Conditioning lotion bars are NOT for hair

You may have just read my last post about my failed attempts at making dandelion syrup. What you might not have noticed is the terrible stringy/oily look of my hair in that last picture.

If you happened to be so observant, I'll offer up an explanation: homemade conditioner. Turns out the bar is fantastic as a body lotion and shaving cream. My legs have never been smoother! However, even a tiny amount of my conditioning bar resulted in horribly moisturized hair.

Check out this picture of my hair after drying all night AND being straightened:

Ewwwwwwwwwwww.

As you can see from my eyeball peeking out, I was less than amused. However, my mother and I were headed out in an hour to go BJ's grocery shopping. My solution? Corn starch. Yep, I ran about 1/2 cup of corn starch through my hair and brushed it out. Here is the before and after:

After tying it in a ponytail, it at least held up until I got home! Then I washed it and still had oily hair and ended up shampooing with my "old" shampoo three times before I could bear to go out in public. Lesson? Homemade shampoo has enough moisturizing ability that extra conditioner is absolutely NOT needed. Unless, of course, you are going for the greasy-I-forgot-to-shower look.

However, you still need one of these conditioning bars! Why? Like I said, it made my legs feel silky smooth after shaving with it. See below for how to make your own.

You will need:

1 small container

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Essential oil

Crock Pot

I am using a recycled Greek yogurt container. I made a very small bar because I was just testing this out, but the container provided a cute round mold for the conditioning bar.

Take some coconut oil, 1 tsp of olive oil (mine was infused with coffee beans) and 1 tsp of vanilla essential oil in jojoba oil and melt it together.

I bought my coconut oil from Soaper's Choice. It was $23 (shipping and handling included) for 7 lbs, which is by far the best deal. However, you can buy smaller amounts at any grocery store. Keep in mind most coconut oil melts at 76 degrees, but this one melts at 92 degrees. The higher melting point means the bar stays solid. If you use the 76 degrees, it might melt in the shower!

I'm not sure whose brilliant idea it was to put a solid into a pour-top container, so I just cut the top off!

Once everything is melted together, pour it into your container (using recycled containers is good stewardship of the earth!)

I stuck mine in the fridge to harden because it was already 8 p.m. by the time I had poured the conditioner. It was ready for a shower by my 9:30 ish bed time (haha).

It popped right out of the container and looked like this. What a cute bar!

If you wanted, you could probably add some natural colorant, but a white bar didn't bother me and it smelled like a French Vanilla Coffee! So yes, I tried rubbing it in my hands and massaging it onto the tips of my hair, but we saw how that worked...

But I also rubbed it on my legs and used it as shaving cream. My legs felt so soft and moisturized right out of the shower - no need for extra lotion! So go make your own, or better yet, for a couple dollars I'll make you one! :) 

DIY Shampoo!

I posted on Facebook yesterday about how amazed I was with how great my homemade shampoo worked!

Some people asked how I made it, so here we go:

First, I used some of the soap I've been making. It came out too soft to use as bar soap (too much oil!), so I melted it down, mixed it with water and let it sit over night. After a good stir I had liquid soap! This variety was made with olive oil and veggie shortening and is lemon scented, infused with green tea leaves.

You will need:

Homemade liquid soap (keep in mind a store-bought soap doesn't have the awesome naturalness of homemade kind, nor does it contain the glycerin you need for this to work)

Olive Oil

Coconut Milk
Honey
Guar Gum
Any Essential Oils for smelliness :)
Container

I took about 100 mL of the liquid soap and mixed it in with 1/4 cup of coconut milk, a bit more than 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of honey that my sister's boyfriend sent us from Kentucky (I'm sure any honey will work).

I added guar gum (you can buy it on Amazon) to thicken, but keep in mind this won't be as thick as your store-bought shampoo.

I took my immersion blender (bought it at Walmart for $20) and blended it all and put it into an empty fizzy water bottle. You could use a cute container of some sort if you'd rather, but I figured this worked great for me.

Because this is more liquidy, I used more of it than I would my Head and Shoulders (aren't I fancy?). It doesn't bubble and lather as much, but it is getting your hair clean.

One of the biggest tips is storage: you can't keep this in the shower or it will go bad! It needs cool, dark conditions, so either under the sink or in the fridge for the longest keep. I wouldn't suggest making more than you would use in about two weeks. I heard adding Vitamin E can help it stay longer, so you could try that too.

I used my regular conditioner (Herbal Essences Coconut and Orchid) afterward and my hair kept great for 3 days! I am working on homemade conditioner, so stay tuned.

Just a note on hair type: I have shoulder-length, thick, wavy, darkish hair. I am convincing my sister Emily to try the recipe too (she won't let me test on the cat - just kidding! I wouldn't do that).  I can't say how this will work if you have curly, straight, thin, lighter, etc. hair. Regardless, if you'd like to test some I can provide you with a little bit and you can see if you like it!