Homemade conditioners

[Missymo]

Hi does anybody know of any simple hair conditioner recipes that can be made from ordinary ingredients found in the kitchen? If so please let me know, because I'm at a bit of a loss about what I could use that will really condition my hair.

[guska]

Hi :)

Is there something you don’t like about commercial conditioners? Are they not conditioning enough (hence why you are resorting to homemade)? Just curious. Also what’s your hair texture?

[MusicalSpoons]

We had a thread not too long ago about a similar thing and it seemed nobody had any suggestions. If you give us some more info we might be able to help suggest alternatives, even if they're not outright homemade/kitchen recipes :)

[mwallingford]

Hello! I sometimes make conditioner at home, mainly because it's very similar to making lotion which I find :magic: Unfortunately, it can't be made with everyday ingredients around the house. It's an emulsion of water and oil (mostly water), so you need an emulsifier and a preservative to make sure it stays together and to make sure it's shelf stable. If you're interested I can share more information about it, because it only has five ingredients (and one is the scent) but it would require making an amazon purchase. A kitchen scale would also serve you well, because you need to get fairly precise with the preservative

[Missymo]

I don't actually buy commercial conditioners as I have concerns about the ingredients they contain and while I'd like to try out the Morocco Method hair conditioners which are along the line of what I what, they are a bit pricey. So for now basically I've been having to experiment with making my own conditioners with what there is at home, but I've not really hit on one yet that really works.
Ones I've been trying out recently are coconut oil and honey in water which made my hair a greasy mess the first time I used it and the second time it was quite drying, I've tried straight Aloe Vera gel which was also drying and most recently Camomile tea with apple cider vinegar, which seems to have worked the best, but is still not conditioning enough.

I don't know my hair type, but my hair appears to be fairly fine with some wave to it.

[lapushka]

I don't actually buy commercial conditioners as I have concerns about the ingredients they contain and while I'd like to try out the Morocco Method hair conditioners which are along the line of what I what, they are a bit pricey. So for now basically I've been having to experiment with making my own conditioners with what there is at home, but I've not really hit on one yet that really works.
Ones I've been trying out recently are coconut oil and honey in water which made my hair a greasy mess the first time I used it and the second time it was quite drying, I've tried straight Aloe Vera gel which was also drying and most recently Camomile tea with apple cider vinegar, which seems to have worked the best, but is still not conditioning enough.

I don't know my hair type, but my hair appears to be fairly fine with some wave to it.

What ingredients in particular are you worried about? Due to allergies? :)

[Missymo]

Pretty much most of them, not because I'm allergic to them, I really just don't know what a lot of them are, if they have risks associated with using them and how they can impact on a persons health in the long run.

[lapushka]

Pretty much most of them, not because I'm allergic to them, I really just don't know what a lot of them are, if they have risks associated with using them and how they can impact on a persons health in the long run.

I would not worry about that too much. It's not something you put on your scalp after all. Just ears down.

[Jo Ann]

Maybe this will help you out. You can save money and use ingredients at home:

The much-recommended SMT (Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment) (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128)

There is a bit of a learning curve to this--many of the conditioners suggested didn't work for me (too high in protein), but I did have some success using a knock-off of the Biolage Conditioning Balm from Sally Beauty.

[MusicalSpoons]

Pretty much most of them, not because I'm allergic to them, I really just don't know what a lot of them are, if they have risks associated with using them and how they can impact on a persons health in the long run.

I'm tempted to say :google: but nowadays you'll find a load of scare-mongering in amongst the actual, worthwhile information, so maybe don't Google too deeply ... You can always use an internet search to find out *what* specific ingredients are, but here is a reliable source of info: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-is-this-ingredient-in-my-conditioner.html in this post she looks at a couple of typical conditioners with brief explanations of what each ingredient is and an overview of the basic functions of conditioner.

As for safety, I'm going to copy and paste a few links from this webpage (https://www.beenaturals.com/use-of-online-resources-to-determine-cosmetic-safety-reviewing-the-ewg-2/):


Here is a list of helpful resources, as well as their areas of expertise:

Cosmetic Ingredient Review – http://www.cir-safety.org/ingredients
This site is helpful for understanding the chemistry behind ingredients and their safety. All information is backed by scientific documentation made visible to viewers.
Cosmetics Info – http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org
This site is beneficial for those looking to search for products by name to get unbiased, science-based reviews regarding the safety of your favorite cosmetics.
The Beauty Brains – http://thebeautybrains.com/about
Written by two cosmetic chemists, this blog seeks to answer any all questions regarding cosmetic products.
CosDNA – http://www.cosdna.com
This database allows you to search by product name or ingredient. The site details an ingredient’s function, scores the ingredient’s chance of causing acne and irritation, as well as gives the ingredient a safety rating.

You could also look into herbal conditioning, though it's just as vast an area of info as conventional conditioners to be honest. It takes a LOT more trial and error, but many people swear by herbs, so it's probably doable if you want to give it a proper go.

You could also look into conditioner bases (Google them) and a few manufacturers will actually tell you why each specific ingredient is in the formulation, and you can then add any extras (oils, humectants, EOs, etc) you like but again that would take experimenting. I can't vouch for the efficacy of conditioner bases in general though because I've never needed to try them.

[Ophidian]

MusicalSpoons has given you lots of good info, I love science-y hairblog :). When people say they want to make their own conditioner, it's helpful to be able to tailor that to your interests. Are you looking for herbs and or food ingredients that you can use to condition your hair, or are you wanting to formulate your own conditioner base with cosmetic ingredients that you can tailor to your liking?

I don't have experience with the latter (though there are definitely people here that do). I can point you to resources for herbs though if you're interested, and you can also search for threads on it here to get ideas. For your hair (wavy, fine), the kind of avocado/olive oil/honey/banana/coconut oil whatever masks that are all over the interwebs will probably be way to heavy (which it sounds like you've already experienced).

What has been great for my hair (wavy, a bit coarser), are herbs that provide some "slip" to your hair. If you poke around on science-y hairblog for her article on film-forming humectants, this is what I mean. Basically, they are plant gels that help your hair retain moisture without making it greasy like an oil will. However using oil after you use a conditioning herb, with a light hand, can be great! Aloe falls in this category, as do marshmallow, slippery elm, and fenugreek, among others. Some will make a stiff gel (like flax), while others can be used as a conditioning rinse. In my experience, those kinds of herbs can do a lot to soften your hair without weighing it down. Other herbs, like amla (which is often described as a conditioning herb) in my experience have more of a strengthening effect but don't make my hair super soft like say fenugreek does. So it sort of depends on what you are looking for and how fiddly you are willing to get, because it does tend to take a fair bit of trial and error. If you're interested, it's probably good to pick one or two things to start with, figure out how to prepare them, and test one thing at a time instead of trying to get into complex recipes right away. Different herbs need to be prepared different ways to extract the conditioning properties, and it's nice to have results that you can replicate if you like it.

That's a bit more info than I intended to write :D. Long story short, herbs are great for some people, way too much hassle for others. If it interests you, I say dive in :)

ETA Lots of people here like catnip. I've used it and liked it too, though I'm still not sure what the conditioning mechanism is. The oils in it, I think?

[Missymo]

Thanks for all the great ideas. Herbal conditioners is the way I'd like to go as they are natural. By the way does anybody know it peppermint is good for hair? Because my family do have a peppermint plant in the garden, so it is already on hand.

[01]

For god's sake... No need to terrorize her, she can use what she wants. She doesn't even have to have a reason. She doesn't have to use the same things you do. Problems with tolerance, eh?

Tons of good info in this thread, nevertheless. Except that beauty brains blog, these guys are really bad scientists.

Try indian and afro-american youtube channels and beauty blogs, tons of DIYs there. Obviously indians have super-thick, long hair due to their DIYs, not commercial conditioners. Ophidian's tips are great! You can also try doing a mist with something that you'd normally use for your face like green tea or rosewater. Dose is important, my hair loves small amounts of green tea (like, very little) but actually gets dry from bigger amounts. There's thread here about fruit masks by HairKay. Some of these rinse out with just water. You can blend cucumber or tomato, put this on your hair and rinse out with water. I keep seeing cucumber juice in indian DIYs. It dried out my hair *shrugs* but at least it works as shampoo, eh? There's plenty of moisturizing herbs that Ophidian mentioned in afro DIYs but they also add a lot of oils and butters to these DIY conditioners and that's TERRIBLE idea unless you plan to use these as deep conditioners and wash these out twice or thrice with super strong shampoo. Beautyklove has these heavy masks that you need to wash out on youtube and it works well for her but obviously washing these out is hard. I agree that stuff like amla or henna is strenghtening (literally - it's good for hair loss) but they're drying. Surprisingly, natural washing methods like egg yolk or soapnuts also strenghten and add shine but are drying (well, they wash, after all!)

