Choosing a Good Natural Conditioner:

What Does Conditioner Do?

Before we start making our own conditioner it helps to understand what’s happening here. Our hair follicles make sebum which is moisturizing and repairing to damaged hair and split ends. Too much sebum though and we get that greasy hair look.

Some people can get by with water washing their hair or baking soda, but the majority of us rely on shampoo. While shampoo is necessary to keep the hair and scalp clean, it also strips it of necessary oils. Conditioner helps add these back in.

The Best Way to Condition Hair

Here are some tips for getting the most out of your natural conditioner:

• Focus on the ends of the hair. Adding too much to the scalp can make hair look greasy. Remember, the scalp is where sebum is made but it can have a hard time getting to hair ends.
• Apply generously and leave on for a few minutes before rinsing. This gives the conditioner time to work its magic.
• Condition more than you shampoos, especially with textured and curly hair. Shampooing too much isn’t healthy for hair which is why I don’t shampoo every day. A good natural conditioner though can help keep hair healthy and strong through the week.

Choosing a Good Natural Conditioner

Anyone who has ever walked into the shampoo aisle at the local big box store knows just how many conditioner options there are. And that’s not even counting all the ones sold online or in specialty stores. Even the homemade conditioner options can be overwhelming.

Typical store-bought conditioner has a thick, lotion consistency. Homemade conditioners can range from apple cider vinegar to coconut oil, to smearing mashed avocado on your tresses. While none of these options are bad, they’re not as easy or shelf stable. Avocados don’t last a week on my counter before going brown, they’re sure not going to last as a conditioner in a bathroom.

Certain ingredients like aloe vera and shea butter are good for hair, but they’re hard to incorporate into a homemade hair conditioner recipe. Some homemade options can cause buildup on the hair cuticles, making hair feel greasy.

Homemade Natural Conditioner

ENB wanted to look for a recipe that didn’t need replacing every few days or made up on the spot. ENB wanted something that would stick to hair for a bit and work on the strands, so not herbal hair rinse. Most importantly, ENB wanted something that was simple yet still worked.

The Best Oils for Homemade Conditioner

Since shampoo strips the hair’s oil, we need to add some back in. Just rubbing some oil into hair though can quickly get messy though… and then we’re back to overly greasy. While I like using straight up oil for a deep conditioning treatment, it’s too intense for everyday use.

This homemade conditioner uses oils in the recipe, but not too much. Which oils we choose are just as important though. Here’s a breakdown of some of my favorite hair healthy oil options to use in homemade conditioner.

Sunflower Seed Oil

Your scalp is without a doubt the foundation to your natural hair’s overall health. It’s a contributing factor that determines future hair growth or breakage. You want to treat your scalp right.   Sunflower oil is packed with high amounts of essential including Vitamin E and reduces bacteria that contributes to product build up and dry scalp. It also reduces the occurrence of thinning hair, early hair- loss, male and female pattern baldness, and alopecia areata.

Moisture is the key to natural hair growth. Sunflower oil acts as a natural moisturizer because it’s infused with several vitamins and minerals, including high levels of Vitamin E that produces healthy hair growth. Sunflower oil also contains Oleic Acid, another name for Omega 9 acid known to be one of the essential acids that are needed for stop breakage and stimulate healthy hair growth.

Sunflower oil is a great natural oil that has deep moisturizing properties that improves your natural hair manageability and diminish the look of frizzy unruly hair. Its light texture has low levels of saturated and trans-fat, helps to add moisture without becoming too greasy and weighing down your hair.  The winter months are harsh on your hair as your hair loses moisture quite frequently.  Sunflower oil helps to replace that moisture and adds instant shine and softness throughout your hair.

Like jojoba oil, sunflower oil is a light non-polar solvent that prevents water loss. Because of its light texture, it easily works to penetrate the hair shaft to lock and retain moisture.  Along with its light texture, sunflower oil is also odorless, and can easily be consistency that can be used along with other scented/ non-scented essential oils or alone as a daily scalp oil.

Olive Oil

Rich in fatty acids and antioxidants, olive oil has a unique chemical composition obtained naturally by pressing olives. Light yellow or green in color, this oil is known to strengthen your hair follicles, have a soothing impact on the scalp and even stimulate hair growth.
So, let’s look at how olive oil can do wonders for your tresses:

Olive oil acts as a great moisturizer and prevents dryness. It contains all the necessary nutrients that are required to provide your hair with the right nourishment and conditioning.

Olive oil has a very soothing effect on your scalp, thanks to its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Its moisturizing effect helps reduce itchiness, deals with the dryness, fights dandruff, and unclogs the clogged follicles. These clogged follicles and dandruff are one of the major contributing factors to the hair loss. Hence, they must be dealt with if one wants to avoid hair loss.

The production of dihydrotestosterone, a hormone, is one of the major reasons behind hair loss. It attacks the hair follicles and weakens the hair. Olive oil blocks the production of this hormone which helps reduce hair fall, promoting healthy hair growth.

Olive oil is rich with a substantial percentage of antioxidants that promote hair growth. They prevent the loss of hair and save it from getting damaged. The damage cause by free radicals is reversed by olive oil.

Yet another benefit of olive oil is that it keeps your hair voluminous and thick by keeping a check on the breakage. Its strengthening and conditioning effect on the hair as well as the scalp helps improve the texture and complexion of it. It is rich in omega 6 fatty acids which keep breakage and dryness at
bay.

So, you’ve got enough reasons to include this magical oil to your haircare routine!

Argan Oil

Argan oil has become a bit of a trend lately, but it has a long history of use in certain cultures. Argan Oil is a rare oil that isn’t as cheap as some other options, but well worth it. I like mixing some into my hair care products because a little goes a long way here.

While conventional conditioners also have other ingredients I want to avoid, it’s easy to add argan to a homemade conditioner. Argan helps repair dry, damaged hair and reduces frizzy hair. It works by smoothing the hair shafts and adds shine.

Argan oil is full of:

• Vitamins A and E
• Antioxidants
• Omega-6 fatty acids
• Linoleic acid

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is extracted from the coconut and retains many beneficial ingredients. With a mild and sweet taste, coconut oil has natural properties that are helpful for your skin. Dermatologists often recommend coconut oil for its moisturizing and possible anti-aging properties.

 

Coconut oil doesn’t have a high concentration of vitamins or minerals. It has a 100% fat content, with 80% to 90% of that content being saturated fat. This type of fat is a “bad” fat for your diet, but it gives coconut oil firmness not found in other oils. In fact, coconut oil is solid at room temperature, and it begins to melt at around 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Lauric acid makes up 47% of the fatty acids in coconut oil. When ingested, lauric acid can contribute to bad cholesterol levels in your bloodstream. When applied to your skin, lauric acid has antimicrobial properties. If you have an open wound, coconut oil helps to kill bacteria, preventing them from causing further damage.

 

Even though coconut oil doesn’t have a high nutrient content that provides specific benefits when applied topically, it does protect your scalp and hair. For the scalp, the barrier created by coconut oil blocks bacteria and irritants from causing more damage. You’ll want to determine the cause of your scalp condition or breakage so you can prevent it in the future.

 

The lauric acid in coconut oil has nourishing properties that are especially prone to soak into the strands of your hair. Coconut oil absorbs into your hair quickly, providing moisture to tame frizz and heal breakage.

 

Check our natural conditioner!

The information in this article is for educational use, and not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be used as such.