Honey treatment went bad?!?!?!

**SpeakingEZ** · May 15th, 2010, 03:19 PM

So, about half an hour ago, I took my honey concoction out of the bathroom cabinet. It was the "new dilution" with water and a little coconut oil. Both of these are safe to keep outside the fridge. So I thought the mixture would be ok outside the fridge. I have no idea how many weeks or months ago I made it, but probably around a month.

So as I'm putting it on my head I'm thinking, "this smells a little funny." I brush it off as the honey smell, since it smelled a bit funny the first time, too. It takes about 10 minutes to get it through my hair. Then it hit me, "this smells like beer!" It must have fermented. So then I thought, "well, beer isn't bad for hair, and I don't want to waste the mixture."

Well, as I'm washing out the mix from the bottle, I notice mildew/ mold near the lip. So now I'm afraid I have mold in my hair right now, as I sit here under my honey-hair filled beanie cap.

....Should I wash this off ASAP and start a new mix? I don't want to put mold on my hair if it's going to stick around and cause problems.

Also, why did the mix go bad? Is there something about the mix that needs refrigeration?

**ktani** · May 15th, 2010, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by SpeakingEZ

So, about half an hour ago, I took my honey concoction out of the bathroom cabinet. It was the "new dilution" with water and a little coconut oil. Both of these are safe to keep outside the fridge. So I thought the mixture would be ok outside the fridge. I have no idea how many weeks or months ago I made it, but probably around a month.

So as I'm putting it on my head I'm thinking, "this smells a little funny." I brush it off as the honey smell, since it smelled a bit funny the first time, too. It takes about 10 minutes to get it through my hair. Then it hit me, "this smells like beer!" It must have fermented. So then I thought, "well, beer isn't bad for hair, and I don't want to waste the mixture."

Well, as I'm washing out the mix from the bottle, I notice mildew/ mold near the lip. So now I'm afraid I have mold in my hair right now, as I sit here under my honey-hair filled beanie cap.

....Should I wash this off ASAP and start a new mix? I don't want to put mold on my hair if it's going to stick around and cause problems.

Also, why did the mix go bad? Is there something about the mix that needs refrigeration?

I would wash it out right away.

Anything you mix with water needs refidgeration not to go bad no matter whether there are preservatvis in it natually or if you mix water with conventional conditioner or shampoo. In the fridge the mixture would keep up to a week or 2 at most.

**SpeakingEZ** · May 15th, 2010, 03:31 PM

Thanks, Ktani. I rinsed it out and have fresh batch peroxiding right now.

**ktani** · May 15th, 2010, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by SpeakingEZ

Thanks, Ktani. I rinsed it out and have fresh batch peroxiding right now.

You are most welcome!

If you cannot use the entire batch right away I would not keep what od left over in the fridge more than about a day. The peroxide will break down. How long for that will vary with the honey.

**SpeakingEZ** · May 15th, 2010, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by ktani

Anything you mix with water needs refidgeration not to go bad no matter whether there are preservatvis in it natually or if you mix water with conventional conditioner or shampoo.

Does that mean that the diluted shampoo I have in my shower isn't safe, either? It takes me about 2 months to go through a bottle of 1:1 diluted poo.

**ktani** · May 15th, 2010, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by SpeakingEZ

Does that mean that the diluted shampoo I have in my shower isn't safe, either? It takes me about 2 months to go through a bottle of 1:1 diluted poo.

It is not a good idea to do that in advance. Diliute it as you go each time. The preservatives in conventional products are measured for the amount of product they are being added to in percentages.

**Flynn** · May 15th, 2010, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by SpeakingEZ

Does that mean that the diluted shampoo I have in my shower isn't safe, either? It takes me about 2 months to go through a bottle of 1:1 diluted poo.

Yep, 'fraid so, though diluted shampoo is nowhere near as risky as diluted conditioner.

The biggest problems are when you add water to something already containing fat. Detergent is a modified fat, but things like oils and fatty alcohols are a much greater risk. The preservative is based on both the amount of product, and on the ratio of fat to water.

**rusika1** · May 15th, 2010, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by SpeakingEZ

Does that mean that the diluted shampoo I have in my shower isn't safe, either? It takes me about 2 months to go through a bottle of 1:1 diluted poo.

ktani said:

It is not a good idea to do that in advance. Diliute it as you go each time. The preservatives in conventional products are measured for the amount of product they are being added to in percentages.

Flynn said:

Yep, 'fraid so, though diluted shampoo is nowhere near as risky as diluted conditioner.

Those plastic squeeze bottles with the pointy tips are perfect for diluting shampoo, conditioner and ACV rinse as needed.

I used a permanent marker and labeled each bottle with a giant S, C and R to keep from mixing them up. A bonus is that the bottle makes it much easier to apply the shampoo directly to the scalp.

**ktani** · May 15th, 2010, 05:35 PM

Here is an interesting website for cosmetic and aspiring cosmetic chemists by cosmetic chemists. Even the experts do not always agree about preservatives, http://chemistscorner.com/how-to-pre...etic-products/

**SpeakingEZ** · May 15th, 2010, 08:46 PM

That was a really interesting article, Ktani, thank you!

Rusika, thanks for the tip. I already have one of those squeezy bottles and it's my best friend for everything else.

Flynn, that makes sense because honestly, the shampoo has never caused any problems for me and has always done its job. I will be diluting it as I go from now on, though. Thankfully I only ever leaved it on for a few seconds and I just used up the last of it today.