The Real Reason You Should Be Saving Overripe Avocados

There's nothing worse than slicing into an avocado that you've been waiting to eat for days, only to see the vivid green color intertwined with stripes and splotches of brown. So what do you do? Throwing out the whole fruit every time it's gone a day or two overripe is not only wasting food but, depending on where you live, it can add up to a substantial waste of money, too.

If your strategy for dealing with an overripe avocado is to cut around the brown just to salvage a tablespoon or two of the flesh, that isn't much better, and including all of it in a salad or guacamole could ruin the flavor. Luckily, you can put those overripe berries to good use.

Anyone who has baked with bananas knows that a sweet batter can hide a multitude of fruit imperfections that range from texture to taste. In fact, the over-ripening can even add to the sweetness of the end result. The same is true when it comes to avocados.

If you've been around the internet, there's a chance you're already familiar with desserts that make use of the avocado's creamy texture. That texture, along with their high percentage of healthy fats, make the avocado a perfect addition to indulgent desserts like chocolate brownies, truffles, mousses, and puddings (via Bon Appetit). After all, if they're made with avocados, they're healthier, right?

Good-quality chocolate not only overpowers the mild avocado flavor (so picky eaters won't even taste it), but the color hides any secret browning, making it the perfect way to use up an overripe avocado. This trick is so useful that you'll even find versions of avocado brownies that are vegan (via HuffPost), gluten-free, and keto-friendly (via Delish), so you can almost certainly find a version to meet any dietary restrictions.

One place you really won't notice a little brown avocado is in your hair. It might seem like an odd (not to mention messy) idea, but according to Healthline, the vitamins A, D, E, and B6 that are found in avocados can help strengthen hair follicles, while the potassium and lecithin can moisturize an itchy or irritated scalp.

As for the oddness, well, it's good enough for Kourtney Kardashian, so it might just be worth a try (via YouTube). To follow her recipe, combine one and a half avocados (overripe is ok!), 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of manuka honey, and the same amount of lemon juice. Blend all the ingredients together, saturate your hair with it (then cover your hair with a shower cap to avoid dripping salad dressing everywhere), and leave the mask on for about 45 minutes. Keep in mind, the smoother you blend the mask, the easier it will go down the drain. The result should be shiny, smooth tresses for a fraction of the cost of a salon treatment.