Bananas are mystical fruits designed by a higher power to be the exact shape and size to fit perfectly, snugly, miraculously on your counter top for two weeks, while you forget about them and instead eat the granola.
They also have a built-in color-coded system: Banana day one is green, banana day three is green, banana day four is yellow, banana day five is as black as the heart of Genghis Khan.
All over the wild of India, there are families of monkeys, bickering about who didn’t eat the last two bananas and now what are they going to do with them? They’re too dark and mushy. The kids won’t touch them, George. What a waste. Fine, go ahead. Just go outside and throw your poop with the guys. I’m sick of discussing this, anyway.
Well, here’s a way you can avoid that conversation. You’ll also avoid spending six hours debating whether you should throw the bananas away or bake banana bread, during which time the bananas grow legs, get up, and just walk away, sick of your indecision.
Smooth ‘n Silky Banana Hair Mask.
You don’t have to use old bananas for this; you can use any bananas your heart desires. It’s just a way to use up those crusty, spotted fruits so you’re not just tossing them in the compost bin and hiding your wasteful head in shame.
Best of all – it really does work. Just about the best hair conditioning you can find this side of the buffet table.
Banana Milkshake Hair Mask
A while ago, Dr. Oz assembled a crack team of enthusiastic researchers to determine what food, in fact, was the most repairing, the most conditioning, for hair. They determined it was spicy sirloin chili. Just kidding. It’s bananas.
Bananas as a hair mask is effective, because bananas contain things like potassium, vitamin B6, folate, and other properties that are great for your hair (and also help with hair loss).
And milk? Milk is full of protein to make your hair stronger, as well as lactic acid to help whisk away old, dead skin cells that might have accumulated on your hair and caused it to become lifeless, limp, and mildly suicidal.
Some people also insist that using milk on your hair before you wash it causes curls to relax and assists in straightening. This seems to be a hotly debated issue (as it should be, because it’s very important), but some people say it works and some people say it doesn’t. Homemade beauty treatments: They’re like politics, only not as messy.
Either way, I can tell you from my own personal experience over the years that both milk and bananas make my hair silky, smooth, and extra shiny. I already have pretty straight hair, so who knows if it helped straighten it, but my hair (today, because I did this last night) feels like a tranquil waterfall looks. Swishy and sparkly, like a curtain of silk.
Enough talk. Let’s do it.
Smooth ‘n Silky Banana Milkshake Hair Mask
- 1-2 bananas (maybe 3, if your hair is really, really long and thick)
- Whole milk or coconut milk, enough to thin out the bananas
- Honey (optional)
- Cocoa powder, strawberries, or a peach (optional)
We’re just going to talk about the basic hair mask, which is lovely and perfect as it is, and then in a minute we’ll talk about other ingredients you can add if you want to kick it up a notch.
OH, before I forget to mention, YOU CAN TOTALLY DRINK THE LEFTOVERS. Do not attempt this with regular hair conditioner.
First, you want to take your banana(s) and blend them in some way, either in a blender, food processor, with a stick blender, or just by mashing and stirring really well. You want to do this until you have a slimy paste. No chunks. Just slime.
If you have chunks, they will probably adhere to your hair, move in with their kids, and refuse to leave when you shower. So no chunks.
Then, you just drizzle in milk, monitoring the thickness of the banana. You’re aiming for a consistency that is nearly identical to regular hair conditioners.
Once you have this blended and smooth, it should be relatively runny, but still thick enough to stay on your hair. Again, go for the consistency of regular hair conditioner.
After this, you can add in your optional ingredients and blend them in there very well. (See below.)
How to apply the Smooth ‘n Silky Banana Milkshake Hair Mask
- Start with dry hair and work over the sink or in the bathtub
- Consider that this might be an excellent hair treatment to use as you take a stress-relieving bath; otherwise, you’ll need a shower cap or well-wrapped towel to prevent dripping all over the world
- Apply as much of this mask to your hair as you can, making sure it’s saturating your hair and caressing your scalp
- Put on your shower cap or wrap your head in a towel
- Leave this on for 15-20 minutes
- Wash as normal (you may or may not need to condition your hair, just see how it feels after you wash it), but make sure you get ALL of the mask out of your hair, or you’ll walk around smelling like old bananas and sour milk
- Enjoy your beeeeeeeauytiful hair
Rule of thumb for all homemade beauty treatments: Do not ever try a homemade beauty treatment an hour before you have to be somewhere important. Practice them first on boring days, before you’re slated to meet the queen or whatever important things you do. Get to know what different ingredients do to your hair or skin, first. Just in case your hair hates things like bananas, and you never knew. Wouldn’t want to shame the queen.
Add Goodies to Your Banana Milkshake Hair Mask
If, for some reason, the wonderfulness of the basic mask isn’t enough for your wild ways and fancy leanings, there are a few ingredients you can add to up the oomph of this hair mask. These ingredients will also make it yummier, when you drink your leftovers. (And you will, won’t you??)
Here are a few ideas:
- Honey, for even more moisturizing
- Cocoa powder, which is also moisturizing, and it’s great for brunettes or redheads who want to boost their deep brown tones
- Strawberries are clarifying, but they’d also be great for anyone interested in adding a bit of a slight red highlight (note: none of these “highlights” are strong, and they won’t last past your second wash)
- Peaches are great for delicate, broken hair, as well as blondes who want to soften the brassiness in their hair
- Strong green tea, wonderfully clarifying, would be great for any hair type, and it would make for an interesting flavor combination when you drink up what you don’t use on your hair
There are definitely other things you could add to this to make it yummy and turbo boost the conditioning.
Can you think of anything else that sounds good?
The Runs In Your Pantyhose Are a Conspiracy!
Do you have to wash your hair afterwards, or can you just rinse it out? Thanks!
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Great post.Thank you for sharing it.
I have just washed out the banana hair mask, I added milk and honey and it has made my fine hair have more body. I am one happy camper, thanks so much
i did one with cocnut oil and milk and 2 eggs and cinnamon and bananas
What can I use to die my hair that is not the typical hair dye full of toxins?
Namun bagiku, sesuatu yang telah memikat hatiku, selamanya akan menjadi baru.
All these oils help improve skin the elasticity and condition. It will take about a month for germination to take place.
All other steps of production of argan oil remain the
same when using mechanical presses.
How many times I can apply this banana maak in a month
HONEY, is it a natural lightner? What your thoughts on a honey leave in treatment to lighten hair?
Things have settled down through the 19th century
but instead of the most common one cravat, men begun using two around their necks.
I should have listened to the part that said not to do it on a day you have something important to do. The only reason I ignored that was because I wasn’t worried so much about the effects it had on my hair, and I didn’t think it was going to be this hard to wash it out. So far, I have washed my hair four times, the last time even combing through while the shampoo was in to make sure it all came out (which caused me to lose enough hair to make myself a wig), and I STILL have banana in my hair. If it does’t come out with the 5th was I will be going to work smelling like bananas. It is starting to sicken me. Hopefully when my hair dries, the effects will be worth it. I have super dry hair so I have high hope for this but I’m not sure I will try this again. It’s not because there were chunks in my mix either. I blended it so it was silky smooth and the consistency of conditioner and its still stuck in my hair. So if you try this, be smarter than me and listen to the part where it says to do it on a day where you have nothing to do.
Thank you for any ofher informative blog. The place else may I get that kind
of information written in such aan ideal means? I have a challenge that I am simply now
operating on, and I have been on the glance out for such info.
Crunchy Betty
I stumbled upon your website when looking for a recipe for lavender dusting powder. I’m so excited to try the variety of dusting powders, the hyssop face conditioner and the smooth and silky banana milkshake for my hair. I love finding new recipes that you can create from ingredients in your kitchen that is healthy for your body. You encourage me to create new healthy items for myself also. Great job, Keep it up!
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I am in the process of detoxing my hair and scalp, it definitely takes time and patience. I tried this mask and it’s something I will be making and using again! After applying I wrapped my hair using plastic wrap and then wrapped a towel around that so that the mixture could warm up a bit on my scalp and I left it in my hair for about 30 minutes. I added cocoa powder and straight powdered green tea to my mix. Next time I will try peaches in it! I love that the ingredients were right in my kitchen! I normally just peel my old bananas and break them into bite sized chunks and bag & freeze them to “pop” into my smoothies at a later time. Now I have another use for them as well!
Just a note because I have read a few comments about people getting chunks stuck in their hair or saying that their hair felt “dry” after. For the people with the chunky issue – you are not blending enough or need to invest in a better blender/processor.
For those of you with the dry feeling hair, if you are used to using chemical laden products with sulfates and parabens and waxes, well of course your hair is going to feel different after trying this. It’s not laden with chemicals. The only reason your hair is soft after using typical store bought poo’s & conditioners is because of the chemicals coating your hair. Most likely you need to detox your hair and that in it self is a process, you have to be patient. It takes time for you hair and scalp to come out of “chemical shock” and revert back to normal. Hair detox is an entire other subject and a long one and requires OODLES of patience if your new to it and have been using chemical laden products for years.
