Homemade Conditioner

You can make conditioner as good as a salon brand.

Regular shampooing can strip your hair of natural oils and leave you with split ends, flyaway hairs and frizzy, dry hair. You can use a commercial conditioner to restore a balance of moisture to your hair, but once you read through the label on the conditioner bottle you may find that the ingredients include damaging substances like alcohol. If you want to condition your hair with all-natural, moisturizing ingredients without paying a fortune, make your own homemade conditioner. You can control the ingredients to suit your needs for your hair.

Things You'll Need

• Olive, jojoba, vitamin E, rosemary, tea tree, coconut or almond oil
• Conditioner bottle
• Distilled water
• Herbs
• Tea strainer or cheesecloth
• Glycerin
• Essential oil or perfume (optional)
• Vegetable juice or extract (optional)

Instructions

1. 

   Coconut oil moisturizes the hair and adds a tropical scent.

   Add 1 tbsp. of your favorite natural oil to an empty bottle measuring about 10 to 14 fluid oz. Choose a high-quality, organic oil for the base of your conditioner. Avoid oils like mineral oil or vegetable oil that can weigh the hair down. Extra-virgin olive oil is a popular choice that provides deep moisturizing benefits to the scalp and hair shaft. Jojoba oil is a common ingredient in many store-bought conditioners, or you can choose vitamin E oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil, almond oil or rosemary oil.

2. 

   Grow your herbs or visit natural foods stores for a variety.

   Infuse your conditioner with any combination of fresh or dried herbs if you desire. Cinnamon bark extract can help control scalp oil, basil can help moisturize and an extract of lavender can soothe and refresh. Steep about 1 to 2 tbsp. of your herbs in a pan or cup containing 8 oz. of boiling distilled water. Allow the mixture to cool, and strain the herb and water mixture through a tea strainer or cheesecloth to remove all plant matter.

3. 

   You can add extract from avocado, banana or papaya to moisturize.

   Combine your distilled water and herb infusion or 8 oz. of plain distilled water with the oil in the conditioner bottle. Add 1 tsp. of glycerin to help preserve and thicken the conditioner mixture. Pour in a few drops of essential oil or your favorite perfume to scent the conditioner. Consider adding a teaspoon of vegetable juice or vegetable extract such as cucumber or carrot juice, which can help add shine to the hair.

4. 

   Thin conditioner can be sprayed directly onto the hair as leave-in conditioner.

   Seal the conditioner bottle tightly and shake vigorously to combine all ingredients. Try out different measurements of the ingredients to create a perfectly customized conditioner. You may want to add less water and more glycerin for a creamier conditioner. You can also add more water for a conditioner that can be sprayed on the hair with a spray bottle.

References

• My Beauty Recipes: Homemade Hair Rinse Recipe
• Make Stuff: Hair Conditioner
• Easy Aromatherapy Recipes: Natural Hair Conditioner Recipes