Plantain - A Natural Hair Straightener
When I applied my Plantain and Okra Hair Mask to my hair, all I expected was shiny hair and hopefully, hair that was easier to manage, especially at the ends. I never expected THIS TO HAPPEN!! My natural hair was straightened in the process.
👉 Watch how I applied the Plantain and Okra Mask here.
Plantain:
Plantain is relatively popular in skin and hair treatments, as can be seen from the Shea Moisture Plantain & Yucca line.
Characteristics:
- Belongs to the Musaceae family
- Vitamins A, E & B
- Potassium
- Is very similar in appearance to bananas, green fig (green bananas) and bluggoe (a Grenadian term).
- Is not usually eaten in its raw state
Benefits to hair:
- Promotes shine and growth
Typical Applications on Hair:
- Hair rinse (the leaves are boiled and mixed with other ingredients)
- Deep treatment mask (like what I did) where it is blended to a pulp and mixed with ingredients
How I Made My Discovery:
After I applied my hair mask and sat with a shower cap for about 35 minutes, I proceeded to examine my hair. As I combed out the front section lightly, I noticed that my hair hung rather straight and it felt very heavy. My curl pattern was also visibly lengthened. I have larger curls at the front and back sections of my hair normally, but these curls were even larger than normal (more widely spaced). My gut feeling at that moment was that the plantain had stretched my hair.
The confirmation came the next morning when I decided to un-plait (take down my braid) at the front of my hair and twist it. This is how my twists looked.
It was so sad to see my twists just fall on my face with absolutely no bounce back. Even after spritzing with water, my 4C hair just hung lifeless-like on my face! My hair never does that!
To show the comparison, here are two pictures - one with my twist out a couple of days prior to this treatment, and the present state of affairs.
Can you see the difference in my curl pattern? The original curl pattern (left picture) has a lot of tight twists, whereas the altered pattern is more loose and the curls look flat.
This is the link to the article about plantain straightening hair here.
BELOW IS MY VIDEO ON HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT THIS CHANGE IN MY HAIR.
Until my next post,