Think of this recipe not as a typical store bought chemical laden bath for your hair but more of “food” for your scalp and hair. Also if you use honey make sure it’s raw and unfiltered – the label will say so!
Oh one more thing that made it easier for me to apply was to just kneel over the side of the tub, it allowed me to thoroughly apply and saturate my hair with minimal mess and made clean up easy!
I’ve been doing no-poo for almost a year and my hair just gets drier and drier–I’m thinking soon it will all fall out and I’ll have no hair to have to worry about. Any ideas on how to soften it up and still keep it manageable? I use baking soda with water for the poo and ACV for the conditioner. Admittedly, the first few months my hair washed better with ACV and conditioned better with the baking soda and until one week the buildup was crazy and everything flipped, but still it is just getting drier and drier. HELP! SOMEONE!?!?!?
Try a cleansing purchased shampoo. Just to get the baking soda and AVC out of your hair. You have put together the two substances that are used to breakup grease clots in your kitchen sink! That is why there is no longer the natural oils left i. Your hair.
I am a scientist. I understand the chemistry and biochemical extremes that you have going on in your hair at the moment.
If I were you I would try a different shampoo regime, either natural or at this point a purchased all natural shampoo at a vitamine shoppe. You must must condition your hair and scalp!!! You homemade recipes, and hair oil treatments. I pefer to use cocunut oil will the essential oils of rosemary and lavender. Rub these oils in your hair at night then wash out out the next morning.
Your poor scalp is dry and your hair is even dryer. The baking soda and AVC will be great to reduce buildup one a week or so. However, in your case anymore is not suitable to your scalp and hair type.
Good luck!
No, no, no and NO. I stupidly gave this concoction a try because I had some spare time and it sounded quite good. It did smell good and I admit I drank a bit of it, but it was holy hell to get out of my hair! I ended up totally washing and conditioning it with regular stuff out of bottles, but before that, more hair than ever was broken off while I tried to comb out the goo. I was really disappointed and shocked at how bad this was and how impossible it was to get out of my hair. Never, ever, ever EVER again!!!
I made this hair mask with bananas, milk, and honey, but never thought to add the other ingredients! I’ve used it twice and love the results…but next time I will definitely try adding cocoa powder or green tea! Thanks for the awesome suggestions and recipe!
wow, loved the “goodies” part =). It is certainly a different mask from most I’ve seen online. Right now I’m using the pro naturals argan oil hair mask and it is extremely good, and it smells fantastic too =D
What to do if I don’t have any (hair)?
I used this recipe last night:) I added a little too much milk and panicked, thinking it would run down my scalp and into my clothes so I *may* have in my craziness added some random ingredients such as coconut oil and guavas. I love coconut oil so no harm there, guava well I figured it would add even more nutrients and what not to my hair. Fast forward to 30 minutes later when the globs of banana and guava seeds became an ugly tangled (and dry looking) mess in my hair. Needless to say I was very disappointed at this stage. But lo and behold when I was finally done with this (another 15 mins) my hair was a beauty!!!!! I actually wanted to do it again tonight my hair feels silky and looks darker and shinier!! I am soooo impressed by this! Definitely do it! Just don’t add guavas 😉
Excited to try this!
I used this recipe this Summer and OMG!!!! I’m African American with Natural hair and my hair LOOOOOVVVEEDD this!!!! Where’s the Love<3 button for this cause this made my hair sooooooo soft and the scent is awesome. The cocoa powder gives it that extra umph.
Thank you so much for this! ^_^
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I’m definitely going to try this today. I just wanted to say, how freaking hilarious (and delightfully informative) this post is. Sometimes, I come back to read it just because it’s funny!
helooo………………………….my hair is totally turning & its very hard……
i just to change my hair as very silky & normal
can anybody give TIPS on this turning hair as wella as hard hair
Can i use goats milk?
Manohman, i can’t wait to try this recipe! I do have one question, though. I normally rinse my hair with a mix of ACV and honey (2 spoons/1 spoon), which leaves my hair clean and moisturized. If there such a thing as too much moisturizing? Should i skip the rinsing when i use this mask?
Many thanks:)
Corina
BETTY CRUNCH: I just want to know “WHY” can’t you answer at least some of these questions people have asked you?
I mean “Bluehairfanatic” has asked a reasonable question. And w/o a reply in almost a month.
Bluehairfanatic, I guess “YOU” are suppose to “do” (experiment) what you’re asking on your own, then come back here and post your experience doing it.
