Molasses is a nutrient-dense natural sweetener that is a good source of minerals like magnesium, iron and calcium as well as copper and other trace nutrients. It is often consumed internally as a plant source of iron or used as a natural sweetener, and externally, a molasses hair mask is a natural beauty remedy that has been used for centuries.

Molasses for Hair?

Though there isn’t a lot of scientific research on why molasses is so beneficial for hair, there are thousands of anecdotal reports of it being used to strengthen and condition hair (and even naturally reverse gray hair!).

The great thing about this natural beauty remedy is that it works internally and externally, and seems to be most effective when used both ways. In other words, you might get the most benefit from sipping a gingerbread latte with some molasses in your hair.

How it Works: Internally

When used in foods or drinks regularly, molasses may provide benefit to hair due to its unique combination of nutrients, especially copper, which is important for hair growth. Molasses also contains a good amount of iron, which may help stop anemia (a common cause of hair loss) and antioxidants that may help stop premature graying.

How it Works: Externally

There is also some evidence that nutrients in molasses can help nourish and strengthen hair externally. Like honey, it is a natural sweetener that works as a natural deep conditioner and makes hair silky and smooth.

The dark color of a molasses hair mask may also help cover gray naturally. I don’t have any gray hair yet, so I haven’t been able to test this theory first-hand, but I have used molasses to help naturally darken my hair in the winter months when my sun-bleached summer hair starts to grow out. It worked wonderfully to tone down the really blonde streaks I get after spending time outside all summer.

A Molasses Hair Mask?

I can speak from firsthand experience in my early trials with natural beauty recipes that there is a definite wrong way to use molasses on hair… mainly, putting it straight on the hair undiluted. It is incredibly thick (and sticky!) and takes forever to get out if applied directly.

Instead, using molasses in combination with other hair-healthy ingredients helps improve and thin out its thick texture and intensify the benefits without the need to shampoo dozens of times.

My favorite hair-boosting ingredient to combine with molasses for deep condition hair is yogurt. It is a natural source of amino acids, beneficial bacteria and enzymes, zinc and lactic acid that help nourish the hair and scalp.

3.48 from 23 votes

Molasses Hair Mask Recipe

This special combination of ingredients nourishes hair and improves hair strength and texture. It can easily be made at home with ingredients you might already have in your kitchen.

Prep Time18

Yield:

Author: Katie Wells

Materials

¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 TBSP organic blackstrap molasses
1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
2 drops rosemary essential oil (optional)

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, molasses, and apple cider vinegar.
Add essential oil if using.
Massage into hair and scalp.
Cover with a shower cap or wrap in a towel and leave on for 10-15 minutes.
Shampoo as normal.

Notes

For best results, sip a gingerbread latte while you’re waiting for the mask to work.

Ever used food in your hair? How did it go?

Sources

Become a VIP member!

Get access to my VIP newsletter with health tips, special deals, my free ebook on Seven Small Easy Habits and so much more!

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

92 responses to “Deep Conditioning Molasses Hair Mask”

Erika

February 12, 2018

If I make too much can I store the remaining amount in the fridge? If so, for how long?

Reply
huckleberry

October 8, 2017

i would substitute plain coconut milk yogurt for this recipe 🙂

Reply
Christine

September 16, 2016

Sounds great! My question is, is it better to rinse products out of the hair first for deeper penetration? I always feel when treatments are used before shampooing, hoe can one guarantee that the treatment has got past all the products we apply to our hair for days etc before washing it out with shampoo? Thanks in afvance for any reply.

Reply
Susie

August 27, 2016

I’m also losing a lot of hair. I am 57 and been losing for many years now. It it seems accelerated In the last few months or maybe it’s just caught up to where I can see more of my scalp thru my hair.

