Banana Hair Smoothie

Repost from Random Thoughts on 11/10/08

Last weekend I took out my cornrows and treated my tresses to a banana smoothie. I mixed yogurt, mashed banana, honey, coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil, vegetable glycerin, and a little dab of Qhemet Biologics Amla & Olive Heavy Cream (AOHC). Had I not put in the AOHC, it would have been edible. I'd heard about the wonderful benefits provided by bananas and even yogurt, so I decided to try my hand at a recipe. I used nonfat plain yogurt because I needed to finish the container I had on hand. Next time I will use the kind with lots of fat in it. I had a few snags along the way and my bathroom was quite messy, but it all worked out. My hair smelled absolutely yummy and felt very fortified when I was done.

This smoothie can be done as a pre-poo (before shampoo) treatment or be used on freshly washed hair.

Here's my modified recipe:

1 cup of Natural plain yogurt
1/2 cup of Natural plain yogurt
3 tbs Honey
1 medium Banana*
2 tbs Vegetable Glycerin
2 tbs Castor Oil
2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbs Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO)

*You can substitute all natural banana baby food since it is already pureed.

Blend banana and 1/2 cup of yogurt in blender of food processor until pureed. You do NOT want any banana chunks to be present as they will be very difficult to get out of your hair. Ask me how I know. Add remaining ingredients and blend.

Optional Step: Transfer smoothie contents into a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals until desired warmth. Warming it will ensure that the EVCO does not solidify during application. This also makes your smoothie into a hot oil treatment.

Apply smoothie to your hair in sections. Wrap head with a plastic cap (a plastic bag works just fine and it's FREE). You can sit under the dryer or you can wrap your head in a warm towel (put it in the dryer or wet it a bit and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes). Keep smoothie on for 45 minutes to an hour. You can use this time to clean up the mess you made. Rinse hair and style as usual.