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Sustainable and travel-friendly, a conditioner bar is a convenient way to keep your hair healthy, conditioned, and tangle-free. Learn how and why to make your own conditioner bar.
Over the last months, I’ve been a bit absent and busy with summertime activities. Between having my son home from school, the town fiestas, and a family vacation, I feel like I’ve left you all a bit abandoned. I’m now home and finished with most of it, and ready to share some of what I’ve been making lately.
One of the handy products that I made was a homemade conditioner bar.
Let me begin by admitting that I wasn’t even sure I would like using a solid conditioner. I really like the slip and feel of how easy it is to use my “normal” homemade conditioner. It glides easily and I can effortlessly comb through to spread it evenly throughout my hair.
Over the last year or two, though, shampoo and conditioner bars have gained a lot of popularity.
Why make a conditioner bar?
There are a few great reasons to consider making a solid conditioner.
A conditioner bar is a sustainable option
For those who are trying to go “no waste” or who wish to contribute as little waste as possible, making your own shampoo bars and conditioner bars is about as no waste as you can get. I can’t promise you’ll have zero waste unless you can get your hands upon a supplier that allows you to recycle packaging or will fill containers you bring to them, but the products that you are making themselves don’t need any sort of packaging.
Because you aren’t using any packaging for your homemade conditioner bar, you don’t have to worry about if the packaging that you are using is safe or not. (Are toxins from plastic packaging leaching into your products?) You also save yourself the hassle of having to properly clean and sanitize your containers before using them.
Conditioner bars are travel-friendly
With all of the new regulations regarding liquids that can be taken aboard airplanes, having a solid option means less hassle when traveling. You don’t have to worry about separating your shampoo and conditioner in a plastic baggy when passing through security nor will you have to worry about a TSA agent taking your homemade conditioner away from you for not following regulations regarding liquids.
Even if you aren’t flying, there are advantages to traveling with shampoo and conditioner bars versus their liquid counterparts. You don’t have to worry about your homemade shampoo and conditioner spilling all over your other luggage, potentially ruining your clothes and your trip.
Concerned about preservatives?
Just as with the shampoo bar, I recommend that you use a preservative when making your conditioner bar. This product is going to be stored in a humid environment and will be used with water often. It is very possible for mold or other microbes to form on the exterior of your bars, especially if you aren’t careful about drying the product properly between uses.
That said, if you are set against using a preservative, this is the safest way to go.
I personally don’t recommend making a liquid conditioner and keeping it in the fridge. Some people try doing that to avoid using a preservative. Even in the fridge, though, you should really only keep homemade emulsions for around the same amount of time as you would keep homemade food-based emulsions like homemade dressing or mayonnaise. (Seven to ten days is the absolute maximum amount of time that I would recommend.)
Conditioner bars, on the other hand, technically don’t need a preservative themselves. They don’t use any water-based ingredients, so there is no need to preserve the bars themselves. You are really only using them because of the way the bars are used. These bars have fats and are quite solid which keeps them more protected from water than the shampoo bars. They tend to repel water quite well. So, if you are careful about getting them dry between uses, yes, you could probably be fine not-using a true preservative. (Yes, I still recommend it.)
Very frugal!
With conditioner bars, you use a lot less product on your hair than what you would use when using a liquid conditioner. So, not only are you wasting less, which is, again, more environmentally friendly, but they are also great for saving money. I’ve been using the same conditioner bar for months now, and I’m not sure I can appreciate much of a difference in size from when I first started using it!
Watch how to make a homemade conditioner bar
How well do conditioner bars work?
If you’re used to applying a large amount of conditioner to your hair, you may find it frustrating to adapt to a conditioner bar at first. The hard, solid quality of the conditioner bar needs to glide over your hair. It rubs off and onto the hair as you rub the bar against it.
With shampoo bars, you can tell that something is happening immediately. You get a lot of lather when you rub water over them, and you can use the abundant lather on your hair with or without the bar in hand. When you run water over the conditioner bar, though, nothing appears to happen. In fact, the water will be repelled by it. You have to patiently run the bar over your hair.
I’m not an especially patient person. I can be patient with people and with formulating weird DIY experiments, but have little patience for slow technology and don’t like wasting my time on certain tasks that I think should be quick. That’s why I didn’t expect to like using a conditioner bar (and why the first time I used it, I wasn’t completely convinced). In the end, though, the conditioner bar has definitely grown on me.
With either type of conditioner, I use my comb to spread the product through my hair. For those who are having a hard time using a conditioner bar, just that small tip may make all the difference for you. With the conditioner bar, not much product is needed. You just need enough to easily get your hair untangled. I run the bar over my hair, comb through, and then rub the bar again over the areas where my comb appears to stick.
DIY Conditioner Bar Recipe
Homemade conditioner bar
Materials
- 70 g BTMS
- 10 g cetyl alcohol
- 5 g cocoa butter
- 5 g coconut oil
- 2 g d-panthenol
- 2 g lavender essential oil or other essential oils or a combination of oils
- 1 g Sharomix or another natural preservative at the correct percentage for the recipe
- .5 g vitamin E
Instructions
- Weigh out the BTMS, cetyl alcohol, cocoa butter, and coconut oil in a double boiler insert or a stainless steel bowl that can be used over a pan of water.
