KayTheBrummy
Member
can anyone share a conditioner bar formula that doesn't have too many things in it?!
Conditioner bar recipe
- Thread starter KayTheBrummy
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Welcome! You're looking for a hair conditioner bar recipe, correct?
And may I ask why you want hair conditioner in bar form, if simple is your goal? In addition to the conditioning ingredients, those have to have all the extra ingredients to hold everything in bar form.
Putting a little argan oil on your ends is as simple as it gets, but if you need it in bar form then "too many things" needs to be defined a little better.
What does your hair need from the conditioner? What do you need from the crafting process?
And are you prepared for the lengthy trial and error process it generally takes to formulate any type of hair product that suits your hair while using minimal ingredients?
And may I ask why you want hair conditioner in bar form, if simple is your goal? In addition to the conditioning ingredients, those have to have all the extra ingredients to hold everything in bar form.
Putting a little argan oil on your ends is as simple as it gets, but if you need it in bar form then "too many things" needs to be defined a little better.
What does your hair need from the conditioner? What do you need from the crafting process?
And are you prepared for the lengthy trial and error process it generally takes to formulate any type of hair product that suits your hair while using minimal ingredients?
KayTheBrummy
Member
Hi Gem
I like the idea of shampoo and conditioner bars for holidays and have made a couple of shampoo bars. I would like something made for damaged (coloured) hair ideally, that has great 'comb through' ability. Dont' know if this is even possible in a bar without the use of liquid proteins and too much unnecessary stuff. If you can help in any way I'd be very grateful. Than you in advance.
Thank you so much for your response! I am a newbie and to be honest have no interest in the Chemistry part of it!, I'm only interested in making the products, which I know isn't really going to help me in this hobby! I do have a couple of SwiftCrafty Monkeys ebooks, but I really don't want to buy another one if I can possibly help it.i I am finding the hobby quite pricey as I am in Canada and always have to pay shipping which adds up.
I like the idea of shampoo and conditioner bars for holidays and have made a couple of shampoo bars. I would like something made for damaged (coloured) hair ideally, that has great 'comb through' ability. Dont' know if this is even possible in a bar without the use of liquid proteins and too much unnecessary stuff. If you can help in any way I'd be very grateful. Than you in advance.
I know a few people who melt BTMS-50 and pour that into cavity molds for a one-ingredient conditioner bar that they love.
Others add a touch of their favorite butter or conditioning oil, plus some essential oil or fragrance oil for the good smells.
Others add a touch of their favorite butter or conditioning oil, plus some essential oil or fragrance oil for the good smells.
KayTheBrummy
Member
Well, I can't see any
My bad, I double-checked the one I was thinking about, and she uses BTMS and water to make a liquid conditioner, not a solid bar. Here is that article in case you are interested: LizardLadySoapInfoBlog.
Most of the solid bar recipes that I've seen do contain a fair number of ingredients that most people don't have lying around.
Most of the solid bar recipes that I've seen do contain a fair number of ingredients that most people don't have lying around.
Have you checked the recipes from Humble bee and me? She is in Canada so perhaps that helps
KayTheBrummy
Member
OOps it looked like I pressed send too soon on my previous response Glendam. Sorry for that
Not a problem. I'll just have to buy a small amount, thank to all for your help.
I second glendam's suggestion of checking out Humblebee & Me for recipes. Not only does Marie (at Humblebee) post full recipes/processes, but also adds notes for ingredient substitutions. She also just posted a recipe for a simple Cocoa Coconut Conditioner Bar, which does have fewer ingredients, but I'm not sure my hair would like it too much (with 30% cocoa butter).
https://www.humblebeeandme.com/how-to-make-hair-conditioner/
I've been making my own conditioner for almost 3 years (started with liquid, switched to making bars early this year). My current bar recipe is loosely based on Humblebee & Me's Cranberry Orange Conditioner Bar. I say loosely based because I use a different butter and oil combo (simply because I didn't have mango butter or cranberry seed oil the recipe calls for on hand), I've added a couple more ingredients and use a different hydrolyzed protein and preservative. If one wanted to simplify this recipe, I could see dropping the orange dye, panthenol, and even the hydrolyzed protein, and the butter and oil could be swapped for different butters/oils. For this bar, however, the BTMS-50, a fairly common ingredient in a lot of DIY conditioners, and cetearyl alcohol are mainstays. My (long-winded) point is, there's often room to tinker with recipes once you have a feel for what each ingredient does and what function it serves.
It can be a bit overwhelming when just getting into making your own hair care, as there are a ton of different ingredients and even more opinions on those ingredients! But it can be fun (and yes, frustrating) to experiment, too, and the more you research the better. I wish you well in this endeavor!
https://www.humblebeeandme.com/how-to-make-hair-conditioner/
I've been making my own conditioner for almost 3 years (started with liquid, switched to making bars early this year). My current bar recipe is loosely based on Humblebee & Me's Cranberry Orange Conditioner Bar. I say loosely based because I use a different butter and oil combo (simply because I didn't have mango butter or cranberry seed oil the recipe calls for on hand), I've added a couple more ingredients and use a different hydrolyzed protein and preservative. If one wanted to simplify this recipe, I could see dropping the orange dye, panthenol, and even the hydrolyzed protein, and the butter and oil could be swapped for different butters/oils. For this bar, however, the BTMS-50, a fairly common ingredient in a lot of DIY conditioners, and cetearyl alcohol are mainstays. My (long-winded) point is, there's often room to tinker with recipes once you have a feel for what each ingredient does and what function it serves.
