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redcelticcurls
March 10th, 2008, 04:27 PM
Hello!

I was just wondering if anyone still had the recipe for this?

DolphinPrincess
March 10th, 2008, 06:53 PM
Here's the exact text I took off the page of the original thread. Unfortunately, I lost all the measurements for now. I can also add my own personal recipe, if you'd like.

coconut oil
olive oil
wheatgerm oil
shea butter
honey
molasses
Apple cider vinegar
Two overripe bananas
water

I just throw this all in a blender. It freezes rather well, so you won't have to keep making mini-batches every time you wanna use it, just thaw out. It should be a caramel cream look and consistency. Once you coat it on your hair, leave on for a couple hours. If your hair is longer than BSL, it may be easier to put your hair in a ponytail and just do that ponytail portion and loose baggy it to keep it from getting messy. Do not try to manipulate your hair during this time, it is very sticky. Rinse out in the shower. If you have fine hair, this may be all you need, but if you have coarse hair, you may want to follow up with a reconstructor and/or deep conditioner. It doesn't matter how kinky/curly/frizzy your hair is... it will shine like you've never ever seen it do before. I am now a big believer in this and will tell anyone who will listen. It really works!

redcelticcurls
March 10th, 2008, 07:36 PM
Thank you so much! Yes, if you'd post your own recipe that would be nice too. I somehow forgot the ratios.

DolphinPrincess
March 10th, 2008, 09:21 PM
Ok, for my personal recipe I use:
2 over-ripe bananas,
1/3 C Honey
1/3 C Molasses
1/3 C EVOO
1/3 C Coconut Oil
1 capfull ACV

Just remember you want your honey or honey/molasses to not quite equal the volume of your bananas, and your total oil to equal the volume of honey or honey/molasses. I just don't use anything other than those two because of cost and availabilty.

2BThinAgain
March 11th, 2008, 05:00 PM
Question here.....apply to dry or wet hair??

TIA,

Deb

Áine
March 11th, 2008, 05:09 PM
^ Either way.

But a tip if you're fine-haired... do it on a wet head. It will prevent too much oil from being absorbed.

Áine
March 11th, 2008, 05:11 PM
BTW Dolphin Princess,

Thanks for reposting the recipe! There were quite a few personalized recipes that were compiled on that thread, and I wish I could get them all back so I can put post it here.

DolphinPrincess
March 11th, 2008, 06:20 PM
BTW Dolphin Princess,

Thanks for reposting the recipe! There were quite a few personalized recipes that were compiled on that thread, and I wish I could get them all back so I can put post it here.


You're very welcome! I'm just glad I hapened to remember that! I definitely miss my journal!!

nappywomyn
March 11th, 2008, 06:27 PM
There are a couple of cached pages out there, if you google for it..... *nod*

2BThinAgain
March 12th, 2008, 05:10 PM
Yet another question here about the coconut oil..

melted or hard at room temperature??

It's the only thing stopping me from making this as I dont want to get the measurements wrong.

TIA,

Deb

DolphinPrincess
March 12th, 2008, 05:26 PM
Yet another question here about the coconut oil..

melted or hard at room temperature??

It's the only thing stopping me from making this as I dont want to get the measurements wrong.

TIA,

Deb

I always use it at room temp. I shoud also clarify my recipe for those who have never used the caramel treatment:
Blend your over-ripe bananas very very well first, when you think they are super smooth, do them for another minute, otherwise you end up with banana chunks stuck in your hair.
Add your honey or molasses or both, blend very well again.
Add your oils, just do a quick mix, enough to kind of 'stir' them in quick, then add a capful ACV. Blend. If your mix starts to separate or just doesn't come together, you may add a second capful of ACV, if you wish.

Also, don't leave on for more than three hours, at that point, it doesn't seem to help any more.
;):cool:

2BThinAgain
March 12th, 2008, 05:29 PM
Thanks :)

Deb

DolphinPrincess
March 12th, 2008, 05:33 PM
You are very welcome. :)

Patrycja
April 1st, 2008, 04:04 PM
Wahoo! I finally found the infamous Caramel Treatment. :cheer:

eta-anyone use this without the molasses?I have everything it calls for but that.

DolphinPrincess
April 1st, 2008, 08:49 PM
If you don't have molasses, just double the honey. There were many personal recipes that did just that! HTH!

Patrycja
April 3rd, 2008, 06:19 PM
Thanks so much dolphinprincess.I did end up going to the store and getting the molasses.I also got banana baby food.I will omit the EVOO because I'm thinking that will be much too much oil for my hair.I'll report my results since this is my first time :)

DolphinPrincess
April 3rd, 2008, 07:17 PM
You're welcome! Also, you could reduce the amount of both oils, they have slightly different benefits, so they more different types of oil you use, in theory, the better.

Patrycja
April 4th, 2008, 09:50 AM
It came out horribly :( I mixed all the ingrediants minus the EVOO like the original directions call for and the coconut oil just refused to blend in with the rest of the mixture.Also,I put 2 jars of bananas in it and it still was really dark bc of the molasses.I slathered it on anyway,on my ponytail and then patted some on my crown.Covered it up with a plastic grocery bag with no holes and left it on for 2 hours(I couldn 't stand the smell to wait the whole three).I rinsed and rinsed and kept on rinsing but my hair felt so oily.So much I actually shampooed with a commercial shampoo and it still didn't work.I did put on some cone conditioner (thinking now that wasn't a good idea)and that was mostly for the smell because the molasses stench was really getting to me by then.
No oil whatsoever when I dried,just a bit of aloe like always.I woke up this morning to horribly greasy hair and now its sitting in a sock bun.Again.
Looking back on it-I think I should have cut down the coconut oil quite a bit but that still doesn't explain why it refused to blend,even after 3+ cap fulls of ACV.I'm also thinking that possible overload of the ACV might have caused the greasies.But,why the dark color and why didn't the oil blend?! Help!! :thud:

Patrycja
April 10th, 2008, 07:23 PM
*bump* I really hate to do this but I want to give this treatment a go again.

DolphinPrincess
April 10th, 2008, 09:40 PM
Sorry, missed your post the other day. Ok, so, did you total oils equal your total of honey and molasses, or was it more? You can try it with more bananas, honey, and molasses, and you can also try applying it on damp or wet hair. You have a very similar hairtype to me though, and I didn't have to... Hmmm... I'm not sure what else could have gone wrong. We'll figure this out though!

As to your coconut oil problem, was it hard as a rock, or was is slightly soft? Mine is always slightly soft as our apartment is fairly warm. Not melted, but soft.

And yes, definite overload on the ACV!

Áine
April 10th, 2008, 10:26 PM
Oh no Ilovemycop. :(

It sounds like there was a lot of oil in your mix. I only deal with oil by the teaspoon... mabye by tablespoons at most (you should not have more than 4 tablespoons of oils all together, especially if it's your first batch, try to keep the ratio lower). A cap full of ACV should do you fine, perhaps two if your batch is somewhat large.

If you didn't use the whole batch, I would freeze what you have leftover, and augment it with more non-oil ingredients (banana and honey) and see how it goes.

nappywomyn
April 11th, 2008, 09:26 AM
Oh, I'm sorry Ilovemycop! Hrrm.

How much oil did you use? I use a 1/4 cup of everything (oils, ACV, honey, molasses), and I use a 3.5 oz container of banana babyfood (it's Gerber Naturals, I think - the only ingredients are banana and citric acid). Put it all in the blender, and go! I get two/three 'doses' out of that, and I just freeze the leftover in the freezer.
Did you melt the coconut oil, first? All of the oils should be liquid when you mix it up.
I actually did a pictorial (http://www.nappydelphia.com/2008/02/caramel-treat.html) for it - it really sounds like your proportions were out of whack....

Good luck, and let us know how that works out for you!