I think/believe “Crunchy Betty” is more interested in making money from advertisements from people like us visiting this site, than she is answering your question.
I also believe, she isn’t the least bit worried/interested about helping anyone, but rather just wait for someone to try out your suggestion and post the results.
If people were more interested in truly helping others, instead of padding their wallets/purses, this world would be a great place.
(I’m guessing this applies to hair recipes as well. I’d imagine there is an overwhelming amount of questions for her to answer, making it impossible to do so. I have found the forum to be very helpful. Hope to see you there.)
Contact Crunchy Betty
I would absolutely love to hear from you; however, Crunchy Betty no longer answers personal inquiries for suggestions or advice on how to take care of your skin. We have a LOVELY community forum where people get together to brainstorm and share ideas on natural health/skincare, and if you have a question, I really, really, really suggest you visit there. Read through a few threads. Ask your own questions. Get to know each other. Party the crunchy way.
However, if you’d like to send me a love letter (sans a question), an idea for a blog post, or if you’re a natural business that has a proposal, please use the contact form below.
(Again, please remember, no personal questions soliciting skincare or other advice. Thank you! <3 )
I’m agree here with S.Michelle, but because I’m not such a nice person as S.Michelle, I’m gonna be blunt.
YOU OBVIOUSLY DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS TO KEEP UP WITH A BLOG AS POPULAR AS THIS ONE. OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVE THE SPARE TIME TO TROLL AROUND THE INTERNET AND INSULT PEOPLE WHO AREN’T AS ON-TOP-OF-THINGS AS YOU CLEARLY THINK YOU ARE, YOU DON’T HAVE A BLOG TO KEEP UP WITH. SO TO GAIN SOME PERSPECTIVE (Because perspective helps make the world a better place, right?) YOU MIGHT JUST WANT TO START YOUR OWN BLOG ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU ARE AND HOW ORGANIZED AND PERFECT YOU ARE AND HOW EVERYONE SHOULD BE JUST LIKE YOU. THEN YOU MIGHT GET IT. IN THE MEANTIME, TAKE YOUR OPINIONS AND HOLIER-THAN-THOU ATTITUDE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Also, for someone who’s so concerned about helping others and talks about a better place, you sure do have a way of contributing. I guess if everyone else was as cold-hearted and insulting as you are to people who are giving their best to something they love, that would solve the world’s attitude, work-ethic, and depression problems, wouldn’t it?
Reality check: YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN LESLIE. And posting something on her blog about what a terrible person she is does not make you better, and it does not make her worse. It makes you a power-hungry bully in need of attention that you do not deserve. Go back to middle school.
As for S.Michelle’s post, it was copied and pasted from the Contact Crunchy Betty section of this blog. Look it up for yourself. And stop looking for people to pick on.
That is all.
I was really frustrated with my frizzy hair. It used to be smooth and shiny but somewhere along the way after my cancer therapy, it lost its texture and thickness. My hair used to stand on end and fly all over the place. Well, I used this banana and honey mask. The difference is that I used it after oiling my hair and wrapping a warm, moist towel around it for 20 minutes prior to the banana mask. IT has worked wonders for my hair. I can’t quite believe the difference it has made! Yes, there are a few banana flakes in my hair, but hey! Who cares!! Yahoo. Thanks a lot. Strongly recommended.
just wanted to know if it is okay to use low fat milk, or should i should i use whole milk instead (just to be on the safe side)
and how many strawberries do i use?
Can you leave it in overnight?? And is it okay for hair colors like blue? Thanks
Hi there!
Bananas are really mild fruits, so I imagine leaving banana in your hair overnight wouldn’t do much more than create a big, dry, clumpy mess. I’d avoid leaving any dairy products in your hair for more than 4 hours (they might spoil and start to smell).
As for the blue hair question (first of all, I’m jealous), since bananas are very mild, they should be totally fine to use in your hair! Especially since the harsher chemicals used to dye your hair may have damaged your hair in the process (depending on the method and brand and such). I think using the milk and bananas would be fine, maybe even some honey, but I have no idea how the cocoa or strawberries would work. Green tea would probably work wonders!
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Now i’m very happy I found this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Did not work for me at all. The banana Stuck to my hair so stubbornly.. I had to rinse n rinse n rinse so much that one- I ran out of hot water, two- so much rinsing nullified the effect of the banana mask if there was any.
Also, more importantly, honey turns dark hair grey.
