Diy Product Experiments

[ElevatedEnergy]

i bought from Plant Guru Inc. But they were very expensive. I forget the weight. but I was not happy. I told my husband not to use it, because he likes to waste i, melting it in the water stream. LOL
But when I went home, I found a round circular one in a Caribbean bodega for like $20. I hope it's good. I haven't used it yet but I was very impressed with the weight. It was definitely more than 2 lbs.

My favorite one is similar to the Plant Guru one you have with a little less ingredients.

Here are the two kinds I have:



The blocks are from Oslove Organics. I can use it undiluted on my face.


Ingredients :
Shea Nut Butter, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Pod Ash

The smaller ones are from Vitacost.

https://www.vitacost.com/alaffia-af...187132000778&gclid=COr2x_nl0dQCFdOCswodARYCTA

Ingredients: Saponified butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter* and elaeis guineensis (palm kernel) oil.*

I break off tiny amounts at a time to use on my face. One little pinch can last me an entire week. LOL

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Ayurvedic Herbal Oil

Pour 8-12 ounces of your favorite oils into a glass jar. I prefer Ceramide rich oils.

Put a teaspoon each of your favorite Ayurvedic powders into a coffee filter and tie the top with a hair tie to secure. I use a teaspoon each of henna, Brahmi, amla & bhringraj.


Add 1 tablespoon each of your favorite herbs. I used horsetail, rosemary & nettle.

Add 1/4 cup of fenugreek seeds.



Infuse for 1-2 weeks. A day before I know I'm going to use it, I infuse on top of my candle warmer for 8 to 24 hours. Strain.






The powders and herbs I chose are already good for growth but to amp it up, you can add 1/8 teaspoon of MSM powder. If you decide to add MSM, shake before each use as the powder does settle at the bottom.

My favorite ways to use:
Scalp massages, hot oil treatments, oil rinsing, adding to my deep conditioners, shampoo and other DIY mixes.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

DIY Hair Balm

This one is so simple that I didn't think I should post it, but I want to list everything I use and make for my own references.

Melt down butter of choice. My personal favorite is mango butter.


I melt it on top of my candle warmer in a small flat mason jar.



The mango butter I use is amazingly soft and easy to work with so it only takes around 15 minutes to melt fully.


Once it's fully melted, place in freezer for 30-45 minutes. You want it to cool quickly as to not re-solidify with a grainy texture.



Optional:
Before you cool it, you can add a tablespoon of oil of choice. I don't. I love mango butter on its own. It needs no help. (However, the Ayurvedic herbal oil I listed would be a good choice to add to this)

You can also add essential oils for fragrance. Once again, I usually don't. The mango butter I use has a slight sweet almost vanilla smell which I adore so I usually just leave it be. However there are times when I want to jazz it up, so I'll add EO's every now and again. I have many to choose from so I usually pick one or two and roll with that.



I love mint notes, citrus notes, floral notes, woodsy, musk and anything sweet smelling. Right now I'm using a combo of Eucalyptus & Tangerine.

How I use the balm:
I love this balm for my ends, edges, and to seal in moisture. I also use it on my body as well.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Herbal Infused Shampoo

1 to 1.5 ounces shaved African Black soap
12 to 16 ounces Herbal Tea
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
1 tablespoon Ayurvedic oil

Optional:
A few drops of EO's of choice



Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let black soap shavings dissolve. Once dissolved, pour shampoo into ice cube molds and freeze. Store in ziplock bags in freezer until ready for usage. I thaw and use 3 cubes per shampoo wash. If you've worked with black soap before, you already know it lathers & cleans really well so you don't need much to get the job done.

 

[Sharpened]

Maybe I should try making my own shampoo. Liquid black soap tends to dry me out, no matter what I mix in it. I might try getting my own detergents, no rush.

 

[guyaneseyankee]

Herbal Infused Shampoo

1 to 1.5 ounces shaved African Black soap
12 to 16 ounces Herbal Tea
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
1 tablespoon Ayurvedic oil

Optional:
A few drops of EO's of choice

View attachment 403383

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let black soap shavings dissolve. Once dissolved, pour shampoo into ice cube molds and freeze. Store in ziplock bags in freezer until ready for usage. I thaw and use 3 cubes per shampoo wash. If you've worked with black soap before, you already know it lathers & cleans really well so you don't need much to get the job done.

