"Sit down and feed, and welcome to our table." -William Shakespeare

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Avocado... Shampoo??? Yup!

We don't have houseguests very often, so the past week has been a real treat for us. Thanks Grandma, John, Vanessa, and Kayly for your visit. We had a lot of fun!

All the activity prevents me from running as tight a ship as usual in the kitchen... but Saturday we had time to whip up a special lunch. First, we made some impromptu shish-kebabs with random things from the fridge:

Later, I used the pits to make my father-in-law's secret Mexican recipe avocado shampoo. Rumored to thicken hair, restore body, and make hair shine like a thousand suns. Rumored, I said!

Anyway, these skewers were a hit with young and old alike, were quick and easy to prepare, and looked rather beautiful, too. We cubed a couple pork chops, chopped some green peppers, mushrooms, and potatos. (Chunks of tomato would have been a good addition.) We tossed all that with olive oil and a bit of salt. Then we grilled them up. You could also broil the kebabs if you don't have a grill. Which we did not for 6 years. (Thanks, Laura and Rodrick!)

I've been craving some serious guacamole for days, so we smooshed up a big bowlful. I couldn't keep people out of it long enought o take a good picture, even. Our guac is usually just mashed avocado, but today we added diced tomato, lemon juice, homemade salsa, and a dash of Real Salt.

Well, after the feast I washed those avocado pits really well and left them on the counter for a few days. My shampoo supply has been running low and that's the perfect time to make Avocado Shampoo. I gave out this recipe several months ago on a discussion forum and it has been getting rave reviews from hundreds of moms with all types of hair.

Here's the crazy-easy recipe:

Grate 3 avocado pits. (If you walk away from your shredded pits at this point and return in 20 minutes, they turn bright orange-red, which is weird and cool. In this picture, I left the shreds, came back and finished later so there's a little patch of white shreds in there. Pretty.)

Cover with about 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Let cool. Strain into a jar.
Combine a few ounces of shampoo
with 3-4 cups avacado water and shake. Voila. Avocado shampoo. The general consensus is that no conditioner is needed with this moisturizing stuff.

The shampoo will be pretty runny, but should still lather. Sometimes, for reasons I still can't figure out, the stuff will really gel well. But I can't get it to do so consistently. Even if it is thin, it will still work. So don't fret over consistency.

Please do leave a comment if you try this and like it. Or hate it, I guess!


"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."
~Kahlil Gibran

53 comments:

  1. ummm...how do you grate an avocado pit? i'm curious to try this. i've tried baking soda and ac vinegar with varying success, but never been satisfied with it.

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  2. i LOVE avocado and anything it iswith. Although i'mnot sure I'd use it for shampoo, I'd probably end up eating it all before I finished trying to make it.

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    1. Did you read the story? it's about how to make shampoo from the pit!

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    2. A coffee grinder works great, you might want to split it in small pieces first

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    3. Poor Erika was just saying she would end up eating it all b4 she got even close to adding the sham "poo" people been to preach less n listen with their ears n possibly some kind humor...I'm with you Erika!

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  3. I'm going to try this! I was going to use it for a face scrub, but think I'll get more mileage from this recipe :) Thanks!

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    1. It occurs to me that you could still use the ground up pits for face scrub after straining the liquid for shampoo?

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    2. I like the shampoo and I agree with you on using the ground up pits for face scrub.

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  4. This is by far my favorite shampoo. I like it even better than no 'poo and everything else I've tried! Good luck, Lady Eleven!

    Oh, and Mary, I assume you figured out you can just use a regular cheese grater :).

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    1. Seriously? Why are you putting your sh!t in this blog, if you hate it that much sweetheart?

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    2. Tiger uppercut? Mental health issues. Don't bother responding it will sniff out someone else to argue with or kick the dog.

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    3. no poo is a method where you don't use shampoo to prevent drying out of hair. SMFH people are so damn rude!

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  5. Hello, if you want to do something nice to the planet, then STOP EATING MEAT, PLEASE. I think this is the first thing to do if one really cares. Without this it all seems to me a bit hypocritical. :(

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    1. As one vegetarian to another.....stop preaching. No one responds to the holier than thou attitude. If you want to educate people, do so! Talk about why meat is so terrible for the planet, how to reduce intake, the impact that just one meat-free meal a week can make.....don't just get on random sites and kvetch about how much you wish folks would stop eating meet. Seriously. I'm an avid environmentalist and a vegetarian for the bulk of my life, and I have NO patience for folks who preach like this.

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    2. I agree with DH - this isn't a debate about vegetarians vs. meat eaters. But I'd also rather no one imply that meat eaters are uneducated or need t be educated. We are the majority, after all, and there are many highly intelligent folks among us!

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    3. Really? I was just looking at this with my girlfriend. Then some nutcase hijacks a blog about shampoo from avocado and bleats on about vegetarianism. I think the lack of protein is affecting your mental state. Go cook some mung beans and chillax.live your own life well and don't preach. Live by example and people MAY decide your way of life is better.unfortunately when people preach and judge others it turns people off quicker than a light switch. So next time you decide to type. Think first to yourself "Do I like meat eaters shoving their beliefs down my throat?" Well don't preach! Live by example not by judgemental outbursts on unrelated blogs... this just puts your point of view into the nutcase box and your target audience switches that light switch off.There that's my tip to you from the other side of the argument... you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Just sayin'

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    4. Oh and by the way great use of avocado pits.Thanks great tips I came to your blog via a kombucha tea recipe.