Not doing this again.
saying black as the heart of “genghis khan” is quite offensive considering not all people are pro-Crusade. it happened, yes and we cannot simply ignore it. but to make comments like that is highly unnecessary considering that although you may have seen him as a villain, he was a hero to his people.
and before you start having a go at me for being unpatriotic and whatnot, I’m simply an atheist woman who believes it is unjust to make judgements on things you have no knowledge of, especially considering that all you know is merely what you’ve been taught in prep school. I studied the crusades in depth for nearly 3 years of my life and do not appreciate judgements being made on a topic you clearly know so little about. so I would appreciate it if you’d stick to the beauty side of things and not bring political and historical matters into it in jest or otherwise. thank you
Does anyone else find it utterly ridiculous that this girl is getting butt-hurt over a comment about a guy who died 800 years ago? Chill out haha she’s just making a joke. And congrats on 3 years of studying something completely irrelevant to this post, but you can get off your soapbox because if you did study him then you would know that he massacred entire populations of people. Next I bet you’ll tell me that Hitler was actually a pretty nice guy. Anyway, keep on doing what you’re doing, crunchy betty =] i love your sassy attitude! Keep the jokes comin’!
Chill, Elenor! God still loves you! Just because you believe you are an atheist, He forgives your ignorance. You will find this out much later. Just because someone is a “hero” to his people does not make him a good guy! Most religions (as well as those that don’t profess to be religious) have good guys and bad guys. A person’s actions define the person. As a Christian, I am not happy with things Christians have done either! I judge a person by his/her actions. Just because you studied the Crusades in depth does not make you an expert. Not all resources are reliable. Written history all contain biases. Learn to be less sensitive and take a joke that meant no harm. I doubt Genghis is upset a bit! God has shown him the true existence…
you have a wonderful way of writing, simple easy directions and lots of humor that one can’t help not smile! even laugh! it’s wonderful . Thank you for it!
I tried this and my hair is color-treated and it still worked wonders for my hair, it’s so incredibly smooth and shiny. I probably used too much milk and it was a bit thinner than I thought it should be, but I got no chunks (:
Can you just make a bunch of it at once and use whenever you need to, or would it go bad?
Can you use soy milk?
i have slightly dry and curly/wavy hair; generally they are healthy because i wash them only 1 a week with organic mild shampoo, never dyed them and rarely use heat on my hair; nevertheless i wanted to make a nourishing mask to soften up them a little bit ..as i said they tend to be dry……and it was FANTASTIC!!!!…..
i changed a little bit the recepie above (which is great by the way)
I used:
1 ripe banana
1 very ripe avocado
1 egg yolk (optional for those who are vegan or don’t like eggs)
3 tsp organic EV olive oil
2 tsp organic jojoba oil (or any other oil of your preference almond, avocado…)
1 tbsp organic honey (optional)
about 1/4 cup organic whole milk
begin with the banana and avocado (blend them very well in the mixer) until they become puree (as Betty says you don’t want clumps in your head) than add the other ingredients adjusting the milk to become a baby food puree consistency.
apply this to dry hair and let sit at least 30 minutes (i left mine for one hour)
than rinse with COOL water…….no warm water or you’re going to bake the egg in your head!…….it comes out pretty easly……than shampoo as usual or for the NO Pooers just rinse with BS and ACV……
Do I put this mixture into dry hair?
Do I put this mixture into dry hair?
Would Canned Peaches do the Same Trick as a Whole Peach??
Me & the family Girls just did this and we all look like lice infested maniacs . Maybe a couple more washes ? We’ll See Tomorrow
._.
What about 1% milk? That’s all I have. 😛
I have very curly , dry & freezy hairs…can this mask will effect on my hairs?
I have a lot of grey hair so I dye it and I’m worried about doing this mask because of the comments below from a couple of people who didn’t have good results and said it may be because they dye their hair. There wasn’t a response from CB, so I’m hoping you see this and can give me some insight. My hair is, besides being grey in parts, is pretty dry and frizzy and in that part-wavy, part-straight thing that is so annoying! I have two little kids (boys–3 1/2 and 5yo) and my time is not my own, even on a good day. I won’t have the time (or energy) to fix this if it doesn’t work (as in, getting all the banana out, etc).
My hair is like yours. Stubborn grey in the fron, part wavy, and I dye it every 7 weeks. I blend it all very smooth and had a wonderful experience. My hair loved it! See my comment above.
