DIY Amino Acid Hair Treatment – Cherry Lola Treatment

I covered amino acids in general in Liquid Amino Acids for Stronger and Healthier Hair Growth. 

In that article, I shared the benefits of liquid amino acids, the best amino acids for hair and how to use amino acids for healthy hair care. This article will discuss:-

• Benefits of Cherry Lola treatment
• Cherry Lola treatment on relaxed and natural hair
• Cherry Lola treatment steps
• Modified Cherry Lola treatment
• Cherry Lola treatment for protein sensitive hair
• Cherry Lola treatment for high porosity hair

What is the Cherry Lola Treatment?

The Cherry Lola treatment was developed by a blogger of the same name back in 2009 as a treatment for low porosity hair.

Unfortunately, the blog is no longer active. I discussed low porosity and high porosity hair in these previous articles:-

• What is Hair Porosity & How to Check Your Porosity Level
• 57 Best Hair Care Products for Low Porosity Hair
• 50 Best Hair Care Products for High Porosity Hair

The Cherry Lola treatment is an easy DIY amino acid hair treatment that works wonders on hair with only a few ingredients – plain yoghurt, baking soda, and liquid amino acids.

I’m not a big fan of putting baking soda on my hair as it tends to throw off the pH balance of my scalp and lead to intense itching. However, there isn’t enough of it in the Cherry Lola treatment to make my scalp crazy.

Benefits of the Cherry Lola Treatment

• The Cherry Lola treatment helps to get back moisture into chronically dry hair and extend the lifespan of hairstyles without the need to repeat your regimen from scratch.
• The Cherry Lola treatment helps reduce frizz in hair and promote shine and softness.
• It works well for all hair textures including 4C and can make detangling hair a breeze.
• Remember, the Cherry Lola treatment includes liquid amino acids. This liquid amino acid contains 17 amino acids including arginine, cysteine, lysine, and methionine – all needed for stronger hair.
• Like the Max Hydration Method, the treatment promotes curl definition and loosens curls but only slightly. The Cherry Lola treatment cannot make your hair straight.
• The Cherry Lola treatment is not just for natural hair. It can be used on relaxed hair as well as transitioning hair since it can strengthen hair.

Cherry Lola Treatment on Relaxed Hair

If your hair is treated with chemicals or colored with chemical dyes, the Cherry Lola treatment can be beneficial.

If you color your hair with henna and indigo, the Cherry Lola treatment can also keep the color vibrant. Use a few days after the color has already taken to your hair for best results.

Cherry Lola Treatment Steps

Ingredients

• 2 cups of plain or Greek yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons of baking soda
• 2 tablespoons of liquid amino acids

Benefits of the Ingredients

• Greek yogurt contains lactic acids and other properties that help condition, repair and soften hair.
• The many benefits of the liquid amino acids were covered in Liquid Amino Acids for Healthier and Stronger Hair Growth.
• Baking soda helps loosen up the curl slightly as well as open up the cuticle so the treatment can work better. As mentioned above, it cannot straighten your hair.

Directions

• Mix all the ingredients in a clean plastic bowl then pour into an applicator bottle like this one. This will make the application less messy. You can also use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together thoroughly but don’t overdo it so the mix isn’t too liquified.
• Section clean hair into 4 – 8 parts and apply the treatment.
• After application to each section, work through with your fingers from root to tip and twist the section.
• When your whole head is covered, pin up all the twists them cover with a disposable cap.
• Leave on for up to 30 minutes. Do not leave on your hair for longer than 30 minutes as it can lead to damage in the long term.
• Afterwards, co-wash the treatment out of your hair or rinse out with lukewarm water.
• Follow up with a good deep conditioning treatment which includes hair steaming.

You can repeat this treatment once a week until you feel like your hair is stronger, stopped shedding and retains moisture better then you can drop to once or twice a month.

Related Content: Hair Steamers for Natural Hair

You can view the original version of the Cherry Lola treatment, which includes baking soda, in the below videos from 2009:-

Modified Cherry Lola Treatment

There are several modified versions of the Cherry Lola treatment with the original 3 ingredients remaining a major component of the recipe.

Below are some other ingredients you can include in the recipe:-

• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of raw honey
• 1 tablespoon of unsulphured molasses
• Half an overripe banana or 1 small jar of banana baby food like this one

These ingredients are optional and it’s up to you if you want to try different variations to see how your hair will respond.

For instance, I throw unsulphured molasses and banana food into my recipe and my hair loves it. Some people even add 1 egg yolk to the treatment but that seems like overkill to me.

Cherry Lola Treatment for Protein Sensitive Hair

The Cherry Lola treatment is an intense protein treatment so if you have protein sensitive hair, then this might not work as well so what do you do in this case?

Do not apply the treatment more than twice a month and reduce the time it spends on your hair to 15 minutes max. This should solve the problem.

Cherry Lola Treatment for High Porosity Hair

For high porosity hair, do not use this treatment more than once a month and keep on for only 10 minutes.

Alternatively, I would recommend trying out bentonite clay treatments instead of the Cherry Lola treatment.

Read The Power of Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay for Hair for more on using bentonite clay for hair.

Buy Cherry Lola Treatment Ingredients

Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

Braggs Liquid Amino Acids

Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Nature Nate’s Pure, Raw & Unfiltered Honey

Whole Sweeteners Unsulphured Organic Molasses

Gerber Purees 2nd Foods Banana Pouch

Soft n Style Applicator Bottle

If you’re sensitive to any of the ingredients or unsure, conduct a patch test a few days before you apply the full treatment.

Have you tried the Cherry Lola treatment before? How did your hair like it? Did you modify it with any ingredients? Share in the comments section.

Curly Abi

Abi delved into the world of hair care after suffering from a bout of severe hair loss. She is the founder of Healthy Natural Hair Products & Natural Oils for Hair and Health, as well as the writer of the Healthy Hair Care Series. She is also the creator of the The Self-Empowerment Network Portal. Read more…