Friday 29 May 2015

OKRA: the effective detangler that only cost me 50bucks

Hello Dearie's :-) seeing the title of this post...is there anyone wondering how on earth someone thought about putting okra on the hair? I stumbled on a post where a blogger used okra for hair as a detangler. I remember Jeni of just grow already at some point in her transition used marshmallow root in her DIY detangler and always praises how it makes detangling her new growth a breeze. And just in case you didn't know marshmallow root is gotten from the marshmallow plant, same as slippery elm, burdock root and flaxseeds (i really dont know if these herbs and roots can be found locally in Nigeria...a reason why okra to me is of great advantage) and these were used because of the high amounts of muscilage they produce. Okra produces such muscilage and another great thing about okra is that it doesn't smell bad or too good...to me its neutral.



I even found that some bloggers also wrote on it....some tried it and loved it...others didn't try it at all. Thier conclusions was:

(1) Its an excellent detangler because it provides lots of slip.
(2) It can be used as a leave in because it conditions the hair as well. It contains conditioning properties.
(3) Just like flaxseed gel its gel can be used for curl definition and styling.

I didn't see anyone using it to tame edges so I assume its not perfect for that but it will interest you to know that companies have also been adding these herbs and plants in making hair detanglers
MY EXPERIMENT
Now it would be a boring story if I just told you all these and didn't do anything about this info... Let me add that I love okra soup and so I thought of trying it out when I made the soup and so it happened.

If you want to try it out just a part that's sold for 50 naira is enough for you. It usually contains about 5 okras. I used a hand full from the ones I sliced for my soup.




Then I put it into a pot and added a cup of water and boiled it for 15minutes stirring occasionally. After boiling I let it cool a bit then poured it into a container.



I Let it sit for a day and then sieved off the chunks of okra and was left with this extremely slippery liquid. 


I then added about 3 spoonfuls of palm kernel oil and shook very well. I added the oil to prevent it from going bad quickly since I planned to use it in the weekend...thats 3 days later.


When washday came I used it as my detangler and it was amazing!  Even though I'm going through a setback and experienced a lot of shedding this detangler gave me joy. I will talk about that in another post but I tell you... When your detangler runs out...try this first and know if you still wanna grab another bottle.
Just in case I haven't said it...my hair was so soft and detangling was more than a breeze! There wasnt an issue with smell because of the oil i added but next time i will use it on the day it was made. I used my fingers only to detangle and twisted each section i created. I later took down the twists for this... a pic of my hair when I was done detangling :-)


I plan on adding my DIY okra detangler to my hair regimen and next time save some batch as a bit of leave in for easy finger detangling after rinsing out my DC. 

I still followed normal washday procedure and opted for a flexi rod set. The curls came out shiny and great but it was done at night (I was busy and ended up DC'ing for 3hrs with ORS Replenishing conditioner). I think the shine is as because I used a blow dryer on warm air for about 30mins my hair still wasnt dry. I later removed the flexirods in the middle of the night. Overall I loved this washday and experiment... Everything went well...except for my shedding issues :-(





My next post will be about my setback and how I'm handling it. Do try out the okra detangler and tell me how if its a hit or miss for you. 



17 comments:

  1. Okra? A detangler? Judithhhhhh...haha! This is definitely my first time hearing this. But you know i love experimenting. Will try this out soon and get you informed. By the way, your hair looks gorg. I'm suggesting a tea rinse therapy for your shedding, it works for me.

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    Replies
    1. Yea it does work...it is part of my regimen but I just left it for a while and the worst happened lol.

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    2. Yea it does work...it is part of my regimen but I just left it for a while and the worst happened lol.

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  3. Nice article...We would like to add that in traditional indian culture combing using good wooden combs is a good way to relax hairs, make themhealthy and have less hairfall. You might not be aware but neem wooden combs are excellent for hair and scalp friendly and it assists distribute oil all through the end when a person applies oil to hair-. Here are few benefits of Neem Wood Comb:
    -Gentle on hair and scalp.
    -Controls hair loss and dandruff.
    -Gives relief to itchy scalp.
    -Handcrafted and eco-friendly. They are non-toxic and not harsh on hairs.
    -Natural, non-invasive and herbal way of keeping hair healthy.
    You may read the the detailed article here http://ghaat.tumblr.com/post/114394268245/neem-as-combs

    Thanks
    Team Ghaat
    Procure/Import wholesale jewellery, scarves, combs & more handmade by Indian artisans

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  4. WOW Okra!!! This is interesting. Got to research.


    Flexi rod set looks amazing though.
    Sorry about your setback hun.

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  5. Thanks dear...do try it out:-)

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  6. Ok thats weird. Okra is the last thing that anyone could think as hair detangler. I use apple cider vinegar. Though it is great hair detangler that I know, I am surely going to try okra. Hope it works for me as well as it did for you.

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    1. Lol...its really weird but it works. Let me know if it works for you too!

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  7. Okra??!! Adonbilivit!!! . Would love to try it out though. Let's see if we can add it to our hair regimen. I'm in port harcourt o,can we meet? Email: peacenwaokocha@yahoo.com

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    Replies
    1. Hello PeacePeace :-) I'm not in Port Harcourt right now but I will send you an email when I return.

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  8. Wow this is great info, especially since I'm all about using only natural/organic stuff. I've heard about a diy okra shampoo but it really makes sense to use as a detangler cos of all the slip the mucilage should give.
    I'll try this one day when I have extra time on my hands

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  9. Hi Sandra! do try it out...waiting for your review :-)

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  10. I tried okra as a detangler and it made my hair hard. It made my curls pop but left my hair tangled and hard, even after washing it out. Just keep in mind it might not work for everyone.

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    1. Sorry about that Dianne. It's true it may not work for everyone but you wouldn't know if it works for you if you don't ever try it. For almost everything there are good and bad reviews. I would like to know if it was the same exact way I prepared mine that you prepared yours. Which includes leaving it till the next day and adding an oil.

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    2. Sorry about that Dianne. It's true it may not work for everyone but you wouldn't know if it works for you if you don't ever try it. For almost everything there are good and bad reviews. I would like to know if it was the same exact way I prepared mine that you prepared yours. Which includes leaving it till the next day and adding an oil.

      Delete
  11. I'm mourning his teeth more than anything, even more than the beautiful deceased blond hair. I don't get why people have to "fix" what is already perfect... Crying


    Kids Hair Detangler

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