It can be a bit overwhelming when just getting into making your own hair care, as there are a ton of different ingredients and even more opinions on those ingredients! But it can be fun (and yes, frustrating) to experiment, too, and the more you research the better. I wish you well in this endeavor!
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soapmakermonica
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BTMS-25, A similar compound is a known human toxicant or allergen.
BEHENTRIMONIUM METHOSULFATE
https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/700658-behentrimonium-methosulfate/Why always copy that which you are trying to get away from?
BEHENTRIMONIUM METHOSULFATE
https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/700658-behentrimonium-methosulfate/Why always copy that which you are trying to get away from?
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From the same source:
�
| Concern | Reference |
|---|---|
| Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications |
If you are conconcerned about BTMS-25, this from Humblebee & Me: Behentrimonium Chloride (BTMC) can be a good alternative; pure BTMC does not contain any stabilizing ingredients so if a recipe calls for 5% BTMS-25 I would recommend using 1.25% BTMC and 3.75% cetearyl alcohol."
KayTheBrummy
Member
Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate it. I do have the BTMS powder and I am learning that there are some things that are used nearly all the time. Interestingly (if that is even a word!) I did see on SwiftyCrafty Monkeys site yesterday that people with damaged or coloured hair (as mine is) may not be great candidates for conditioner bars! I am for sure going to check out Humblebee again... to be honest I found her to be a little bit prissy so I stopped looking at her youtube channel, but I can get past it and be a big girl!!
I have been a bit reluctant to tinker and waste product but the shampoo bars I made are sooo nice. having something I can wash my hair and my body with is a great thing. Thank you again xx
I started looking for ‘simple’ and realized it’s just not enough for damaged hair. Try the School of Natural Skincare for a 9-ingredient general-use bar. I Love Humblebee & Me formulas because she tests her products before she publishes. She also advises a 2 minute wait before rinsing out conditioner which really helps. My own damaged hair improved after I grudgingly bought all those things I thought were excessive -Varisoft EQ, CCT, CETAC, Argan, Abyssinian, keratin, Lux-Glide and panthenol-dl.
KayTheBrummy
Member
Thank you Savonette, I'll be sure to check it out... Sometimes you have to bite the bullet I guess!!
@KayTheBrummy interesting to read about lotion bars not being good for all hair types (Damaged or colored) I have tried making one from her website (Humblebee and me), with hesitation since her hair and mine are very different, and I had planned to use it as leave in conditioner. I follow the devacurl hair method which requires the conditioner to be left in the hair (I have curly hair which requires lots of conditioning.) While I found the conditioner bar ok, the result I got did not compare with the liquid/lotion like conditioner I make. When I went back to it I could tell a big difference.
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It’s been difficult finding formulas for hair types. I’ve been considering School of Natural Skin Care courses, but the Hair Care course alone is about $1k. Trolling is free but getting frustrating! Have you looked at curly tea.com?
I haven’t but I will now! I had not heard of that website before. What I have done was look at ingredient labels of conditioners I like, to see if I can duplicate something similar. I believe that Swift crafty monkey has stated her hair is coarse and I have some of her basic formulations (back when they were in her free blog section), I just skip the dimethicones as the curly girl method says to avoid them (and it makes sense to me why)
KayTheBrummy
Member
Hi Glendam! I may just stick to my lotion style conditioner and make shampoo bars only. I always use L'Oreal's 'extreme repair' (I think that is what it is called) and it rinses out so lovely. I can't imagine swiping a bar over my head and getting the same results. I do love the shampoo/body wash bars from SwiftCrafty though. Even though I am new to this game the shampoo bars are lovely with lots of lather and bubbles. I may look into making a liquid conditioner if you think this works.. thanks again
I thought the same but after alot of trails I have a conditioner bar (curly fuzzy damaged hair) that works.. i just have to rub it on my hands into scalp then rub bar on ends.. trick is formulating for your hair type..
Unfortunatly in my experiance, a conditioner bar has to be specific for your hair type to get best results. Unless your one of the few lucky ones who can use anything and have fab hair..So sharing a recipe that works for me may not work for you.
Example. My dry hair bars contain BTMS, cetyl, mango butter/mct/rosehip with oat protien, honeyquat, CETAC, silicone sub and chamomile extract etc
My oily hair bar BTMS 25/50 mix, cetyl, lil shea/fract CO/argan with honeyquat, CETAC, marshmellow extract, silicone sub and chamomile etc.
I have Swift crafty monkey's 2 books plus Bespokes shampoo and conditioners book(much perfer Susans SCM). From those and reading lots if blogs I learnt the why you add what etc. And what each hair type likes.
Having said that evey ones hair is different, our water softness additives etc are different. So long story short if your serious about making good shampoo and conditioner bars its a steep learning curve but a great journey.
Example. My dry hair bars contain BTMS, cetyl, mango butter/mct/rosehip with oat protien, honeyquat, CETAC, silicone sub and chamomile extract etc
My oily hair bar BTMS 25/50 mix, cetyl, lil shea/fract CO/argan with honeyquat, CETAC, marshmellow extract, silicone sub and chamomile etc.
I have Swift crafty monkey's 2 books plus Bespokes shampoo and conditioners book(much perfer Susans SCM). From those and reading lots if blogs I learnt the why you add what etc. And what each hair type likes.
Having said that evey ones hair is different, our water softness additives etc are different. So long story short if your serious about making good shampoo and conditioner bars its a steep learning curve but a great journey.
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