Áine
April 11th, 2008, 12:46 PM
Nappywomyn, Thank You for that link! I am checking out your blog right now! :D

Patrycja
April 13th, 2008, 08:00 AM
I did 1/4 cup of everything as well.I didn't add the EVOO because I knew that was going to be too much oil for my hair.I froze the mixture but I'm thinking that I'm just going to toss it and try the treatment again some other time.

eta-my coconut oil was melted

asantegold
April 29th, 2008, 06:10 PM
Napywomyn, The caramel treatment in your blog looks absoulutely delicious!:yumm:.

I've tried the one from E'tae and liked it, but your pictures have me wanting to try my own. More details please :D. What kind of baby food did you use, where did you get your butters, etc?

I wasn't around for the other threads about the caramel treatment experiences, so could you guys share what you liked about it?:cheese:

thanks :)

nappywomyn
April 30th, 2008, 09:04 AM
Napywomyn, The caramel treatment in your blog looks absoulutely delicious!:yumm:.

I've tried the one from E'tae and liked it, but your pictures have me wanting to try my own. More details please :D. What kind of baby food did you use, where did you get your butters, etc?

I wasn't around for the other threads about the caramel treatment experiences, so could you guys share what you liked about it?:cheese:

thanks :)

:) The baby food was Gerbers - all it had in it was bananas, ascorbic acid, and citric acid.
The butters, I've been collecting over time. :lol: The Red Palm Oil I got in a swap - you should be able to find it at local african stores, though - along with the shea butter. The coconut oil you should be able to find at any health food store. The other stuff is all grocery store ingredients....
I actually purchased most of my stuff online, one way or another, as I hate shopping. :lol:

I LOVE it. It makes my hair crazy soft, super shiny, super moisturized, super smooth - it's REALLY nice. I'm still working on combating the drippies, but otherwise, I'm in love. :lol:

asantegold
April 30th, 2008, 09:48 AM
:) The baby food was Gerbers - all it had in it was bananas, ascorbic acid, and citric acid.
The butters, I've been collecting over time. :lol: The Red Palm Oil I got in a swap - you should be able to find it at local african stores, though - along with the shea butter. The coconut oil you should be able to find at any health food store. The other stuff is all grocery store ingredients....
I actually purchased most of my stuff online, one way or another, as I hate shopping. :lol:

I LOVE it. It makes my hair crazy soft, super shiny, super moisturized, super smooth - it's REALLY nice. I'm still working on combating the drippies, but otherwise, I'm in love. :lol:

Oooh, that sounds great Napywomyn. I'm really thinking of trying it when I take my braids out in June. I really hope it works for me too becuase I'd hate to try and have it not work like the one I got from E'tae. But I'll never know if I never try right?:D

Your ingredients look a lot more rich than E'tae's though. I noticed your recipe has some ACV in it. How come it was included. I'm kinda scared it will dry my hair out:eek:

nappywomyn
April 30th, 2008, 11:03 AM
Oooh, that sounds great Napywomyn. I'm really thinking of trying it when I take my braids out in June. I really hope it works for me too becuase I'd hate to try and have it not work like the one I got from E'tae. But I'll never know if I never try right?:D

Your ingredients look a lot more rich than E'tae's though. I noticed your recipe has some ACV in it. How come it was included. I'm kinda scared it will dry my hair out:eek:

*grin* I don't know! I actually got that recipe from here - I might be able to dig up the thread over on the archives.

I NEVER use ACV in my hair - and I really do mean, NEVER - because it makes my hair unhappy, but it works wonderfully in this mix. I think that it helps prevent it from being TOO rich. I was actually kinda nervous about trying it, because my hair generally does NOT like oils, at all - but I'm glad I did.

Worst comes to worst, your hair hates it, you need to shampoo and DC afterwards, and you'll know to never use it again. Best case? Your hair will do magical, magical things. :lol:

asantegold
April 30th, 2008, 01:33 PM
oh, ok. It makes mee feel better to know this worked for you since your hair doesn't always agree with oils. Oils by themselves are hit or miss with me so it makes me feel more comfortable using ACV. I'm definitely going to try it when I take my braids out now. Will definitely keep you posted :)

minnie may
May 2nd, 2008, 10:53 AM
and here (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=65854)is the original thread from the archives.
maybe that link could be added to the first or second post of this thread?

the ACV works as an emulsifier in the mix and it's just about a teaspoon full with all that oils and honey/molasses and banana, so even if you usually don't like ACV you very well might like it in this treatment. but you could substitute it with just a tad lemon juice if you want.

asantegold
May 2nd, 2008, 05:42 PM
thanks for the link Minnie May :).

minnie may
May 3rd, 2008, 05:08 AM
no prob! :-)

detritus
July 30th, 2008, 11:06 AM
I just did a caramel treatment the other day and decided to use shea butter in addition to my regular oils (olive and camellia). And my hair turned out...kind of sticky. Has anyone else had this happen? My hair loves a little shea on the ends, though I have to be careful not to overdo it or it gets weighed down. I thought it would love shea in a DT so I'm not sure what went wrong. I shampooed and conditioned after rinsing, just like normal.

nappywomyn
July 30th, 2008, 02:11 PM
and here (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=65854)is the original thread from the archives.
maybe that link could be added to the first or second post of this thread?

the ACV works as an emulsifier in the mix and it's just about a teaspoon full with all that oils and honey/molasses and banana, so even if you usually don't like ACV you very well might like it in this treatment. but you could substitute it with just a tad lemon juice if you want.

Hrm. I really think I need to adjust my proportions - I use an equal amount of EVERYTHING. :o


I just did a caramel treatment the other day and decided to use shea butter in addition to my regular oils (olive and camellia). And my hair turned out...kind of sticky. Has anyone else had this happen? My hair loves a little shea on the ends, though I have to be careful not to overdo it or it gets weighed down. I thought it would love shea in a DT so I'm not sure what went wrong. I shampooed and conditioned after rinsing, just like normal.

Sticky? Interesting. Did you melt the shea? I could see hair ending up a little 'tacky' if the shea wasn't melted.... otherwise, I dunno?

detritus
July 30th, 2008, 05:04 PM
Sticky? Interesting. Did you melt the shea? I could see hair ending up a little 'tacky' if the shea wasn't melted.... otherwise, I dunno?

I melted it. I have the JASON shea butter, which has a little candelilla was mixed in to make it easier to get out of the jar. I wonder if that's the problem? My BF and I had "girly night" so we both did the treatment in our hair and he complained of the same thing, or I'd just write it off as my fine hair being tempermental. His hair is 3B and coarse.

nappywomyn
July 30th, 2008, 08:16 PM
I melted it. I have the JASON shea butter, which has a little candelilla was mixed in to make it easier to get out of the jar. I wonder if that's the problem? My BF and I had "girly night" so we both did the treatment in our hair and he complained of the same thing, or I'd just write it off as my fine hair being tempermental. His hair is 3B and coarse.

Hrm, interesting.... I don't know - maybe so?

Aliena
August 1st, 2008, 06:55 AM
I just used this stuff- oh my god, my hair is in heaven :D
super soft, manageable and the shine is absolutely unbelievable!
I used conditioner to get it out and it was no problem- well, I have to admit that I let the conditioner sit for about half an hour :o
Thanks for the recipe!

detritus
January 2nd, 2009, 01:50 PM
I mostly just want to bump this thread up a bit, not enough people know about the wonders of the caramel treatment! ;-)

I added 2-3 tablespoons of aloe vera gel to my mix a couple days ago and it turned out really great. It seemed to rinse out easier and didn't leave too much oil in my hair. It might be something to try if you have fine or straight hair that tends to get oily or weighed down after a caramel treatment.

I also want to encourage people to veer away from the original recipe if it doesn't work well for them. Remember that this was originally developed for people of African heritage with type 3 or 4 hair, hair that can often drink up lots and lots of oil without looking greasy. Hair that's basically the exact opposite of my fine, blond, slightly wavy hair. And yet I love the caramel treatment too! Feel free to customize it.

I make mine as such:

1 large jar baby food bananas
About 2 tablespoons each: honey, avocado oil, and olive oil
1 teaspoon vinegar

I leave out the shea because it weighs my hair down, coconut makes me break out, and I can't locate wheat germ oil anywhere. You can see I also use a lot less oil and honey than the original recipe calls for. And I leave out the molasses because I don't want to risk darkening my hair.

This makes more than enough for 2 treatments for my chin-length hair. Leave on for at least an hour. Rinse out as much as you can, shampoo twice, and condition. Don't be afraid to use shampoo! It won't undo the benefits of the treatment, because if you are using oils that can penetrate the hair shaft they won't be rinsed away so easily.

After a lot of experimentation with oils, herbs, shampoo bars, etc., this is the only special treatment I continue to use on my hair. I can't sing its praises enough. I think this recipe hasn't caught on here like the SMT just because it has so many ingredients it scares people off. But I've found that it doesn't need to be that complex. Bananas plus a single oil that can penetrate the hair shaft and little honey and vinegar is enough to do a lot of good. Adding several different oils is probably better because they each do something a little different, but it doesn't seem like a necessity. Good luck!

Demetrue
January 3rd, 2009, 11:25 AM
Okay - since I was at the store, I picked up some organic baby banana food and some baby banana yogurt. I mixed the two together, plus honey, olive oil, jojoba oil and some aloe vera gel. I am now sitting here with this concoction on my head. My family thinks I've gone nuts ;>)

Demetrue
January 3rd, 2009, 04:36 PM
HA HA I got my oldest son to put some banana/yogurt/honey/EVOO/AVG, etc mixture on his hair as well. The AVG seemed to prevent massive drips and held everything together. We both were pleased with our results - soft, smooth, silky hair with lots of volume.

asantegold
January 30th, 2009, 07:14 AM
*grin* I don't know! I actually got that recipe from here - I might be able to dig up the thread over on the archives.

I NEVER use ACV in my hair - and I really do mean, NEVER - because it makes my hair unhappy, but it works wonderfully in this mix. I think that it helps prevent it from being TOO rich. I was actually kinda nervous about trying it, because my hair generally does NOT like oils, at all - but I'm glad I did.

Worst comes to worst, your hair hates it, you need to shampoo and DC afterwards, and you'll know to never use it again. Best case? Your hair will do magical, magical things. :lol:

I think I am finally going to get around to trying your recipe this week! I'm not sure if I'll do the full ACV and may use macademia nut oil if they don't have palm oil at the store.

Hopefully it will turn out to be a wonderful treat :)

HotRag
January 31st, 2009, 05:03 AM
What are the benefits from the bananas?

I read in the archived thread, that it was good for dry hair in dry climate, but wouldn't the moisture attracting honey/molasses give moisture from hair to air? Or does this more apply to glycerin?

I live in the opposite to dry climate so for myself I wouldn't have to worry about this...

Demetrue
January 31st, 2009, 09:48 AM
This doesn't answer your banana question, but I wanted to remind people of the success I had using baby food banana. It is already strained, so there are no strings or little seeds ending up in your hair.

Catladyintown
August 23rd, 2009, 08:48 AM
Bumping. I tried this two weeks ago and really loved the results. I will do this once a month so I can get some moisture into my hair. This really helps when you live in a dry climate.:cheese:

kdaniels8811
August 23rd, 2009, 02:50 PM
My one day off and I am sitting around reading all the threads and came across this. I had written the recipe down and never tried it and was going to the grocery store so picked up some baby food bananas. Mixed them with one tablespoon each EVOO, coconut oil, molasses, and honey. Added one teaspoon ACV and mixed throughly. It does look exactly like caramel! That was enough to cover my BSL hair, I had some left over but slathered it on the length. It is not drippy at all, just the right consistency. I will leave it on for a couple hours - I did wrap it in plastic and a towel, to keep the body heat in - and post what results I have.

Catladyintown
August 23rd, 2009, 03:41 PM
Hi Kdaniels looking forward towards your posting of results.

Ash
August 23rd, 2009, 04:33 PM
I'm glad this got revived. :)

About a month ago I did a variant of this. I used 1 very ripe banana, 1/4 cup molasses, 1/4 cup walnut oil, about 1/8 cup avocado oil (I think), 1/8 cup water, and 1 tsp ACV. I used a hand mixer to blend the banana and then gradually added the other stuff. I dampened my hair first and then left it in for about 1 1/2 hours and COed it out in the shower. It didn't all come out, but I shampooed the next morning so it didn't matter.

The smell of bananas makes me nauseous but this kind of smelled like banana bread so it wasn't too bad. Next time I hope to add some shea butter as well.

It did help my hair. I have been having a lot of problems lately with it and this made it feel a lot less crispy. Unfortunately my hair was back to being uncooperative halfway through the week so I may have to do this treatment more often.

kdaniels8811
August 23rd, 2009, 05:40 PM
Well, it rinsed out easily, is taking forever to dry, almost there, and was difficult to comb through and not as soft as when I use catnip. I will see what it looks like tomorrow after it dries completely.

By the way, using the gerber baby food bananas worked great. It mixed up very easily.

kdaniels8811
August 23rd, 2009, 06:13 PM
Okay, my hair is dry ... and still looks wet. This treatment does NOT work for my hair, off to wash, I have to be at work at 6:00 am and cannot go to work looking like this! Even up in a bun, it was obvious it was still very oily. And I rinsed for a long time. Oh well, back to herbs and catnip, I tried, anyway. Amazing how some things work so well for some and not for others.

Catladyintown
August 23rd, 2009, 07:09 PM
Kdaniels don't give up hope yet. Caramel treatment can not be washed out with water alone. You need a herb shampoo or a mild shampoo to wash it out. I only used water to wash out the Caramel treatment the first time and it did not wash out either. The biggest benefit is a couple of days later and your hair well feel very soft and moisturized . I learned that you differently need a type of shampoo to wash it out.HTH

ladylibra
August 25th, 2009, 11:09 AM
:cheese:
I'm so glad this thread has been bumped! nappywomyn, I'm stealing your recipe for when my son's hair grows out again. I think his hair is similar to yours, and if it does so well by your hair, I think it could help his too.

(Plus, you know, Mommy will have to do the test run on her own hair. :laugh: )

Roseate
August 25th, 2009, 02:34 PM
I've got a version of this on my head right now! My recipe:

1 4oz jar baby bananas
1/4 cup oils&shea butter (coconut, olive, jojoba, camellia), warmed to melt butter
2T honey
2T aloe
1tsp ACV

Whisked it all together, misted my dry hair with water, slopped on in sections, showercap and a lovely floursack towel turban. Now I clean the house looking like everyone's favorite stereotyped pancake lady.

Catladyintown
August 25th, 2009, 02:55 PM
Roseate tells us how it turns out.:-)

jasper
August 25th, 2009, 06:34 PM
I really want to try this, because soft and shiny are not adjectives I can often use to describe my hair. But does this treatment fit my hair type? Dark blonde, not much wave at all.

Catladyintown
August 26th, 2009, 08:22 AM
Hi Jasper:) the Caramel Treatment can fit any hair type. All hair types need a Deep Treatment once in a while. The main thing is does your hair need moisture? If so I would leave it on 2 or 3 hours, and if it needs just a little bit I would only leave it on 30 or 40 minutes. Remember to add heat like a heat cap or hot towels around your head. HTH

cocolover
August 26th, 2009, 09:49 AM
I did this yesterday and left it on for 3 hours. I heated it by wrapping in a wet turbie twist that I microwaved every time it cooled down. I will definitely do this again, but next time I will do it only on the length. I couldn't get it out of the roots and ended up having to put cocoa powder in my dry hair last night before I went out to be presentable! My length is not greasy at all though, very shiny.

kdaniels8811
August 26th, 2009, 09:58 AM
Catlady - I have to wash it out??? Is THAT what I did wrong? I feel stupid, now... It makes sense, of course. Okay, I will try it again since I still have baby food bananas. This time maybe I will not put it on the scalp. Will post results, try for next Sunday, my only day off!

Roseate
August 26th, 2009, 11:39 AM
Roseate tells us how it turns out.:-)

A success!

And it definitely does need to be washed out; I did a CO first, but there was still lots left in my hair so I used my nonsulfate shampoo, diluted as usual, and that worked just fine.

My coarse hair is rarely very soft or shiny, but this does seem to have helped. Once I washed it, it is not oily at all but still feels very moisturized.

Catladyintown
August 26th, 2009, 12:54 PM
Cocolover thanks for the tip with the turbie twist. I have a couple of those and I will try that. I have a heating cap with an electric cord and I am stuck in one stop. I like the turbie twist idea a lot better.
Kdaniels don't feel bad we all have to learn. My first time I just washed it out with Water only it did not work.:p
Roseate I am so glad it was very successful for you.:cheese: It nice when my coarse hair feels soft and shinny too.:D

jasper
August 26th, 2009, 04:02 PM
Remember to add heat like a heat cap or hot towels around your head. HTH

Thanks Catladyintown! It's 107 degrees out, so maybe that's enough heat! adding heat sound :dizzy:

Catladyintown
August 26th, 2009, 05:24 PM
Jasper do you live in the Southwest? I washed my hair today and just need to sit outside for 15 minutes and I was done cooking.:p

jasper
August 26th, 2009, 05:51 PM
I live in Texas. It's so hot right now! I really don't think I can handle adding heat to my head. On the other hand, it's pretty easy to do those cool water rinses.

missfortune9335
August 27th, 2009, 06:02 PM
okay, I have a caramel treatment on my head right now. It is dripping out of the showercap and down the sides of my face making me nuts. But anyway, you guys shampoo this out right? and then do you condition your ends as usual or just wash it out and let it dry?

Catladyintown
August 28th, 2009, 08:31 AM
Jasper with the humidity in Texas.:eyebrows: I have family in San Antonio.
Hi missfortune9335 I wash it out with a herbs or natural shampoo like Aubrey Organic Honeysuckle Rose. I do not condition after because your hair already has a lot of moisture.HTH

missfortune9335
August 28th, 2009, 10:15 AM
well, it worked nicely but I didn't think I noticed any big difference in my hair. However when I got to work today one of the girls here exclaimed "Oooo!! Your hair looks just like honey!" (and it's up in a french twist even!) So it must have done something :)

jasper
August 28th, 2009, 07:38 PM
I'm caramel treating now. :disco:

Made a mess of the kitchen sink trying to get it into my hair, so I'm thinking a partner would be good next time.

ETA: Maybe I should add that I used this (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1237636&postcount=1) ingredient list except I didn't need to add water to thin it.

I'm in the camp with people who were not able to wash it out the first time. But I should say that I was under a small faucet with only a quarter sized blob of shampoo. I rinsed until I didn't see caramel color coming out anymore. Finger combing it afterward, I could still feel a lot of oil, but I just braided it and went to bed as I was terribly tired. This morning I hopped in the shower under a large sized shower head and shampooed again with enough shampoo to get the job done. I'm really very pleased with the results. Soft soft soft and no tangling.

And I'll add this about the Texas heat. After sitting with a plastic bag and a bath towel wrapped around my head for a couple of hours, my head was very warm. The contents of the jar of coconut oil that was solid in the store liquified on the kitchen counter overnight.

jasper
October 2nd, 2009, 07:58 PM
Okay, so, it's been about a month since I first my caramel treatment. My hair loved it. I mixed up extra the next week and stuck it in the freezer in zip lock bags. When I used some out of the freezer, I thawed it in the microwave. I think I might have cooked the banana a bit because it was a very different consistency when I tried to rinse it out. I had scrambled banana bits stuck in my hair. :justy:

Next time I'm going to plan ahead and let it thaw at room temperature.

wickwiit
October 4th, 2009, 12:12 PM
Has anyone tried this on loc'd hair? Or kept it in overnight? Can't be any worse than rinsing out henna and indigo, I guess.

jasper
November 7th, 2009, 08:21 PM
I decided to try this monthly, so I used the caramel treatment again today. I'm becoming a big fan of this concoction. Now that I know what to expect, I can shampoo it out in one try and my hair feels softer than it ever does afterwards.

lacesonia
November 12th, 2009, 12:50 PM
How long do you store the Carmel treatment or do you mix up a new batch everytime?

jasper
November 12th, 2009, 04:34 PM
I store it in the freezer. When I mix it up, it's more than I need for one treatment, so the extra goes in zip lock bags in the freezer until the next month.

kdaniels8811
November 12th, 2009, 04:47 PM
I had some stored in the fridge for a month or more and it was fine. I let it sit on the counter in a bowl of warm water as to not cook the banana - smile! I used it with my heat cap and it turned out wonderfully! Especially since I knew I had to shampoo it out. Very good stuff and better with 20 minutes under the heat cap.

jasper
January 9th, 2010, 07:11 PM
I thawed some out today. My hair was feeling a bit blah lately, but it is soft and shiney after a caramel treatment this morning. :)

LadyJennifer
January 10th, 2010, 05:49 PM
I have a few over ripe bananas on my counter right now, I think I'm going to have to try this! It's usually so humid where I live, but lately it's been so much drier and cold that my hair is crunchier than usual. A treatment would be nice:)

minnie may
February 22nd, 2010, 08:53 AM
I gave this another go, because I had to get rid of three incredibly ripe bananas :disco: and I really hate to waste food
I mashed the banans through a fine sieve and measured:
250 ml

I added:
100 ml honey
100 ml assorted oils, about 25 ml each of coco, shea, wheatgerm and olive.
a teeny bit of vit c powder and a little bit more but less than 1/4 tsp of citric acid

To prevent from getting heavy handed with the oils again, especially the more expensive ones, I measured the oils this way: into a small 50 ml measuring cup I first put 25 gr of the relativly cheap solid coconut and filled up with wheatgerm, poured that into a small bowl, then I half filled the mesuring cup with olive oil and filled up with tsp scrapes of shea und poured that into the bowl too. I then heated the stuff mildly in the still warm oven (I had pizza for dinner) till liquid and then mixed really good mith the banana and honey.
It turned out quite runny, however it didnt drip very much in the end. :silly:

I washed my hair, squeezed out and applied about two packed tbs to damp hair which was quite easy.

I soaked in the tub for about an hout or so and did not cover my hair in the meanwhile beacuase the air was humid and warm in my bathroom. I dont like headcoverings while in the tub so much and although I hate drips the didint seem so much anyway or just didnt bother me that much while in the tub.

I washed my full head with a bit more mild sulfate shampoo than I would usually use and directly without wetting or rinsing first. Because of earlier experiences I follwed with a second smaller round of shampoo on the scalp only but letting the suds run through my hair and my normal condish - the amount and way I usually use.

I think I could have done with only one round of shampoo with a little less shampoo but my hair feels and looks really nice :cool: so this might be the approximate ratios for straight haired ones like me.

AmericanWoman
February 22nd, 2010, 03:45 PM
I have a few over ripe bananas on my counter right now, I think I'm going to have to try this! It's usually so humid where I live, but lately it's been so much drier and cold that my hair is crunchier than usual. A treatment would be nice:)

I really recomend you make sure to put it in the blender. Otherwise, you'll get banana chunks that are a PITA to remove. I mix up the whole thing in the blender.

jasper
February 27th, 2010, 08:52 PM
. . .
I soaked in the tub for about an hout or so and did not cover my hair in the meanwhile beacuase the air was humid and warm in my bathroom. I dont like headcoverings while in the tub so much and although I hate drips the didint seem so much anyway or just didnt bother me that much while in the tub.. . .

