Oat Water for Conditioner

[Stagecoach]

I've been having good success with Oat Water conditioner lately, and I'm curious if anyone else has tried them.

My method is:

2T Whole Oats
2 c. Water
1 t. Honey

Combine and bring to a boil, boil for 2-3 minutes, until its thick. Strain out the oats and cool. Add honey.
After washing the hair, apply this all over, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Rinse out, and follow with ACV rinse.

It definitely alters something in my hair because it takes it quite a bit longer to dry than before, but it leaves my hair soft, shiny, and full of volume and body. I'm on a quest to figure out how to ditch the conditioner from my routine as I want to get rid of artificial fragrances, and it's nearly impossible to find a decent natural conditioner without coconut oil (which I'm allergic to). I'm hoping that this oat water rinse will be a good replacement, to help keep my hair moisturized and nourished.

[Ophidian]

That sounds nice! Oats certainly do have a great slippy texture and I love the smell. There's a thread on oat water here somewhere, but rice water seems to get more attention. I think there is some debate about cooking it vs. not cooking it, and it sounds like cooking it has upped the conditioning factor for you. Are you using it after a shampoo washing or do you have another method?

[Stagecoach]

I used it directly after washing my hair with African Black Soap.

[lapushka]

My dad eats 2 portions of oats for a late lunch on Sunday, every Sunday (that or almost a whole liter of vanilla pudding). He eats the oats in milk. Maybe otherwise I'd be tempted. :)

I don't have dry skin, though, in my face I do (extremely dry), but I am normal to oily on my scalp.

Would this work for your skin, like your face? :hmm:

[Stagecoach]

Would this work for your skin, like your face? :hmm:

It certainly could not hurt to try. I know several big skin care brands use oats in their products, like Aveeno.

[lapushka]

It certainly could not hurt to try. I know several big skin care brands use oats in their products, like Aveeno.

Yes that's true. Thank you! :)

[Hairkay]

I use oat water as skin soothing treatment and or a shampoo alternative. It's convenient and it does the job for me.

Here's one of the older thread on the subject.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=131870

[JennGalt]

My dad eats 2 portions of oats for a late lunch on Sunday, every Sunday (that or almost a whole liter of vanilla pudding). He eats the oats in milk. Maybe otherwise I'd be tempted. :)

I don't have dry skin, though, in my face I do (extremely dry), but I am normal to oily on my scalp.

Would this work for your skin, like your face? :hmm:

Yes, it does work well for skin. My husband had to take a bath in oatmeal one winter due to eczema, as suggested by his doctor. Oat flour is way less likely to clog the drain than rolled or steel cut oats though! Or just wait for it to cool a bit and smear it on your skin if you're worried about drain clogs.

It can be used for a nice face mask if you make it thick enough not to drip off your face. Add a squirt of aloe gel if you have it, and a couple drops of essential oil or vitamin E oil if you want, but the oatmeal should reduce dryness and flakiness without anything else added. I'd recommend putting it in the blender or using oat flour just for the sake of texture. It works best if it's warm, and gets annoying if allowed to dry. Hope that helps!

That's too bad about the dry face and oily scalp--I have the exact opposite problem: oily face with a scalp like a desert. If only our heads would spread the oil production more evenly!

[ursaV]

I've was using oatmeal baths to soothe some weird allergic reaction I was having to a shaving cream that made my skin intensely dry and itchy, and found out it was amazing for my hair! What I do is blend it up very fine in a coffee/spice blender and just sprinkle it in the bath until the water is opaque. I don't boil it or add anything. I did a little mermaid soak and my hair was insanely soft. I thought in passing to use it as a conditioner but never really got around to it. Your recipe sounds really nice and gentle too, I might give that a try!

[Stagecoach]

Updating:

I've decided I can not use this as my main conditioner. It leaves a gorgeous shine on my hair, but, it also seems to be depositing protein? Or at least, it started to give my hair the feeling that too much protein gave it. So, I've backed off, and I'll just use it for occasional shine treatments.

[Wendyp]

The protein load makes me want to try this. My damaged ends needs protein. Plus my hair loves honey. Lapuka make me hungry with the oats and milk lunch lol!

[Stagecoach]

The protein load makes me want to try this. My damaged ends needs protein. Plus my hair loves honey. Lapuka make me hungry with the oats and milk lunch lol!

Definitely try it then, as the shine was unbelievable on my hair!

[Wendyp]

Definitely try it then, as the shine was unbelievable on my hair!

Awesome! I’ll try it this weekend. Thx!

[lithostoic]

Would be great to do if you need perfect hair for an event :P

[Siv]

I just tried this as a wash and conditioner after reading the older threads on the topic. I used oats and flaxseeds and let it sit on my hair while I cleaned the rest of the body. My roots are still oily, but it's probably one of the best conditioners I've ever used! I want to try barley water now!

[Stagecoach]

[QUOTE=Siv;3536040]I just tried this as a wash and conditioner after reading the older threads on the topic. I used oats and flaxseeds and let it sit on my hair while I cleaned the rest of the body. My roots are still oily, but it's probably one of the best conditioners I've ever used! I want to try barley water now![/QUOT
That's great!