Mayonnaise for Natural Hair: Does It Really Work?

The mayonnaise hair treatment is an age-old recommendation for stronger hair. When I was transitioning, I applied mayonnaise to my hair as a strengthening treatment like a fiend.

It appeared to be making my line of demarcation stronger but this was probably due to other things I was doing and not the mayonnaise. How come?

Does The Mayonnaise Hair Treatment Actually Work?

The primary ingredient in mayonnaise are eggs and eggs are made up of protein. However, the protein in eggs is too large to penetrate the hair shaft and make any real difference.

This is because protein needs to be hydrolyzed in order to get the job done effectively. Additionally, mayonnaise hair treatments cannot lead to faster hair growth irrespective of how long you leave it on your hair.

Does this mean the mayonnaise hair treatment is useless? On the contrary, the treatment does make hair smoother and shinier especially when combined with several different things. It also helps seal in moisture more effectively.

Mayonnaise is made up of some great ingredients such as soybean oil, eggs, vinegar and lemon juice so for the kitchen chemist, it’s a good addition to your hair care stash when used with the right goals in mind.

Primal Kitchen Mayo

Mayonnaise Hair Treatment Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise like Primal Kitchen Mayo or Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise.
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
• 1 tablespoon of either grape seed oil, sweet almond oil or avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil like Sundown Naturals 

Directions

• Whip the mayonnaise up real nice then add the olive oil and whip some more.
• Add the grapeseed, sweet almond or avocado oil and the vitamin E oil and whip some more with a fork.
• Shampoo your hair then apply the mix to damp hair.
• Massage it into your hair thoroughly, smoothing through your strands.
• Cover with a shower cap and sit under a hair steamer for 15 minutes.
• Wash out with diluted mild shampoos like Rahua Shampoo or Castile Soap. You may need to shampoo twice to get it all out then apply your leave-in conditioner and style.
• If you feel your hair needs something after the shampoo, you can apply a daily conditioner, leave in for 20 minutes then rinse out.

As I mentioned previously, if your aim is softer and shinier hair then, by all means, include mayonnaise hair treatments in your regimen but if you want serious protein then take a look at the recommendations over at When To Use Protein Deep Conditioners & 10 Best Protein Deep Conditioners for Natural Hair.

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