Friday’s Formula/Tasty Tresses: Carrot (ongoing contest)

“What’s up doc?” I may be grown but I still love my cartoons :-) My daughter doesn’t appreciate carrots as much as Bugs Bunny but maybe she would agree to one of the treatments below quicker than she would gobble up a plate of them. Forgetting about the dozens of products you can buy that are carrot-based, I didn’t think I would find much hair related information on carrots. Indeed I was pleasantly surprised. Hope you enjoy what I discovered.

What’s on the menu for your mane #7 – Carrot

CARROT: A vegetable that is packed to the brim with beneficial nutrients, antioxidants, and beta carotene. Beta-Carotene stimulates the formation of new hair and skin cells and also protects hair and skin from damage caused by the sun and pollution. There are also claims that carrots do a great job of cleaning out toxins and built up residue in hair and skin. Carrots are used to create Essential Oil, CO2 Extracts, Macerated Oil, and Hydrosol. The dried roots are even powdered to create a gentle, nourishing exfoliant. Carrot oil, being high vitamins A & E, is a great hair conditioner and helps to improve scalp condition.

Here are a few carrot recipes to try yourself:

Carrot Banana Hair Conditioner
3 carrots
1 ripe banana
Honey
Mayonnaise
Peppermint
Water
Blender
Container with lid
Towel
Steam or boil 3 washed and chopped carrots in 1 cup of water until tender. Fifteen minutes may be long enough to soften the carrots. Pour the carrot and water into a blender, and blend until almost smooth. Add fresh or dried peppermint to the blender and blend. Add the banana and blend until smooth and creamy. Next, add 1 teaspoon of honey and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise to the blender. Blend all ingredients together, making a smooth and creamy hair conditioner. Spoon the mixture into a jar with a lid, and store in the refrigerator until your next shampoo. Add a generous amount after shampooing, making sure to massage the hair conditioner in well. Wrap with a towel and leave in for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Rinse and towel dry.

Carrot & Avocado Hair Treatment
2 tsp carrot macerated oil*
1 ripe avocado
Prepare the macerated oil with the jojoba oil and carrot (*see below). Mash the avocado, then blend it with the oil to make a paste. Apply the mixture to the hair and scalp and leave for one hour. Wash off, using a mild shampoo with added lemon juice.
* For carrot macerate place the grated carrot in a bowl. Cover the carrot with jojoba oil. Place the bowl containing the mixture over a pan of boiling water and heat for 1 hour. Remove from the heat, strain and repeat with fresh carrot. Strain and pour into a dark glass bottle.

Infused Carrot Oil
2 carrots, peeled and grated
Coconut oil
Place the grated carrot in the crock of a slow cooker. Add sufficient melted coconut oil to cover and pour it over the carrot. Replace the lid on the slow cooker and cook the carrots and coconut oil at the lowest heat setting until the carrots are very soft and the oil is a deep orange color. Remove from the heat and strain the oil through a fine mesh sieve. Pour into dark, glass jars and allow to cool and set. Oil can be used for hot oil treatments or added to hair conditioner.

NOTE: Please lean toward a bit of caution since I’ve heard that some staining can result from using carrots.

~Ongoing contest (click here for details and rules)~

Can you guess what next week’s hair food (or drink) will be?

Leave your entry below in the comment section.

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

* Other recipes can be found in the "hair recipe" category to the right