- Gently heat (over a double boiler) until all of the ingredients have melted. Stir them well to combine them.
- Remove the pan from the heat source.
- Weigh out the other ingredients (preservative, essential oils, etc.) and add them to the melted oil-phase ingredients. Mix together all ingredients.
- Immediately pour into bar sized mold. (I used a silicone mold meant for soaps or mini loaf-shaped muffins.) You can find something similar here: https://amzn.to/2SAxYMj
- Allow the bar(s) to cool completely.
- Remove the conditioner bars from the molds.
- You can now immediately use your homemade conditioner bar.
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Rachel
Can D panthenol be substituted with DL panthenol?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Yes, that’s fine!
Danielle Black
When I pour this recipe into my molds, they harden with the tops not smooth. Do you know what could cause this?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Danielle,
It can get really thick and difficult to make a smooth top.
What I like to do is to cover it with some wax or parchment paper and then smooth over it with my hand to try to smooth it out before it cools too much and hardens too much.
Michaela
Thanks so much for this great recipe! Im just wondering how long would it take for the bars to harden? Say if I made 10 per time (id love to give to family and friends) – I read one article and it said a month!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Michaela,
These harden immediately. There is no need to wait a month. In fact, it can be hard to get them into the mold before they cool and harden. 😉
I’m not sure why it would take that long every for a conditioner bar. (Soap bars should be cured for a month, but that’s a whole other subject.)
Morinda Leffew
Could I use vegetable glycerin instead of Sharomix in the same quantities?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hello Morinda,
Vegetable glycerin isn’t a broad spectrum preservative in the same way that Sharomix is. While it can be used as a preservative at very high concentrations, it won’t work in smaller amounts and can even make a product more prone to microbial growth. It would be impossible to increase the concentration high enough in a recipe like this one to make it work like a preservative.
For more information about preserving cosmetics, check out my post about natural preservatives.
Tessa G
Can I add a hydrolyzed protein to this? I always like to add one to my conditioner bars too. Can’t wait to try this recipe, looks simple!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Yes, of course! Just be mindful of how much you add- knowing that if you add too many liquid ingredients, it would soften the bar.
Alicia Copa
I accidentally ordered cetearyl alcohol instead of cargo alcohol will that make a difference?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Cetearyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol are very similar. It should be fine, but might be slightly different in texture/consistency, etc.
Worst case scenario, you can always remelt it and adjust it as needed. (More liquid oils to soften it slightly- less liquid oils to harden it more)
Azelia
Can I substitute Shea for the cocoa butter? It’s a softer butter but that’s what I have
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Azelia,
You can, but the bar will be much softer, I imagine. You may decide to increase one of the more solid ingredients (like BTMS) or reduce any liquids (like the panthenol) to compensate. You may need to experiment a bit to find the consistency you like.
Soapy
I made the conditioner bar but to make the bar harder and longer lasting I also used steric acid works better
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Glad to hear you found something that works for you! I was actually thinking of making one a bit softer this week to see if I like it better.
Samia
Thank you so much! My hair is very curly (3CE curls) and this is the best conditioner I have ever tried! Hair was detangled so easily!, I also tried it as a leave in conditioner but the hair becomes so frizzy after drying up so I wonder how it could be changed in order to hold more like a light gel..
Thanks again!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Samia,
I usually use my liquid conditioner as a leave-in between washes. I then add my homemade gel to keep my hair from getting frizzy.
Bola
Please can I use SLS instead of BTMS
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Bola,
Are you referring to Sodium lauryl sulfate?
No, I’m afraid that SLS is nothing like BTMS.
SLS is a surfactant. BTMS is an emulsifier (and a cationic one- which is what gives it its conditioning properties).
Peggy
What do you expect a start up cost to be or cost per bar? How lo g does a bar last?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Peggy,
It’s hard to estimate because it will depend where you buy the ingredients, if you buy larger quantities, etc.
They do last for quite a while, though. I can try to keep track with my next bar.
Marcella Andrade Lemos Silva
Hi!
I love your blog 🙂
Seems like I have some allergic reaction to BTMS. I have been researching about it and it seems like it is not all natural as the suppliers sell it. It is also not allowed by ECOcert/COSMOS certification. Have you ever tried replacing it with Emulsense? It is also a cationic emulsifier but it is more natural. Thank you in advance.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Marcella,
Yes, I’ve tried both Emulsense HC and Varisoft EQ 65. I’ve been meaning to update the post with the other options and better explain that issue.
To be honest, I like the feel of BTMS the best. It slides on the hair better.
That said, the other 2 are the only 2 more natural options available that I know of. They do a decent job. If you have sensitivities, then definitely go with one of them.
Emulsense is supposed to be used with their preservative, Spectrastat G2-N. (It can brown with time when using others.) Also, if you want to raise the pH (it has a low pH of 3.5), you’re supposed to only use arginine as other pH adjusters don’t work well with it.
I haven’t played as much with Varisoft, but do have it and have used it. I think I liked Emulsense better. (I should try them out again, side by side before I update this post.)