Moisturizing Leave-In Coconut Milk Conditioner with Aloe and Argan Oil

We are often asked if we are going to make a hair conditioner bar. Many so-called conditioner bars out there are just blends of beeswax and oils. I don't know about you, but the idea of rubbing wax onto my hair just does NOT appeal! However....I do make a leave-in conditioner spray for myself that I love. I've shared the recipe with a few of you directly, but I want all of our customers to have access to it.

all this "extra" in blogs makes me crazy!

A little disclaimer of sorts....my hair is curly and I have a lot of it, however, it is NOT thick! My individual hair strands are fine, and I would classify it as normal to dry. This is often the case with curly hair. The curls themselves don't allow natural scalp oils to travel freely down the hair shaft, so the ends become dry and brittle. I ONLY shampoo 1-2 times per week, and in the summer I will rotate between our Wheatgerm Oil Milk and Honey Shampoo Bar, our Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar, and the Scalp Detoxifying Shampoo Bar depending on how hot and humid it is and how dirty and sweaty I am. I do not color my hair, I use NO styling agents in my hair, and I may or may not rinse my hair between shampoos depending upon how lazy I feel. Due to how tangled the ends get, I will use a small amount of conditioner on the ends after I shampoo or rinse just to get a wide toothed comb through it, then I rinse it out. I never use it on my scalp, I have found that since I started using our natural shampoo bars, I just don't need it. I am testing some natural detanglers (think marshmallow root) as an alternative to the conditioner and will publish that when I develop and test one I like. I also do not blow dry or heat style my hair, I am FAR too lazy for all that stuff. The general public is lucky I am even wearing pants half the time, but that's a whole other discussion.

I really love the way my hair feels since I have ditched the store bought detergents, anti-frizz products, and leave-in conditioners. It's softer and healthier, and the fact that I am helping the environment by severely reducing my plastic bottle and packaging waste makes me super happy! Not to mention, I travel a lot lighter too.

I would love to know what you think about this recipe, and if you have any questions about it. You can always play with the ingredients a bit to suit your personal needs. Use any essential oils you want, or change the amount and type of nourishing oil you use. I like argan and jojoba because they are luxurious and moisturizing, but you can do what you want here. ENJOY!

-Soap Lady Kim (aka suds)

RECIPE

• -1/2 cup unsweetened/unflavored coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen because it has no guar gum in it)
• -1 cups distilled water (purified drinking water will work too)
• -1T aloe vera gel
• -1/2-1 T jojoba or argan oil (or 50:50 with both)
• -6-8 drops rosemary essential oil
• -6-8 drops lavender essential oil
• -OPTIONAL: 0.1 oz by weight (roughly 1/2 teaspoon of Optiphen* preservative (if you don't want to have to refrigerate this, see note below)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all the ingredients in a mason jar, shake well, and pour into a spray bottle

Keep refrigerated and use within 2 weeks

After rinsing or washing hair, spray lightly on ends and scrunch in

*NOTE: If you don't want to refrigerate your recipe, you CAN add a mild preservative such as optiphen at a rate of 1% of the total weight of the mixture. I personally do this because I can't remember to run to the fridge every time I want to shower, and I don't have a fridge in my bathroom....Although, wine and snacks at hand while soaking? Yes, please!

Optiphen is paraben and formaldehyde free and is considered a "natural" preservative. Click HERE to check out the ingredients in Optiphen and learn a bit more (information in link from INCI Decoder)