DIY Leave In Conditioner For Natural Hair

Before I hand over the recipe, let me tell you a little about my hair. My hair is very porous, it does not hold moisture at all. I can wet me hair and the ends will be dry in 5 mins. This is due to me dying my hair in late 2012. Due to my hairs porosity, I have had very little success with leave-in conditioners. For a little while I even went without them and just co-washed my hair everyday for moisture. The only leave-in conditioners that worked on my hair were Reve Essential Moisture Milk ($10) and Giovanni Direct Leave- In ($8).

Lately, I have been battling dryness, post partum shedding and horrible tangles. I don't have time to co-wash daily and my Reve is on it's last drop. Thus, since I already make products and have all the ingredients on hand to make my own leave-in conditioner, I made my own and it is by far the best leave-in conditioner I have ever used. Hands down.

Here are the ingredients and their roles:
Water: Hydration
Aloe Vera Juice: Hydrate & Condition
BTMS 50: Conditioning Emulsifier
Olive Oil: Conditioning
Castor Oil: Humectant, draws in moisture
Shea Butter: Condition and seal in moisture
Optiphen (Preservative): Keeps Mold Away

Optiphen and BTMS can both be purchased at Bramble Berry (www.brambleberry.com)

The Recipe:
80% Liquid (water & aloe vera juice)
5% Emulsifier
2% Castor Oil
2% Shea Butter
10% Olive Oil
1% Preservative

(Usually it is suppose to equal 100% but, I rounded up on the Olive Oil for math sake)

For an 8 oz bottle:
3.2 oz. Water
3.2 oz. Aloe Vera Juice
.4 oz.   Emulsifier
.8 oz.   Olive Oil
.16 oz. Shea Butter
.16 oz. Caster Oil
.08 Preservative

1. Measure out all of your ingredients. Use a scale, a kitchen scale is about $10-15 at WalMart or Target. 
2. Sanitize all of you equipment, wipe everything down with alcohol. We don't want anything to grow mold.
3. Warm your liquids (water and aloe vera juice).
4. Combine the BTMS, shea butter and olive & castor oil, melt until liquid. Do not over heat.
5. Combine your BTMS & oils with the water and aloe vera juice. Pour the water and aloe vera juice INTO the oils and BTMS. 
6. Wisk a mad man! Wisk until the mixture becomes white and starts to thicken.This will take about 1-2 mins.
7. Let cool.
8. Weigh out preservative and add once mixture has cooled down from hot to warm. 
9. Pour into 8 oz. bottles or jars.

This may seem like a lot of work but, it took me literally 5 mins. 

Try it and tell me what you think!

*Yes, this must be preserved with a preservative, no you can't use Tea Tree Oil or Rosemary. Those are not preservatives.

Thanks for reading!
Jarmelia
Owner
Lia Naturals Bath and Body