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    5. Oh and by the way great use of avocado pits.Thanks great tips I came to your blog via a kombucha tea recipe.

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    6. Really? I was just looking at this with my girlfriend. Then some nutcase hijacks a blog about shampoo from avocado and bleats on about vegetarianism. I think the lack of protein is affecting your mental state. Go cook some mung beans and chillax.live your own life well and don't preach. Live by example and people MAY decide your way of life is better.unfortunately when people preach and judge others it turns people off quicker than a light switch. So next time you decide to type. Think first to yourself "Do I like meat eaters shoving their beliefs down my throat?" Well don't preach! Live by example not by judgemental outbursts on unrelated blogs... this just puts your point of view into the nutcase box and your target audience switches that light switch off.There that's my tip to you from the other side of the argument... you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Just sayin'

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    7. I totally agree with you. Sometimes, all they need is sufficient protein in their brains to be able to think straight.

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    8. Okay, meat eater, here, and the only ones preaching right now, are my fellow meat eaters. Quelle surprise.

      For one, this person was merely talking about how it seemed hypocritical that someone would be extolling the virtues of a fruit right after they'd finished discussing menu options that included meat. If I were to wax poetic on the virtues of meat after talking about how I used a vegan dip to wow my herbivore friends I would rightly be claimed a hypocrite, too.

      For two, vegans are the minority. There's a reason the minority tends to be more vocal. Think gays vs straights. And you people just proved why they need to be so vocal. It's not going to do much good, after all, if vegans model the behavior when just the phrase 'No Meat' is enough to get everyone's hackles up. It's the same excuse Christians (of which I am also one) used to keep gay people under their thumb for so long. It's sad that all the meat eaters are resorting to precisely this tactic.

      For three, there is no better indication of preaching than a meat eater (or Christian) making mountains out of molehills because they figured vegans (or gays) were stepping out of line.

      To Emprexx, where do you think most of our protein comes FROM?

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    9. I am a vegan and I get plenty of protein from my diet. I in fact get way more nutrition than I did from my previous diet, the inflammation in my body is almost fully gone and my immune system isn't attacking me anymore. I was obese and sick. I am healthy and happy now. People need to stick to facts and not resort to petty insults. The more insulting a person is, the more thier beliefs are weak and easily threatened. There is plenty of protein in vegetables. Anyone who says differently is spewing insults based on a lack of adequate information and experience. B12 is the only vitamin I have to watch and is easily dealt with if you pay attention to your intake.

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    10. Wow. Holy crap. Thank God I found the avocado shampoo info. Put of here. Why are there crazies on such a benign topic. Wow. It's crazy where. Bye bye

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  6. I'm super excited to try this for my hair but I'm very curious as to how to grate the pits without getting my nuckles all cut up. I'd love to hear your secrets. =)

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    1. If you do not want to grate the pit ... My father cuts the pits with a sharp knife in chunks of a nickel size, then puts the chunks in a blender to make a powder.

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  7. I'm super excited to try this for my hair but I'm very curious as to how to grate the pits without getting my nuckles all cut up. I'd love to hear your secrets. =)

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    1. Its pretty easy! I just used a regular ol' cheese grater.

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  8. As I'm "no poo" I don't have shampoo to add - any good without?

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. Use an organic shampoo. Dehydrate your pits then put them in a coffee grinder or mini processor. Mix your pits with a lil water to make a paste first then add it to your shampoo. Enjoy the results.

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  11. How do you store the leftover avocado water so you can use it when the shampoo is gone and you want to make more?

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  12. I boiled the pits in my stock, skins came right off. Then I peeled them and put them in a sm food proceesor and I am going to make some shampoo. Thanks

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  13. I whipped up some of this tonight, altered the amounts a little as I only had two Avo seeds. I also used a Muslim cloth to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. I then proceeded to wash my hair with it. The texture was very runny, but was still a little hot. It lathered up well in my hair though. Very pleased with the silky soft smoothness of my hair. I think the fact we use only rain water helps too.

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  14. Hi,
    I have collected up to 6 pits now. I came across your shampoo recipe. Can I use it ground to smooth paste and then mix with shampoo? Have you tried making this way?
    or is it only to do as is in the recipe"?!"

    I just don't want to throw the strain out of it.

    Can I use it along with the ground coffee strained brew remaining after filtering the decoction?
    Will this be good mixing up with the ground coffee remains after brew for exfoliating the body?

    RSVP

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  15. Hi,
    Please let me know if this works out for using the pits through and through as in the message sent.
    RSVP

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  16. Thank you so much for this recipe. My hair loves it.

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  17. Do you have to store the shampoo in the fridge?

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    1. it is better adding a preservative ( geogard 0,6%vol); you can reuse it during 3 monthes

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  18. Do you have to use regular shampoo or can you use castile soap or something else? I'm wanting to try more natural things. Right now I use a dandruff shampoo. Will this work for dandruff?

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  19. Waal.! I tried on my Afro hair today. It feels good.

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  20. Hey -has anyone with icy BLONDE hair tried this, who could tell me how the red colour affects your hair? I’m definitely not interested in any redness (or yellow tones) in my hair ��✌��

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  22. I tried this and love it! My hair is so mush softer!!!! Thank you for sharing!

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  23. Wish that making a shampoo did not need addition of regular shampoo. Hope you can improve the recipe to eliminate the addition of shampoo.

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