so i tried my banana/coconut conditioner last night… and i’ll start by saying that i spent 3 hours picking banana particles out of my napps… yeh, this isn’t going to be a good review.
so, you know, i did my bentonite wash, and gathered the ingredients for my conditioner — i picked up a banana, bit off a piece, dumped it into the blender, picked up a second banana, bit off a piece, momentarily regretted that i was using banana for hair instead of food, and dumped it in the blender. then i added coconut milk (which had frozen into a thick cream thanks to my landlord’s refusal to turn up the heat… thanks jerk!), coconut oil, olive oil and yogurt.
and then i blended it , i swear i did — ‘pureed’ to be exact. and it looked creamy and well-mixed. i poured it into a bowl, but right before i applied it to my hair i just, i just had a moment where i kinda freaked out about putting food in my hair. everything smelt like banana, and i kinda, you kno, blanked out for a second. but i got over it, put the mix in my hair, and waited for two hours.
i then rinsed out the conditioner and i gotta say, my hair was definitely soft, my coils well defined. and i was impressed… for about two minutes. because then they started to appear … little teeny cream-colored specks… everywhere!
***disclaimer.. do not try anything i do from this point on. it is NOT recommended***
so for another hour, i tried picking these things out… first with my hands (bad), then with a fine tooth comb (even worse)… then i came up with a ‘bright’ idea. i decided to apply bentonite to my hair to give it some slip so that i could a.) pick out the banana and b.) detangle and put in a new set of box braids.
so i dragged my banana-encrusted, bentonite-infused head in front of the TV, and got to work.
i cannot express to you how dirty i felt… inside. as the bentonite/banana mix caked up beneath my fingernails. but i finished two hours later, and rinsed my hair out.
are there still some teeny banana particles in my head? probably. but i’m not going to think about that. i’m going to put on a brave face, keep doing bentonite rinses, and hope for the best.
this whole experience really freaked me out. i mean, i’ve put natural ingredients like bentonite and castor oil in my hair before, but this is the first time i put all-out food, like… straight muffin batter… in my hair.
had i been more careful with the banana perhaps i wouldn’t feel this way. but this whole experience taught me a benefit of manufactured products: um, they’re not food. they don’t have the consistency of food. they don’t smell like food. they don’t look like food. and i’mma be real… i want that in my life right now.
my horrific experience aside, if you have a strategy to combat the banana, i would recommend this as a conditioner. i mean i think it would be good even if you skipped the banana and just did the coconut oil/coconut milk/yogurt trifecta.
but as for me and my hair, we’re pullin out of banana/coconut station, and cruising (again) for the next best thing.
Winners
yogurt
coconut milk/coconut oil
Losers
banana
Next Contenders
well…. i think i’m going to look for a manufactured deep conditioner (i can hear Jc rejoicing now…), and combine it with some natural products.
Next hair take-down day
Mar. 11
okay, i DEFINITELY want to hear your thoughts on this…
also, is there anyone out there who has had a good banana conditioning experience?