How often can we do this!? And I’m trying it right now!
i am most definitely going to use this mask. It sounds wonderful. And here is a recipe for a conditioner that i use and it works wonders for my hair. Thought i should share it. Mix curd (you can use a sieve to drain out the water so that it doesn’t drip off on your shoulders or back), amla (indian gooseberry) powder, powdered fenugreek seeds (they make your hair very very silky, this is the most important ingredient i suppose), i sometimes put henna with a little coffee powder (to color my hair dark brown, but its a very light color.. i have black hair, i dont know what would happen if you have light hair), little olive oil, sesame oil, almond oil ( i have heard avocado oil is also really good as it has regenerative properties, so i am going to try it; on my skin as well) and sometimes an egg (i put the whole of it, i don’t really know whether the yellow part is better or white for hair). i leave it for an hour or so.. and wash my hair really well with a shampoo, because i don’t want to.end up smelling like a pickle or have powder particles in my hair! but my hair becomes really silky.. oh and i have dry curly hair.
I have a friend with crazy curly long dry hair. (Think Corbin Bleu) Will it be difficult for him to wash it out?
I just tried this mask and the results are undeniable! My hair is shinier, smoother and smells great to boot! However, be cautious. I don’t think I blended the bananas to a smooth enough consitancy and spent an hour trying to comb out banana chunks!
I once put bananas in my hair and the resulting mess took so long to get out that I don’t remember if it had any benefit. This time, I mashed up the bananas, stirred in the milk, and then plopped it into a fine mesh sieve, so I ended up with sort of a banana infused milk. So I put it in my hair, rinsed it out….with no chunks! And my hair is gloriously soft now.
Hi, Crunchy Betty! I loved this recipe, and had very good results. My hair turned out just as you promised, and my seborrhic dandruff situation seemed a little calmer this week (this may just be beginner’s luck, or the right side of the moon, but this mixture made my scalp very happy!) Thanks for posting.
I added cocoa powder and honey, I only had 1% milk but had whipping cream so I spoiled my hair. There was some small pulp bits left but just used a fine comb tooth. I think next time I’ll put it through some mesh.
Now to enjoy my silky smooth chocolate scented hair. Hopefully I don’t get back into my childhood habit of chewing my hair……
I recently went no ‘poo and, after three weeks of spending up to an hour in the shower trying to get hot oil conditioning treatments out of my hair, I’ve given up on them, even though my hair desperately needs the nourishment. I will be trying this! Thanks for the heads up on this milkshake. 😀
I used this and will absolutely be doing it again. It made my hair curly, which was unexpected, but it was beatiful. Thanks for the idea.
Ooooo I’m very intrigued about what you wrote about peaches softening the brassiness of blond hair. I recently started no poo and my beige ombre has now gone a tad orange. I would love to try this and see if it helps. Also if anyone else has any suggestions it’d be GREATLY appreciated!
Are you using ACV as a conditioner? I started no poo with that and my blonde hair became darker too. I swapped it for lemon juice (about a tbs in a cup of water) and haven’t looked back.
Ooo interesting! Thanks! I’ll have to try that.
My hair loves this milkshake and me too! I have super curly and frizzy hair. My hair looked so lovely after using this hair mask. There were still bits of banana in my hair and I think I will try straining it the next time!
just made this and smeared my daughter’s head with it… she is my guinea pig. She then proceeded to take the rest and plopped vanilla ice cream in it. Waste not, want not!
Or what about coconut OIL? I buy the oil but not the milk.
Just wondering can you use 2% milk instead? Or Almond Milk. I don’t buy whole milk, but I do buy these two. Would it have the same effect?
Tiffany, I used 2% milk, and had very good results.
If i’m not lazy, I’ll try this, looks yummy! I have to finish my Pro Naturals moroccan argan oil hair mask first 😛
Loved this!! Perfect timing as I recently inherited some bananas that were looking quite brown. I added a bit too much milk but it still worked out well and washed out pretty easily. I did this with an activated charcoal + Aloe face mask which was AWESOME. My teeth are very white too after doing the swish for a few days in a row, but I thought ya’ll should know it makes for a great face mask too!
So glad that coconut milk is an option for this. Do you think any other non-dairy milk would work? Like almond?
Yes, I second that question. I rarely have cow’s milk on hand since I drink almond milk. I remember CB mentioning in the bath recipes that you could use powdered milk (full fat) as an alternative. Could that substitution apply here?
I’m not sure if it’s just my hair or what, but I tried this yesterday and it was no bueno. I blended up 3 bananas to the point of no chunks, added a little bit of honey and mixed in the organic milk. I put it all over my dry hair, put a shower cap over it and let it sit for probably a half hour. Washing it out was a pain in the butt to say the least. Shampooing once, even twice wasn’t getting all the stuff out. I had to use gobs of conditioner just to loosen up the hair so I could get a comb through even a little bit. Little by little I got a comb through all my hair. After all that, my hair still feels course, not soft and smooth like I hoped. 🙁 I’ve tried coconut oil on my hair before and that didn’t really make much of a difference either. I’m going to avocado oil next.
