Banana Hair Mask

[farmlass]

Anyone tried this? I'm currently having a go myself. I had about 5 really black bananas in the kitchen, and thought I'd try putting them in my hair! Whizzed 3 in the food processor, added a little bit of milk and then attempted to put the resulting goo in my hair. I don't like tipping my head upside-down because of the tangles, so I kind of leaned backwards over the bath. I poured banana in the bath, on my shoulder, on my head, down the length of my hair... it was messy!! I think if I do it again I will save a squirty bottle. It feels great on my head, it smells great. I just worked it through, gently twisted my hair kind of around my head and clipped it, then covered with a small towel and a shower cap. I will report back later once it has been washed and dried.

[Eridan]

Hello ^^
I have tried this sort of mask, just with with one banana ... and was horrible to un-tangled and pick out the many pieces of banana. It was mixed, of course, but very difficult to get of this. 3 shampoos and a looooong brush time. So, for me, it is : never again.
Good luck ...

[Anje]

Straining the banana mask (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=115799) was just suggested here yesterday, and that would help the notorious 'banana pieces' problem a LOT. The other thing I've frequently seen suggested is using banana baby food instead of fresh bananas.

How many times can you say 'banana' in one post?

[oatmealpie]

I did a caramel treatment, which uses bananas as the base. I used banana baby food to avoid the seeds. It mixed up nicely and didn't drip too badly with the wet towel, but I didn't notice enough of a benefit to do it again.

Here is the caramel treatment thread, if you're interested:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=454

[Audhumla]

I've never tried it but I've heard a lot of people say it's more trouble and mess than it's worth.
I'd rather eat the bananas for the nutrition to go towards good hair :p

[stachelbeere]

nononononooooooooo don't do it!

I did a banana mask once. And it was a disaster... I couldn't get the banana pulp out of my hair with anything!!! I ended up using hotel body lotion on my hair to get it out (don't even ask why and how...) and that didn't work. I was rinsing for a good few hours, pulling chunks of banana out of my tangled hair - oh yeah, the banana tangled my hair awfully. NEVER EVER AGAIN.

Now after the disaster I read somewhere on the internet that you can use baby food banana as a hair mask. but because of my horrifying experience I'm never using any kind of banana on my hair.

EDIT. oh too late. it's in your hair already. I hope you got it out :) maybe you had better bananas than I did :o

[Sil]

I'm going to do one in the morning and wear it during my work out. They are great for moisturizing dry hair. Since my hair is curly it always needs moisture.

To avoid getting chunks in your hair try this trick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be8kWFInroo). It's amazing! Oh, and instead of just water I use rose water which you can get at stores that sell Indian or middle eastern food. The rose water gives the hair mask great scent.
:blossom:

[PolarCathy]

LOL!

So many people already wrote on LHC how to use bananas... So many times... You first freeze the overripe bananas, the defrost them and puree them in the blender.

It works!

[antler_tines]

This sounds like a good idea, I have some bananas in the freezer right now :)

[jeanniet]

Baby food bananas work perfectly and are easy to use. The frozen overripe bananas trick works, too, but baby food is a lot less trouble.

[farmlass]

Argggghhhh, just wrote a reply and lost it all :s

Sil, I'm not sure I'd want to wear it for a work-out, it smelt a little odd after marinating on my head for 2 hours, and I wasn't exercising!

Overall, I found it fairly trouble free and I would do it again. I rinsed out really well but still had some banana in there so I did a quick, diluted shampoo and condition. My bananas were REALLY overripe, so I didn't have any trouble with chunks. Once dry, my hair was smooth and tangle free.

I guess it's one of those things you have to try out to see if it works for you... I tried honey and yoghurt once and that was really bad. I stank of rancid milk after!!

[stachelbeere]

alright - in my defence I tried doing the banana mask before I knew about TLHC ;)

[valrhona]

Baby food bananas work perfectly and are easy to use. The frozen overripe bananas trick works, too, but baby food is a lot less trouble.
This is the best method as the baby food is pureed completely and there aren't any pulpy bits/chunks that can get stuck! It's also very economical!

[jennraq]

I never would have thought of freezing them. That's pretty cool. Thanks for sharing PolarCathy. This must be a very common question if it keeps popping up. Hope it works for me too.

[kelseyxface]

I love banana masks! I found that the easiest way to not get chunks in your hair is doing exactly what you did - put it in the blender! Although my hair is naturally fine and thin so I never had issues with the banana chunks, haha! Next time try mixing bananas, avocado, and some coconut oil! I did a mask with that once, my hair was sooo soft! The avocados smelt a bit funny, but honestly pick up some essential oils that smell good/are good for hair growth (lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus) to even out the smell. You can also sub the coconut oil for jojoba or olive oil. ^.^ I love home made food masks! I need to do one soon...

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think I would rather eat the bananas and feed my hair from the inside.....

[meteor]

I think I would rather eat the bananas and feed my hair from the inside.....

