Easy Conditioner Bar Recipe for All Hair Types

Natural conditioner bars have been a battle for me. You can’t find any out there that don’t have toxic ingredients or questionable ingredients. There’s a reason for that. It’s hard to make a natural conditioner bar recipe without certain ingredients to make them easy for everyone to use without using too much.

I have a wonderful set of herbal rinses that work great on my hair and I have a set routine that give me shiny, bouncy hair. BUT, I really want to conquer the conditioner bar dilemma. Having a bar that does everything listed below without weighing down hair would be an exciting accomplishment. Well….I think I’ve finally got it.

I love my first conditioner bar recipe.

This is a really effective recipe that works wonders on my hair. I can use it as a gentle conditioner or apply more and use it as a deep conditioner. The problem is that a lot of people don’t have thick, curl hair like I do that tends toward being dry. If you have my hair type and know how to apply, then that recipe is for you.

But what about those with other hair types? I wanted to make a conditioner bar without all the synthetic ingredients!

What’s Out There

You’re probably found this recipe because you’re looking for a conditioner bar recipe without synthetic ingredients. You want something that looks closing to how it looked on the tree, where you know the process it took to get from pod or seed to jar.

This is THE challenge!

I could use ingredients like panthenol. After all, it’s widely considered as safe. And it very well could be. The research that’s out there is limited, but what is available is promising that SOME of these synthetic ingredients are ok to use (Though, just because something is derived from coconut oil, doesn’t mean the chemicals used to extract it plus other steps don’t make it questionable in the end).

But that tears at me. I want to make this without going there. Without using BTMS, or cetyl alcohol, or unnatural preservatives. You’re probably here because you want the same thing.

So, let’s do this!

What Makes a Good Conditioner Bar Recipe?

Conditioner bars  have to do a few things to be true “conditioner” bars:

1. Balance pH

Shampoo’s are often slightly basic on the pH scale. While hair is naturally around 7.5, natural shampoo bars can be 7.5-8. They are so close to being neutral that a lot of people have no problem not using a conditioner. This also depends on your hair type and the type of water you have in your house. Nevertheless, conditioners are designed to bring the pH back to neutral by often being slightly acidic.

Finding natural ingredients that are slightly acidic is not difficult. There’s enough information available these days that putting together a relatively balanced conditioner is not as hard as it used to be (no longer simply a trial and error guessing game).

Cocoa butter is naturally slightly acidic, making it a good base to start my conditioner bar recipe.

2. Hold or Give Moisture

Conditioners should restore moisture to stripped or damaged hair and then help hair to hold onto that moisture so that it doesn’t dry out soon after drying. The difficulty is doing this without creating a bar that is so oily that it’s super difficult to sue the correct amount for shiny hair that is not weighed down or oily.

Using butters makes this easier. Cocoa butter is less heavy than some oils. Also, honey is a humectant that will hold moisture onto the hair shaft. Thus, honey becomes a very important ingredient.

3. Condition the Shaft for volume and shine

A good conditioner bar will also create a shine (through use of moisture and smoothing the hair shaft), as well healthy volume. You’ll also want a definition to bouncy curls or waves.

Most conditioners these days have a ton of synthetic ingredients to achieve this.We can do this through natural ingredients. Aloe is one that will add smoothness and shine to your hair.

4. Proteins

There area a few rumors that proteins in hair products aren’t good for you, but this seems to go against science and observation.  Adding protein is one way to strengthen hair, improve elasticity, and add curl and bounce. After all, your hair is made up of proteins. Using proteins in hair care helps to bond with those broken, damaged proteins and make them stronger (1).

You can do this with natural ingredients, but they do not last long for practical use, making a conditioner bar go bad within a day or two.

A longer lasting ingredient is to use (in order of my favorite): rice bran, whey, oat, pea or wheat protein. They need to be broken up into tiny molecules (hydrolyzed) so that they work better on your hair and in your body.

One easy short cut – protein drinks.

Just make sure the type you are using is 100% pure with no other weird ingredients. You can use it in a shake and use it in this recipe. Win-win!

Natural Conditioner Bar Recipe for All Hair Types

I did a lot of research in putting this recipe together. There are some wonderful natural recipes out there with ingredients that I don’t want to use. And frankly, those ingredients are there for a reason. With some of them, there is no good substitute.

Personally, I would rather be inconvenienced by using a spray rinse (really not an inconvenience) than use a questionable ingredient. But like I said, some are not easily replace.

Emulsifier

Emulsifiers for example. It is hard to find a natural emulsifier that lasts more than a day outside of the refrigerator. Honey or beeswax, contrary to some statements on the web, are not emulsifiers. If you add honey or aloe to butters and oils and stir it up really well and then pour into a mold, they will separate. *cough* yes I may have learned that the hard way.

But there’s a great way around that: temperatures and blending!

What you’ll end up doing with this recipe is

1. wait until ideal temperatures(around 80 degrees Fahrenheit)
2. blend until the mixture starts to thicken
3. pour into the mold
4. Place in the freezer

This blend and temperature watch with cause the ingredients to set up before separating. I’ve done this with salves, lotions, as well as this recipe. And it’s worked perfectly, not separating later or causing any problems whatsoever. Simple!

Preservatives

This bar does not have preservatives. It does contain water so it will need to be kept in a dry place between uses. It should last about 3 month. This recipe only makes two 4 ounce bars so if that is too much to use during that time then cut the recipe in half.

Nettle

I’ve added nettle to my recipe, because nettle is great for all hair types. Nettle regulates oil production, helping balance dry or oily hair. It also soothes dry and itchy scalp.

Essential Oils

Adding essential oils adds scent as well as beneficial qualities. I added lavender essential oil to this recipe because it is safe for use around even small children and is very soothing, making it great for all hair types.

Natural Conditioner Bar Recipe

Printable version is at the bottom of the page.

Yield: Two 4-ounce bars

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cocoa butter
• 2 Tablespoons shea butter
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons raw honey
• 2 Tablespoons aloe vera
• 1 teaspoon hydrolyzed rice bran protein
• 1/4 teaspoon nettle leaf powder
• 15 drops lavender essential oil

Directions:

1. In a double boiler, add cocoa butter, shea butter, and coconut oil and melt.
2. Add honey, aloe vera, rice bran, nettle, and essential oil and stir until combined.
3. Pour through a cheese cloth or similar cloth into a stand mixer or mixing bowl to filter nettle leaf.
4. Let cool until around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Prepare mold. I used a silicone mold like this one for ease of removal. No lining or preparation needed.
6. When color is lighter (see pictures below) and it is around 80 degrees, turn on mixer and blend until the mixture lightens and begins to slightly thicken into a creamy texture.
7. Use a rubber spatula and scrape into molds. Smooth with the spatula if necessary.
8. Place in a freezer until fully set.
9. Store in a dry location.

Below are step by step pictures.

Pour melted and stirred mixture into stand mixer through a cheesecloth.

 Let me know if you have any questions. Here’s a printable copy for you to use.

How to Use

I like to cut each 4 ounce bar in half to keep them fresher, longer.

After washing your hair, rub the conditioner bar in your hands until you have a light layer on your hands. Rub through your hair with a downward motion starting at the bottom and moving upward. Be careful not to add too much. A little goes a long way.

Rinse with hot water afterward to ensure that you don’t have too much in one place. The hot water will help the conditioner to spread throughout the hair.