How to Make a Great Deep Conditioning Treatment
Assemble your ingredients., Blend your ingredients with a food processor., Adjust the pH of your conditioner with vinegar., Apply to hair., Rinse out completely., Store or dispose of leftover conditioner.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Assemble your ingredients.
You will want your conditioner to contain a mild detergent (like shikakai), an emollient (like olive oil), a protein or polymer source (like avocados or eggs) and thickeners (like avocado, bananas, or honey) in your conditioner.
Have an acid like vinegar on hand to adjust the pH of the conditioner and pH paper.
A variety of oils and botanical extracts can improve the scent, consistency, and add medicinal properties to your conditioner.
Neem, gandana, roman chamomile, ghikumar and amla are alternatives to using shikakai. -
Step 2: Blend your ingredients with a food processor.
Incorporate the ingredients slowly, adding them to water.
Make sure your conditioner is of the desired thickness and that it smells pleasant, as you are coating your hair with this material and will smell like it.
Use any fragrance or essential oil you enjoy.
A natural option is the seed of the muscadine plant, which can be powdered and used for a musky scent. , Add slowly, drop by drop, until the conditioner is at your desired pH.
Measure using pH paper.
Hair is naturally acidic, so test your conditioner to make sure it falls between
5.5 and 7 on the pH scale and does not damage your hair or scalp.
Use soapy water to make the solution more basic if you overshoot and it becomes too acidic. , Start with the tips and working toward the scalp (since conditioner is not used to cleanse or treat the scalp, but rather damaged hair fibers) then put on a shower cap.
Wait for 20-30 minutes for a deep condition.
You can heat the product beforehand to improve adsorption of the materials onto your hair cuticle. , Your hair should feel smoother and silkier as you rinse it.
No film should build up, but if it does, perform a second rinse.
The mineral content or “hardness” of your water will impact the coating and residue left behind on your hair. , Store it in the refrigerator or freezer for up to a day or two; these are highly perishable ingredients.
Rubbing rancid fat or spoiled produce through your hair will not produce the desired results.
Multiple conditionings in a few days are unlikely to be needed, unless you wash your hair every day. -
Step 3: Adjust the pH of your conditioner with vinegar.
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Step 4: Apply to hair.
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Step 5: Rinse out completely.
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Step 6: Store or dispose of leftover conditioner.
Detailed Guide
You will want your conditioner to contain a mild detergent (like shikakai), an emollient (like olive oil), a protein or polymer source (like avocados or eggs) and thickeners (like avocado, bananas, or honey) in your conditioner.
Have an acid like vinegar on hand to adjust the pH of the conditioner and pH paper.
A variety of oils and botanical extracts can improve the scent, consistency, and add medicinal properties to your conditioner.
Neem, gandana, roman chamomile, ghikumar and amla are alternatives to using shikakai.
Incorporate the ingredients slowly, adding them to water.
Make sure your conditioner is of the desired thickness and that it smells pleasant, as you are coating your hair with this material and will smell like it.
Use any fragrance or essential oil you enjoy.
A natural option is the seed of the muscadine plant, which can be powdered and used for a musky scent. , Add slowly, drop by drop, until the conditioner is at your desired pH.
Measure using pH paper.
Hair is naturally acidic, so test your conditioner to make sure it falls between
5.5 and 7 on the pH scale and does not damage your hair or scalp.
Use soapy water to make the solution more basic if you overshoot and it becomes too acidic. , Start with the tips and working toward the scalp (since conditioner is not used to cleanse or treat the scalp, but rather damaged hair fibers) then put on a shower cap.
Wait for 20-30 minutes for a deep condition.
You can heat the product beforehand to improve adsorption of the materials onto your hair cuticle. , Your hair should feel smoother and silkier as you rinse it.
No film should build up, but if it does, perform a second rinse.
The mineral content or “hardness” of your water will impact the coating and residue left behind on your hair. , Store it in the refrigerator or freezer for up to a day or two; these are highly perishable ingredients.
Rubbing rancid fat or spoiled produce through your hair will not produce the desired results.
Multiple conditionings in a few days are unlikely to be needed, unless you wash your hair every day.
About the Author
Judith Mendoza
Creates helpful guides on hobbies to inspire and educate readers.
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