Great point, Sarahlabyrinth! :D

I'd say the only food that would do more good topically on hair than taken internally is sugary water - good humectant but not that great in terms of nutrition! :lol:

[Santi]

I learned from Naptural85 also. I liquify the banana or avocado w/ a little bit of water or aloe vera juice, strain & add the remaining ingredients. I use an applicator bottle for all my diy's. It makes the process easier & not messy.

[enting]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I thought it would be better than starting yet another tiny thread about bananas in hair :flowers:

My hair currently smells like banana muffins in the oven! You see, a few weeks ago I had some bananas going black and liquidy, so I mixed them up with coconut oil and a dab of aloe gel to try out just a bit on my ends. I didn't want to use a lot on my hair in case I couldn't get the bits out. I couldn't tell if it helped, but I also didn't have any trouble washing it out.
Today I remembered that I still had that mix sitting in the back of the fridge and decided to try using the whole batch on my hair. Of course it was all hard because of the coconut oil. I therefore put the bowl in the microwave.... for a bit too long, perhaps. The banana started actually cooking! I put it on my hair anyway once it cooled off, but now I smell like baked banana goodies :yumm:
I'll let it sit until after my workout this evening and then wash it out. I'll let you know if I notice a difference with my hair.
(If it does do something good, there is yet another black banana with my name on it. We really need to work on eating our fruit before it goes bad. Would an older mango or nectarine be good on hair? :hmm:)

[Hairkay]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I thought it would be better than starting yet another tiny thread about bananas in hair :flowers:

My hair currently smells like banana muffins in the oven! You see, a few weeks ago I had some bananas going black and liquidy, so I mixed them up with coconut oil and a dab of aloe gel to try out just a bit on my ends. I didn't want to use a lot on my hair in case I couldn't get the bits out. I couldn't tell if it helped, but I also didn't have any trouble washing it out.
Today I remembered that I still had that mix sitting in the back of the fridge and decided to try using the whole batch on my hair. Of course it was all hard because of the coconut oil. I therefore put the bowl in the microwave.... for a bit too long, perhaps. The banana started actually cooking! I put it on my hair anyway once it cooled off, but now I smell like baked banana goodies :yumm:
I'll let it sit until after my workout this evening and then wash it out. I'll let you know if I notice a difference with my hair.
(If it does do something good, there is yet another black banana with my name on it. We really need to work on eating our fruit before it goes bad. Would an older mango or nectarine be good on hair? :hmm:)

I hope it all goes well for you. I've used mango on hair so I do know that that will work too. I've never tried nectarine.

[enting]

I hope it all goes well for you. I've used mango on hair so I do know that that will work too. I've never tried nectarine.

What did the mango do for your hair? I'm not sure if I'm gutsy enough to try it. I may just cut up the other fruit and bake it with chicken :)

[Hairkay]

What did the mango do for your hair? I'm not sure if I'm gutsy enough to try it. I may just cut up the other fruit and bake it with chicken :)

It worked just as well as banana. I can get it in a baby food pack for convenience too or tinned pureed mango. Here's one of the recipes going around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSQRnjzKVk

[enting]

Update: my hair is currently washed and up in a topknot. I am spotting tiny bits of banana, but they brush right off when I touch my hair. I didn't shampoo the length which may have had something to do with it but I'm not sure.

Wow, her hair looks amazing after using that recipe! (and I'm also guilty of tasting my food based hair treatments :D )

[littlestarface]

I need to do the caramel treatments again, those treatments literally work like magic for my hair.

[enting]

I am uncertain if it actually did anything :(. When i took down my hair the ends still felt crunchy and their usual amount of tangly. The first few inches feel a bit softer maybe, but I'm not sure this did anything more than a heavy oiling would have. No chunks though, and I didn't use a blender. Oh well, it was worth trying.

[Hairkay]

I am uncertain if it actually did anything :(. When i took down my hair the ends still felt crunchy and their usual amount of tangly. The first few inches feel a bit softer maybe, but I'm not sure this did anything more than a heavy oiling would have. No chunks though, and I didn't use a blender. Oh well, it was worth trying.

I find that it keeps my hair is soft, shiny and pliable. I don't do heavy oiling.

[enting]

I find that it keeps my hair is soft, shiny and pliable. I don't do heavy oiling.

I think I feel what you mean now. The roots of my hair, certainly until neck or shoulder length, do feel more like how you describe. I thought it just felt like post-oiling texture, but later I looked in the mirror as I finger combed and there is a lot more volume than I would have with just oil. Is this what properly moisturized hair is like, feeling oiled but looking bouncy? :hollie: I guess it *did* do something after all!

The ends still feel unhappy, but they almost always do.

[apspinsyarns]

For any browsers out there who are still interested in trying the mask but are afraid of the chunks, I've been blending one banana, one egg, olive oil, and almond milk till it's like a runny smoothie. Then I strain it through a fine mesh strainer before applying to my head. My hair is super shiny and voluminous after, and since I've incorporated it into my weekly routine the benefits have lasted!

[Larki]

I've never tried to make make a banana hair mask myself, but my favorite conditioner is Body shop's banana conditioner - banana is the second ingredient behind water.