I am a big fan of a molasses soak. It is very softening and adds rich low lights to my hair.

1/2 jar molasses
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp rosemary oil
1 tsp tea tree oil
conditioner to cut down on stickiness

I create a sticky (not runny) paste then apply it to dry hair, double wrap with plastic and soak for no less than 1 hour.

The results are noticeable! Softeness, thickness, rich brown colour.

I may try this today. I need something to take the brassy tones out of my hair.

Do you mean rosemary eo? Isn't it expensive to use an entire teaspoon?

I'm interested in trying this, but am allergic to tea tree oil.

Err... Where does one purchase molasses? and are they always in liquid form (am guessing yes)?

Blueneko

That looks like a great recipe - in now unavailable LHC threads there were reports of using molasses for darkening hair colour.

I saved this post on honey and molases because I thought that it was so good and I still do. The bolding is mine.

Gladtobemom On Honey and Molasses
Re: Molasses

"I happen to have a friend here today who is a food chemist. He has a PHD in Chemical engineering--actually works for a company that tests all sorts of food and cosmetics for safety (and yes they do test on animals as well).
He had an interesting insight on Molasses vs. Honey
Honey
Pure Honey is an extremely powerful antifungal and anti-biotic. It is also a powerful anti microbial. The only reason honey is pasteurized is that there is an opportunistic mould that can be poisonous that can grow on the surface of honey--this is rare but is a reason to throw out any honey with brown or shiny scum floating on top or at the edges.
It is a a good humectant (attracts moisture) and actually can soften sebum. It can be added to lotions (and is).
There is also a honey essential oil which he says smells great and is hugely expensive.
It can clog pores and should be used with care on skin that is sensitive.
He says that honey and natural buttermilk is one of the oldest known hair "conditioners". (buttermilk has virtually all the fat removed but does have the protein and casein which make hair shiny
Honey and milk is not good for hair because the fat in milk is not a good kind for hair (he said it can give hair a rancid smell that won't go away).
-------------------------------
Molasses can be an antibiotic if it has a lot of sulphur in it (some does).
It can be a really bad source of fungus so buy it in small quantities and use fairly soon after cracking the seal on a jar. Not too likely if you buy it in a glass jar.
If you buy it in bulk, make sure it is blackstrap molasses (high in sulphur and other minerals that inhibit microbial growth).
It is a very strong humectant (more than honey a lot). It will suck the water out of the air. If left out in a humid environment it will actually increase in weight because of this. If applied to dry hair it can actually suck moisture from the hair.
Molasses is historically a very common ingredient mixed with oil for hair treatments. It is less likely to clog pores but can clog them.
There are compounds in molasses that are extracted for their fragrance and used in perfumes, but no EO.
Molasses should never be left in hair and should probably be followed with a rinse that is acidic to remove the mineral coating that it can leave on hair.
In the end I explained CO and SMT.
He said use honey anywhere anytime but rinse if it isn't hugely diluted. It is a good Mange cure.
He said molasses should be used with more care.
-- for CO use at will, just rinse well and maybe ACV rinse (he says 1-2TBL to 1Quart water) - roughly 1 tsp to a cup.
--for SMT use on wet hair only he suggested to mix equal parts of molasses and a good conditioner same suggestion on rinsing (rinse well and ACV or white vinegar)
-he said never add molasses to lotion or bathwater.
--he said that mixed with an fractionated oil it is a super good detangler on wet hair and that this is what dog show people use on long hair dogs like English Sheepdogs. He says that there is a super expensive detangler for dogs that is just these two ingredients and preservative.
--he also said that there are some horse hoof creams that shouldn't be used on human skin that contain tons of molasses to soak into hooves and keep moisture in them. But that on human nails they can cause fungal growth."
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=807963&postcount=8 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=807963&postcount=8)

Blueneko, do you just rinse after the treatment? No shampooing or CO washing needed?

Redbark, molasses is available in health food stores, but also in supermarkets (near honey, maple syrup or baking supplies). It's a similar consistency to honey.

Morticia, I tend to over do it on the oils as a rule. My hair drinks oils up. I have thick hair with a tendency to be coarse. So, yes, I am excessive with the oils. :) I have an 8oz bottle that was around $17 from Wholesale Oils on ebay.

jel, I always wash, condition, ACV after any treatments. My hair is very porous and will soak up anything. If I just did a water rinse, I would have molasses and oils stuck in my hair, which would weigh it down. If it is the weekend, though, I will just H2O rinse and let the goodness soak over night.

Well, I tried this today, but cut the oils in half... my hair likes them, but doesn't drink them up completely. I left it in just over an hour and washed, acv'd, and oiled as per usual. My hair is almost dry, and so far I like the texture.

I still smell like EO, and I normally don't like the smell of tea tree, but the rosemary cuts it down to a bearable level. My hair doesn't soak up a lot of oils, but it does love to hold on to the smell.

Now I just have to do this a couple of weeks in a row and see if there is an overall effect on my colour.

Thanks, Blueneko!

I agree with you, Cricket. When I was just using the tea tree oil, I smelled a bit antiseptic for a few days. The rosemary is calming.

Well, many hours later and I just let my hair out of the bun. The dampness is now gone, and I still love the texture of my hair. The smell is almost completely gone, which is a bit of a bummer, but expected.

Where I recently trimmed... uh, chopped my ends, there isn't much damage at this point, so I'm eager to see if it keep the dryness and splitting to a minimum.

Thank you Jel :flower:

I didn't check this thread until today. I wanted to try it but reading Ktani's post makes me so wary. I would hate it if my hair weren't soaked enough such that the molasses can suck the moisture right out!

My hair was plenty wet when I tried it but the molasses still sucked all the moisture out of my hair. That was 3 days ago and it is still a big frizzy tangly mess. Plus, it still smells like molasses and rosemary. :mad I guess my hair didn't care for it.

Well, I used to add molasses to my conditioner and SMT with no problems whatsoever (on the contrary). That was on wet hair, though.

I did not mean to post that as a negative view on molasses - on the contrary - I did not realize that was how it was seen. I did not interpret the information that way at all.

Aside from the fungus warning - molasses, IMO would be excellent for hair. The molasses sucking moisture from the hair is about applying it straight - not in a mix. The SMT warning to wet the hair first? - SMT's do not contain oil.

The bolding I had done was for my own use when I originally saved the post a while ago. The red text was in the original post as far as I know - that post was reposted by members (aside from me) more than once. I found it helpful - not a warning against molasses use.

My apologies for the confusion.

From Blueneko's results, I would say the oils she uses in those amounts plus the conditioner keep the molasses from having any negative effect and allow it to work only positively - conditioners usually contain a fair amount of water.

Seeing that pic and reading the results - I would say the recipe is definitely a keeper.

A different conditioner might work differently in the recipe - and a vinegar rinse would make a difference too IMO - it does with honey which can cause tangling as well in some cases.

I just tried this recipe, but I guess I did something wrong. I put 4 ounces of molases in a cup and then added the oils. I though molases was much thicker for some reason so I didn't think runniness would be a problem, but it was pretty thin. Then I added my conditioner, which I added quite a bit, but not like a whole bottle or anything, and it didn't seem to thicken up any. I didn't want to add too much conditioner since this had made quite a big batch. I wetted my hair since I read it could suck the moisture out, and dipped my hair in the thin mix, rubbed it in,and squeezed out the excess. It is soaking now, but I hope I didn't do anything wrong. I hope the results are good.
As a treatment its kind of annoying since I have it wrapped with plastic wrap and it is kind of drippy. But feels really great on the scalp because of the eo's. I let everyone know my results tomorrow.

Does molasses give chestnutty or cool brown tones? Iwant to cool my natural colour down a bit...

Trying this is definitely on my to-do list. Thanks, y'all.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but has anyone other than blueneko had success using this for coloring? Also, is there any particular reason for the tsp of tea tree oil (because, my God, I'm imagining the SMELL), or is it just an oil the OP likes?

There were several threads where people reported that molasses darkened their hair.

I just checked the archives, where I had linked to one thread in particular but it was not there.

This is not news - it was reported a few times but this recipe seems to be IMO, one of the best.

I did find one
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=17898

and a post on molasses darkening white hair - the link in the post does not work
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=261459&postcount=6

and a post on molasses darkening white hair - the link in the post does not work
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=261459&postcount=6
It does if you replace 'forums' (in the link) with 'archive':
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10562&highlight=molasses
->
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10562&highlight=molasses

You have to do that for all the links in the archives. If you want to read them, that is :)

Iris

Thanks iris

I forgot that is what you have to do.

Thanks iris

I forgot that is what you have to do.

I forgot as ell, probably because the one time I tried it, it didn't work. Possibly just that one had gone down or something.

I found another thread.
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10562

The post on darkening
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=155113&postcount=9

Hmmm. thanks for the links, it's been a while since I read those. :D
Forgot to mention
Hmmm, if I ever decide to get rid of the natural red highlights in my incredibly dark hair, this sounds like the way, since so many people say coffee is too drying.

Coffee as a gloss was reported to work here without dryness.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1557

Coffee as a gloss was reported to work here without dryness.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1557

Thanks for the link, I'll subscribe to it just in case I ever decide to do it.

ETA: Haha. turns out I was already subscribed. I don't even remember reading it! :rolleyes: