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View Full Version : I want to make my own conditioner, help?



MissEarlGrey
June 10th, 2012, 02:32 PM
One of my goals for this year was to completely get all chemicals out of my personal care and house care products. Hair conditioner is my next victim; I'm a CO-er so it needs to be light with mild cleansing properties. I have no idea where to start. I've heard things about emulsifying oil, water, and xanthan gum, but I don't have much info.

Someday I'd like to be WO, but not quite yet. Does anyone make their own conditioner?

luxepiggy
June 10th, 2012, 02:38 PM
I'm a little confused about what you mean by "chemical" - everything you listed is a chemical: water, oils, xanthan gum . .

swearnsue
June 10th, 2012, 02:40 PM
I am so with you about getting the chemicals out of my home and beauty care! I was just looking at a website, morroccomethod.com and it looks like their stuff is chem free. I use shampoo but it's the conditioner that has the most chemicals in it I think. I've added a little coconut oil to the shampoo and then use a little baby oil on my damp hair instead of conditioner. It's not the same though. It would be OK if I didn't live in the desert, the air is so dry I get static really bad.
As far as house cleaning all you really need is baking soda and vinegar! But I guess that's another thread.

dollyfish
June 10th, 2012, 04:26 PM
I'm a little confused about what you mean by "chemical" - everything you listed is a chemical: water, oils, xanthan gum . .

lol as a science person this always bothers me too.

I think "chemicals" seems to colloquially mean "harsh" or "synthetic" chemicals.


And unfortunately I have no idea how to make conditioner, but I'm bookmarking this thread because I'd love to make my own!

afu
June 10th, 2012, 04:48 PM
again im subscribing because id love to hear suggestions :) I'm guessing that by 'chemicals' you mean unnatural/manmade products. Do the ingredients also have to be raw? or can they be modified natural substances?

I use honey to wash my face in the morning and almond oil to wash my face at night - both are cleansing as well as moisturising so maybe something containing honey, oils and/or aloe vera gel (I use AVG as my moisturiser after washing). Butters might be useful to get the right consistancy but im afraid i have very little experience with using butters in haircare

White Lavender
June 24th, 2012, 07:15 PM
There is a recipe for a homemade shea butter hair conditioner I found . I haven't tried it but may do so when I run out of store bought conditioner.

http://voices.yahoo.com/easy-diy-shea-butter-hair-conditioner-10241787.html?cat=69

"Ingredients for DIY Shea Butter Hair Conditioner:

1 cup natural coconut oil (may use fractionated coconut oil for lighter product)
½ cup Shea Butter
½ cup Sweet Almond, Grapeseed, Castor, or similar oil of your choice - grapeseed is lightest)
3-7 drops essential oils such as Neroli, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, Tangerine, Jasmine, Vanilla, Peppermint, or any type of scent you wish to add.
2 Vitamin E capsules

Place butter and fixed oils in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Use a double boiler to melt them together. Remove from heat, stir in fragrance if you're using that...if you're using essential oils, wait until the end to stir them in so you don't lose potency by heating), and place Pyrex into an ice-bath in a large bowl with ice. Whip to a likeable consistency with a stick blender. This will take a bit for the ice to get the cream cold enough to look right, but keep blending. You can also stick it in the freezer, but I like the ice bath method...it seems faster. After you get the right consistency, stir in your essential oils and Vitamin E. Walla! You have a gorgeous hair conditioner that your hair will love. Use within 6 months."

I don't have a double boiler so hopefully there is a way to do it without one?

Dovetail
June 24th, 2012, 07:24 PM
Lavender, if you don't have a double boiler you can stack two pots as long as the top one just bearly fits in the bottom one (you don't want it to touch the water underneath)

It sounds like something pretty easy to make too!

Jing
June 25th, 2012, 03:28 AM
I don't have a double boiler so hopefully there is a way to do it without one?

You can simply take a large pot, pour some water in, place a metal bowl/measuring cup in it, get the water steaming, and mix your ingredients in the bowl/cup. You don't want the bowl/cup more than maybe 1/3 submerged.

Aredhel77
June 25th, 2012, 04:03 AM
There is a recipe for a homemade shea butter hair conditioner I found . I haven't tried it but may do so when I run out of store bought conditioner.

http://voices.yahoo.com/easy-diy-shea-butter-hair-conditioner-10241787.html?cat=69

"Ingredients for DIY Shea Butter Hair Conditioner:

1 cup natural coconut oil (may use fractionated coconut oil for lighter product)
½ cup Shea Butter
½ cup Sweet Almond, Grapeseed, Castor, or similar oil of your choice - grapeseed is lightest)
3-7 drops essential oils such as Neroli, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, Tangerine, Jasmine, Vanilla, Peppermint, or any type of scent you wish to add.
2 Vitamin E capsules

Place butter and fixed oils in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Use a double boiler to melt them together. Remove from heat, stir in fragrance if you're using that...if you're using essential oils, wait until the end to stir them in so you don't lose potency by heating), and place Pyrex into an ice-bath in a large bowl with ice. Whip to a likeable consistency with a stick blender. This will take a bit for the ice to get the cream cold enough to look right, but keep blending. You can also stick it in the freezer, but I like the ice bath method...it seems faster. After you get the right consistency, stir in your essential oils and Vitamin E. Walla! You have a gorgeous hair conditioner that your hair will love. Use within 6 months."

I don't have a double boiler so hopefully there is a way to do it without one?

Are you looking for a product that would rinse out of the hair though, like a store-bought conditioner? As it looks like the recipe consists only of oils and butters, I would think it would have to be used as a leave-in or a pre-wash treatment :shrug: :)

afu
June 25th, 2012, 01:10 PM
Are you looking for a product that would rinse out of the hair though, like a store-bought conditioner? As it looks like the recipe consists only of oils and butters, I would think it would have to be used as a leave-in or a pre-wash treatment :shrug: :)

The recipe posted is suitable for a wash out treatment, the only thing I would say though is that it might be quite expensive to make so from that point of view you might want to use it as a leave in so you aren't simply washing a load of expensive ingredients down the drain