I'm sure you've all read those articles about giving yourself a spa-quality facial at-home using normal household products and foods. Salt or sugar as an exfoliant. Avocado, sea salt, lemon or bananas as hair masks. Or sugar and peaches as a facial scrub. Well seeing that it costs around $305 at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC to get a 80 minute facial--I decided to take a little plunge into the do-it yourself world of beauty. And this is one at-home remedy you SHOULD NOT TRY AT HOME.....Read on for my horror story...
So I decided that I wanted shiny hair today. Hmmm, I saw the ladies on ABC's The View talking to an at-home remedy GURU...she was slathering yogurt and whole sliced peaches on her face, and sugar on her hands and saying that bananas and olive oil make a great hair mask....why not try that!
So I mushed up a ripe banana, added some olive oil and even a little soy milk (for protein, duh). Then I gooped it in my hands and slathered it all over my hair. I ground it into my scalp and smooshed it all around. Ahh smells like a Jamba Juice smoothie. I let it sit for about ten minutes, then off to the shower.
As I started to rinse out the mixture I was pleasantly surprised by the silky feel to my hair. However, one problem. The now mushy, marinated with water banana chunks were not coming out. Instead they were getting buried deep into my scalp, clinging to my hair shaft. And any chunks that did come off were splattered around my poor shower clogging the tub and making a mess. Ugh. This was not good.
So I scrubbed and scrubbed, but still there were these gooey slimy chunks of banana swimming in my silky brown locks. OK. I need my brush. I reached out for my brush and even though I hate brushing my hair when it is too wet and "more weak and susceptible to breakage" (I always see that quoted by someone who knows hair stuff...), I started yanking my brush-- pulling it through my hair-hard. Well that worked-sort've. OK, not really.....
Now my brush was clogged--really clogged-with slimy bits of banana slush. Yuck. I continued this process for at least ten minutes. And finally conditioned and gave up my rinse session. Lets just put it this way...two hours later--dry SUPER SHINY hair....and I still have banana chunks swimming around in there....
So yeah, my hair does feel shiny. But maybe that's just the banana sludge reflecting the light.....
A few at-home beauty tricks I DO recommend:
*Using sugar or sea salt at a body exfoliant (both dissolve easily away in the shower.)
*Wiping/toning your face with warm damp tea bags--exfoliates the skin and adds healthy tea antioxidants to your skin.
*Using rose petals in a hot tub. Dying flowers can have a use here!
*Banana face mask--it does make your skin soft....but wash the banana off with a thick paper towel so it doesn't clog the sink!
*Pouring old/oxidized wine into your bath tub....super silky skin is the result. And don't worry you won't smell like the wine once you are out...
*Baking soda and sea salt in the tub.
*Coffee grounds face scrub.
*And the classic...cucumber eye masks. Stick the slices in the freezer and let them thaw on your eyes.
Happy At-Home Spa-ing!
Do you have any better ideas to share...or horror stories like mine????
Hazel says
I had the same problem, I used my brush and I lost so much hair... I am too scared to unwrap my towel from my head now:(
Palins says
I gotta try this
lorrwill says
I just found this trying find out why banana is good for your hair. I watched a video and the lady pureed (with aloe juice, but I imagine any hair friendly liquid would do), then strained the banana before putting it in her hair. I think that straining step may be crucial.
Roma says
Honestly thought I did pretty fair research before trying the banana hair mask. Now I'm sitting here with goopy-icky banana hair. Obviously I thought wrong but I'm so glad that I'm not the only one!
Amie says
you need to blend the banana, if not the chunks will obviously stay in your hair 🙂
Jor Jon says
NEVER USE THIS BANANA HAIR MASK!!!!! I had high hopes of nicely conditioned hair afterwards. Much to my dismay there small pieces of banana stuck in my hair! I shampooed, conditioned, shampooed and conditioned again. I tried hot water, warm and cold. The pieces are still stuck in there. I used a wide toothed comb and that helped some. I proceeded to brush my hair for the next hour...and there are still remnants of banana in my hair. I'm hoping I can get them out in the morning...
So disappointed!!!
Priti Patel says
I am giong through this dilema right now
Priti Patel says
I am a victim to this right now, I put just pureed banana & now it is glued to my scalp, I have locks of hair clung together that resemble ropes. They are rough to the touch, brittle locks. Feel like cutting them. Shampoo did not help. So tired, came upon this post & pheew ...... was relieved to learn that I'm not alone. Will try to put just conditioner & soak it for a while, then use hair comb. Keeping my fingers crossed 🙁
www.juniperdesert.com says
scrubbing,
exfoliation helps in removing the dry and dead skin cells, while making
an incredible way to new, plump and healthy skin.
scrubbing with natural skin care products, supports in reducing blemishes and break outs while lessening the clogged pores, dryness and the telltale signs of aging, all while revealing refreshed, rejuvenated, smooth and plump skin.
Beckfordbrianna says
i love banana hair masks, I just use a blender or something, I do that almost all my hair masks
Kathy Patalsky says
haha - it happens to so many people!!! so much for 'natural beauty'
Jay says
I am having the same problem. It looks like I have lice eggs stuck to my hair shafts. Ugh.
On the upside--It did moisturize better than anything I have ever used and my hair is very shiny. 🙂
Next time I will puree the banana with milk and water and remove the juices for my hair. The leftover gunk; I'll use it on my skin. Maybe squeezing it through cheese cloth will help.
Jay says
I am having the same problem. It looks like I have lice eggs stuck to my hair shafts. Ugh.On the upside--It did moisturize better than anything I have ever used and my hair is very shiny. 🙂 Next time I will puree the banana with milk and water and remove the juices for my hair. The leftover gunk; I'll use it on my skin. Maybe squeezing it through cheese cloth will help.
Jay says
I am having the same problem. It looks like I have lice eggs stuck to my hair shafts. Ugh.
On the upside--It did moisturize better than anything I have ever used and my hair is very shiny. 🙂
Next time I will puree the banana with milk and water and remove the juices for my hair. The leftover gunk; I'll use it on my skin. Maybe squeezing it through cheese cloth will help.
Natural Xpressions says
yea umm...I wish I would have read this before now as I sit here with banana chunks tangled in my hair. this came up as I did a search on 'how to get banana chunks out of your hair.' I'm tired. I'm not going to bother with it right now. my hair feels superb besides the banana chunks. I mixed the banana with a fork until it was syrupy, but clearly it wasn't enough unless the mix just clumped up the banana. Oy!!
Natural Xpressions says
yea umm...I wish I would have read this before now as I sit here with banana chunks tangled in my hair. this came up as I did a search on 'how to get banana chunks out of your hair.' I'm tired. I'm not going to bother with it right now. my hair feels superb besides the banana chunks. I mixed the banana with a fork until it was syrupy, but clearly it wasn't enough unless the mix just clumped up the banana. Oy!!
Natural Xpressions says
yea umm...I wish I would have read this before now as I sit here with banana chunks tangled in my hair. this came up as I did a search on 'how to get banana chunks out of your hair.' I'm tired. I'm not going to bother with it right now. my hair feels superb besides the banana chunks. I mixed the banana with a fork until it was syrupy, but clearly it wasn't enough unless the mix just clumped up the banana. Oy!!
Nicole says
Ha ha! Thank goodness I did research on this and knew before hand that I had to blend the banana in an actual blender. I made sure all of it was liquified. You should try it again, but don't mash it BLEND IT!!! My hair looks awsome, bouncy and shiny. I never add eggs. I use Banana, Olive oil, Yogurt (plain) and a bit of Honey. I do the mask once a week now.
Nicole says
Ha ha! Thank goodness I did research on this and knew before hand that I had to blend the banana in an actual blender. I made sure all of it was liquified. You should try it again, but don't mash it BLEND IT!!! My hair looks awsome, bouncy and shiny. I never add eggs. I use Banana, Olive oil, Yogurt (plain) and a bit of Honey. I do the mask once a week now.
Nicole says
Ha ha! Thank goodness I did research on this and knew before hand that I had to blend the banana in an actual blender. I made sure all of it was liquified. You should try it again, but don't mash it BLEND IT!!! My hair looks awsome, bouncy and shiny. I never add eggs. I use Banana, Olive oil, Yogurt (plain) and a bit of Honey. I do the mask once a week now.
Kathy says
OMG. Tara I'm so sorry. Yeah it's NUTS! I see the banana hair mask thing everywhere! Too bad those beauty editors and writers didn't TEST IT OUT FIRST!
...ugh nothing worse than banana goop hair.
