Perfected DIY Conditioner Recipe

Okay so after over a month of playing with methodology and recipes and the like, I've FINALLY discovered the (almost) perfect way to make an all natural, homemade, great conditioner that you can use just like the store-bought stuff! Yay!

A friend was kind enough to give me some of his xanthan gum and I tried it out as an emulsifyer. It worked beautifully and I managed to find the right ratio of water to oil.

Here's how I do it.

You need an oil in your conditioner to help moisturize your hair and keep it soft. For this  you could technically use any oil but I love using my homemade oil conditioner as my oil base.

*NOTE: IF you use the homemade oil conditioner, which has vit. e oil, tea tree oil, and coconut oil (all natural preservatives) then this recipe will keep for several weeks outside of the fridge. If you are using almond oil or something else as your oil then you should consider adding a preservative to keep your mix from spoiling (gross!)

You will also want to have:
Xanthan gum
Filtered water (or boiled water - just be sure there are no hard minerals)
Green tea leaves

Step 1 - Making tea
You could use plain water if you want but green tea has so many benefits, especially for your scalp, that I decided to use it in my conditioner. I just steeped the tea in the water while I got the rest of my stuff ready!

Step 2 - Mixing the oil and the tea
You HAVE to mix everything before you add the xanthan gum so your next step. If you use the measuring system I use for my homemade oil conditioner solution then I would put 1 vial-full for every 1/2 cup of water you use. That's the equivalent to about 1tsp of oil for every cup of water. Mix them together and you're ready for step-3!

Step 3 - Xanthan Gum

Okay so once you have your oil and water (or tea) mixture put together it's time to use the emulsifier. You could try and use a plain old whisk for this but I highly recommend an electric one because, as my friend and I discovered, xanthan gum works VERY quickly and it is VERY potent.

So! For about 4 cups of water I would only use 2 - 3 tsp of xanthan gum. Not even kidding -- it takes that little.

Also, since it works VERY fast, make sure you have the blender running while you add it! You may have to add a little more to make up for the clumps that occur during the blending process.

Step 4 - Getting rid of clumps!
If you get clumps like I do then you should probably strain your mixture so you are rubbing concentrated clumps of xanthan gum in your hair. Thankfully this step is easy.

Sorry for the glare...

Step 5 - Bottle and enjoy!

:-)

Deodorant!

So I've decided to try and start using homemade deodorants because I've heard of some of the awful things that are in the commercial ones. Why would I rub that all over my arm pits? Especially so close to the girls, so to speak. Don't want anything messing with my breast tissue.

I started off really easy. I know that coconut oil can be a natural deodorant but I didn't wanna just smear oil on my arm pits. So I added some things to make my own recipe!

THE MIX
Coconut oil
Beeswax
Scent (EO or fragrance oil)

STEP 1 - Melt your beeswax
I learned the hard way a while back that you do NOT need much beeswax to thicken a mixture. I used a very small slice off the brick I bought at the store. Beeswax is VERY cheap and since you need so little, it lasts you a while. Yay! Homemade AND cheap!

                                                     

STEP 2 - Add the oils and scents
Melt the coconut oil and mix it well with the wax. Make sure you do not make the mixture too hot. Just warm or low heat will be fine. Also add your EOs/fragrances at this stage. I used rose EO and a blend of fragrance oils I got from the Ren. Faire a few years back.

STEP 3 - Place in the mold
I happened to have a glass dish laying around so I used it as my mold. I lined the edges with a tad bit of coconut oil so that the deodorant would pop from the mold with relative ease. I then put the hot wax in the mold and let it sit.

I let my mold chill for a time in the freezer and then popped it out of the mold with a knife. It worked rather well!

The final product went on very smoothly and so far it's worked very well for me! I will likely add more things to it in the future (like preservatives so I can make larger batches) but for now this works great!

                                       

Enjoy! :-)

DIY Conditioner Recipe

I LOVE conditioners but I still haven't perfected my recipes. However, a friend and I got rather close to at least getting something close to an easy to use conditioner.

Don't get me wrong. The other conditioner recipes I have up on this blog are SUPER wonderful. But they are deep conditioners that are messy and require intense shampooing and ACV vinegar rinses after use. I want an amazing DIY conditioner that I can use AFTER shampooing without much worry of an oily scalp.

Here's the recipe we used!

INGREDIENTS
4oz coconut oil infused with sage, thyme, and rosemary
2oz apricot oil
1oz vegetable glycerin (honey would work too)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp vitamin E oil
10 drops of tea tree oil
5 drops of peppermint oil

TOOLS
Wire strainer
Cheesecloth
Small pan
Bowl
Whisk and/or spoon
Bottles for storage
Applicator bottle

Now, if you've ever used DIY conditioners then I bet you're thinking jeeze that's ALL oils!!!

We didn't have emulsifiers and water-oil blends spark bacteria REALLY quickly. So in order to avoid that we decided to follow a different method.

The oils are all stored in a (dark) glass bottles with a a drip bottle. We drip a small amount of oil into another applicator bottle with a nice spout and then fill it with warm water and shake well before applying.

Here's the step-by-step process for making it!!

STEP 1 - Infusing the coconut oil with the herbs!
We used a hot infusion method (stove-top) because we didn't plan ahead much. We put the oil on the heat (low) and then added the herbs. We let them steep in the warm/hot oil for about 45 minutes and then let it cool slightly.

STEP 2 - Strain the herbs
Straining the herbs was a little trickier than usual because of the sage. Sage has very small leaves so many of them slipped through the wire strainer. In order to catch the extra little sage leaves, line the wire strainer with cheesecloth.

Bad lighting.. sorry!

The resulting coconut oil should be nice and green (instead of the usual clear) thanks to the herbal infusion.

STEP 3 - Blend in the other oils and the glycerin
Now you just add the olive oil and apricot seed oil. My friend also added some sweet almond oil to hers but I avoided it because of allergies.

STEP 4 - Add your essential oils (EOs)!
You don't need to add the exact ones we did. Tea tree and mint are nice for your scalp but you can add others if you'd like.

HOW TO USE
Put your oil mixture in a clean and DRY glass bottle. Preferably a dark glass one. Too much light exposure can mess up the potency of the EOs.

Before showering, put about a teaspoon's worth of conditioner into your applicator bottle and then fill the rest with water. Depending on how big your bottle is you may need more or less oil. Just do a trial run first and then determine the ideal oil:water ratio.

You can use this after shampooing and it works great in conjunction with my vinegar hair rinse!

Enjoy! :-)

Coconut Oil Toothpaste Experiment

So I decided to try out making a toothpaste this past weekend. The results were interesting because I had no mint (or other yummy flavor) to help temper the taste of the mixture.

I tried mixing coconut oil and baking soda, which is a common toothpaste recipe, and it worked rather well, but the consistency freaked me out.

The oil was very slimy on my teeth and there was none of the usual toothpaste foam. The taste was very odd too. I love the smell of coconut oil, and when it's combined in baking and certain dishes the taste is great too.  But when mixed with baking soda, the taste was less than pleasant. Next time I'll try adding mint extract or something! :)

When I find a better recipe I'll share it!

Coconut Conditioning Treatment

I love coconut oil and I have recently discovered coconut milk as well! Put them together and you have not only an amazing conditioning treatment but also the best smelling DIY beauty product ever!!

My recipe is very simple. Really I just mix the two together.

- Coconut oil
- Coconut milk (make sure you get unsweetened!!)

You can make your own coconut milk if you'd like but I have not attempted that yet. As soon as I do though I will share my experience and give a step-by-step guide of what to do (and not to do.)

STEP 1 - Coconut oil!
I always put in my oil first because then I can slowly add the milk and blend it as I go. This gets you a much smoother blend. I really recommend that you leave the coconut oil room temperature. Don't melt it down because when you blend the milk it will thin the mix. Having everything already at room temperature will let you know how firm or fluid your mix will be at room temperature. If you melt the oil then it will be harder to gauge how thick the end result will be.

STEP 2 - Milk!

Slowly add the coconut milk and blend as you add. If your coconut milk is chilled then make sure you let it reach room temperature (or put it in the microwave for a few seconds) so that it doesn't harden the oil.

Step 3 - Blend together

I use a whisk because I feel that it blends everything together better. Remember that coconut milk has water in it (if you look at the ingredients it should have water, coconut, and guar gum*) so you have to battle the oil/water separation.

