Banana baby food Homemade Deep conditioner

It is just me or I've been using a lot of food on my hair lately? I just figure, I've stopped using the chemical relaxers, I might as well try to use as less chemicals on my hair as possible! I still use store bought products but I'm experimenting with what nature has to offer right now and it's great. It's inexpensive and fun. So for about 1$ I came up with this little recipe that's sure to:

1- Make my hair softer: Bananas are rich in potassium and Vitamin C which help soften and hydrate the hair
2- Give my hair bounce and shine: thanks to the olive and coconut oil
3- Help my hair grow: The sulfur and zinc contained in garlic stimulates hair growth

Banana Deep-conditioner

1 bottle of banana baby food
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon of "garlicky" olive oil --> Crush 2 garlic clovers and let them sit in the heated olive oil for 2-3 days. Sift out the garlic pieces and only keep the olive oils for the mask. You can keep the oil in the fridge for 10 days [Source Journalnappygirl.com]
Mix all of the ingredients together and apply the mask on clean (washed hair). Place a plastic cap on your head and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Rinse abundantly. Then use regular conditioner.

***Important***: Garlic is counter-indicated for people that are on anticoagulant drugs such as aspirin. Also, do not add the garlic to the recipe if you have soars or cuts on your head as it will "burn". The overwhelming garlic smell dissipates after a few hours

If you try any of the recipes, please let me know what the results are for you :)

Homemade deep conditioner recipes

Is it just me or the elements sometimes have your hair feeling dry and brittle? These recipes will be sure to restore moisture and shine to your hair. You should try doing them at least once a month.

Avocado based or Mayo based
- 1/2 Avocado (ripe) or 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or another oil of your choice, I use sweet almond oil)
- 1 tablespoon honey

1- Place all the ingredients in the blender until you get a paste-like consistency
2- After shampoo and conditioner, apply the deep-conditioner from roots to ends of all your hair
3- Put on a plastic cap and let it rest for at least an hour
4- Rinse abundantly with warm water and use leave-in treatment

5 natural (curly) hair essential products

Is it just me or being a natural comes with some prerequisites. First off, you have to learn a new linguo: twa, bantu knots, twistouts, prepoo, cowash. It gets really confusing real fast. Also, there's these rules to follow and stuff that they tell you you must have in order to have the beautiful, long, curly hair you've always wanted to have. Since I've been natural for a few months now I'm going to let you newby naturalistas in on my Top 5 curly hair essentials:

#1 Water spritzer bottle
This tool is great since our naturally curly hair is dryer and needs lots of hydration. It's also practical to have when you're styling your hair to spray a little bit of water before sealing with your leave-in conditioner or styling product. I have personally did a variant of this by mixing 1/4 of vegetable glycerin, 1/4 aloe vera gel, 1/2 water and a few drops of mint leaf oil.


#2 Vegetable and essential oils
They are your go to guys for moisture and growth strategies. My personal favorites are:
- Coconut oil: It deeply penetrates the body of the hair to make it shiny and resilient. It can be used as a prepoo (treatment to do before you shampoo your hair) as shampoo strips the hair from its natural oils. It can also be used for DIY deep-conditioners. I'll post a recipe in the next entry.
- Sweet almond oil: It nourishes the hair and prevents dandruff
- Mint leaf oil: It promotes hair growth and has a nice smell

#3 Satin cap/ scarf/ pillow case
Curly hair has extravagant taste and therefore you should not sleep with cotton pillow cases or head scarves!!! I kid, the actual reason why you should prefer satin to cotton is because the cotton will absorb the moisture from the hair and we've already established curly hair craves it. When I first eard this I ran to a hair supply store to get these and realized they sold the satin caps for 5$ so I went to the dollar store and bought a satin shower cap. After I scissored out the plastic interior lining, it became a good old satin cap that I had payed a fraction of the price for!!! I love DIY projects and saving money!

#4 Wide-tooth comb (or pick)

This tool is perfect for detangling your hair in a gentle enough way that you don't pull out all of your hair. I picked this type because it has a handle which I find practical but there are different types out there. Find out what works for you. It is not the priority since detangling your hair with your fingers is simple and efficient. It's also better for avoiding breakage.

#5 Sulfate-free shampoo
Harsh chemicals like these make the hair dry and brittle so avoid them. There are plenty of curly friendly lines out there were you can find a great shampoo that won't be too harsh on your hair.