Monday, March 31, 2008

Not Just For Sandwiches

Ever since I was little, I have hated mayonnaise of every variety. With the bland taste, extra creamy texture, extreme thickness, and egg by-product, mayonnaise was NEVER to see the inside of my hamburger buns. Strangely enough, however, it is because of those characteristics that I bought my first jar yesterday and used it for none other than my hair. Introducing: HAIR MAYONNAISE!!!



So I have to be real here; I have always been just as skeptical about hair mayonnaise as I was with the edible kind, and my hair has gotten along just fine up to this point without me having to use it. The problem surfaced when one day, I stumbled across Tracee Ellis Ross' hair care regimen (I know, angels began singing in my head too) and my product junkie jumped out. Lately I've been plagued by dry hair (my own fault really, I refuse to tie my hair up at night) and I was on my way to CVS to get my staple, Lustrasilk's Shea Butter Cholesterol Conditioner. To my dismay, the downtown CVS didn't have it in stock seeing as the "ethnic hair" section was minuscule. (See what happens when you don't go to CVSs in the 'hood?) They did however, carry Hair Mayonnaise, and instantly I had visions of Joan hair. I quickly grabbed a jar and headed home.

I proceeded to use the product as expected; I washed my hair, loaded the stuff on, brushed my hair with my fake Denman brush, braided it into plaits, piled my hair into a plastic bag, then sat around for about an hour and a half. I brushed and rinsed my hair out in the shower and the results were pretty amazing. My curls fell together so nicely, and each strand was smooth and strong to the touch. It felt so smooth and healthy, I felt too guilty to diffuse it and wear a "wash and go", so I plaited my hair wet, let it air dry overnight, and wore a braid out the next morning.

I still find mayonnaise pretty gross when ingesting it, but for hair? Well...bon appétit!



UPDATE: Upon further research, I've read and heard of people using regular food-grade mayonnaise with their own concocted oil blends for their hair. I am a huge kitchen chemist; chemical engineering is my major and both me and Amal are trying to launch our own hair product company. That said, I cannot see myself slapping Miracle Whip on my locks. I'm not knocking anyone who does, but I don't understand how one would remove the smell from their hair, and the thought of sticking my hand in a big ol' tub of Hellman's best utterly makes me cringe.

But, that just makes me a weirdo with a strong, unexplained aversion to mayo. For the rest of you, if you want to save money or simply just like creating your own stuff, here are some Youtube vids from Canadian Lioness on creating and using homemade hair mayonnaise. If anyone has any experience with this or extra tips, I'd love to hear your comments below.



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