Does your curly hair feel dry and looks very dull?

It is Monday morning. Our kitchen clock reads 7 A.M. I open our fridge and there it is, again. A half of an unfinished avocado sitting in a glass jar on a shelf, about to turn brown. As I cannot stand wasting anything, especially food, a thought crossed my mind. Since I am not in the mood for avocado sandwich or guacamole just yet, the wheels in my head start turning.

What can I turn this half of an avocado into?

My hair is curly when freshly washed and after a day or two, it gets wavy with a little attitude and has a mind of its own. If you have curly hair, you probably understand what I am talking about. The fact that I decided to embrace my increasingly gray hair, or as I like to affectionately refer to, my pearls of wisdom, probably doesn’t help. It is now becoming a daily occurrence with one or a couple gray hair just sticking out randomly in any direction it feels like. Plus, the frizz! Do I have to say any more?

Living in Chicagoland, I personally embrace all four seasons, unfortunately my hair does not seem to be fully on board. In winter months, between the heat indoors and colder weather outside, my hair gets very dry and loses its shine, it just looks very dull.

The BEFORE picture. No hair mask yet.

“Let’s Keep Things Simple! LESS is MORE!” is my personal life motto, especially as I am getting older. So, it is no surprise that it is also our motto at Rodina Botanicals. I tend to be very low maintenance as far as skincare and haircare. I always like to look first to Mother Nature and what I can find in our kitchen for answers. I subscribe to a simple rule: If I cannot recognize the ingredient and cannot pronounce it, most likely I should not apply it to my skin, including my scalp and hair. Especially with skin being our largest organ, I like to think twice about what I use.

But back to my half avocado…

Yes, you guessed it! I decided to incorporate my avocado into my DIY hair mask. Why avocado? This fruit with its dark-dark green and nubby skin is rich in vitamins A, B,D, and high levels of antioxidants such as vitamin E. Avocado and its oil not only nourish the hair but also stimulate hair growth. It gets absorbed well both into our scalp and hair shafts.

Growing up my paternal grandma would make her own hair masks and rinses. She had naturally very fine, frizzy, and thin hair. She would mix egg and olive oil and make a hair mask. Afterwards, once she washed it, she would always rinse it with lukewarm beer. Yes, beer! At this point, you are probably starting to wonder. Well, I do not blame you as I used to as well, until I tried it. While I was growing up, I thought this was the one of the weirdest home remedies my grandma had up her sleeve, but there is no denying that my grandma’s hair was always silky and shiny.

Is your hair dull-looking and dry? Would you like your hair to feel silky and look shiny again?

The AFTER picture*.

*I intentionally only washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner to show the difference between the BEFORE and AFTER prior to applying any styling products.

The SIX simple ingredients for DIY mask for curly, dry hair:

Before we embark on our hair mask adventure, here are the six ingredients that I decided to incorporate into this mask. Why four carrier oils rather than just one or two? We love working with natural oils as each has its unique, wonderful properties. We like to incorporate all of these in many of Rodina Botanicals natural beauty products, including our cuticle oil, facial oil, and beard oils.

1. At least one half but ideally one (fully ripe) avocado (Mash it thoroughly. Make sure there are no chunks as I did not and regretted it later).

Note: We recommend using only high-quality oils. Always smell the carrier oil first before adding to any of your DIY as oils tend to go rancid and stale over time, especially if not stored properly.

Note: To prevent cut avocado to turn brown, coat it lightly with olive oil and cover with reusable silicone avocado hugger and refrigerate.

2. 1 Tablespoon of EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

3. 1 Tablespoon of SWEET ALMOND OIL

4. 1 Tablespoon of ARGAN OIL, one of my absolute favorite oils to work with in general.

5. 1 teaspoon of CASTOR OIL*

Note: If you have fine and thin hair and decide to include this oil in your hair mask, leave your hair mask on for only up to one hour. If you have thick and coarse hair, and include castor oil in your mask, you can leave your hair mask on overnight.

6. Optional: 2-3 drops of rosemary essential oil.

Let’s be safe!:

Avoid getting essential oil in your eyes. If contact occurs, gently wipe your eyes with a carrier oil such as olive oil on a cotton pad and afterwards rinse your eyes with cold water. Do not exceed 3 drops of rosemary essential oil as occasionally it is known to irritate skin.
Do not include in the mask if pregnant or breastfeeding as not enough research is done about its safety while pregnant or breastfeeding, so let’s err on the side of caution.
Never apply undiluted rosemary essential oil directly to your skin. Always dilute with carrier oil.

What else do you need?

Medium size stainless steel or glass bowl (if you are using essential oils)
One large old towel
One shower cap that you can wash again and re-use.
One old winter hat.
One spray bottle (if using apple cider vinegar for hair rinse).

How To Make Avocado Hair Mask for Curly Hair?

