Adventures with Avocados

Dragonwolf

So, I tried the avocado shampoo that I'd been looking at. My first lesson - make sure they're good and ripe. Seriously, I think good candidates for this would be the good candidates for guac.

The recipe:

1 avocado
1/4 cup hot water
2tsp baking soda

Mash the avocado meat, add baking soda and water, mix until you get a paste.

It seems to have potential, but my avocado was clearly not ripe enough. I couldn't mash it and ended up throwing it in the food processor. I ended up with an avocado-bead suspension thing that resulted in a mess in my hair that took a while to wash out.

I think it might also work better for hair that's...not mine. I have long, thick, fine hair. You know, that hair that so many people envy, because it's thick and pretty and soft (but if you have it, you know how hard it is to manage and think people are insane for wanting it). Unless it gets a creamier consistency that's easier to work into hair, my hair may not be the most suitable for it.

I also lost the pit down the garbage disposal, so I couldn't do the pit additive. So, I'll be trying it again in a couple of days, once my avocados ripen up more.

fruttibiscotti

But, you didn't say what your hair was like after the process. Any difference noted?

Dragonwolf

But, you didn't say what your hair was like after the process. Any difference noted?

From what I can tell, so far, it's pretty comparable to store-bought shampoo. Now that my hair's dry, it's comparably soft and at the very least, the baking soda helped to remove the excess oil from my hair (I had left it go without washing for a few days). It didn't do anything for my tangles, though, for what it's worth.

At the very least, I'd say that it's a comparable alternative to store-bought shampoos (and possibly may be superior for those who struggle with dry hair, given the oils in the avocado), though I'm hesitant to attribute too much to it until I can get a batch mixed up properly and try it out that way.

For my amount of hair (goes to the small of my back), I think I might be able to get about 4 uses, so it may or may not be more economical, but that might be a non-issue for knowing that it's safe (hell, it's edible), isn't tested on animals, and isn't full of questionable chemicals and perfumes and other crap.

Dragonwolf

UPDATE!

Okay, so I tried the shampoo again, this time with a much more ripe avocado, and there's quite a world of difference. Here's what I found:

1. It mixes up a lot better, but it was still chunky. I didn't put it in the food processor this time, but I suspect it might work better. Or you can just deal with the chunks and work them into your hair with your hands.

2. My hair is really not a good candidate for this stuff. It's too long, fine, and not dry enough. That said, it would probably be fantastic for someone with dry hair. The avocado's oils provide a nice layer of moisture on the hair, making it much easier to manage after washing (it doesn't strip the natural oils, too, which is why naturally oily hair doesn't really mesh well with this shampoo). If your hair is fine, long, and/or thick, though, make sure to take care to rinse it out well, because I still ended up with pieces when I brushed it.

3. It does leave a nice, subtle, avocado scent to my hair. Nothing huge - like, I only smelled it while doing my Cousin It impression while brushing my hair, and even then it wasn't overwhelming. It makes me want to incorporate avocado oil into some other homemade shampoo/conditioner recipe, though.

I also tried to make the avocado pit additive, but it didn't reduce down like it should (I had issues getting it to simmer properly, because my stove fails sometimes), and just ended up with avocado pit juice and a sort of gelatinous layer on top. It did smell good while cooking, though.