I like the concept of doing this whole thing in the tub. Tried it, but mine was drippy enough that I was taking a caramel bath before too long. My patience for sitting in banana and molasses bath water was pretty short- 15 minutes max. I'm waiting for my hair to dry now, and expect good results.

minnie may
March 1st, 2010, 09:31 AM
@jasper: how did it turn out? 15 minutes is pretty short for a lhc dt, but compared too comercial ones its rather long :D

about the drips: I have waist/hip length hair and on pretty damp hair I only needed 2 heaped Tbs to cover my hair completely and it did drip some, but I had some bubble bath in the tub and was leaning my head back against the tub while reding so I didnt notice too much of it. and usually I really hate drips.

How much did you put on?

I did this on Friday:
1) I washed upside down with Condish on the length, shampooed the scalp and I let the suds run through the length. then I squezed out most of the water.
2) I put 2 large Tbs of tawed caramel treatment allover and leant back in the tub for 45-60 minutes.
3) I shampooed the scalp with a bit more poo than in a usual wash and let the suds run through the length. Condish on the length for a minute and rinsed. I forgot my prepared acidic rinse.

The result was:
1) some drips in the bath, but ok
2) Hair was not as dry as the last time but I had a oily patch on the back of my head, apparently I need to be more through with the shampoo there.

I dealt with it by first just letting it be on staurday (I put my hair in a messy braid) and carefully using a bbb just on that area on Sunday morning and again with a cleaned bbb on sunday evening. I can still feel the difference betwenn that area and the rest but nobody else would notice and my hair likes the extra oil and moisture.

I will tweak this some more.

jasper
March 1st, 2010, 04:45 PM
I didn't get the results I'm used to getting from leaving the treatment in a long time. The other times I've done it, I wrapped my head up and watched a movie- so a couple of hours at the least and usually longer.

I'm not sure what amount I used. I originally had a lot mixed up and stored in the freezer in a gallon size zip-lock. I was using the tail end of that. Somewhere around a quarter of a cup at least. It was messy to apply because I was scooping it out of that bag with my hands and not trying not to drip since I was in the tub.

It washed out clean, but since the results weren't super, I went ahead and oiled kind of heavily with coconut oil the next morning and wore a braid through the day, then CO'ed that night.

minnie may
March 2nd, 2010, 04:16 AM
I keep my batch in a tupper in the fridge, when the contents diminshes this takes constantly more unnecessary room in the fridge, but it's a lot easier to scoop out a portion with a spoon - somewhat like ice cream ;) - to taw it in a small bowl which I can easily take into the bathroom with me and makes application easy

Was your batch large enough to fill the whole gallon size zip-lock bag? Mine was a little less than 500 ml / half litre / 1 quart.

Comparing our Hair types and length I'd think you wouldnt need much more than I do if you put the stuff on damp hair...

jasper
March 2nd, 2010, 04:33 AM
No, there wasn't a full gallon when I started, but there was more than enough for several treatments. It was easier to get the mixture out of the blender into a gallon bag than it would have been to try to pour it into a quart size.

I've been in the habit of starting with dry hair, applying a lot, leaving it in for good while, and liking the results so far.

I'd say you have lots more hair than I do, though we both listed a measurement of 35 inches. I have a v-ish hemline and thinner hair.

minnie may
March 2nd, 2010, 08:24 AM
ok, my hemline is even length, although the surface of fine hair ist larger than that of medium thick hair so you would need more to cover if the length, hemline and cicumference were identical.

even so, if you do it on dry hair of course you need lots more than I on damp hair.
On damp hair the stuff gets diluted somewhat, but that makes it easier to wash of and I don't like to put it on unwashed hair because of the oil I use as leave in would somewhat seal off my hair from the moisture of the treatment and I dont want to have to blowfry inbetween.

if the other way works for you, that's just fine.

minnie may
March 15th, 2010, 06:34 AM
I tried a caramel treatment last night on dry or rather slightly misted hair as first C in a CWC instead of washing first. I'm not very fond of the result.
Application and dripwise it was very nice. less splattering in application an no drips, so I could go on cleaning the appartment with the stuff on my head.

it also washed out ok. I wetted scalp hair a bit , not beeing to fussy if the length got a bit wet too, did a shampoo on scalp hair and maybe 5 cm more of the lenght than unsual, put condish on the lenght and let soak while doing othe showerly thing. rinsed clean and follwed up with a citric and ascorbic acid rinse.

but my hair ended up a bit cunchy and for the first time I had a few tiny bits of banana still stuck in my hair although it was from the same batch as the last two applications...

I will stick to putting it on damp hair after washing an letting ist sit while indulging a prolonged bath.

LadyJennifer
March 16th, 2010, 07:13 PM
I think I'm going to try this tomorrow. I haven't done any special treatments in a while.

emmabovary
March 27th, 2010, 02:12 PM
I tried this today with great expectations, but not so great results. Well, it sure is moisturized. It's curly. So far so good. But it feels kinda like it's still wet and took forever to dry at all. I think next time I'll wash it out much sooner, rinse longer and maybe use shikakai instead of CO.

At least my hair is soft and moist, so I think it did it some good. :)

Btw, I used what I had - EVOO, coconut oil, honey, bananas and ACV. No molasses and no wheatgerm oil. I might have used a bit too much of the mixture, I just slapped it on.. :o

ravensinger13
March 27th, 2010, 05:03 PM
Two days ago I did one with EVOO, coconut oil, honey, molassas, bananas, and ACV. After CO washing it out, I slathered up with my normal leave-in and went about my business the rest of the day, and rinsed it out before bed. After it all dried it's so soft and shiny! Kind of makes up for the fact that my family thinks I'm nutty.

emmabovary
April 4th, 2010, 01:50 PM
Did a second caramel treatment today, and now that I've read through all of this thread I've realized that you need to shampoo :) I didn't use any conditioner after shampooing, and my hair is loving it! Normally it would be dry and crunchy, but it's extremely soft and shiny :D

jasper
May 29th, 2010, 08:36 PM
I am sticky up to my elbows from mixing up a new batch and slapping a lot into my hair. Now I need to fill two hours until it is time to wash :whistle:

superficial
May 30th, 2010, 10:27 AM
This treatment seems so delicious. :D
I think I might have to buy some of that baby food-thingy.. My mom is going to think I'm crazy.

StephanieB
June 2nd, 2010, 12:21 PM
I used Kia's recipe (http://www.nappydelphia.com/2008/02/caramel-treat.html).

I followed her instructions exactly as she has in her blog, other than two minor changes:
(1) Since my red palm oil and shea butter were semi-solid in my pantry (although my cocount oil was liquified in the same pantry and on the same shelf ... ???) - I gently warmed the palm oil in the microwave before pouring it out into the half-up measuring cup. I scooped some of the shea butter, put it in a small ceramic bowl, and did the same - nuked it just enough to liquefy it. I added the already-liquefied coconut oil to that, and then set it aside. I then picked up nappywomyn's recipe instructions from there.
and
(2) I HATE drippies, so I decided - after making the whole mixture - to thicken it with some cornstarch. I took about quarter cupful of the mixture, while it was still warm from the blender, cooled it for just about 2 minutes in the fridge so it wasn't warm, and added 4 heaping tablespoons of corn starch to that, and mixed it with a spoon 'till it was a thick smooth liquid ... just as I might have done with soup or gravy. Then, similarly to cooking, I just added the thickened stuff back into the blender, gave it an extra whirl for 10 or 15 seconds (till blended smooth again and thicker).