I’ve tried all the hair suplements, iron pills and molasses but nothing worked. I even used both kinds of what is known as the alopecia suplement called inositol. I’m hypothyroid and take 180 mgs of Armour for the last 2 years yet still have hair loss. I’ve been anemic as well as having a ferritin level in the 60’s yet still losing hair. I eat careful to try to buy organic and raw dairy and grass fed animal products and very little processed or restaurant foods. I don’t drink coffee or soda and no alcohol. I only drink glass water bottled distilled water and now just reciently unsweetened stinging nettle tea. I used to drink only spring water but after much, mush deep research I have changed to distilled. I order the water from a water service company in 5 gal glass bottles delivered to my home and put into an electric water dispenser. I make my tea with the distilled water too.

I’m now trying nettle loose tea made by decoction. I’ve been drinking a half gallon a day and pouring on my hair as a leave in rinse for about 3 weeks now. Nettle tea also is blood building so good and safe, unlike iron suplements, for anemia. Also it’s full of vitamins and minerals. Don’t use nettle tea bags. Buy nettle leaves in bulk. I buy at mountain rose herbs web site. Look up Maria Trenen or Susun Weed both herbalists for directions to make decoction of herbal teas. Dried Burdock root that’s been soaked for 12 hrs then heated is also suppose to be good for hair growth, used as a rinse and added to SLS-free shampoo. I m going to try that soon and am adding it to honest company baby shampoo that has no SLS in it. Honest company makes a baby conditioner that’s the best I’ve ever used. I love the vanilla orange scent that smells like a orange creamsicle.

I’m also going to try a homeopathic hair loss treatment I’ve read a lot about on a web site called joedeviveria.com. I’m desperate like everyone else losing their hair. So many things can cause hair loss in women. Thyroid issues, HBP, type 2 diabetes, post menopause, stress, hormone imbalance, PCOS, some medications like metformin and high blood pressure meds along with many other things.
There is no way of knowing for sure what the cause of any particular womens hair loss is. Not even a dermatologist can know. They will always say it’s alopecia as that is what is taught in medical school.

Different hair remedies or therapies seem to work for different people. What works for one may not work for another so you need to keep trying different things. Eating right, organic, raw and grass fed animal products and staying away from process foods and refined sugar is all good but may not be enough depending on what is causing your particular hair loss. And as I said, you can’t know what exactly is causing your particular loss other than if it’s after having a baby. The good thing is that if that is the reason, in time it will correct itself.

I reciently read that taking diatomaceous earth FOOD GRADE, can stop hair loss and regrow hair. Most people take it to get rid of parasites but apparent,y it also has the side effect to stop hair loss for some people. I used it years ago for weight loss but I did not pay attention to see if it helped with hair loss. Although, when I took it way back then my hair loss was much less then it is now. I will try taking that again too later on. I don’t want to try too many things at the same time because I won’t know what is working or what is not. Why spend the time and money on things that aren’t working for me. I think giving a particular hair treatment 3 months is enough to know if it’s helming or not and if I should move on to something else. I’m happy to hear of others success in stoping their hair loss and willing to try different hair loss stoping treatments or remedies. If I find one that finally works for me I will post. I, also thinking of trying the iodine that one of the posters suggested. I’ve had my iodine levels checked and they are In the normal range. It’s a bit scary though as I’ve reaserched it and I can find both good and bad reasons to take extra iodine. I know you should be very careful taking iodine if you have the autoimmune version of hypothyroid called hasimotos, which thankfully, I don’t. Note to the poster: how much iodine do you take and what kind?

Reply
1. Kia
  
  September 25, 2020
  
  Hello I know its been about 4 years since you left your question but I I noted that you use a lot of distilled water. Please check to make sure that is okay? I’m so sorry to say I cannot recall where I read it but apparently we are not meant to drink large quantities of distilled water. Actually I’ve just done a Google search and found quite a few results that talk about it so please do a search for yourself. Wishing you well. Kia ?
  
  Reply
Carrie

June 6, 2016

I am in love with this molasses mask. It makes my coarse hair actually feel like hair! Soft and shiny. I try to use this mask a couple of times a week. I’m fixing to order some magnesium chloride flakes – I want to start using the magnesium oil on my body.

Reply
Carrie Gaiennie

June 6, 2016

My experience.
The worst thing, when your hair starts falling out excessively, is the stress that you experience. This, I believe, makes the condition worse. This January my hair started thinning out freakishly fast. I’m 63 and in relatively good health, no prescription medications. Have never colored my hair and love it. Previous to this I had stopped using shampoo and was using rye flour made into a thin paste as a shampoo and then rinsed with acv. Usually only once a week and then just rinse the hair with water daily or not. Then I would use coconut oil to give me shine. ( have switched to argon, after reading how coconut oil can make curly, coarse hair thinner in the strand itself). Well, I tried the keranique ( only used it twice) bought a laser brush and used it every other day. Took biotin, astragalus and rhodiola. I always take a multi vitamin. Still wasn’t happy because the fallout continued. I am a teacher and will probably never retire so I knew that I couldn’t just sit at home and live with thin, maybe no hair. After about 6 – 8 weeks it stopped. I think that I shocked it into stopping by buying a wig. I found one that looked pretty darn good and I figured that I could rock it, no need to act embarrassed. Some people wear them often, I’m told. I didn’t want to go this route but I could live with it. I knew that the other teachers would give me heck, so I announced to them that my hair was falling out and if I started wearing a wig, that was the reason why. (I’m not a scarf or hat person). It made some of us realize that when a woman wears a wig don’t assume that she is trying to look younger or glamorous ( women are hard on each other). It helped with the stress. I knew that I could lIke the way I looked, even if all of my hair fell out. Thin hair tends to age a person. I only wore the wig once when I went shopping. My hair started growing in! The hair falling out happens to a lot of people. They just don’t talk about it. My sister had a problem with it when she was 63. Maybe one of those things that can happen based on the body regenerating or something every 7 years. That theory? I read that a traumatic experience, grief, etc. can affect your hair growth even 6-8 months later. I can relate to that. The important thing is to stop stressing. Tell your hair, ” go ahead, I have this wig that I can rock, so I’m not going to stress about you.” The main thing is to remain calm. It is traumatic to a woman when this happens but breathe deeply. Remember – You are beautiful, with hair or without.
Thanks for letting me share.

Reply
1. Debbie D
  
  June 6, 2016
  
  I only wish mine would reverse itself as yours has. I am 50 and as I mentioned in my prior posts, the hair loss is heartbreaking. It hasn’t stopped no matter what I’ve tried. I have recently stopped eating mushrooms as a last ditch effort to reverse the hair loss. I eat TONS of them (not unusual to eat a 24 oz. package per day) and I read that too much selenium (found in mushrooms) can cause hair loss. It’s only been a week since I stopped eating them, so we’ll see how that goes. I don’t think that buying a wig would fix my problem, but thanks for the pep talk anyway 🙂
  I’ve been tested for thyroid, vit D deficiency,, hormones, etc. (I do have extremely low estrogen). As I mentioned before, I take Thy-Rx 7 for thyroid (although my bloodwork shows low normal, vit B complex, Vit D, Calcium, Krill Oil, Magnesium, probiotics, a whole foods multi, and oregano oil. I eat a mostly raw, organic diet including grass fed meat and raw dairy. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would be grateful.
  
  Reply
Marcia

May 5, 2016

Katie,

I have some questions and I hope that you see this and are able to respond.

Why are you using the apple cider vinegar in this recipe? Is it necessary? What are the benefits?

I just whipped up a batch of this and I have it sitting on my hair right now as I am typing this. I always have apple cider vinegar on hand but I was wondering if I really needed it and what was the purpose of adding it.

Thank you so much for your well informed posts. I use you website as my go to first for homemade recipes and treatments. I have been working on transforming my household and lifestyle and my boys into DIY holistically all the time if possible gurus.

Last couple of questions:
You mentioned taking the molasses internally, do you have any special recommendations for this?
I’ve seen somewhere to put 1-2 tbsps in 1 cup of boiling water, mix it, and let it cool and drink it daily. Do you have any other recipes or ways that would be a good way to take this internally?

Thanks,
Marcia

Reply
Charly Warg

March 16, 2016

Hey there, Momma! Ive been following your posts for about two or three years now. You’ve been a much needed encyclopedia for my family and me 🙂 (I have four four year olds! ?) I thought of if an idea the other week, experimented with it and just wanted to share! I oil my hair a lot and usually use an egg to break up the oil before washing. My hair is pretty fine so it’s NECESSARY. Anywho, I decided to try diluted, water soluble gelatin powder instead this time; since it is the protein I guess that breaks up the oil. It worked! Really well! Yay! …and much less messy than smearing egg all up in my hair

Reply
Jelena

March 2, 2016

Hello everyone! I use rye flour on my hair and am very pleased with results. I’ve been avoiding hairdressers ever since because of commercial shampoos they use. However, last time I went, about two months ago, I gave in, as I was told my hair didn’t look clean. I washed it that morning with baking soda/acv. My question is do you go to the hairdresser’s and what do you do about shampoo and other products they apply there? Thanks for any feedback!

Reply
Beth

February 7, 2016

I mixed close to 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses with about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and then I massaged it into my hair. I left it on for 20 minutes, then rinsed thoroughly with hot water. No shampoo, no conditioner.
I should mention my hair was dirty and visibly oily at the roots prior to using the molasses mixture in it, but once I rinsed it with hot water, and then allowed it to dry naturally, it was perfectly clean and shiny. It also smelled clean in a non-scented way. Also, there does appear to be a slight color enhancement to my naturally auburn/chestnut brown hair, but the difference is subtle. I suspect it would increase with additional use.

Thanks for a great website with genuinely helpful information in it. I’ll be trying other suggestions soon. Peace!

Reply
Trisha

January 29, 2016

I liked using egg yolks and lemon juice to wash my hair, but I did it too often and got a protein build-up on my hair. So now I’ll use egg a couple times a month and use rye flour for my in between washes. My hair is usually pretty tangly, so the molasses sounds like a good idea.

Reply
Renita

January 26, 2016

Although I tried it and stained a shirt, I didn’t notice less grey. I liked being able to wipe a drip from my face with a finger and put it in my mouth! I think my hair felt softer.

Reply
1. Amber
  
  January 29, 2016
  
  I didn’t expect quick results but I got them.The blackstrap molasses hair mask worked after one treatment. The next day I saw little streaks of dark hair in the gray I am getting at one temple and the color went from the root right down the hair shaft. Another treatment improved it further. I applied it sloppily bc I was in a hurry, I noticed the parts that were fully covered were dark and shiny, the parts I didn’t just showed streaks. It had more of its old volume and bounce, too.
  
  I don’t love molasses in the shower but I love the idea of not coloring my hair and now I don’t think I will have to.
  
  I also improved my diet at this time so maybe it was synergistic.
  
  Reply
Anna

January 18, 2016

How often do you apply this to your hair?

Reply
Rachae

January 6, 2016

I didn’t have any trouble getting Katie’s mix out this morning with just warm water and lots of massaging. (I used regular unsulphured not blackstrap) What’s fun is, I have a very faint smell of molasses to me now. ?
I can also say that the few dozen grays I have seem to be toned down a bit.(I have medium brown hair) This was my first use, I put it on dry hair and left it in for 15 minutes. I’m planning to do this once a week and am excited to see what happens.

Reply
1. Staci
  
  January 6, 2016
  
  Did you use shampoo to remove it?
  
