Anyone doing caramel treatments?

I'd heard about this treatment long ago, but just tried it recently due to my hair being so dry. I think it's a really good treatment for restoring softness and moisture. You probably already have most of the ingredients on hand, so give it a try! Adjust the measurements according to your length.

Honey - 6 tablespoons

Olive Oil - 6 tablespoons

Bananas - 2-3 overripe and very soft (some ladies suggest using banana baby food to avoid having leftover bits of banana in the hair, especially if you don't shampoo afterward)

Molasses - 3 tablespoons

Water - 4-6 tablespoons

Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 tablespoon

Cornstarch - 1-2 tablespoons depending on how thick you want the mixture to be

Wheat germ oil - 1 teaspoon - This can be substituted for any other natural oil of your choice

Place all the ingredients except for the water into a blender and process until smooth. You may need to add the water bit by bit if it looks too dry.

To ensure that there are no bits of banana in the mixture, sieve it through a fine sieve.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and put it on a medium heat while stirring constantly. You don't want to 'cook' the mixture but you want the cornstarch to cause it to thicken and this will take just moments. You may need to add more water to thin it down if it gets too thick or add a bit more cornstarch if it is still too runny. You want to end up with a caramel coloured mixture that is the consistency of a thick batter. If the mixture is too thin it will start dripping from your hair as soon as you apply it.

Decant the mixture into a container, depending on the length of your hair it will likely be enough for two applications.

To apply, divide the hair into 3-4 sections and clip. Starting with 1 section, part the hair and apply on the roots generously rubbing in with your fingers. Once applied on the roots of the section, apply the mixture all the way to the ends. Complete all sections in this manner and once done, cover the hair with a plastic cap. Let the mixture sit in your hair for 1-2 hours or overnight for really dry hair.

Wash hair with a sulfate free shampoo, deep condition and style as usual. You can freeze the remainder until you are ready to use it. The treatment is suitable for both natural and relaxed hair.

Sounds nice, Im gonna have to give this a try!!!!

Thanks for sharing!!

No prob! Please report back on how it works out for you.

Hey LaToya,

You might also want to check out Etae products. I believe the carmel treatment was started and grew into this formal product line. Check it out here.

http://www.etaeproducts.com/

Only thing is the full ingredients aren't listed. I'd be curious to see what's in them.

DvaAuNaturel wrote:Hey LaToya,

You might also want to check out Etae products. I believe the carmel treatment was started and grew into this formal product line. Check it out here.

http://www.etaeproducts.com/

Only thing is the full ingredients aren't listed. I'd be curious to see what's in them.

Yeah, I know about Etae, but I'm not gonna pay $20 plus shipping for something I know I can make myself. I like mixing up my own concoctions [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

laleepop14 wrote:Sounds nice, Im gonna have to give this a try!!!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Hey, is your Avatar picture a portrait of Neka????

I tried it today, with the same recipe you used. I used baby food bananas and coconut oil instead of wheat germ oil. My hair is sooooooo soft and shiny....this is definitely a keeper

I'm bookmarking this recipe! I never would've thought to use caramel and molasses in my hair, but I need to do something to combat dryness, and this looks like a great concoction.

@caribbeancurly, I'm SO glad you commented on this today. Otherwise, I probably never would have found it!

hope you have the same effect I did...it was really easy to make with the baby food bananas and mix the cornstarch with a little water first before you add it. Instead of shampooing I just did a co-wash afterwards and it came clean. Let me know how it turns out when you try it. (oh and it actually smells and tastes really good:)

Thanks for the tip! We always have a few overripe bananas on hand, but I like the idea of baby food much better. Afterward, I'll probably wash with Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap. I have to pick up some of the ingredients tomorrow, but I'm going to try this soon!

And this is completely off-topic, but where in the Caribbean are you from? I'm originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

I am from and live in Barbados, not exactly the easiest place to get natural hair products so instead of bankrupting myself shipping products here, I decided to try whipping up a few myself.

I have a treatment in my hair right now and it's the worst smelling stuff ever.

caribbeancurly, I feel you on that.

justicenga, I hope not, because I was planning to do mine in a little bit and leave it in overnight. I don't know if I can handle a terrible smell all night though...

good luck greenyourdecor...Every time I moved and air came out of my cap I was disgusted. ACV, molasses and bananas together is a no go as far is smell

I made up a batch and tried it in my daughter's hair. The smell isn't terrible, but it's not exactly pleasant either. My daughter actually tasted it and asked if I could make some for her to eat...lol. I'm going to leave it in overnight and see what happens. I'm about to put it in now.

@greenyourdecor and justicenga......something must be wrong with my nose...I actually thought the smell was nice! Hope your hair comes out nice tomorrow greenyourdecor....and I checked out your natural t-shirts they are nice ...do you ship to Barbados?

did I just use the word nice three times in one post?!! lol at myself I need some new adjectives.

caribbeancurly wrote:@greenyourdecor and justicenga......something must be wrong with my nose...I actually thought the smell was nice! Hope your hair comes out nice tomorrow greenyourdecor....and I checked out your natural t-shirts they are nice ...do you ship to Barbados?

I didn't mind the smell. It smelled like banana fritters (do you make those in Barbados?) If you (or anyone else) want to see how my hair turned out, I wrote a long, detailed blog post about it...lol. Here's a preview pic:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And we do ship internationally. The shirts are sold and shipped through Skreened, so you can see the shipping policy here.

Yous shared such a nice about the caramel treatment. Now I get the full guide about it, It is very helpful for me and also planned to do this treatment, good to share with us.

Thanks for this post. I have been to a Etae salon in Philly. That was how I transistioned. If I remember correctly, the caramel treatment was different from the bananna deep conditioning treatments. I am going to try this mixture, because the results at the salon were great. Make sure you really blend the bananna. Bananna pieces are the hardest stuff to get out of your hair. It is like having a bunch of pieces of gum in your hair, so be careful!

i want to try this i need a few things to do so like mollasses and what germ oil