I measured out half a cup (didn't know how much I was gonna need) into a one-cup pyrex measuring cup... and brought it upstairs to the bathroom. I set it on the floor just outside the shower curtain, right next to the tub. Then, I got into the shower, shampooed with my usual stuff, rinsed it out, and squeezed out the excess water with my hand. I took the measuring cup into the shower with me (water turned to the tub spigot and not the showerhead so I wouldn't get water into the caramel mixture, in case there was leftover to save), and applied it to my hair - first around my crown and head, and then into my length - slowly and carefully. I only needed about alf a cup of it, as I have BSL hair that is very thin and extremely fine. i set the rest back outside the shower curtain, put my hair up with a clip, and put a plastic shower cap over my head. Got out of the shower, dried off, put a terrycloth turban over the plastic cap to kep warmth in... and went back downstairs to put away the remainder of the caramel treatment. I have what should be another seven (7) applications packed individually into sandwich zip lok baggies, and all of those baggies packed into a marked freezer-safe quart-size sip lock bag.

It's now just about 5 minutes shy of the three-hour mark. I'm going upstairs to go back into the hsower, to wash this stuff out of my hair with shampoo.

BTW - it was still icky-drippy for the first 20 minutes or 30 minutes ..... but after that, I had no drippiness at all. I just laid a hand towel across my shoulders and used the ends to dab at drip as they ran. I sat down and enjoyed several back-to-back episodes of Criminal Minds, uninterrupted. :cheese: Nothing like watching/hearing Joe Mantegna and day-dreaming, uninterrupted, in the middle of a hideousy hot/humid afternoon (90°F + 50% humidity - yucchy!)... *contented sigh* :eyebrows:


ETA: Two days later, my hair is shinier than I've ever seen it, well-moisturized, and feels more silky-soft that it's ever felt before!! I'm not sure quite why - but it seems that my hair took a day or so to reflect back all of the benefits it got?

Aredhel77
June 25th, 2010, 10:02 AM
I made a cheat's caramel treatment yesterday - I blended a ripe banana with about 1tablespoon molasses and a heaping tablespoon of my current deep conditioner (Surya Brasil). I tried to blend in about 1tsp shea butter but didn't melt it first so there were 'flecks' of the butter in the mixture. Will melt it next time! I got in the bath, whacked it on my dry hair (2a/2b medium thick) and rinsed it out after 30mins. Felt very soft even at this stage! I then shampooed lightly and conditioned as normal. It was a nice moisture treatment though! I'll leave it for longer if I try it again.

I had some slight banana seed bits in my hair but as I'm currently off work and floating around in my nightdress, who cares :D

GRU
June 25th, 2010, 07:26 PM
For complete banana mushiness, I froze my banana, then thawed it in the microwave enough to peel it. After peeling it, I put it in a bowl in the microwave and thawed it the rest of the way and heated it a bit. Between the freeze/thaw process and the heating process, it was VERY easy to mush up completely and I had no banana parts left when I rinsed.

Aredhel77
July 2nd, 2010, 12:20 PM
That's a good idea, maybe I'll try processing the banana that way :)

quendelyn
July 3rd, 2010, 10:09 AM
I would advise caution with anything that contains molasses if you henna your hair. It has been used to pull henna from the hair, and does work.

GRU
July 5th, 2010, 12:49 PM
I would advise caution with anything that contains molasses if you henna your hair. It has been used to pull henna from the hair, and does work.

Never heard of this, and certainly haven't experienced it when I've used molasses on my hennaed hair.

I've heard of issues with untreated honey causing lightening, but never molasses. :confused:

kwaniesiam
July 5th, 2010, 04:51 PM
I was always under the impression that honey lightened, molasses darkened.

GlassEyes
July 5th, 2010, 04:59 PM
I doubt molasses actually pulls henna from hair.

If it does though, marvelous. There are those that could use it, but again--I severely doubt it. I'm not even convinced it does much darkening.

quendelyn
July 6th, 2010, 02:56 PM
It was an old-time recipe, that was mixed with bla9ksztrap molasses and evaporated milk, to pull henna right after application to get it to come out. Did not pull all of it, but some. It was used with a heat cap or hot towels. It was used in the 1920''s, so yeah, you probably never heard of it. Henna was quite the rage with the Flappers of that era.

H'suan wen Hua
July 21st, 2010, 02:46 PM
Like this needs another positive review!


I froze my unpeeled bananas and mashed them with my fingers in the bag, microwaved them and then put them in the blender. I had no banana chunks.

I didn't have shea butter on hand so I used a little bit of olive oil, more almond oil and even more coconut oil.

Icialine
October 10th, 2010, 06:37 PM
I'm wondering if this is the place to post this but I really want to thank those who posted the Caramel treatment and those who keep mentioning it.My hair went through a really rough patch lately.For a reason I have yet to figure out it suddenly got really hard to untangle even whrn wet and would tangle up even once dry and it felt like there was a waxy dull gunk coating it even though I haven't used silicone or leave-ins for quite some time.My hair was so out of control I was seriously considering a major haircut even though I am only a couple of inches from having my favourite hairlength again.Then I remembered reading about this treatment when I first joined,used it once a month for the last two months and my hair went back to normal.It's such a relief and I'm very grateful to those who recommended this.

ravenlily
December 5th, 2010, 02:03 PM
This sound wonderful, I´m going to try it tomorrow!:)

minicana
December 17th, 2010, 11:58 AM
I did a caramel treatment for the first time last night. It turned out pretty good! I really needed it, because my hair had a hard, almost hay-like feeling that I'm not used to. The caramel treatment took it away. I heard that this treatment gets better with continued usage. Next time I want to try it without molasses because that darkened my hair and that's not something that I want. Also I relax my hair and I am almost 10 weeks post relaxer. My new growth is very moisturized and more "tame", for the lack of a better word. I will definitely be doing this treatment again.

jasper
December 20th, 2010, 04:40 AM
I am using caramel treatment on my length this morning. I thawed out a recipe I had in the freezer in a zip lock bag, and just rolled my "sleep braid" into the bag with the goo.

minicana, for me the darkening from molasses is very temporary. It only lasts to the first shampoo, so I am pretty sure it is just on the surface.

ArienEllariel
December 23rd, 2010, 12:23 PM
Ooh this sounds nice. I'm sitting here with a very banana-y smelling head at the moment, tehe.

What I used was about 1 overripe banana, frozen, then thawed. I peeled it, put it in the handy chopper added 1T each of coconut oil, honey, and molasses and a teaspoon of ACV and blended it all together until smooth. I'm hoping the banana seeds rinse out easily. If not, I'm not terribly worried. :P

I'll let you all know how it went. Unfortunately, I can't upload any pictures at present.. my computer is being finicky.

Edit: Hair is now dry and feels good. :) The ends feel a bit.. odd but not necessarily bad.

Aurantia
December 31st, 2010, 03:35 AM
I intend to try a CT this week but wanted to see what results those with protein-hating hair have had, or what adaptations they have made with this recipe.

I read through this thread and the archived thread started by Áine but didn't see anything specific related to this question. Any feedback would be much appreciated. :flowers:

StephanieB
December 31st, 2010, 06:39 PM
I intend to try a CT this week but wanted to see what results those with protein-hating hair have had, or what adaptations they have made with this recipe.

I read through this thread and the archived thread started by Áine but didn't see anything specific related to this question. Any feedback would be much appreciated. :flowers:
That's probably because there isn't really much protein in a caramel treatment...

There is negligible amounts of protein in all of the following ---
-- oils (in general, esp the ones mentioned in the recipe variants in this thread)
-- shea butter
-- honey
-- molasses
-- apple cider vinegar
-- bananas
There are lots of minerals in the above (esp the molasses, and - to a lesser extent - in the dark honeys)

So what do you plan to put in your caramel treatment that would have a decent bit of protein?

If you stick with any of the recipe variants that I saw in this thread, you shouldn't have much protein in your treatment. (a good thing if your hair hates protein)

Aurantia
December 31st, 2010, 07:06 PM
Hi StephanieB, thanks for the quick reply. :)

I'd like to stick with original recipe listed in this thread, incorporating all the of the following ingredients:

olive oil
wheatgerm oil
shea butter
honey
molasses
Apple cider vinegar
Two overripe bananas
water

I was concerned mainly with the coconut oil, molasses, and wheat germ oil (three fairly protein rich ingredients in one recipe). I have used EVOO and shea butter on my hair with great success but have never tried molasses or wheat germ oil. Coconut oil is a hit or miss depending on how long it has been since my last treatment.

