By Bimbola Segun-Amao
Your hair needs some okra, yes! okra! The same slimy okra with which you engage eba, foufou and the likes with. The hair thrives better on food too, but not some chemical products called hair food, the closer to nature, the healthier the hair.
Okra is aplenty with Vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium zinc and dietary fiber. The folate and biotin in okra are essential to healthy hair and skin. Some smart hair and beauty products manufacturers already have okra in their products as it is effective as a setting lotion, hair gel and final hair rinse. You miss that bounce and volume in your hair? Slather the okra mucilage. It’s a super conditioner whether your hair is bleached out, permed, heated or just frizzy.
So here are the recipes:
For a leave in conditioner that need not be washed out, cut horizontally (do not chop or grate) some pieces of okra and boil until its slimy and secretes mucilage (maybe in about 15 minutes), allow to cool off and rub a little into your hair with any of your essential oil; extra virgin olive oil, castor oil or any you have chosen.
When it dries off, your hair appears slick and silky.
Remember not to add salt!
As a final rinse, apply the mucilage solution after washing your hair with shampoo. Apply lavishly and cover hair for about 20 minutes before rinsing off with water alone. Some stylists say to add drops of lemon to the okra while boiling to get rid of dandruff, adding honey would improve the conditioner’s moisturizing power. This final rinse brings more volume and add a little more bounce.
This home made conditioner can be stored in the refrigerator and used up within 2 or 3 days. Suffice to say, if you had used it for a final rinse, the remnant portion can serve as styling gel or leave in conditioner in the next few days.
This conditioner is suitable for all types of hair, permed or relaxed. Would you try this for your hair?