Four people, including myself, tested the following Cucumber Hair Drench recipe with similar results. Be sure to read the entire post to get our feedback and suggestions for making it better.

Cucumber Hair Drench*

1 egg
1 half-eggshell’s worth of olive oil (i.e., one portion of the eggshell you broke apart)
1 quarter of a peeled cucumber

Blend the egg, olive oil and peeled cucumber in a blender or food processor until smooth. Spread evenly through your hair, leave on for 10 minutes, then thoroughly rinse.

After trying this recipe myself, I realized the “thoroughly rinse” part was the most difficult. I rinsed once, realized I still had bits of cucumber in my hair, and had to go back and rinse a second time. I had a hard time combing my hair out, so when I went back for the second rinse, I grabbed my bottle of conditioner and applied some.

Here is the rest of the feedback I received:

Diana, age 25, has very long, straight, thin hair which tends to have oily roots the third day after being washed, so it gets washed every three to four days. Diana said the hair drench made her hair a tad softer than usual according to her boyfriend, and gave it a nice shine. When asked if she would use the recipe again, she says:

I’d use it on a day that I have time and don’t mind the mess. I would strain the tiny pieces of cucumber that are left after blending it, so it’s easier to rinse out. After more than 10 minutes rinsing, I still had some tiny pieces in my hair.

Tracie, age 36, has thick, wavy hair. She thought her hair seemed to be softer when she went to wash it and probably could have gotten away without using conditioner. She didn’t have any problems with cucumber pieces which she says is probably because she rinsed it out in the shower. Tracie prefers the convenience of pre-packaged products, however, and isn’t sure she would do the cucumber recipe again.

Sheryl, age 55, has short, straight, normal hair. She encountered some of the same issues that I had.

It was hard to manage when I was blow drying it – it seemed “ratty” and was tangled. After blow drying, my hair wasn’t as full and didn’t have bounce like it usually does. My hair feels “heavier” and it lays against my head. I didn’t like having to rinse and rinse and rinse – I just didn’t feel like my hair was clean. There were pieces of cucumber that were hard to get out (probably my blender’s fault) and then when I was blow drying, there was a residue that got all over me – kind of like dandruff.

This recipe was definitely not a favorite among the testers, but I think it’s still good. You could strain out the pieces of cucumber before applying as Diana suggested. Also, apply before taking a shower and be sure to wash and condition your hair after rinsing out the cucumber. Remember that natural alternatives can take up to six weeks to show their effectiveness, so this really should have been tested more than once to get accurate results. You could use it once a week, or even once a day.

Big thanks to all the testers who each got $5 vouchers to use at Great Cakes Soapworks.com!

*recipe courtesy of Spa Index