Want Amazing Hair Growth? Try This Super-Nutritious Homemade HairConditioner

Yesterday I posted a story on my transition from relaxed to natural hair. It's wonderful and I would encourage you to try it out. But. It wouldn't make any difference to your hair if you do not follow up with hair treatment.
Conditioning your hair is a MUST.
Now, there are 2 types of treatments. Moisture treatments, and Protein treatments. Both are essential for your hair. A Protein Treatment is a treatment containing one or more protein-based ingredients that is used to strengthen and revitalize the hair.
A Moisture treatment provides balance to offset the usually drying effects of protein treatments.
I will break down what both treatments do for the hair in greater detail, but that will be for another day. Another post.

Today, I'd like to share with you a treatment I use for my natural hair. It's actually a combination of protein and moisture treatment. I love it, cos its super rich, and you can get some of the ingredients, right in your kitchen. Remember in my post on my natural hair yesterday, I wrote about kitchen concoctions? This is one of them. I came up with this home-made conditioner because, I had some of the ingredients available, and I did research on each of them, and found out how useful and amazing they are. So, here goes.
They are

1 Egg
Half of an average-sized avocado (what we call Pear)
Mayonaise (yes, edible mayonaise) 2 tablespoons
Henna (Hausa Lele) 2 tablespoons

Honey (optional) 
Doo Gro Hair Conditioner (I get it from California cosmetic supermarket it Yaounde. But of course you can use a good hair conditioner you have handy)

Why do I mix up these ingredients, rather than just use the Doo Gro on its own. Because, regardless of how good the Doo Gro is, it still is a chemical product, and chemicals do have negative effects on the hair. So, I mix the Doo Gro conditioner, with natural products, for best results.

Henna


Henna is a plant also known as lawsonia inermis that is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia and northern Australasia. It is most widely used to dye skin and of course, hair.
Yes, one of its well-known uses is to dye hair. Henna won't change the colour of our jet black hair that much, but there will be a nice tint in the sunlight.
But to me, the most important benefit is that Henna usage will result in smoother, shinier hair because it is able to completely coat and fill in any rough spots on damaged hair.
Henna is also one of the safest and most natural ways to strengthen hair since it is able to penetrate the hair shaft and bond to the keratin in each strand. (plenty of big book, I know, lol). By doing this, it makes the hair thicker and less prone to breakage.
I get my henna from the Briqueterie neighbourhood in Yaounde, just go to any "Hausa Quarter" in your town, and ask for "Lele".

Egg


Eggs contain about 6 grams of high quality protein, so high that it is used as the standard by which other foods are measured. Eggs are also a rich source of vitamins, including A, E and K and a range of B vitamins such as B12 (energy), riboflavin and folic acid. These proteins and multivitamins are vital for growth and help control hair loss. The protein present in eggs is considered high quality and the lecithin helps in moisturizing and strengthening of hair. I use the entire egg, as opposed to just the yolk because egg whites have been known for their healing properties .

Avocado


Beauty experts swear by avocado because, being oil and protein rich, it boasts the best combination of nutrients necessary to smooth and strengthen natural hair. Avocado is an excellent ingredient in this concoction for a number of reasons. Firstly, its protein contents contribute to the restructuring component of the treatment. Avocado is also very moisturizing and provides balance to offset the usually drying effects of protein treatments. The avocado provides moisture restoration and its thick, smooth, creamy texture gives the treatment that conditioner-like consistency. It attracts the hair strands and penetrates well.

Mayonnaise


Is your hair dry, brittle or frizzy? A deep conditioning treatment using mayonnaise might be just the way to restore its health. Mayonnaise contains plenty of oils, that nourish your hair and make it soft and silky. Why Calve, lol, it's the brand I prefer, its always in my fridge, and more important, it's loaded with oils.
Avoid low-fat, or fat-free mayonnaise, or the ones that contain extra flavoring, such as herbs or spices. Your hair will smell funny lol, and these extra components may not be good for your hair.

Doo Gro Hair Treatment


I like this conditioner because I think it's important to work on the structure and strength of your hair, in order to be able to sustain growth.


Now, here's how I mix up these ingredients.

In a clean, plastic container (i use an empty container of previously used conditioner), mix the egg and henna together. When the two ingredients are well-mixed, no trace of henna powder, i add the 2 tablespoons of mayonaise, mix properly.

Grate your avocado (I prefer grating, because the quantity of avocado is too small to be blended), and add to this mix. Finally add 2 tablespoons of the Doo Gro hair conditioner, mix properly, add 2 tablespoons of honey if you have some at home, et voila. Warm this mixture a little, by placing the container you mixed it, in a bowl of hot water for a few mins, or in the microwave, if you have one.

(The amount of this mixture, will depend on the length of your hair. My hair is a TWA (teeny weeny Afro), and this quantity is sufficient enough to slather all over my hair. So for those of you with longer hair, you may need to increase the quantities of the ingredients).

I apply this conditioner to washed hair, while the hair is damp. It's best to get it on every strand of your hair. Your will achieve this by applying the conditioner to your hair in portions, just like when you are applying relaxer, and smoothing it on the hair, with a comb.
Use cling wrap to cover your hair. I find that this keeps my hair warm, and generates the neccesary heat to make this treatment a deep conditioner.




Otherwise, you can use a regular plastic paper, big enough to cover your head.
I use a shower cap on top of the wrap, tie my hair with a scarf, and leave the treatment on for at least 2 hours. If you can apply some heat to your head, do so, either by sitting under a hood dryer, using a hand dryer, or placing a towel soaked it hot water, and squeezed, on top of yor head.

Now, there are many schools of thought on the length of time you should condition your hair. For me, my hair feels softer and better, when I leave the conditioner on for at least 2 hours.

Because of the henna in this mix, it will take you a while to rinse it out. Rinse with lots of cold water. Do not shampoo, you don't want to strip your hair of all the goodies you just applied.
Rinse several times. You may need to apply some regular, cheap,conditioner (not leave-in, what we call in French -apres shampoing), to your hair, and then rinse off. I apply the conditioner twice, and rinse several times, and my hair feels great.
There you have it. A do-it-yourself hair treatment. which will moisturise and strengthen your hair.
I apply this treatment every two weeks, that is, EACH time I wash my hair. If your hair is badly-damaged, apply weekly.

My next post on hair care will be about the leave in treatment and oils for your hair. They are absolutely neccesary to maintain healthy natural hair.