We Tested Peanut Butter As A Hair Mask — & Here's How It Worked

If you've ever gotten a piece of gum stuck in your hair, then you already know that peanut butter is the best remedy. But many people swear by it for more than just emergency hair situations; rumour has it that it also makes strands crazy shiny and strong when used as a mask. So, since I've already tested the effects of mayonnaise as a hair treatment in another experiment, I knew I'd have to give peanut butter a try as well.

No lie: The Refinery29 office wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to coat their heads in an entire jar of the stuff — even in the name of beauty research. But because I already like using coconut and olive oils in my hair, I decided to sign up and give peanut butter a try. Plus, I love the smell and taste of the stuff. Sounds like a win-win, right?

Well, let me just say that spreading sticky peanut butter all over your head and hair is, as you might expect, a lot tougher than dipping celery stalks in it. Pro tip: Make sure you have a towel ready, since the peanut butter is going to go literally everywhere. And it's no breeze to wash out, either. I had to use a ton of conditioner and I lost a few handfuls of hair in the process.

Next time, I think I'd mix a little coconut or olive oil in to dilute the peanut butter. I would also suggest using an all natural brand that doesn't have sugar or salt in it, which is probably what dried my hair out. The weirdest result? My hair smelled like peanut butter for a few days afterwards — but I wasn't totally mad about that.

Press play above to catch my entire peanut butter hair mask experiment. Let's just say I'll probably be sticking to mayonnaise when it comes to pantry-sourced hair treatments.