Avocado Hair

A while ago, I was in need of some deep conditioning. But in the interests of saving money and not slathering a purchased chemical concoction that promises to give me luscious locks without an iota of evidence all over my hair, I decided to opt for a natural treatment.

I always have plenty of olive oil in the cupboard. And I happened to have a soft avocado on hand too. So I decided to whip up an avocado hair treatment recipe I found in a recent issue of Better Homes & Gardens.


It took mere minutes to make. All I did was combine a half of a mashed avocado and a little more than 1/4 cup of olive oil in a bowl. The recipe actually called for 1/4 cup of sweet almond oil as well, but I didn't have any. And man oh man did that seem like a lot of oil anyway. So I just stuck with a bit more than a 1/4 cup of the olive oil.

Once it was mixed into a paste, I began working the goopy treatment through my hair, paying special attention to the ends as instructed. I used my fingers and a wide-toothed comb and tried not to throw the green stuff all over the place as I did it. I was partially successful.

Then I took a photo. It was blurry, of course. You try taking a nice, in-focus photo of your own greasy hair when avocado is dripping down your neck. It's hard!


I wrapped my hair on top of my head, covered it in plastic (which was not part of the instructions, but I was trying my hardest not to get avocado hair treatment on the floors, walls, and furniture in every room of the house).

Then all that was left to do: hang out for about 30 minutes. I'm the impatient sort, so I made it about 25 and decided it was time to hop in the shower and rinse.

And rinse.

And rinse.

Goodness, I rinsed a lot. It felt like there was still too much oil in my hair. So I kept rinsin' and rinsin' and rinsin'. And then, when I realized how much water I was wasting rinsing away, I stopped.

After towel-drying my hair, I combed it and was amazed at how silky and easy to comb it was.

An hour and a half later, I was amazed at the fact that my hair still looked wet. Yes, that's right. It was still so oily that it looked like my hair hadn't dried yet.

Rather than rinse again, I pulled my hair up in a bun so no one could tell how greasy it was and called it a day.

The next morning, I rinsed again. And kept rinsin' and rinsin' and rinsin'. It was better, but still on the greasy side.

By day three, after another round of rinsing, I do believe my hair was back to normal. Thankfully. Some women can get away with the greasy look. I am not one of them.

Which leads me to this point: homemade hair treatments are great. Terrific, even. But not if you have super fine hair like mine. Apparently, that much oil is a bit overwhelming. Or a lot overwhelming. Unless, you know, you like the greasy look. In which case, have at it. I think I'll stick with my usual shampoo and conditioner from here on out.

Although I have always wanted to try a beer rinse ...