Avocado Hair Masks

Introduction

Avocados

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A popular food utilized by people with natural curls or textures is avocados.

Why Avocado Moisturizing Masks?

Since the shape of natural curls, waves and related textures are linked to perpetually opened cuticles, moisturizing and conditioning ingredients are highly desirable.

Such is the case with both the oil and the actual fruit of the avocado. Both are utilized in a variety of conditioning treatments.

The green-skinned pear or egg shaped fruit continues ripening after it’s harvested. The avocado is famous for its softening properties due to its abundant vitamin E and essential fatty acids which will nourish dry, damaged or moisture robbed strands, leaving it smooth and silky.

The avocado fruit grows on trees known as Persea Americana. The trees are native to Mexico and the Caribbean. Avocados are cultivated in tropical climates including parts of California and are classified as a flowering plant.

Hair and beauty experts utilize the inside of ripe avocados often mixing the ingredients with additional oils, creams or butters for maximum moisturizing benefits.

Karen’s Favorite At-Home Avocado Moisturizing Treatment Mask

I've confessed this before but I love to whip up recipes in the kitchen and gloop it on my tresses. I'm always looking for a miracle cure for dry strands. Who isn't?

While it's always easier to get my hair healing mananas from the HairBoutique.com Marketplace (I adore the conditioners from Phyto, Rene Furterer, Leonor Greyl and JF Lazartique) sometimes it's fun to play at home. Don't you agree?

Note: If your hair is tightly curled or coiled make sure before you apply a homemade avocado mask that there are no big pieces or chunks which can get caught in your hair. Yes, been there, done that. It's not pleasant but I've learned to always blend my ingredients well before I apply to my tresses.

Avocado

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1. Scoop out the insides of a ripe avocado (organic if possible). Use a small, medium or large avocado depending upon how much hair you hair. 2. Mix avocado with ¼ to ½ tsp of jojoba oil. Blend with fork until smooth (you own favorite oil may be substituted for jojoba such as almond, olive, etc,) If your hair is extremely dry or damaged you may wish to experiment with doubling the amount of oil you add. Be careful that you don’t overdo the oil which can leave strands feeling lank and oily. 3. Apply to damp, towel blotted tresses. Make sure that all big chunks have been properly mashed to guarantee even distribution. 4. Use fingers or an optional wide tooth comb (with smooth teeth) to apply the avocado mixture to dry and damaged sections of your strands. Depending on your own scalp needs you may or may not wish to apply directly to the scalp areas. Note: If your hair is oily avoid applying mask to areas which tend to retain oil. 5. Wrap entire head in long sheets of plastic wrap. This helps keep the messy avocado mix in place while also trapping heat from your head. If you prefer, use a shower cap. 6. Leave the mixture on your strands for a minimum of 30 minutes up to several hours. Although it’s possible to leave the mixture on overnight it can be quite messy and may not be the best option. 7. After treatment remove the plastic wrap. Use fingers to remove loose avocado mix so it doesn’t get clogged into your drains. 8. Rinse treatment off hair with lukewarm water, preferably in a shower. Depending on your regular cleansing routine you may or may not wish to apply shampoo, diluted shampoo or conditioner only. 9. Optionally you may wish to apply a rinse out conditioner, especially to dry ends. 10. Finish with a cool or cold final rinse. 11. Towel blot and whenever possible allow hair to air-dry to maximize the treatment results.

This treatment usually leaves hair feeling smoother, more moisturized and silkier. Although a very popular conditioning treatment which works for many, it may not work for everyone all the time.

Avocado Mask With Mayonnaise

Just like turkey stuffing, everyone has their own secret recipe that they swear by. The same is true for home made hair masks with avocados as the base ingredients. Some hair lovers believe mayonnaise is a better way to go with a moisturizing mask. I personally never loved mayo on my hair but some people love it.

Listed below are the ingredients for an avocado mask with mayonnaise. Follow the same steps above for application, rinsing and finishing.

