A DIY Caramel Treatment To Soften Your Natural Hair

I often get asked about whether there are any natural hair softener options for natural hair and if henna is a good choice. Although henna may soften some curls, it can be hit or miss and seems largely dependent on the thickness of the hair strand and the existing curl formation. Henna tends to loosen the curls of those who don’t want loosening! It’s also a time-consuming process and essentially permanent, so it’s not for the faint of heart! *lol* Finally, if not done right, henna can cause damage and so I always suggest that anyone interested in trying it do their research before making the leap (I read everything I could on henna for 2 months before finally deciding to try it).

That being said, when I was in the CurlyNikki Presents Kim Coles’ Grow Out Challenge (whew … that never gets easier to write!), I read a rave review about a natural hair softener. The young lady called it a caramel treatment. This treatment was generally made with molasses (which gives it the caramel color and consistency – hence the “caramel” moniker), honey, banana baby food and oils, but there are variations on the recipe that can be found online.

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Now, the old GOC blogs are very hard to find. So, I wasn’t able to find the GOC blog or post about the treatment yet. But I did find this good article on Black Hair Information: The Caramel Treatment- A Natural Hair Softener.

As I wasn’t interested in hair softening, I never tried it. But, I did “lock it in the vaults” as I knew it was good information and might be helpful to someone. And, since I recently got asked about natural curl softeners, I figured the time to open the vaults was now .

That being said, here is a video demonstrating how to make the treatment that might be helpful to those of you interested in trying the treatment.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of olive oil 
• 1/3 cup of raw honey 
• 1/4 cup of molasses 
• 2 containers of banana baby food 
• 1 tbs of cornstarch dissolved in water 
• splash of apple cider vinegar 

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together cold in a small pot 
• Add the cornstarch water mix into the pot while its still cold 
• Mix well, make sure all the clumps are out 
• Turn on stove to medium low heat and keep mixing 
• Once mix begins to boil, turn off the heat 
• Once cooled, apply mixture generously to your hair
• Let the treatment sit on your hair for 1 hour, then shampoo off
• Use this treatment once every two weeks for maximum softness and definition   

Now, it wouldn’t be right for me to share this and not tell you about an article that I found by WestNDNBeauty on Confessions of a Blog Vixen that said that it was a waste of perfectly good banana baby food!  So, guess it doesn’t work for everyone. But, given that the ingredients are pretty easy to find and inexpensive, I figured that some might want to give it a try to come to their own conclusion!!