*Speaking of guar gum... that is one reason why making it homemade is better. Cuts out unnecessary things.

Step 4 - Bottle and keep in the fridge

Your mix should last you a few weeks if kept in the fridge. Since its so easy to make, I tend to do this in small bi-weekly batches. I keep my extra coconut milk in the freezer so it lasts longer. Make sure you shake well before you use this on your hair. It WILL separate unless you can find an emulsifier to use in it.

This can be applied to wet or dry hair. If you add honey or vegetable glycerin then be sure to only apply it to wet hair. Otherwise though I recommend you apply it to dry hair and let it sit for a while. I tried putting it on wet hair and it got very runny.

Enjoy! :-)

Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

Olive oil is used in MANY things. From deep conditioning treatments, to body scrubs, to soaps. Rosemary is not only aromatic but it also helps your skin and hair. Rosemary can help to stimulate hair growth and increase blood circulation in your skin. So why not infuse your olive oil with rosemary and use THAT in your products?

Rosemary infused olive oil is actually very easy to make. All you need is:
- Olive oil
- Rosemary
- Pot
- Glass bottle/jar for storage
- Spoon
- (You may also want a funnel if you're using a bottle for storage)

Step 1 -- heat your oil. Do NOT make it very hot. You aren't trying to make deep fat fried rosemary here! Just warm enough so that you can touch it but if you left your finger in too long then it would start to burn. Probably about 105 - 110 F is good.

Step 2 -- chop your rosemary. Don't chop it TOO fine because then you'll get little rosemary chunks in your oil that are hard to remove.

Step 3 - add your rosemary to the oil and stir it well. Let it sit on the heat for a minute or two and then move it from the heat.

Step 4 - after about 5 minutes of steeping, add the oil AND the rosemary to your container. You could use it right away but it's better if you let it infuse for a day or two.

Use it in your soaps, on your hair, and on your skin!
Enjoy! :-)

Homemade, All-Natural Coconut Oil Deep Conditioner

Decided to try making my own conditioner after looking at the all-natural conditioners at the store and seeing how expensive they were. I also figured DIY conditioner would be fun!

THE MIX – What I got for my conditioner
- Coconut oil: 1/4 cup
- Vegetable glycerin: 1/8 cup
- Essential oil: 5 - 10 drops depending on the oil you get and how strong you want it
(Eucalyptus in my case because it’s good for your hair and was on sale for $3/bottle! But really tea tree would be better I think.)
- Olive oil: 3 tbsp

I also purchased some Vitamin E oil but then I noticed that it contained Sweet Almond oil and I have allergies… :-( However, I encourage you to add about 2 – 3 tsp of Vit. E oil to my recipe and it will likely make your hair even silkier! I plan on getting non-almond Vit. E oil for my next batch!

NOTE: Since this mixture contains no preservatives I recommend using it all within about three weeks. If you let it sit out too long without preservatives then it will spoil and that will NOT be good for your hair!

TOOLS
- Small mixing bowl
- Whisk (or if you don’t have a whisk and can use chopsticks in the manner then that is fine)
- Bottle to put your conditioner in

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEP 1 – Mix together your olive oil and coconut oil. You could heat up the coconut oil but I felt that the consistency of the conditioner is better when you put it in thick and then whisk it smooth.

STEP 2 – Add yhour essential oil(s) and blend well. If you have any other oils (jojoba, argan, almond, vit. E oil, etc.) then add those now.

STEP 3 – Blend in the glycerin. It should go in smoothly.

STEP 4 – Add to your bottle and let sit.

TO USE: Put about a dime to quarter sized amount in your hands and run them through your hair. Let it sit for about 5 – 10 mins. at least. I usually put mine in my hair and  let it sit for about 30 mins before showering. Then I use my rosemary and apple cider vinegar rinse with it! I will often then shampoo and conditioner the tips as normal.

I used to apply this to dry hair but then I learned that glycerin is a humectant. Humectants help to retain moisture in whatever they are applied to. If you apply glycerin to dry hair then it has no moisture and can conversely end up drying out your hair, which defeats the purpose of the oils. So for that reason, make sure you wet your hair before using this conditioner mix.

Hopefully this will leave your hair soft and shiny!! Enjoy! :-)