Time for hair mask preparation: 5 minutes

Time for the hair mask to soak in: minimum of 1 hour.

I ended up leaving mine in for almost 7 hours as I was working from home so had the luxury of letting it work its way into my hair and scalp. I would probably suggest applying the mask when you are working from home but have no work zoom calls scheduled, during weekend or leave it in overnight. Just make sure you place another old towel on your pillow.

12 easy and simple steps to Healthier and Shiny Hair:

1. Mash the avocado fully with a fork or use pestle and mortar.

2. Gradually add the mix of oils while slowly working them in with a whisk.

3. If you like, add the rosemary essential oil in or the rosemary infused herbal oil. Make sure that you keep the mask away from your eyes if you add these.

4. Put your old towel around your neck. Ideally apply this mask over a large sink.

5. Apply the mask in a downward motion, so as not to ruffle up the outside cuticle layer of the hair. Ideally the mask should be applied to slightly damp hair as oils will not penetrate soaking wet hair as well. Slightly damp hair has a higher pH, which will allow the mask to penetrate deeper into the hair. When applying the mask, work in sections and massage it thoroughly with your hands.

6. Once you work the mask in, secure your hair with a small clip or jaw clip into a loose bun. Put on your shower cap and finally put on your old winter hat.

7. Set the timer for 1 hour unless you plan to leave it on for longer.

8. When ready to wash off the hair mask, be ready for some potential mess so I suggest you take the hat and cap off right before you wash your hair. Wash your hair as you would normally do. Use warm water when shampooing your hair to open pores and exfoliate your scalp.

9. Use cooler water rinse when washing off the conditioner since the colder water has a calming effect on frizzy hair and does not strip hair of its natural oils. Plus, it helps to seal moisture in your hair.

10. For final rinse, you can use one of these to balance pH levels to reduce frizz and seal in moisture: apple cider vinegar*, or lukewarm beer**.

*If you use apple cider vinegar (ACV), it needs to be diluted first as apple cider vinegar typically has a pH level between 2 to 3 which is too acidic for the hair. Not diluting the ACV would potentially cause the opposite to what we want to accomplish. The ideal pH level for the outside cuticle layer of the hair should be 3.5 to 4.5. To achieve this, mix five parts of water to one part of ACV. So, for instance, for 12 oz. spray bottle, use around 50 ml (1.7oz) of ACV to 250 ml (8.45 oz.) of water. Store the spray bottle in the fridge in between applications in a glass bottle.

Massage the mixture into the hair and scalp and leave it in for 3 to 5 minutes before rinsing with cool water. If diluted correctly, it should not burn, but if it burns, immediately rinse the apple cider vinegar mixture out.

**Leave a glass of beer out overnight to decarbonate as carbon dioxide in beer can potentially harm your hair when combined with water. Once the beer is decarbonating, massage the flat beer into your hair and scalp. Leave the beer in for 15 minutes. Rinse the beer out of your hair with cool water.

If none of this sounds enticing, skip this step all together.

11. Finish with applying your regular hair styling products as you usually do.

12. If you have curly hair, let it air dry.

Let’s embrace and rock our curls!

Note #1: My hair is thick and falls slightly below my shoulders so keep that in mind if you decide to make this hair mask as you might have to adjust the recipe a bit, depending on the length and thickness of your hair.

Note #2: If you do not like getting even slightly messy, this mask is not for you as I cannot guarantee it will be completely mess free.

Is this One and Done kind of a hair mask? No! Both our hair and skin get exposed every day to a myriad of environmental factors day and day out. During winter months, I would suggest treating your hair to a little TLC in the form of a hair mask minimum of twice a month but ideally once a week as a preventative measure to keep your hair and scalp nourished.

Hair masks are only one way of keeping our hair healthy. Among other factors, our lifestyle, what we eat, what type of hair products we use and frequency of our haircuts also contribute to the overall health of our hair.

Do not forget to pamper the rest of your body.

While you are letting your hair mask do its magic, try one of our clean skincare nourishing oils. Elevate your hair spa time with our natural cuticle oil or our soothing and nourishing facial oil. Your face and cuticles will thank you later. Is the skin on rest of your body also calling for a little TLC? We got you covered. Literally and figuratively. Just grab one of our rich, and decadent Double Whipped Body Butters, or if you rather take it slow, try our MYLotionBars. These solid lotion bars are loaded with botanical goodness and local beeswax so they are not only perfect for mess-free travel but also for those dry spots such as elbows, knees, and knuckles.

We would love to hear what you think of this DIY hair mask with avocado for dry curly hair.

DM me @rodinabotanicals on Instagram or Facebook.

Until next time,

Anita

*Thank you to Tracey Burnap, the owner of AHAVAH Organic Salon and Spa in Barrington and my hair stylist, for being hair expert consultant for this post and also for suggesting adding a tiny bit of castor oil.

DIY Avocado Hair Mask for Dry And Curly Hair.