View attachment 403381

You are awesome @lulu97 I love my liquid black soap that I made. You inspire me.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Maybe I should try making my own shampoo. Liquid black soap tends to dry me out, no matter what I mix in it. I might try getting my own detergents, no rush.

Have you ever tried boiling whole soapnuts (Aritha)? I've seen a tutorial of someone making a shampoo that way. I've seen a recipe on Mountain Rose Herbs as well where someone used Castile soap as a base.

I've looked into making actual soap bars but the process is a little too advanced for my little beginner DIY self. I love the recipe I posted above but for some reason, shampoo is the only category where I feel I need more than one option. I'm testing out clay washing and while I like it, I don't love it. I'm old fashioned so I like my cleansing agent to lather. I have some shampoo bars in a cart at Hennasooq to test out to alternate with my recipe I posted above.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

You are awesome @lulu97 I love my liquid black soap that I made. You inspire me.

Awww thank you Sis! @guyaneseyankee I'm glad you love your shampoo as much as I love mine. I gets my hair and scalp so clean.

 

[Aggie]

Herbal Infused Shampoo

1 to 1.5 ounces shaved African Black soap
12 to 16 ounces Herbal Tea
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
1 tablespoon Ayurvedic oil

Optional:
A few drops of EO's of choice

View attachment 403383

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let black soap shavings dissolve. Once dissolved, pour shampoo into ice cube molds and freeze. Store in ziplock bags in freezer until ready for usage. I thaw and use 3 cubes per shampoo wash. If you've worked with black soap before, you already know it lathers & cleans really well so you don't need much to get the job done.

View attachment 403381

How did you dissolve the black soap @lulu97?

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

How did you dissolve the black soap @lulu97?

@Aggie It will dissolve on its own once it gets in contact with the water. I put all the ingredients in a bowl together (including the black soap) and let it sit on the counter until all the soap has dissolved. I periodically stir it to help speed the process. If you use warm water, the process will also speed up a bit as well. My black soap usually is fully dissolved within 30 minutes using room temperature water (since my soap is super soft already)

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

@Aggie

Here is a visual to give you a better idea of the process:

 

[Aggie]

@Aggie It will dissolve on its own once it gets in contact with the water. I put all the ingredients in a bowl together (including the black soap) and let it sit on the counter until all the soap has dissolved. I periodically stir it to help speed the process. If you use warm water, the process will also speed up a bit as well. My black soap usually is fully dissolved within 30 minutes using room temperature water (since my soap is super soft already)

@Aggie

Here is a visual to give you a better idea of the process:

@lulu97
Thanks a million pretty lady. Now I have to get me some African Black Soap .

 

[Saludable84]

Maybe I should try making my own shampoo. Liquid black soap tends to dry me out, no matter what I mix in it. I might try getting my own detergents, no rush.

Have you thought about what detergents you wish to use?

I am trying to formulate a poo and one amphoteric detergent I'm looking at is cocobetaine.

The hardest part is determining percentage with the right amount of active surfactant matter

Black soap and Castile soap dry my hair and scalp out something awful.

 

[Sharpened]

Have you thought about what detergents you wish to use?

I am trying to formulate a poo and one amphoteric detergent I'm looking at is cocobetaine.

The hardest part is determining percentage with the right amount of active surfactant matter

Black soap and Castile soap dry my hair and scalp out something awful.

Have you ever checked out John Masters shampoos? Something close to those would be great; I should just trial some samples from the website.

I want decyl glucoside from sugar beets and babassuamidopropyl betaine to balance out the sodium sulfates (ammonium sulfates were too harsh when I had used them). Supposedly, TEA or MEA sulfates are gentler, but finding these and the first two I had mentioned looks darn near impossible.

I know I can use sodium lauroamphoacetate because my body washes over the years had it, but then P&G decided to switch it out for cocobetaine - itch city.