Kathy
Kathy says
OMG. Tara I'm so sorry. Yeah it's NUTS! I see the banana hair mask thing everywhere! Too bad those beauty editors and writers didn't TEST IT OUT FIRST!...ugh nothing worse than banana goop hair.Kathy
Kathy says
OMG. Tara I'm so sorry. Yeah it's NUTS! I see the banana hair mask thing everywhere! Too bad those beauty editors and writers didn't TEST IT OUT FIRST!
...ugh nothing worse than banana goop hair.
Kathy
Tara says
THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME RIGHT THIS MOMENT.
tonight i decided i wanted to make my hair real nice for tomorrow [i'm seeing my man], so i looked up on google "hair masks" and i clicked on the first link. so yeah i mushed together banana, honey, olive oil and milk. and yea, everything that happened to you, happened to me. except the water in my shower became super cold super fast, so right now i'm sitting here on the computer, with wet, banana mush + conditioner filled hair. fantastic, and yeah, i've used a fine comb and 3 brushes, and there's still little chunky bits of banana in my hair.
hopefully when i wash it again [when the water becomes hot again] and dry, the chunks will be easy to take out
Tara says
THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME RIGHT THIS MOMENT.tonight i decided i wanted to make my hair real nice for tomorrow [i'm seeing my man], so i looked up on google "hair masks" and i clicked on the first link. so yeah i mushed together banana, honey, olive oil and milk. and yea, everything that happened to you, happened to me. except the water in my shower became super cold super fast, so right now i'm sitting here on the computer, with wet, banana mush + conditioner filled hair. fantastic, and yeah, i've used a fine comb and 3 brushes, and there's still little chunky bits of banana in my hair.hopefully when i wash it again [when the water becomes hot again] and dry, the chunks will be easy to take out
Tara says
THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME RIGHT THIS MOMENT.
tonight i decided i wanted to make my hair real nice for tomorrow [i'm seeing my man], so i looked up on google "hair masks" and i clicked on the first link. so yeah i mushed together banana, honey, olive oil and milk. and yea, everything that happened to you, happened to me. except the water in my shower became super cold super fast, so right now i'm sitting here on the computer, with wet, banana mush + conditioner filled hair. fantastic, and yeah, i've used a fine comb and 3 brushes, and there's still little chunky bits of banana in my hair.
hopefully when i wash it again [when the water becomes hot again] and dry, the chunks will be easy to take out
Kathy says
to clarify my comment above...
...the banana will dry up and fall out...NOT YOUR HAIR!
...haha
Kathy says
Isn't it nuts!?
It will dry up and fall out...and it won't hurt your hair, just don't try pulling it out aggressively.
I used a throw-away brush and brushed it out in the shower. That helped...
good luck and warn your friends!
Kathy
Kathy says
to clarify my comment above......the banana will dry up and fall out...NOT YOUR HAIR! ...haha
Kathy says
Isn't it nuts!?It will dry up and fall out...and it won't hurt your hair, just don't try pulling it out aggressively. I used a throw-away brush and brushed it out in the shower. That helped...good luck and warn your friends!Kathy
Kathy says
to clarify my comment above...
...the banana will dry up and fall out...NOT YOUR HAIR!
...haha
Kathy says
Isn't it nuts!?
It will dry up and fall out...and it won't hurt your hair, just don't try pulling it out aggressively.
I used a throw-away brush and brushed it out in the shower. That helped...
good luck and warn your friends!
Kathy
Black girl with long hair says
*ugh, i tried a banana mask tonight, and i'm STILL pulling chunks of banana out of my hair 🙁 i hope the tangling doesn't cause my hair to break too badly
Black girl with long hair says
*ugh, i tried a banana mask tonight, and i'm STILL pulling chunks of banana out of my hair 🙁 i hope the tangling doesn't cause my hair to break too badly
Black girl with long hair says
*ugh, i tried a banana mask tonight, and i'm STILL pulling chunks of banana out of my hair 🙁 i hope the tangling doesn't cause my hair to break too badly
Misha says
that is hilarious. Try blending it in a food processor next time...less clumps.
Misha says
that is hilarious. Try blending it in a food processor next time...less clumps.
Misha says
that is hilarious. Try blending it in a food processor next time...less clumps.
Gary says
hehehehehe
Gary says
hehehehehe
Gary says
hehehehehe