Its almost November and that means, turkey, candied yams, giving thanks and a weird out of the box hair conditioner recipe. One of the coolest hair masks that really captures the season involves sweet potatoes, honey* and yogurt. Sweet potatoes are known for containing Omega 3, fatty acids and vitamins* A, C, K and E, the nourishment it provides to thirsty strands are almost unmatched.
In addition to the potato the mask calls for some full fat yogurt which is a great ingredient because of its strengthening properties due to the protein the additional moisture. The third ingredient, honey, is a natural astringent and also gives your hair a boost in moisture and enhances the natural shine.
The ingredients and measurements:
1 whole sweet potato
1 cup of full fat yogurt
1 tablespoon of honey*
At this point you have the option of adding a little oil to mix either for consistency or just because oil makes everything better!
The question now becomes how do you combine the ingredients to make your thanksgiving mask. The first step is to peel, cut and boil your sweet potato so that it is soft enough for mixing. Once you have a nice tender potato drain the water and add it to a food processor* or a bowl using a hand mixture to soften the potato even more.
Once you have mixed your potato, start adding your other ingredients to create a paste or mask for the hair. Blend the ingredients until the mixture is smooth and ready for application.
The Application
The mask itself might still be a little warm from the potato and as weird as this may sound you can actually apply the mixture at that warm temperature as the warmth helps with the conditioning process. When applying any mask it is most effective to apply the conditioner to the hair when it is separated into small to medium sections.
A great way to apply the mask is very similar to how you would apply a perm, section the hair and start from root and apply the mixture to the length of the hair.
Once your hair is fully coated with your sweet potato mixture put a plastic cap over the hair secure and add a towel over the plastic cap to ensure that you trap the heat created from your body and the mixture itself. Make and apply this mask twice a month to help with shedding, strength, moisture shine and overall hair health.
Other cool potato facts:
Did you know – Potato peels can be used to cover grey hairs? The process is super easy but takes a little work. Boil the potato peels in water and allow the water to cool. The water will be stained as it cools and it should be strained as an after shampoo rinse to darken the gray hair. Now it will take a few religious applications to get and maintain that natural dark look those stubborn grays seem to resist.
In this video Sista With Real Hair on youtube tried this recipe. You will be able to see the consistency of the mask and although it didnt work very well for her (probably the protein bomb), if your hair is in need of strengthening it may work better for you.
Tried it. Love it! It really does work -well, it works for ME. I can’t say whether or not this will work for everyone but it is worth a try. I have been trying A LOT of new and different hair care treatments (obviously with no luck) but this really did work -I was shocked! I didn’t expect it to but it did. The great thing about this hair treatment (other than the fact that it worked for me) was that it was easy to make and I had all of the ingredients at home (I practically live on sweet potatoes). It seems that every where you shop for food, store only have reduced fat or non fat yogurt -not full fat like the recipe calls for. But I didn’t let that stop me. I always feel a bit weird putting food in my hair but this one recipe actually felt pretty good! Long story short, don’t be afraid to try new things. They may actually work.
I just made this! It’s not warm because I put it in the fridge–I have to run out of the house– but I’ll probably warm it a little when I use it tonight! I’m really excited to try it (it tastes really good to btw)
ready to try it toomorw I hop it wrks for my hair
great article. will share this one!