DIY Hair Conditioner Recipe

This week I experimented with making homemade hair conditioner.

My husband jokes that I am really “Miss Moosewood” — a reference to the popular cookbooks originally written by Mollie Katzen.

So, in my travels through Pinterest, I found this recipe for homemade hair conditioner.

It is surprisingly easy, fast and it works!

Essentially, this recipe is coconut oil, emulsified in water with xanthum gum.

There is a difference between using this and regular conditioners. 

The first time I used it, my hair, which is thick and curly, came out great. Raizel fell in love with it right away. But, she is a curly girl like me. 

Yaffa, on the other hand, woke up with greasy looking hair.

The next time I used it, I used much less. Yaffa’s hair came out looking shiny and beautiful. My hair also came out soft and manageable. 

So, more is not better and use sparingly!

Ingredients 

2/3 cup water. Distilled water is recommended as it has fewer impurities. I am sure it’s true, but since this was a first time experiment, I used boiled bottled water instead.

1 teaspoon coconut oil, melted. Since I used boiled water, it melted in the water. The amount can vary depending on how dry your hair is.

1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum. The original recipe called for guar gum. But, xanthum gum was available in a little small packet at my local supermarket, so I used that instead.

Optional: essential oils of your choice. 

Instructions 

Place ingredients in container. Using an immersion blender, mix until well blended.

Store in a container of your choice. I am using an old shampoo bottle.

According to Brittany, this should only be made in small batches. It usually only lasts for up to a month. 

Since I didn’t use distilled water and there are no preservatives, it remains to be seen how long this batch will last. 

In general, I do not like the smell of coconut. Nevertheless, I didn’t add essential oils, which could give it a more pleasant smell. Maybe next time, if this experiment is successful?

Here are the pictures:

blending in immersion blender

final outcome in bottle with some of the ingredients and utensils

Overall, this has been a successful experiment. 

It is fast and easy, all natural, no chemicals, dyes or preservatives and uses easily available ingredients  

Raizel declared it “awesome!” However, she would like essential oils added to make it smell nicer.

Thank you Brittany for this great recipe!

Enjoy!

Reference 

Homemade Conditioner

If anyone is interested in the cookbook by Mollie Katzen, here is a link: