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Avocados For All: Homemade Masks for Face & Skin

Published 02.27.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (1)

Wisest Amalah,

Here's an easy one for you, could you share your 'homemade' hair products recipes? You've mentioned avocado for example, and well, I have 5 month old son who will soon be eating solids-including avocados. He certainly won't be finishing a whole one anytime soon, so why not put the rest on my hair. Only, is it just avocado? Mix it with anything else? Help!

KS

Hooray for easy! With all the mad preparations of the last few days to launch a certain exciting new column over here at AlphaMom (Code Name The One About The Baby-Slash-Parasite), I am in the mood for easy.

avocado.jpgAnd if you're in the mood for easy, you can absolutely just mash up and spread plain avocado on your hair or face. Half an avocado should be enough to treat short-to-medium hairstyles -- really long hair requires a whole one, but you could just use a half to treat your ends. It's definitely all you need for a facial treatment. Smoosh it up until it's nice and creamy and apply. Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes on your face and 20 to 30 minutes on your hair. Rinse well. Aaaaand...done. You can also cut small crescent-shaped pieces and put them under your eyes to fight bags and puffiness.

For a super-shiny hair mask, add an egg yolk and a tablespoon of olive oil. For frizzy or curly hair, swap the egg for a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt or honey. For a really deep conditioning treatment, add the olive oil, a tablespoon of mayonnaise and half of a mashed-to-smithereens banana. Concentrate on your ends and leave on for a max of 15 minutes, then shampoo it out.

If your skin is dry, mix in one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of plain yogurt. (I hope you're sensing a trend here -- it's pretty much all the same four or five basic household ingredients -- just play around and find the best recipe for you.) For oily skin, use one tablespoon of lemon juice and an egg white. For combination or sensitive skin, you can cut the lemon juice down to a teaspoon.

Personally, while I always have the best intentions for doing homemade hair and face masks on a regular basis, I generally don't remember that often. So I've never taken the next step and added any of the essential oils that a lot of online recipes call for -- jojoba oil, witch hazel, pure aloe, etc. You can get most of these at Whole Foods or other health food stores, and while I'm curious, so far I've always stuck to the Stuff From My Fridge.

And if your son turns out to be an avocado fanatic, eating more avocados than you could possibly find blocks of 20 free minutes to leave on your hair, wrap the extra half in plastic wrap AFTER coating any exposed fruit with some lemon juice (you could use a basting brush, although I just use my finger because blehhhh, who cares?). Stick it in the fridge and use it within 24 hours.

And if you need something to read during the 20 minutes of hair mask time, why not check out Zero to Forty: a week-by-week pregnancy calendar written by yours truly. There are six whole weeks of entries up there, folks. Six! I need a freaking spa day now.

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Comments (1):

Laurie said:

Yay for avocado and five-month olds! I have just started my five-month old on avocado, squash and yesterday banana. I have the makings for quite a spa day in my refrigerator. Now if I could find the twenty minutes...

Posted on February 28, 2008 09:52

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Amalah is a pseudonym of Amy Corbett Storch. A Washington D.C.-based freelance writer. The Smackdown is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You can follow Amy's daily mothering adventures at www.amalah.com. Also, it's pronounced AIM-ah-lah.

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