That said, all of these are technically dermatological drugs and all drugs have side effects, sometimes very serious. If you check out ayurveda they actually have ayurvedic *doctors* (in India they go to medical school) and all these 'herbs' are just called drugs, which they are. I think it's better to treat them with respect and use sporadically as needed (or sometimes not at all) instead of using mass quantities like society and media taught us to.

[Ophidian]

Thanks for all the great ideas. Herbal conditioners is the way I'd like to go as they are natural. By the way does anybody know it peppermint is good for hair? Because my family do have a peppermint plant in the garden, so it is already on hand.

I like peppermint :). I’m not sure about conditioning but it definitely feels nice on the scalp and smells good. I like to add a tiny bit of honey to herbal rinses sometimes because it makes my hair softer, but not everyone’s hair likes it. (I always rinse it out so it doesn’t make my hair sticky :))

[Hairkay]

I tend to keep it simple. I use banana pureé. It can be tricky to make sure the banana is smooth enough and properly sieved but when it works its great. Mango pureé also works, so does coconut milk. Fenugreek with honey and maybe olive oil works too. Greek yogurt on it's own or with honey or banana works too. So does avocado and banana. I have got tight curls so I apply it close to the scalp. I also occasionally do mild vinegar rinses.

[lapushka]

I tend to keep it simple. I use banana pureé. It can be tricky to make sure the banana is smooth enough and properly sieved but when it works its great. Mango pureé also works, so does coconut milk. Fenugreek with honey and maybe olive oil works too. Greek yogurt on it's own or with honey or banana works too. So does avocado and banana. I have got tight curls so I apply it close to the scalp. I also occasionally do mild vinegar rinses.

Isn't like baby-food (banana) a good way to go?

[Hairkay]

Isn't like baby-food (banana) a good way to go?

Yes, I found a good one that works too. I was a bit apprehensive at first but it was okay.

[Missymo]

Thanks for all the amazing info everyone. For now I'm just going to see how I can go at growing some hair friendly herbs and use them for conditioning my hair.

[spidermom]

I've been getting good results from safflower oil. Here is a link to the information I'm using:
https://www.goodhealthacademy.com/beauty-tips/safflower-oil-for-hair-and-skin/

[lapushka]

Yes, I found a good one that works too. I was a bit apprehensive at first but it was okay.

That's great! :) I bet it's better than mashing bananas and worrying about whether there aren't gonna be chunks. I once did banana and sooo regretted it and it was pureed as best I could, but it is so... I don't know... sticky I guess, it was hard to get out.

[LittleTea]

I know there's a catnip tea thread somewhere around here! Can someone link it? I remember it being all the rage a few years ago on LHC. The catnip tea worked great for my hair and kept it moist.

Another tip to get more moisture in your hair naturally is do to damp-bunning. It keeps the water in your hair for longer, and I always find it makes the ends of my hair softer and moist.

...Another tip is to look at the Environmental Working Group's website: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ << They give a rating to products to determine their "safety" for use on your skin.

:blossom: I hope that helped!

Edited to add: Rose water is also a great alternative to conventional conditioners. Spray on your hair while damp, then apply a tiny bit of oil to seal in the moisture, then damp-bun. Viola!

[Natalia_A00]

I googled "DIY conditioners" and I found a lot of recipes with food. For me they look more like deep conditioning/hydration masks than conditioners, but maybe it's what you're looking for.
https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/diy-hair-conditioner/#gref

https://www.diynatural.com/homemade-conditioner/

https://www.fabhow.com/diy-homemade-hair-conditioner.html

https://www.mapleholistics.com/blog/diy-conditioner-recipe-guide/

See if you like any of these links. However I don't trust the internet and those self proclaimed experts, do your research!

[Ophidian]

Thanks for all the amazing info everyone. For now I'm just going to see how I can go at growing some hair friendly herbs and use them for conditioning my hair.

Sounds like a great plan :flower:

[hollygolightly]

This was the thread I was looking for! I posted my response to this on another thread so i'll repost it here:

Yesterday I found a book about aloe vera and its uses. And I came across a conditioner recipe and I remembered someone here asked for one. I couldn't find the tread I was thinking of but i'll use this one since it has the same purpose.

For two cups of aloe vera conditioner:

• 1 cup of rose petals
• 3 TBSP of aloe vera juice
• 2 TSP of honey
• 2 TSP of almond oil
• 2 cups of hot water

Let the rose petals sit in the hot water until the petals get white. In a mixing bowl mix the aloe vera juice, honey and the almond oil then add the rose water and stir.

Apply from mid to ends and wrap on a towel for 30 minutes and rinse. Store for no longer than 2 weeks in the fridge