1. One ripe avocado - small, medium or large depending on the amount of hair to cover. 2. 1/4 to 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Depending on the length and thickness of your hair you may want to add more or less. 3. Mix well making sure to mash avocado completely.

My biggest challenge with this recipe is not having more mayo than avocado since my goal is the moisturizing properties of the golden green fruit.

Follow the application, rinse and finishing treatment steps listed above.

Skyler Samuals Long Loose Open Sausage Style Ringlets

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Avocado Mask With Honey And Oils

I love honey for my hair but honestly prefer to keep my honey and avocado masks separate. One popular avocado hair mask includes the following ingredients:

1. One ripe avocado - small, medium or large depending on the amount of hair to cover. 2. One tablespoon of honey. 3. Two tablespoons of jojoba, almond or olive oil (or your favorite oil). 4. Mix well making sure to mash avocado completely. Follow the application, rinse and finishing treatment steps listed above.

Avocado Mask With Eggs And Oil

With all the recent salmonella scare over eggs I tend to shy away from using raw eggs in any home hair or beauty treatment.

However, if you're a huge fans of eggs as a beauty ingredient for your hair, by all means check out this recipe:

1. One ripe avocado - small, medium or large depending on the amount of hair to cover. 2. One egg yolk (dispose of the egg white or make an omelet) 3. 1/2 teaspoon of jojoba, almond or olive oil (or your favorite oil). 4. Mix well making sure to mash avocado completely. Follow the application, rinse and finishing treatment steps listed above.

Avocado Mask With Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, Aloe Gel Or Similar

Some of the additional variables with DIY Avocado Hair Masks include adding 1 teaspoon or more of lemon juice (fresh or bottled), sea salt and aloe gel. I've seen other ingredients. Since the goal of the Avocado Hair Mask is to moisture and lemon juice minimizes moisture I don't see the benefit of mixing the two together. Of course you can try if you like to see what the results are.

Ditto with sea salt. The only reason I can see adding sea salt is to act as a type of binder for the mixture. I don't believe sea salt is good for the hair but that's just my opinion.

I do like the idea of adding aloe gel or aloe juice. It does have cooling and healing properties so this could be good, especially for masks which will be applied to the scalp.

Commercial Hair Products With Avocado Ingredients

Many commercial hair products contain avocado ingredients. Unfortunately the amount of avocado oil or related ingredients may be sufficiently low on the list of ingredients as to render it insignificant. However, if you love avocado you may wish to try some commercial hair products with avocado oils or similar ingredients.

Misinformation About Avocado Hair Masks

I have seen it said that applying an avocado hair mask will repair split ends. This is a false statement. While the mask may temporarily seal the broken ends together it will not repair them. The only repair for split ends is to have them cut off. If you are going to all the trouble to make and apply an avocado hair mask with the thought it will repair your split ends, you will be disappointed.

Another false piece of information is that the avocado hair mask results will last indefinitely. This is also not true. Just like any hair mask, the results will last until the next shampoo. To assume it might last for weeks or even months is not a good assumption.

Is Avocado Hair Mask A Protein Hair Treatment?

Avocado hair masks without protein ingredients are not considered protein treatments. If eggs, high in protein, or other protein specific ingredients are added, then the avocado hair mask could be classified as a protein hair treatment.

Summary

Why are avocado hair masks so popular? Avocados are chock full of essential vitamins and nutrients. These treatments help add back moisture, shine, body and elasticity.

If you love how avocado makes your tresses feel why not experiment with different ingredients? A good starting point is to use an avocado and then try different oils. I personally love the results jojoba brings and feel coconut is too much for my tresses. However, some people might really enjoy a jojoba hair mask made with coconut oil or even shea butter.

Avocado mixed with peanut butter? Maybe it would work but I would definitely skip the chunky version.

Enjoy!

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- Revised Date: 09/07/10

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