How to make a DIY leave in conditioner

How to make a DIY leave in conditioner

In the interests of encouraging zero waste living, I thought it might be helpful to show you a DIY conditioner spray that utilises a product and bottle that you might already have at home. Or one of our zero waste reusable aluminium travel bottles.

It’s possible to buy leave in conditioner sprays ready-made of course, but it’s much less wasteful to make a simple one yourself as and when you need to use one.

Why might you need a leave in conditioner spray?

Leave-in conditioner sprays are great for wavy, curly and coily hair textures which require extra moisturising and protecting from damage.

They help to refresh and define curly textures. And are especially great for hair that tends to get frizzy, too – as frizz is a result of moisture loss. 

Having a light conditioner in a spray format means that it’s really easy to apply and can then just be left to dry. So you get the benefit of the conditioning ingredients, albeit at a lower concentration, but without the need to rinse the conditioner out. 

our regular light conditioner

 

Rather than completely replacing regular in-shower conditioner, they are great for adding a light moisture boost from time to time. Like our regular conditioner, this spray is best used in the mid-length and ends, avoiding the root area. 

This DIY recipe makes about 30ml of conditioning spray. If you have a bigger bottle, or would like to make more, you can scale up the recipe to suit.

It’s worth noting that diluting our conditioner with water for this recipe results in the preservative also being diluted.

The rate of dilution for this recipe means that rather than a 2 year Best Before Date your finished spray will keep for around 6 months. So remember to label your bottle with the month and year.

DIY leave in conditioner ingredients

More often than not, you can make leave in conditioner with ingredients you already have! You'll need: 

  • 1 bottle with a spray top 
  • 1 tablespoon of your favourite conditioner
  • 2-3 tablespoons of hot tap water
  • A tablespoon
  • A funnel if you're not confident with pouring

For this diy leave in conditioner, we used the aluminium travel bottles and funnel from the Hairy Jayne store. Alongside our favourite Hairy Jayne Light Conditioner.

To enhance your DIY leave in conditioner fragrance, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of hot water for 1 tablespoon of organic flower water. 

How to make DIY leave in conditioner - the method

To make your DIY leave in conditioner, simply follow the steps below: 

1. Add a tablespoon of conditioner to hot water

Mix the conditioner with 2 tablespoons of the hot water. Use hot tap water as opposed to water straight from the kettle, as the essential oils in the conditioner can only tolerate gentle heat. The water only really needs to be warm enough to dissolve the conditioner.

2. Mix them together well

Stir the mixture as well as you can. If there are still some lumps in the mixture, you can shake it well once it’s bottled to make it smoother.

3. Pour into a reusable bottle

Carefully pour or use a funnel to get your mixture into your reusable aluminium travel bottle and attach the spray head. Shake well and label the bottle with the month and year.

4. Adjust to suit your hair type

This step is optional, but if you find the leave in conditioner spray is too heavy for your hair, you can adjust it. Do this by adding another tablespoon to your reusable aluminium travel bottle and shaking well.

[product=light-conditioner|variants=Citrus / Regular,Citrus / Jumbo,Citrus / Travel,Citrus / Regular refill,Citrus / Jumbo refill,Floral / Regular,Floral / Jumbo,Floral / Travel,Floral / Regular refill,Floral / Jumbo refill,Musk / Regular,Musk / Jumbo,Musk / Travel,Musk / Regular refill,Musk / Jumbo refill]
Hairy Jayne Light Conditioner leaves hair feeling detangled, de-stressed and downright delightful. Hydrating with lightweight and non-greasy plant oils, it's perfect for making a leave-in conditioner spray.
[/product]

[product=orange-flower-water]
Add some neroli orange blossom fragrance to your creation
[/product]

[product=aluminium-travel-bottles|variants=With atomiser spray / 30ml,With atomiser spray / 100ml]
Refillable bottle with an atomiser spray cap
[/product]

 This simple zero waste leave in conditioner is so easy to mix up at home, rather than having to go out and buy a whole product. Whether you use leave in conditioners regularly or just from time to time, less waste will be created when you follow this DIY recipe.

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