Me too, I think I have to blame the blender because it still have some itsy bitsy chunks. As of right now, I still have banana chunks in my hair looking for ways too get them all out
Jennie, it has been 9 months or so since you had written this. Have you gotten all the banana chunks out of your hair yet? lol. The first time I applied mashed banana to my hair, it still had chunks. It took days to get them all out. Hence my reply to you. Anyway, I since learned to put the banana through the food processor for a true cream-like consistency. Good stuff.
Yup, same problem for me, too. Is your hair color treated? That’s the only thing I Could think of that would maybe cause problems. I’ve shampooed twice and left a deep conditioner in and my hair feels like straw, and I can’t seem to get it all out. 🙁
True story: I’m 46 years old. All my adult years I’ve been searching for things to improve my hair. I’ve always been plagued with dry, frizzy hair that would never smooth down. My hair cuticles were always open, and nothing worked, not even hot oil treatments. I’ve tried so much, wasted so much money…until yesterday I did a homemade mask of 1 banana, 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg. I blended it all very well in a blender and applied it to my unwashed hair, with hair gel in it from the day before (apply to dry hair). It was a very pleasant creamy, smooth mixture that felt nice to apply, a wonderful consistency. I put on a shower cap and left it on for 2 hours. Then, I showered it off with lukewarm water (the egg will solidify and cook in your hair if the water is too hot). I may omit the egg next time, I think it’ll work the same without it, but the egg may have made the consistency of the mixture so wonderful to apply). I will tell you this: it is the miracle of Banana and the Milk!
After I shampooed, conditioned and air dried my hair (the odor of the mixture had dissipated within the hour), the results were incredible! I can’t believe this is really the whole solution to my problem. It has given my hair lots of body, but the biggest thing is that I’ve always dreamt of having silky, smooth, shiny hair, and for the first time in my life I have it! Try this mixture for yourself and you will see ho
beautiful your hair can be.
Maybe try castor oil. I’ve been reading some good things about castor oil
I think I literally had this for breakfast last week! Now I know what to do with the leftover smoothie next time I make it! 🙂
This sounds so nourishing for my always dry hair. It’s for sure going on my list of things to try!
Have I told you lately that you’re a genius? This sounds amazing and I loved your monkey family narrative. Too much! Next time I get bananas I’m making this and adding cocoa!
Oh man, I don’t think a day ever goes by that I don’t have rotting bananas somewhere in my house (not even just the kitchen… gross! They DO sprout legs!)
I also wash with baking soda… I want to try this out though, so I’ll see how it works. I’m off work tomorrow, and only going to the vet, so it’ll be okay if it doesn’t work. 🙂
Just wanted to update, in case anybody needed to know…. my baking soda got the mixture out just fine. I was left with a ton in my hair, but some quick combing pulled it out. While my hair was wet, it felt incredibly soft and I was very excited. However, once it dried, I thought it felt drier than usual. My boyfriend actually commented that my hair felt soft that day, but I kind of disagree… *shrug* Either way, it was fun to make, and the mix smelled delicious! (Although once again, my boyfriend and I disagree… he said I smelled like ketchup!)
This sounds like a wonderful recipe! I just tried a mango hair mask the other day and I loved it. Can’t wait to try this one too.
Speaking of brown bananas…I always stick mine in the freezer (peel and all) to make banana bread or banana pancakes at a later date. When I’m ready to use them I set them on the counter for a little while to thaw just a bit and they slide right out of the peel.
I wish I read this before I dowsed my hair in Olive Oil 2 nights ago. I’ve washed my hair 3 times and it is still an oily mess…any ideas?
Do you use regular shampoo or are you going no ‘poo? I did that when I first went no ‘poo and looked like a river otter so I just used shampoo again. I’ve also heard that bar soap will work.
Is that a dharma straw?! Love it. 🙂
Definitely trying this asap! I’ve been doing the no ‘poo thing with baking soda and conditioning with ACV – which I love! But I’m dealing with a bit of dryness. And this sounds so delicious and nourishing! For my hair and my stomach 😉
Hmm. This is definitely something that I do as often as I can! I love adding coconut oil to the mix — super hydrating, and my curls love it. And the leftovers are lovely <3
Interestingly, though, I put milk on my hair every other day particularly because it -tightens- my curls. No relaxing here!
Also: Chamomile. I totally tried it with chamomile today. I infused it in some warmed coconut oil, and added that to the whole mixture. No more brassy blonde for me!!
