Mirror Image: Make Your Own Hair Conditioner

02/25/2011

Mirror Image: Make Your Own Hair Conditioner

Louisa Shafia

Here’s the dilemma: I go through several bottles of hair conditioner every year, yet I feel terrible every time I buy a disposable plastic container. You may think recycling should leave my conscience (if not my hair) clean, but according to everyone from The Environmental Literacy Council to CNN, the overwhelming percentage of the plastic that we put in the recycling bin actually winds up in landfills. What’s more, the very act of manufacturing plastic is widely known to release toxins into the air and water.

I quickly found out that plastic bottles aren’t the only thing toxic about conditioner, by perusing the user-friendly website Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetic safety database. Skin Deep rates cosmetic products according to their toxicity levels. I typed the name of my current conditioner into the search box, and the results were disconcerting. My eco-styled, “sulfate-free,” “not-tested-on-animals” conditioner scored a hazard rate of 6 out of 10, and contained ingredients linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and organ toxicity. I didn’t need any more convincing—it was time to make my own conditioner.

Back on the Internet, I found a lot of recipes and formulas for deep conditioning treatments, such as egg and olive oil, mashed avocado, etc., but I was looking for something that I could leave in my hair. In addition to using it to soften my hair in the shower, I use conditioner as a styling product to help shape my curls. Eventually, I found a recipe for the kind of general use conditioner I was looking for on the website Sustain Lane: People-Powered Sustainability Guide. I tried out their easy-to-make recipe, added a few of my own tweaks, and genuinely liked the results. I’m pleased to share it with you on the next page.

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16 Comments

TAGS: environmental working group food and drug administration guar gum hair conditioner homemade mirror image plastic pollution sustain lane toxic cosmetics xanthan gum

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08/15/2011
Stephanie
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Thank you, Thank you, A MILLION TIMES, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be a loyal subscriber from here on out. Best, Stephanie mywastelesslife.blogspot.com
07/31/2011
evay
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This is a great idea but as mentioned below, you should keep this in the fridge and check it every so often. I made my 1st batch on June 15th with jojoba oil and green tea and although I kept it in the fridge between uses, it still went bad after a month. I saw black mould floating inside and had to dump it all out.
06/29/2011
Frizz
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A word of caution. If it is warm where you live, keep this stuff in the fridge. Mine lasted two weeks and then when I put it in my hair I noticed a bad smell -- a really bad smell. It had spoiled. I washed my hair again to get rid of the smell - so no foul. But yikes! If it matters, I used only the xanthan gum in mine because I haven't yet been able to find the guar gum.
06/03/2011
Laura
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Hey, this sounds like such a great idea, but I am a poor college student! Around how much would you say it costs to make a normal store sized bottle of this conditioner? Thanks!
04/01/2011
Jess
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Just the other day I was thinking about the number of conditioner bottles and moisturizer bottles that I go through as well as all of the chemicals in them... got my new issue of Ready Made and there is a moisturizer link. It's a sign. I can't wait to try this conditioner in my curly hair:)))) THANKS!