How To: use avocado as a conditioning hair treatment

Today was a day of old fruit. I used up old apples & strawberries in a yummy crisp (+ oats, cinnamon, sugar, minced almonds, flour, & margarine), and proceeded to use up an old avocado by mashing it up and smearing it into my hair.

The first part is a pretty normal occurrence for me (love my crisp), the second part was a first! I read about it in No More Dirty Looks, an 'Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics" written by Siohan O'Conoor & Alexandra Spunt. In the section on conditioners they give a number of suggestions; I opted for the avocado conditioner, being as, well, that's what I had. Also, since avocados are awesome for you, I figured it'd be awesome in my hair, too.

Here's what I did:
~ took 1/3 of a soft avocado (less the humongous seed, people!) and mashed it up in a bowl
~ put a towel over my shoulders and wet my hair with warm water (warmth = open hair shaft = easier for the good stuff in avocados to get in!)
~ got my hands super mucky & smeared my avocado mush into my hair, massaging it into my scalp and making sure I got it all over my roots through to my tips
~ left said mixture in for ~30min
~ hopped in the shower to rinse...

I found my hair felt pretty oily in the shower, so I shampoo'd x2 (with my fave all-natural shampoo), then conditioned (roots to tips), and did a cold-water rinse (make it a habit! it seals the hair shaft & you'll find you have smoother, shinier hair as a result!)

I'm glad I did this conditioner treatment -my hair looks nice & shiny and is reaping the benefits of all the vitamins & healthy fats found in avocados- however next time I would add an egg for protein (good for colour damaged locks, like my own) & to help with the consistency of the mashed avocado, as it was a bit thick to smear throughout my hair. Also I'd add a couple drops of essential oil, so that my hair isn't left smelling like avocado! (I swear I can still smell it, however slight :P.) So, an awesome avocado treatment for YOU, would be:

~ 1/3-1/2 avocado, depending on length & thickness of hair
~ an egg, or a tbsp or 2 of extra virgin olive oil
~ a couple drops of your fave essential oil (peppermint and rosemary are both great for your scalp, tea tree helps with dandruff)

all mashed together in a bowl & applied to your hair (I left mine in for 30min), then shampoo'd & rinsed out SUPER well (or you'll look greasy) + conditioned. Voila! Don't forget to eat your leftovers to reap even more benefits from your friendly neighbourhood avocado ;).