First, before you decide to make your own all natural deep treatment you have to know the different properties and benefits of the ingredients. For deep conditioners and conditioners in general, you want to use ingredients that will penetrate the hair. 


It's best to start with a real actual conditioner as a base as conditioners are formulated with certain ingredients that bind to the hair.  Starting with a great conditioner base helps make your deep conditioner....condition! 

Here are the ingredients in Aloe & Chamomile Detangling Conditioner I used: 


Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Lavendula angustifolia (Organic Lavender) Distillate, Anthemis nobilis (Organic Roman Chamomile) Distillate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ricinus communis (Castor Seed) Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolized Wheat, d-Calcium Pantothenate (Panthenol Vitamin B5), Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Salix nigra (Organic Black Willow Bark) Extract


Aloe Juice: Moisturizer that is just a great as water. If your conditioner does not have either water or aloe juice as the first ingredient it just might not be moisturizing and may be more of a hot oil treatment. 


Vegetable Glycerin: This is a humectant that draws water from the air and sucks it into the hair shaft. 


Panthenol B5: Is a humectant, emollient and moisturizer. It binds to the hair shaft readily and is a frequent component of shampoos and hair conditioners (in concentrations of 0.1-1%). It coats the hair and seals its surface, lubricating the hair shaft and making strands appear shiny


Hydrolized Wheat: nourishes and smoothes skin & hair (improves skin feeling & softness), moisture retainer (protects skin & hair from drying out), decreases number and depth of wrinkles, volumizing effects.


These are just a few ingredients and their benefits in this awesome conditioner.


Now that we have a nice yet simple conditioner, that provides a bit of "slip" (great for detangling) we can look into some additions based on the problems we may have or want to prevent with our hair. 


Neem Powder: Cleansing (great if you have scalp issues or even dry scalp)


Amla Powder: Conditioning and a astringent


Fenugreek Powder: Conditioning, great for hair loss and promotes shine


Molasses: Contains sulphur which is one of the key building blocks for healthy hair growth


Honey: Adds shine and is an humectant


Wheat Germ Oil: Decreases thinning and helps the scalp utilize oxygen, also conditions & softens hair


Brahmi Oil: Promotes growth and helps with dandruff


*Hibiscus: Conditioning (I didn't add it this time but, I plan to add it for my next DC)


SOURCE 1 and SOURCE 2 


Recipe:
Yields 4 oz. of Deep Conditioner
3.5 oz. conditioner (I used Aloe & Chamomile Detangling Conditioner)
1/4 tspn. Honey
1/4 tspn. Molasses
1/4 tspn. Wheatgerm Oil
1/8 tspn. Fenugreek Powder
1/8 tspn. Amla
1/8 tspn. Neem Leaf Powder (doesn't have the stinky smell that the oil has)
1/8 tspn. Brahmi Oil
*Optional 5 drops of Peppermint Oil


Mix the oils with the conditioner first and then mix in the powders. Although this may seem like a small amount of powders it is definitely enough. 

This is how my mix looks when mixed thoroughly. As you can see there is plenty of powder throughout the mix. Note: This conditioner started off white!

• I set my mix aside for a few hours (I got kind of busy) and let it "marinate" a bit. I noticed the herbally smell did increase a bit. the overall smell seems like it would be easy to cover, nothing too heavy or annoying.
• The consistency was really nice. It was easy to spread, not too thick or too thin. 
• I applied the mix to freshly washed hair that was dried 75% using an old t-shirt. 
• I left the mixture on for about 2 hours and then rinsed. This DC rinsed out easily for me, way easier than the other Fenugreek mixture I made. 

My hair feels soft, shiny and healthier. I did notice the Fenugreek weighed my hair down a bit after I rinsed, the same way it did the last time. 

I ave about 1 oz. left and I will be making more. I love this Deep Conditioner!  

For Your Body & Hair Butters Visit: DIY Hair Care Products

Unlike most naturals who love the summer months and get the best hair during the summer, I hate the summer months when it comes to my natural hair. My hair always gets dried out, breaks, sheds and acts like a straight fool. Since going natural I always struggle during the summer to balance maintaining a low manipulation regimen and also providing my hair with enough moisture. This as you can imagine is hard due to having to constantly apply products or do co-washed to remoisturize my hair. I think...hope...pray...I have found the answer in the Indian herb, fenugreek.

I found out about fenugreek while reading about ayurvedic herbs on MopTopMaven which notes that Fenugreek Seed Powder - Prevents hair loss, promotes hair growth, helps strengthen hair shaft, light protein. Fenugreek is also called Methi. 


I had Fenugreek on hand so I got to mixing! [Which I purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs online]


My Fenugreek Treatment Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Fenugreek (smells like maple syrup)
• 2 Tablespoons Honey (for moisture and shine)
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses (for strength)
• 1/2 Cup Yes To Tomatoes Conditioner (for moisture and to help make the paste smoother)

I mixed all these ingredients up as well as I could considering the fenugreek actually absorbs the liquids/oils and becomes like brownie dough. I literally had to mash it into my hair and smoothed it down. 

Before I tell you how well it worked, let me tell you what I learned.

• I shampooed my hair before applying the mix. While I still believe you should shampoo before applying deep conditoners, I also realized why MopTopMaven shampooed after. Ya'll after 2 rinses without shampoo, I had to do 2 rinses with shampoo to get all the paste out of my hair. I'm still not certain I got it all out, in fact I know I didn't.
• Don't apply the mix to twists. I always shampoo my hair while twisted to prevent tangles and decrease shedding. This made it very hard to get the paste shampooed off of the base of the twist. Next time I will apply the mix to loose hair and then twist it up and untwist each section to shampoo. 
• Take full advantage of my handheld showerhead. Full. Advantage.
• I kept this mix in entirely too long. I didn't just let it sit overnight but, I went 12+ hours. Don't judge me ya'll, I was busy.  Next time I'll rinse either after 1 hours or in the morning.

Final thoughts on Fenugreek:

I loved the results! My hair wasn't soft but, it wasn't dry, it was strong. I believe the fenugreek alos helped my hair absorb more moisture because since the treatment my hair has been staying moisturized longer. One unexpected change was with shrinkage. My hair is hanging longer and shrinking up less. Even with all this humidity my twistouts are defined and full! I have seen less breakage and less shed hair. The real test will be on wash day but, when I co-washed I saw very little shedding a less broken hairs.

I will be doing this treatment again only next time I plan to add hibiscus to the mix. Hibiscus Petal Powder - Conditions hair, promotes healthy hair growth, prevents hair loss, thickens hair. 

This is picture of my current hairstyle 1 week after using the Fenugreek, a 3 day old twistout:

As my hair gets longer as well as older, I find that using products/herbs that strengthen my strands is essential. although I am quite gentle and have a low manipulation regimen; the older my ends get the weaker they get as well and the summer heat is not helping. I got something for this 2011 summer though and it's this fenugreek! I love my results, even if the wash out process was horrible at best but, that was due moreso due to human error....or slowness.

I think I will try adding it to my next batch of shampoo bars and also to my rinse out conditioners along with hibiscus. 

Have you tried fenugreek? Did you like it?

For Your Body & Hair Butters Visit: DIY Hair Care Products