I was hoping to get feedback from members that typically have bad reactions to protein -- like myself -- to see if this recipe had any adverse effects.

Thanks for the encouragement. :) Do you yourself have hair that hates protein?

StephanieB
December 31st, 2010, 08:13 PM
Hi StephanieB, thanks for the quick reply. :)

I'd like to stick with original recipe listed in this thread, incorporating all the of the following ingredients:

olive oil
wheatgerm oil
shea butter
honey
molasses
Apple cider vinegar
Two overripe bananas
water

I was concerned mainly with the coconut oil, molasses, and wheat germ oil (three fairly protein rich ingredients in one recipe). I have used EVOO and shea butter on my hair with great success but have never tried molasses or wheat germ oil. Coconut oil is a hit or miss depending on how long it has been since my last treatment.

I was hoping to get feedback from members that typically have bad reactions to protein -- like myself -- to see if this recipe had any adverse effects.

Thanks for the encouragement. :) Do you yourself have hair that hates protein?
No problem. Glad to help. :)

But just so you know - there is not a lot of protein in coconut oil, nor in molasses, nor in wheat germ oil. Wheat germ oil has a bit more protein (still negligible amounts though), I guess, but not much. There are lots of minerals in the molasses.

Google the protein amounts in the three ingredients.

I always wonder where people get the idea that coconut is protein-high. :confused:
Lots of people think it, but it just isn't so. And unless it's a very young coconut (as in just off the tree) there's even less in coconut than in wheat germ oil. And there isn't that much protein in even wheat germ oil...

I don't know if my hair likes protein. I've never had problems that are associated with protein loss in hair. I've also never tried giving my hair protein, that I can remember, anyhow... Sorry that I'm not much help on that score. :o

GRU
December 31st, 2010, 10:41 PM
I was under the impression that plain oils (meaning nothing added to them) have no protein in them. They are fats, not proteins or carbs.

When checking the nutrition label on oils sold for cooking, they never show any protein content.

Aurantia
December 31st, 2010, 11:44 PM
No problem. Glad to help. :)

But just so you know - there is not a lot of protein in coconut oil, nor in molasses, nor in wheat germ oil. Wheat germ oil has a bit more protein (still negligible amounts though), I guess, but not much. There are lots of minerals in the molasses.

Google the protein amounts in the three ingredients.

I always wonder where people get the idea that coconut is protein-high. :confused:
Lots of people think it, but it just isn't so. And unless it's a very young coconut (as in just off the tree) there's even less in coconut than in wheat germ oil. And there isn't that much protein in even wheat germ oil...

I don't know if my hair likes protein. I've never had problems that are associated with protein loss in hair. I've also never tried giving my hair protein, that I can remember, anyhow... Sorry that I'm not much help on that score. :o

I'll be damned. You know I did some lazy Google searching before asking this question and didn't immediately come across an exact content list for any of the ingredients -- after taking a few more minutes to search, it seems the nutrition facts for each list 0g of protein. Negligible indeed. (Wiki also has a nice article ... and lists CO as a sexual lubricant :eyebrows: I'm falling back in love with this oil already.)

I got the impression that coconut oil was protein heavy from threads I've read on LHC, which also list molasses as an equivalent substitute with honey but with "more protein". And some silly articles floating around the internet that tote wheat germ and coconut oil as "good sources of protein" in a diet.

As for my own experience, I was recovering from a protein disaster when I first tried coconut oil -- now that I see that it reduces protein loss I can understand why I had such bad luck with it.

Stephanie I am so glad you stepped into this thread -- I would otherwise still be wandering around misinformed and afraid of using some lovely products based on nothing but hearsay and assumptions.

And I'm not one to just take another's word for something without doing my own research, so this is a double kick in the pants. :o

:brainbleach:

HarvestMD
April 29th, 2011, 11:59 AM
I've had some solid success with the SMT, and because of that I've been wanting to try this for a while. I don't have the wheat germ oil or shea butter, so I did make a few adjustments based on a few things I'd read in the thread. I added coconut oil and jojoba oil then mixed it all up in the blender.

I wrapped it in saran wrap the way I do with the SMT and put a hot towel over that. It felt a little different going on my hair than the SMT does, but I'm looking forward to shampooing this off in a few hours and seeing what I get. *Fingers crossed*

AmericanWoman
April 29th, 2011, 02:49 PM
No problem. Glad to help. :)

But just so you know - there is not a lot of protein in coconut oil, nor in molasses, nor in wheat germ oil. Wheat germ oil has a bit more protein (still negligible amounts though), I guess, but not much. There are lots of minerals in the molasses.

Google the protein amounts in the three ingredients.

I always wonder where people get the idea that coconut is protein-high. :confused:
Lots of people think it, but it just isn't so. And unless it's a very young coconut (as in just off the tree) there's even less in coconut than in wheat germ oil. And there isn't that much protein in even wheat germ oil...

I don't know if my hair likes protein. I've never had problems that are associated with protein loss in hair. I've also never tried giving my hair protein, that I can remember, anyhow... Sorry that I'm not much help on that score. :o

People just confuse " coconut oil helps hair hold onto it's own protein" to "coconut oil contains protein" Not the same, but that's how they get that idea.

wavykisses
May 2nd, 2011, 01:25 PM
Hi I just did my first caramel treatment it was more of a chocolate treatment since my hair is black I did some changes

First of all my hair is really brassy on the bottom due to ACV, I really hated how it look whenever I did an updo the crown part was very black and the bottom very brown/coppery it looked like I have dyed my hair brown and it was getting brassy.

I heated the honey to kill the peroxide, add some red wine vinegar instead of the ACV, use around 4 TBSP of each oil, honey and molasses, I also add some cocoa powder, the mixture had a very chocolate look.

The end result is a very moisturized hair, the black color soften a little bit and I have some chocolate looking highlights, the very ends of my hair are still a little brassy but the other part is brown chocolate. I don't like that my black hair got a little "soft" it is not jet black not brown
just "soft black" but it is blending better with the chocolate bottom part, and at some parts I have chocolate highlights and some brassy highlights (past ACV) but the last ones are less noticeable.

Overall my hair is well moisturized and I might try this with balsamic vinegar infused with rosemary and sage, I really miss my black hair, ACV made my hair awful looking like I have fading brown dye.

2luvmycurls
July 5th, 2011, 04:18 AM
I think I'm going to have to give this a try - making extra sure to VitaMix my banana like crazy b/c I did a different treatment a few years ago and was constantly picking little banana bits out of my thick hair and it was such a pain.

I have banana, honey, coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter (don't know if I'll add this or not), acv, and molassas (only have black-strap, hoping that will work the same as regular).

What does the cocoa powder do?

jasper
July 5th, 2011, 05:02 AM
Not sure about the cocoa powder, because I don't add it myself, but my guess is that it thickens the recipe. In an earlier thread, people were using corn starch to make it thicker and less drippy so it was easier to apply. Maybe cocoa powder was for the same purpose, but dark for dark hair.

GRU
July 5th, 2011, 07:36 AM
I think I'm going to have to give this a try - making extra sure to VitaMix my banana like crazy b/c I did a different treatment a few years ago and was constantly picking little banana bits out of my thick hair and it was such a pain.

I have banana, honey, coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter (don't know if I'll add this or not), acv, and molassas (only have black-strap, hoping that will work the same as regular).

What does the cocoa powder do?

