diy leave-in conditioner for natural hair

Hey Maicurlies,

I am back with another DIY Update! This time it is my Spray Leave-In Conditioner.

This goodness is a modified version of my previous Spray Leave-In Conditioner which you can read about here. Similar to my updated Creamy Leave-In Conditioner I changed the recipe a little due to the fact that I no longer use the conditioner I use to use and the old mix was no longer as effective in moisturizing my hair as it use to be.

This recipe is quite simple, does not include too many steps and like I mentioned is a slight modification from the old one.

Ingredients

6 oz plain water (I use bottled water)
Hibiscus petals (optional) I use about 10 – 12 petals
0.8 oz leave-in conditioner (use any leave-in your hair likes)
2 oz Rose Water
0.1 oz Almond Oil (use any carrier oil your hair likes)
0.1 oz Glycerine (optional)
3 capsules vitamin E oil = roughly 0.15 oz

(Additional ingredients I sometimes use)

I sometimes add 0.8 oz fresh Aloe Vera Juice (from my garden) I didn’t this time.

Essential Oil (any oil of choice) – I like the rose scent so I skip the essential oil.

Mixing Instructions

I first add the hibiscus petals to the water and let it sit while I add the other ingredients. In the mean time I pour the leave-in conditioner, rose water, almond oil, glycerine and vitamin E oil in my container. I then pour the hibiscus water through a sieve to catch the petals and then whisk. I pour the mix into a spray bottle and shake it before every use.

Substitute Ingredients

Honey or agave nectar – instead of the glycerine (or skip this all together)
Any carrier oil of choice – instead of the almond oil
Arrowroot – can be added to the mix to give a little extra slip

Side Note:

This mix might be a little too light for those with coarser or thicker hair due to the fact that the ingredients I use are quite light weight. In case you do have thicker or coarser hair than I, you can either increase the amount of leave-in used, add a heavier carrier oil such as castor oil and/or double the amount of oil used in the mix.

When I use it/How I store it:

I like to use this mix when I want to lightly re-moisturize my hair or when I want to dampen my hair without getting it soaking wet before styling/restyling. The Leave-In is left out with the rest of my products (without needing to store it in the fridge). I have never had an issue with the mix going off or going rancid before I use it up, however, you can store it in the fridge just in case.

Do you use a spray leave-in? Do you make your own or use a store bought one? I would love to hear from you.

Thanks

Maicurls

Hey Maicurlies,

(Side Note: I have been having issues with my WordPress…trying to figure out how to fix it but hopefully you will see this new post without any issues!)

So back to the topic, my DIY Boosted Leave-In Conditioner.

DIY Boosted Leave-In Conditioner (Creamy)

Some of you who might have been following me for a while will know that I have a DIY Leave-In Conditioner mix already and might be wondering why another recipe Mai? Well, two reasons: 1. In the old mix I used a conditioner as the base of the recipe but I no longer use that conditioner and 2. my hair wasn’t responding as well as to the old mix as it use to. When that happens my hair is telling me “change the product mix Mai!” Since I do not use too many store brought products I do not have a stash of different leave-ins I can rotate I listen to my hair and rework the recipes instead.:D

I will put a link at the bottom of the post directing you to my old recipe, just so you can see what all I have changed. There are some subtle changes in the new recipe and a few ingredients that I add or omit depending on my mood at the time of mixing.

DIY Boosted Leave-In Conditioner (Creamy)

Ingredients

2.6 oz plain water (I use bottled water)
A couple petals of dried hibiscus (completely optional) – I use about 7
8 oz leave-in conditioner (use any moisturizing leave-in your hair likes)
2 oz Rose Water
0.1 oz Virgin Coconut Oil
0.2 oz Coffee Infused Almond Oil (use any carrier oil)
3 capsules Vitamin E Oil = roughly 0.15 oz
0.1 oz Glycerine

(Additional ingredients I sometimes use)

0.5 oz fresh home made Aloe Vera Juice to the water I use. When I add AVJ I increase the amount of leave-in my 2 oz.
Glycerine – I add glycerine if the leave-in being used doesn’t contain it already but mine did.
Essential Oil (any oil of choice) – I like the rose scent so I skip the essential oil.

Mixing Instructions

I first add the hibiscus petals to the water and let it sit while I add the other ingredients. First I add the leave-in conditioner with the rose water, virgin coconut oil, coffee infused almond oil and vitamin E oil. I then pour the hibiscus water through a sieve to catch the petals and then whisk. When I use glycerine I add it along with the leave-in and other ingredients. After whisking I transfer the mix into my containers.

Ingredient Alternatives

In case some of the ingredients I use do not play well with your hair they can be replaced by basically anything e.g. castor oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, olive oil or any other carrier oil in place of/along with the coffee infused almond oil I use. If glycerine is not your favourite you can use honey or agave nectar as a humectant. (The leave-in I was using in the video had Glycerine in it so there was no need to add any more.)

My next update will be a Spray Leave-In 😀

I would love to hear if you add any particular ingredients to a store bought leave-in to “boost” its properties!

(Previous Creamy Leave-In Conditioner Mix)

Thanks

Maicurls