Substitute for oat oil in conditioner bar?

[Tara_H]

Hi folks, long time no see!

I've been chugging along on my massive backlog of soap and tried-and-tested shampoo etc recipes for a while and haven't had a chance to drop in here, but I'm off on holiday soon and I want to make a solid conditioner bar to bring with me, rather than my usual liquid one. I haven't made a conditioner bar before, but I found this recipe that looks to be what I'm looking for - only issue is that I don't have oat oil. Any thoughts on what I could substitute?

I read that castor oil has similar absorption properties, although obviously it has a very different consistency, but I was wondering if in this context that might be a good thing? The other thing that came to mind is rice bran oil; I'm not entirely sure why but my brain keeps coming back to it as a possible substitute. I use argan oil in my normal conditioner recipe and that seems to suit it very well, but I'm not sure if it would behave the same way here? I do have a pretty decent selection of other oils so would love to get some opinions on what might work.

For reference my hair is pretty thick and springy so I'm not particularly concerned about weighing it down - I'm aiming for detangling and smoothing most of all.

 

[AliOop]

Hallloooo!!! Great to "see" you!

RE: the conditioner bar, I'd never heard of oat oil before, and had to look it up. I'm still not clear whether it is 100% oats, or if it is a bit of oat oil mixed in a carrier oil of some sort. Can you enlighten me?

In any event, I find that the soft oils in solid conditioner bar recipes are pretty interchangeable. Castor is not a bad choice, but since you have argan, that's what I'd use, or some combination of argan, jojoba, castor, and/or babassu.

If by any chance you have panthenol or any hydrolized proteins (silk, oat, etc.) lying about, definitely add 1% each of those, as well.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

 

[Tara_H]

Thanks!

I'm not actually sure what oat oil is made of... But I do have nearly everything else you mentioned, I could use a combination of argan, jojoba and castor oil, and some hydrolysed wheat protein - sounds like a good jumping-off point

 

[justjacqui]

I haven't seen any information that Oat Oil is recommended as good for hair but is recommended often as good or skin.

I think you could easily substitute it for any of the oils generally recommended for hair such as castor, jojoba or argan. I think RBO would also be fine.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Hi Tara H - long time! I don't make conditioner bars, but I use some conditioning agents in my shampoo bars. I'm a big fan of fractionated coconut oil as it tames my frizz. I hear that meadow foam oil and apricot kernel oil are both good for hair too ( I use both these in my lotion bars so always have them on hand). The other oils mentioned above all sound good too.

 

[Jennyinthewoods]

Hi folks, long time no see!

I've been chugging along on my massive backlog of soap and tried-and-tested shampoo etc recipes for a while and haven't had a chance to drop in here, but I'm off on holiday soon and I want to make a solid conditioner bar to bring with me, rather than my usual liquid one. I haven't made a conditioner bar before, but I found this recipe that looks to be what I'm looking for - only issue is that I don't have oat oil. Any thoughts on what I could substitute?

I read that castor oil has similar absorption properties, although obviously it has a very different consistency, but I was wondering if in this context that might be a good thing? The other thing that came to mind is rice bran oil; I'm not entirely sure why but my brain keeps coming back to it as a possible substitute. I use argan oil in my normal conditioner recipe and that seems to suit it very well, but I'm not sure if it would behave the same way here? I do have a pretty decent selection of other oils so would love to get some opinions on what might work.

For reference my hair is pretty thick and springy so I'm not particularly concerned about weighing it down - I'm aiming for detangling and smoothing most of all.

Rice bran oil, safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, are all good replacements.

 

[Savage Daughter]

Over a year after the fact, but responding as others might be looking at this later, as I am:

• amla oil
• meadowfoam oil as mentioned by Kiwi Moose
• Abyssinian oil
• jojoba oil
• castor oil, as mentioned
• stinging nettle infused almond or olive oil
• witch hazel bark infused olive oil
• comfrey infused almond or olive oil
• hibiscus infused almond or olive oil
• horsetail infused almond or olive oil
• calendula infused almond or olive oil
• natural henna infused almond or olive oil

Some of these you would have to make yourself. Research infusing DRY herbs into carrier oils. Cold infusion or hot infusion. It's fairly simple but takes some patience.

You can also run a search on the types of herbs which have been traditionally used for hair. You will find a lot of information when looking in places most people don't think to look. Unfortunately, a lot of this knowledge has been ignored or simply fallen out of common usage in favour of less natural ingredients.