmmm…I’m going to try this after I take out my interlocks becuase I am a serious product junkie like it’s turning into a obsession!! This maybe a cheaper way for me to quit my pj’ism cold turkey lol Keep the wonderful ideas coming!!
yep bananas are good. I’m a fan of banana based condishes. i usually mix up all the things i can find! lol but yea, i’m a 4a/b myself and my hair loves it!
I don’t think the Coconut Cream relaxer will loosen a 4b curl pattern, I’ve read the same thing about henna and it’s never loosened my curl pattern(4b). If anyone has tried it let us know how it turned out.
I’m with Jai. I think the coconut cream thing is just a really good moisturizer, so it’s going to make really loose hair (like her daughter has) look more defined.
Thank you for this post. I hope this is that holy grail because I have yet to find THE deep conditioner.
I’ll hit up ShopRite tomorrow for yogurt and honey.
i’m so gonna try this….after taking down me braids..have a feeling it’ll work out