I tried this last night and the results were absolutely amazing, I would recommend it to anyone. I have dry fly away unmanageable hair and it worked a treat, my hair is short so I only used one banana but have decided to grow my hair so it was timed perfectly receiving this as I used to spend a fortune on natural hair treatments and I cant afford to be doing that. This is saved and will definitely be used again and again, I used one banana a drop of milk and some honey. Thanks for posting it and I hope for more lovely remedies I can use to save me some Pennies
Another fantastic post, thank you. Although i would qualify one remark you made:
“Homemade beauty treatments: They’re like politics, only not as messy.”
I would suggest that homemade beauty treatments are just as, if not messier than politics – they’re just easier to clean up!! 🙂
Well, I just tried this on my hair–call me the test dummy, if you will 🙂 Anyway, I must have not blended my banana enough, as once I was out of the shower I noticed–gasp–pulp. Lots of itty bitty bits of banana pulp lining my damp strands. Eep! Back to the shower I went, and after 20 minutes of attacking my poor hair with a fine-toothed comb and picking out the unreclaimed pulp with my fingers I finally got it to a passable state, and then I blow-dried it. It IS very shiny and smooth-looking, but it feels as though there’s sugar in it still–kind of sticky and I can’t run my fingers through it. Looks can be deceiving!
Now I’d love to try this again. Betty (I reeeeally hope you see this)–could I strain my banana mash through a cheesecloth to get banana juice, and use only that mixed with milk on my hair? Would it give a similar result, sans petulant pulp particles? And I used honey in this batch, only a little bit, as well as 1% instead of whole milk–could that have resulted in my hair issues? I hope it works out better next time!
Straining it sounds like a great idea! I made a mango hair mask a few days ago and I had stringy pulpy stuff too (not sticky) so I just ran a fine tooth comb thru my hair several times and it all came out. I will strain it next time though. Can’t wait to try this mask. Sounds awesome!
I am definitely going to be doing this, as my hair is super long and becoming rather ratty at the ends lately. Although I am wondering how well this will come out of my hair since I wash with only baking soda. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow! the only people i’m scheduled to see are my lovely children….which reminds me that banana stains horribly. didnt find that one out until I had kids. So for anyone who wasn’t aware, use an old towel or rinse the banana off of any fabrics immediately, before it browns…forever
I also only wash with baking soda and wasn’t sure about getting this mask out. How did it work out for you? And thanks for the tip about banana stains. 🙂
Hmm…we have a lonely, browning banana in our kitchen that I could swear is getting ready to sprout legs. I think maybe I’ll put it out of its misery and try this over the weekend. That is, if it hasn’t sprouted those legs and run away by then. :o)
This sounds like so much fun (and quite delicious) – I must give it a try with coconut milk!
If you have more bananas left over after making this hair mask, try this. The riper the better because they’re sweeter. Peel them and cut into 1 or 2″ chunks. Place the banana pieces onto a cookie sheet lined with either waxed paper or parchment paper to prevent them from adhering to the metal sheetpan. Put the pan in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes until they are firm to the touch. Remove pan from freezer, the bananas are now firm enough to put into a zipper bag. When they are frozen solid, place them in your blender and blend on the highest speed to make a creamy, frozen dessert. If the mixture is too thick, add a few drops of milk, soymilk, almond or coconut milk to help it along. I hate to waste anything, especially food. These will keep in the freezer for a couple of weeks before you decide to blend them up for dessert. Squirt on a little Hershey’s syrup and you’re in heaven!
they are good dipped in chocolate & refrozen! YUM!!:)
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You’ll also avoid spending six hours debating whether you should throw the bananas away or bake banana bread, during which time the bananas grow legs, get up, and just walk away, sick of your indecision.”
… This has happened to me …
No really though, this is amazing. I can’t tell you how I do NOT want to be making banana bread or muffins or cupcakes or anything like that every 3 days, which is how often it feels like we have old, spotty bananas in our house! This is wonderful!
this is all a bit hilarious because I’m legit the only person in the house who eats bananas and I’m ALWAYS running out! when I was younger, me and my brother and sister would always get mad at whoever ate the last banana. one time, my brother got really mad because he got in trouble with my dad for eating the last banana :P. if ever I’m at risk of having bananas go bad, I do indeed make banana bread or muffins, and we love them! if only all of you could give me your almost-rotten bananas. sometimes I purposefully buy overripe bananas (that are on special) because I know they will be extra sweet 😀
I soooo enjoy reading your blog, Betty! Such a joy you are!