When I was younger I remember seeing my mother eating a papaya every single morning. It was her ritual, scrape the seeds out, grab her spoon and while she was eating it she would always offer some to me with her usual lecture. “Papaya is great for your skin, you should eat one”.
It wasn’t that I hated papaya, honestly I just couldn’t be bothered with it. I did not feel like scraping out the seeds and doing the whole thing, it was one of those weird teenager things that when I look back now I cannot help but think… “how crazy were you at 16”?
When I left my island, papaya wasn’t as easily accessible as it was for me back then, and of course, as human nature would dictate, the heart always wants what it cannot have readily.
In addition to that, I am getting older, we all are, and so we are all more aware of the art of preservation when it comes to our body.
My mom was trying to teach that to me early and even though it seemed as if I wasn’t interested back then, I eventually listened. I get papaya from my local farmers market and sometimes they have an abundance of it and I am able to stock up especially when it is in season.
The thing about the fruit is that it can spoil easily so to use up the excess I always think about other ways to use the over ripe fruit.
Today I want to share with you another use for papaya other than just eating it. I came across a papaya hair mask recipe a few years ago and after witnessing the benefits of the fruit for my own skin, my interest was peaked.
Papaya contains carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, essential minerals, potassium and enzymes like papain all great for your face and by extension your hair and scalp. Your scalp is just an extension of your skin so logically the mask would work magic for it and the vitamins and minerals that are infused on your hair is priceless.
Here is the recipe:
1 cup ripe papaya, diced
1 cup ripe banana, diced
1-tablespoon molasses
1-tablespoon coconut oil
1-cup Greek yogurt
Directions:
Blend ingredients together thoroughly, I use a Bullet now because it ensures there are absolutely no chunks in my mix. Apply the mask to your hair in sections before you shampoo then cover with a plastic cap and cover with a heating cap for about 40 minutes. Shampoo and condition as normal afterward.
My experience and results?
The softest most moisturized hair ever!- I suggest trying this conditioner when you have an abundance of papaya that you need to use up. Oh and just skip the molasses for a luxury face mask, thank me later.
