Bananas are made of protein, carbohydrates, water and little fat. Indeed, Bananas provide an array of vitamins including Vitamin A, B6, some vitamin C, manganese and fiber when added to our diet. In addition to that, they a good source of potassium, but are bananas good for our hair? Read on to find out
Short answer is yes! The following will explain why. Bananas are high in Vitamin E on top of the list mentioned earlier, and have antioxidant antibacterial and antimicrobial properties They also contain silica which is a mineral helping synthesize collagen.
These nutrients will contribute to provide thickness and shine to hair, and help prevent dry scalp and treat dandruff symptoms
The different conditions benefiting from Banana hair masks:
- Frizzy hair
- Thanks to its high silica content, the body absorbs it to produce collagen resulting in healthy and bouncy hair
- Fight dandruff
- Dandruff can be the results of scalp dryness, irritation or bacterial and fungal pathogens. Applying bananas masks help add moisture and fight bacteria or fungus causing irritations
- Hair Growth
- Thanks to antioxidants found in Bananas, they strengthen scalp’s defense system, helping hair follicles to get stronger and decrease the oxidative stress.
DIY Banana hair mask recipes
Banana and egg hair mask
Eggs are rich in fatty acids, proteins, vitamins A and B, biotin and folate. Does reading that list alone not make your hair shinier already? So let’s get started and combine it to your banana mask as follow:
- 1 egg
- Ripe Bananas – 1 or 2
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Add the egg and mix together
- Then mix until consistent texture is obtained
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water making sure to not leave any banana residue behind
- Shampoo as usual
Banana and honey hair mask
A natural moisturising and cleansing agent for hair, honey is a great addition to your Banana mask.
Honey is rich in antioxidants, combined with banana it will help healing irritated and dry scalp and help infuse antioxidants and moisture into the hair
- 1 tbsp honey
- Ripe Bananas – 1 or 2
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Add the egg and mix with a blender or whip
- then, until consistent texture is obtained
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water making sure to not leave any banana residue behind
- Shampoo as usual
Banana and coconut hair mask
Coconut oil is full of hair healing properties. Its fatty acids get into the strands of the hair shaft.
Coconut oil is also high in Vitamin E, which is excellent for damaged and dry hair. The vitamin K it contains is good to help reduce dandruff.
Coconut milk provides a wonderful organic hair conditioner, giving longer and thicker hair.
Adding to the mixture, the coconut milk will give a cooling sensation
- coconut oil 1tbsp
- Ripe bananas 1 or 2
- 1 tablespoon of coconut milk
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Add the egg and mix with a blender or whip
- then, mix until consistent texture is obtained
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water making sure to not leave any banana residue behind
- Shampoo as usual
Banana and avocado hair mask
Avocado biodata can make one jealous.They are full of vitamins A, B6, D, and E, they are also rich in amino acids, folic acid, proteins, copper and iron. Their oils are one of the rare ones which can penetrate the cuticle like no other and moisturise the hair. They do wonders!
Combined with Bananas they make a powerful anti aging solution for our hair and are a volume booster, too!
Their minerals and proteins will help soften and condition follicles.
- 1 ripe avocado
- Ripe Bananas – 1 or 2
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Add the egg and mix with a blender or whip
- then, mix until consistent texture is obtained
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water making sure to not leave any banana residue behind
- Shampoo as usual
Banana and Aloe vera Hair Mask
Rich in Vitamins A, B, C and E, Aloe vera will contribute to remove dead cells from the scalp and to promote hair growth.
Ont top of that, Aloe Vera also contains proteolytic enzymes, regenerating skin on the scalp and condition your hair for a strong and shiny result.
- 2 aloe vera leaves
- Ripe Bananas – 1 or 2
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Extract the pulp from the aloe vera leaves
- Then, mix the bananas and the aloe vera pulp using a grinder, and blend until you obtain a thick mixture
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 1 to 2 hours
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water, making sure to not leave any banana residue behind.
- Shampoo as usual
Banana and Argan oil Mask
Argan oil is an ideal hair conditioner making them softer and shinier. Rich in Fatty acids and Vitamin E, it makes another great addition to your banana mask
- 3 tbsp of Argan oil
- Bananas – 1 or 2
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Then, mix the bananas and the argan oil until you have a creamy mixture
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 30 minutes
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water, making sure to not leave any banana residue behind
- Shampoo as usual
Banana and Olive oil Mask
A Favourite beauty secret in Mediterannean countries, Olive oil is a traditional remedy for all types of ailment and a beauty enhancer. Containing high level of Vitamin E and healthy fat it will be another great alternative to add to your banana mask.
Castor oil promotes hair growth.
- Olive oil – 2 to 3 tbsp
- Castor oil – 1 tbsp
- Ripe Bananas – 1 or 2
- Peel and mash the bananas with a fork
- Then mix the bananas and the argan oil until you have a creamy mixture
- Apply to your scalp and hair
- Leave it to sit for 30 minutes
- Rinse with lukewarm or cold water, making sure to not leave any banana residue behind
- Shampoo as usual
In conclusion, bananas are good for your hair, and can be used as a mask alone or mixed up with other natural ingredients to give your hair the love that they need.
And for our Skin?
Yes, yes and yes encore!
Bananas are wonderful for our skin when applied as a mask. Any of the recipes above would actually work on the skin too! They will make the skin supple and soft and moisturize the skin deeply, but that is not all.
The banana peel is good for your skin too!
Yes, you heard that right. Don’t throw away that peel after eating your banana or after using it for one of our DIY recipes. Use it by rubbing the inner lining on your face. The banana peel contains high levels of Vitamin E, but is also high in catechins which is a group of antioxidants with anti-aging properties but it is also excellent for skin prone to Acne, by soothing and healing pimples. The banana peel contains Zinc, Vitamin A, and manganese which are all anti-inflammatory.
Who else is up for a banana treat?
Warning for allergies. Bananas allergies are also called latex-fruit allergy, therefore usage of topical application of bananas to hair or skin should be avoided for people who have latex-fruit allergies.
Also, always carefully wash out the banana solution out of your hair and skin. The residue left on your scalp can lead to irritation and worsen any dandruff symptoms
