Luscious hair the natural way: Try this quick DIY banana mask!

After a year of bleaching and sporting pastel colored hues, I’m now left with severely processed hair. The only way to save my crowning glory is to snip, snip, snip. But there’s one problem. I hate having really short hair! Since I refuse to get a pixie cut and trim all of the bleached ends, I decided to try DIY hair treatments instead.

The most popular DIY hair treatment uses virgin coconut oil or VCO. VCO as a hair treatment/mask can be used as a pre-treatment before shampooing, dyeing, or bleaching your hair. But if you want to step your DIY diva act up a notch, you may want to try this nifty banana hair mask! While there are many ingredients to use for your DIY hair treatment, I chose banana because it contains Potassium. Potassium helps prevent hair loss, promotes hair growth, and balances the pH level of the skin.

What you need:

• 1 soft, overripe banana
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil (olive oil or almond oil is also acceptable)
• Optional ingredients: avocados (moisturizes and reduces frizz), egg (strengthens damaged strands), and honey (adds shine, smoothes strands, and promotes a healthy scalp).

How to make it:

Peel and slice the banana into a bowl. Mash the banana and get it as completely pulped as you can. If you have a blender, use it. A smoother texture is easier to apply, plus you'll avoid having big chunks of banana that can fall off your hair and make a mess.

Add the coconut oil and other bonus ingredients. If you want to add some avocado, make sure that's thoroughly mashed, too. Mix everything together until there are no more chunks.

Apply the banana mixture all over your hair and scalp, then put on a shower cap. Leave the mask on for 30 minutes. When you're done, just rinse thoroughly!

Your hair will smell like bananas and the whole application may be messy, but the result is worth it. Not only were you able use an overripe banana instead of throwing it away, you were also able to give your hair a much deserved TLC without spending on an expensive, chemical-laden treatment. Now that's luscious soft hair that was 100% natural and affordable. <3