Who knew that the humble and overlooked okra can become a versatile and worthwhile ingredient in a hair care routine?

Okra is a vegetable that grows well in warm climates, which means if you are a die-hard DIY person, you can plant it successfully in most parts of South Africa. I have tried to plant it, and failed twice. I am taking a break from it, I will try again. When I was growing up in Phalaborwa, South Africa; I used to see the okra plants in most of the homes there. Mind you, they grew unattended – I vividly seeing the plant on the street!

With such low growing maintenance and seeing how affordable they are in shops; it just makes sense to make it a staple in my natural hair care routine. I am biased too; okra is one of my favourite vegetables so I will hype it up. In south Africa, if you want to try make the gel, you can buy them from the informal markets, Indian and Chinese shops.

The Okra gel is versatile (see me hyping it up?), you can do so much with it.

So far, I have used it as a detangler and part of a hydrating spray. I have so many ideas to try it on.  It is easy to make the gel. After washing the okra, chop it into smaller pieces, add water enough to cover it and boil. For me, I prefer to still see it green after cooked, so I only boil it for less than 30 minutes.

Once that is done, strain it and let it cool. This will probably last a week refrigerated. I have not frozen it to see if that is one way to preserve it. What I have done though, is to freeze smaller okra, that way, I use it when I need it without worrying about preserving the gel.

Apply the gel on the hair after it has cooled. I used it on my daughter’s hair, we had less tears and ouch’s! It is so refreshing and smooth on the hair, as you apply it, it defines the curls too. Them curls were popping! I was pleasantly surprised to learn how cleansing it is as well. It cleansed the scalp and hair very well, I didn’t use a shampoo after washing it off.

For more, check please check out the YT video: https://youtu.be/eH_EO187jhg