  Reply
Heather Bueltemann

December 29, 2015

Staci D I am also no poo, I have red auburn hair. I used the molasses and mixed it with coconut oil in solid form. Melt the coconut oil mix with the molasses, let it sit. Then mix 1/4 cup ACV with 3 TBS lemon jc and 2tsp tea tree it “Strips the molasses” then rinse with cool water and air dry I don’t use heat unless going out once a year. I use a low setting straightener. Gorgeous darkened copper auburn was the product! Love you Katie!!!!!
Heather~

Reply
Linda

December 25, 2015

I tried this this morning. I didn’t have black strap molasses so not sure if it would’ve made a difference. It did not cover all the grey. It did however make some of them have a nice soft brown color. Wish it would’ve done the same for the crown and sides of hair.

It did leave my hair feeling soft and shiny and my scalp didn’t seem as dry.

How often can you do this. I would like to do it for a few days in a row. It might make a difference in the gray hair. Also there is a long story of why I am trying this so I won’t go into detail but I have never had a problem with hair or scalp til I had a root canal done. so again not to go into a long story, the root canal was infected for a very long time and when it finally got pulled the poison spread through my body and thus poison was coming out the skin and scalp. My hair started falling out where the infection was coming out and I am trying to get them healed and hoping no more hair will fall out.

I have been putting wheat grass juice and yogurt on my hair and it seems to help and also have been using ACV. It is getting better but I really would like to cover my gray hair and feel I can not use anything right now that would do that with the open sores. I saw a henna hair color and even though it is natural I just feel I want to make sure my scalp is healed before I use anything on it.

So again my question is how often can you do it?

Reply
1. Sdhiorm
  
  December 27, 2015
  
  Linda, if greying was caused by infection or injury, give it some time. The melanin may return and give back your natural colour. Have you ever noticed someone with an odd grey streak in their hair? It is often do to a injury that scarred permanently. (It happens in animals, also.) How often have you seen men with only grey on to nape of their necks, sideburns, and around the ears. This is due to damage by razor against the skin. Good luck and remember stress in the worst culprit in aging.
  
  Reply
Jane

December 25, 2015

Thanks for this recipe… I tried it, and for the next couple of days afterwards, everyone kept commenting on how shiny my hair looked. It felt very soft, too.

Reply
Kendra

December 23, 2015

LOVE this! Did it last night, but substituted half an avocado for the yogurt, since I didn’t have any in the fridge. Still feelin’ a slippery coating this morning, so I’m taking it as an extended-deep-conditioning day and hope to get the rest out tonight with another good wash. 🙂

Reply
Staci D

December 21, 2015

I’d love to try this but I’ve been doing no-poo for almost 2 years and the one time I used shampoo at the hairdresser, it set me back weeks in the process while my natural oils rebalanced. Do you have any idea how the molasses conditioner will effect ‘au natural’ hair? Do you think it will be possible to remove the conditioner without shampoo? I’m 47 and feeling very lucky I don’t have gray hair yet but am starting to see a stray here and there. I’d love to slow the process… Thank you!

Reply
1. Trisha
  
  January 29, 2016
  
  Try a egg yolk wash, that’s pretty good for removing stuff. just don’t do the egg wash more than once every week or so or you may get a flaky protein build-up on your scalp. This happened to me so i just started using rye flour for my in between washes. thenopoomethod.com has lots of helpful info for natural hair that I wish I would have found a long time ago.
  
  Reply
sangavi

December 21, 2015

I have been using blackstrap molasses for more than 3 months for a substitute for sugar in my coffee. I like the malty taste. I haven’t seen much change with the grey hair but definitely reduced the hair fall. I would continue taking it just for the health benefits. I have also noticed that taking molasses regularly have improved my energy level. For gery hair cover up, I use henna which also promotes healthy hair

Reply
1. Maria
  
  December 27, 2015
  
  sangavi, can you tell me where you get your henna? I have been looking everywhere and can not find it. It is so much better, and natural, for hair. I tried the molasses and it sure made my hair so soft and with volume. For color it only brightened my color and did not help with the grey/white, you see I am a red head and it is the only color in the world that is the hardest to color. It just does not take very well if at all. I am told henna will help me.
  
  Reply