If you freeze and thaw your banana first, that helps a lot with the mushy-factor.

theodora
July 11th, 2011, 04:12 PM
Just did my first caramel treatment today with the following recipe:
- 2 super ripe bananas (super-blended)
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T coconut oil
- 1 T shea butter
- 1.5 T molasses
- 2 T honey
- 1 capful ACV

Put it on wet hair, let it sit for 1.5 hours and washed it off using diluted SLS free poo (Burt's Bees Colour Keeper) on the scalp and Triple nutrition Co on the lengths.
I was wary after reading on the old forum people saying it was too heavy for straighties/finies, but at the moment (though it's still damp), it doesn't feel greasy at all. It feels thicker and stronger somehow.
I had enough for two servings so I froze the other half. Can't wait for next treatment! This seems like a good alternative to SMTs (though not a replacement, the end product definitely feels different).

Thanks everyone for all the info on this treatment! It's a keeper :D

jasper
August 27th, 2011, 01:03 PM
I am doing my 2 year anniversary caramel treatment right now. :cheese: Just like the first time, I made a bit of a mess applying it to my hair at the kitchen sink. One difference is that I have a my hair in ponytail so it is doing less flopping around. I left shea butter out of my recipe this time because I like my shea butter so much on it's own.

ETA: Wow! Either I forgot how good this is, or this is the best results I have had! My hair is so, so much softer and has slip again. Yay!

julierockhead
September 27th, 2011, 04:02 PM
So...I can't bring myself to read this whole thread...is there an original caramel treatment, and does anyone have the recipe or proportions?

jasper
September 27th, 2011, 04:25 PM
Try reading a couple or three posts here: http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=1237636#post1237636

Jezerellica
January 31st, 2012, 04:38 AM
So...I can't bring myself to read this whole thread...is there an original caramel treatment, and does anyone have the recipe or proportions?
LOL~Well I just read the entire thread to find out if anyone had questioned the magical powers of bananas. One person asked and no responses. I love SMTs and thought this sounded like fun until I read bananas. :bigeyes: Just reading about them in all their various forms is errr, not very appetizing to me. Has anyone tried this minus the bananas*asking* :p I know they will not kill me, but I'd rather not take any chances. LOL.

Sundial
January 31st, 2012, 04:51 AM
LOL~Well I just read the entire thread to find out if anyone had questioned the magical powers of bananas. One person asked and no responses. I love SMTs and thought this sounded like fun until I read bananas. :bigeyes: Just reading about them in all their various forms is errr, not very appetizing to me. Has anyone tried this minus the bananas*asking* :p I know they will not kill me, but I'd rather not take any chances. LOL.

Hey Jez! I use mashed bananas (bottled baby food) because I read somewhere that it helps to prevent incidents of banana seeds or bits getting stuck in your hair. I think you can leave it out if you like, but you may have to adjust the liquid portions or the mixture may be too drippy after you apply it.

Personally I didn't think the bottled banana mix was too bad. By the time the treatment is mixed up, I couldn't really tell the banana is in it.

Jezerellica
January 31st, 2012, 08:30 PM
Hey Jez! I use mashed bananas (bottled baby food) because I read somewhere that it helps to prevent incidents of banana seeds or bits getting stuck in your hair. I think you can leave it out if you like, but you may have to adjust the liquid portions or the mixture may be too drippy after you apply it.

Personally I didn't think the bottled banana mix was too bad. By the time the treatment is mixed up, I couldn't really tell the banana is in it.
Oh Thanks! This is good news! :joy: I'll just hold my nose while mixing!

dmarie16
January 31st, 2012, 09:25 PM
I want to try this but I am not sure if I can stand the stickiness :confused:. It seems to bring remarkable results to those brave enought to try, but idk....I don't mind oils or henna or herbal hair packs, but I go crazy when I feel sticky stuff dripping down my neck!!!! (sigh) I guess at least once won't kill me lol!!!!

GRU
February 1st, 2012, 08:42 AM
I want to try this but I am not sure if I can stand the stickiness :confused:. It seems to bring remarkable results to those brave enought to try, but idk....I don't mind oils or henna or herbal hair packs, but I go crazy when I feel sticky stuff dripping down my neck!!!! (sigh) I guess at least once won't kill me lol!!!!

Use a terry sweatband or headband... no need to have drippies!

WantMoreHair
March 20th, 2012, 05:24 PM
I think baby food bananas work just as well, if not better since you don't have to deal with bits of food in your hair.

littlestarface
February 20th, 2013, 03:23 PM
I'm doing this right now,this time i'm using a heat cap so we'll see if it works even better this time for me:D Just got 2 more hours to go.

Angelair
September 16th, 2013, 08:40 PM
I have bananas, honey and oils in my hair right now.... Lets see how it turns ut. Although I doubt I can stand this for anywhere close to three hours. If anyone has a Vitamix blender, though, the mixture comes out really smooth out of it. No chunks at all! Results to follow :)

Angelair
September 17th, 2013, 07:35 AM
And my hair is incredibly soft and shiny this morning! Success!

jennraq
September 20th, 2014, 04:32 PM
Those results sound awesome Angelair. I have a nutra bullet. I wonder if the bananas will come out as smooth? I love this hair treatment.

BogwoodElf
September 21st, 2014, 09:05 PM
Oh hey... I have to try this...

Santi
September 22nd, 2014, 01:10 AM
I do the Caramel Treatment w/o the yogurt. I'm always pleased w/ the results. I liquify bananas & avocados (for other treatments) in a blender w/ a little bit of water or aloe vera juice, strain & add remaining ingredients. I learned that from You Tuber Naptural85.

Ingrid
September 22nd, 2014, 05:03 AM
This sounds like a really nice treatment... too bad my bananas never make it to the over-ripe stage :laugh:

pearlsandpinups
November 13th, 2014, 06:15 PM
I mostly just want to bump this thread up a bit, not enough people know about the wonders of the caramel treatment! ;-)

I added 2-3 tablespoons of aloe vera gel to my mix a couple days ago and it turned out really great. It seemed to rinse out easier and didn't leave too much oil in my hair. It might be something to try if you have fine or straight hair that tends to get oily or weighed down after a caramel treatment.

I also want to encourage people to veer away from the original recipe if it doesn't work well for them. Remember that this was originally developed for people of African heritage with type 3 or 4 hair, hair that can often drink up lots and lots of oil without looking greasy. Hair that's basically the exact opposite of my fine, blond, slightly wavy hair. And yet I love the caramel treatment too! Feel free to customize it.

I make mine as such:

1 large jar baby food bananas
About 2 tablespoons each: honey, avocado oil, and olive oil
1 teaspoon vinegar

I leave out the shea because it weighs my hair down, coconut makes me break out, and I can't locate wheat germ oil anywhere. You can see I also use a lot less oil and honey than the original recipe calls for. And I leave out the molasses because I don't want to risk darkening my hair.

This makes more than enough for 2 treatments for my chin-length hair. Leave on for at least an hour. Rinse out as much as you can, shampoo twice, and condition. Don't be afraid to use shampoo! It won't undo the benefits of the treatment, because if you are using oils that can penetrate the hair shaft they won't be rinsed away so easily.

After a lot of experimentation with oils, herbs, shampoo bars, etc., this is the only special treatment I continue to use on my hair. I can't sing its praises enough. I think this recipe hasn't caught on here like the SMT just because it has so many ingredients it scares people off. But I've found that it doesn't need to be that complex. Bananas plus a single oil that can penetrate the hair shaft and little honey and vinegar is enough to do a lot of good. Adding several different oils is probably better because they each do something a little different, but it doesn't seem like a necessity. Good luck!

I've got this version of the caramel treatment on my hair right now! My hair is 1b, f/m, ii so I thought this altered recipe would be better suited to my hair type. :D I'll update on my results! So excited!

pearlsandpinups
November 13th, 2014, 08:38 PM
Did the caramel treatment! :) My hair is soft and shiny and feels very moisturized, but definitely a bit "oily/greasy"! I guess I didn't wash it out good enough. I washed it again but the back is still oily so tomorrow I'll wash it once more.