Having a low pH is a must, or dry, tangly hair will be the result.

 

[Saludable84]

Have you ever checked out John Masters shampoos? Something close to those would be great; I should just trial some samples from the website.

I want decyl glucoside from sugar beets and babassuamidopropyl betaine to balance out the sodium sulfates (ammonium sulfates were too harsh when I had used them). Supposedly, TEA or MEA sulfates are gentler, but finding these and the first two I had mentioned looks darn near impossible.

I know I can use sodium lauroamphoacetate because my body washes over the years had it, but then P&G decided to switch it out for cocobetaine - itch city.

Having a low pH is a must, or dry, tangly hair will be the result.

John Masters is a really good example and I love it. I used it when I was "texlaxed" (was pregnant and never touched up but it was the beginning of my transition). It was a clean and simple shampoo. A ton of extracts but not gooey, heavy or stripping.

Decyl Glucoside is good, but my research has deemed not good in a poo, only body wash. The second one, I think I couldn't find for a reasonable price. And be careful because if it can go on hair, it can go on the body, but not vice versa.

I know someone who just made a shampoo. She had a hard time; we've been back and forth on her formulations for like 3 months now. I will ask her what she used and how much she used along with her mixing methods.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Moisture Deep Conditioner

Just like the balm I showed above, this recipe is not hard. I think everyone at some point has added oil or honey to their favorite conditioner....this is just my take on it.

Ingredients & Directions:



1/4 cup of my Ayurvedic Herbal Oil
1/4 cup cup melted Mango butter
1/2 cup Trader Joes TTT cond
Spoonful of honey

Melt mango butter on top of candle warmer. Once fully melted, add in other ingredients and mix with hand mixer.






I don't have to deep condition often. Tea rinsing, just using regular rinse out conditioner & mango butter allows my hair to always be in a conditioned and balanced state of moisture and strength. I usually only deep condition after a full henna/indigo treatment or if I wanna be extra. So this recipe last me a long time.

Optional:

If I feel like I need extra moisture, I'll add in 1/2 teaspoon of aloe vera powder before applying.

If I feel like I need extra strength yet still want to keep it on the moisture side, I'll add in 5 drops of silk amino acids before applying.

Or whatever else if I feel like adding that I want to be extra with, but the base recipe works well on its own.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

I've listed just about all the stuff I hand make and use...none of which are hard.

Herbal Tea Rinses
Ayurvedic Herbal Oil
Mango Butter Balm
Herbal Shampoo
Moisture Deep Conditioner

The only other things I mix are henna/indigo treatments. We all know how to use that by mixing in water.

I'm not too keen on using gel in my hair, but if the occasion calls for it...I'll whip up some flaxseed gel to lay down the top of my hair.

 

[Sharpened]

 

[Sharpened]

I use a food scale to do my oil mixes so I can record the ratios more accurately and no measuring spoons to dirty up.
Here is my sample of cupuacu butter.

The weight of the jar. I had another on standby just in case:

I zeroed the jar's weight out and added the butter. I am happy I did not get cheated on weight (1 oz ≈ 28 g):

Added castor oil, emptying the bottle. I was aiming for a 2:1 ratio just to make it spreadable without whipping it. Close enough:

I used the empty jar to see how much water I needed for the bain marie. Here, it was floating around, so less water:

After I had adjusted the water level, I heated it until bubbles started to break the surface, removed from the heat, and lowered the full jar inside. This is after 5 minutes:

It took about 15 minutes to melt:

The jar was cool to the touch, so I set it on a paper towel and stirred it a few times with a chopstick as it solidified. These jars are so cute:

It firmed up overnight. I did not refrigerate because harder butters tend to separate from oils. The texture is similar to used shortening:

My skin was not impressed by this. I will test it the next time I do a wet pony puff.

 

[snoop]

Added castor oil, emptying the bottle. I was aiming for a 2:1 ratio just to make it spreadable without whipping it. Close enough:

My skin was not impressed by this. I will test it the next time I do a wet pony puff.

I imagine this is a heavy oily mixture?

 

[Sharpened]

I imagine this is a heavy oily mixture?

Yup, yup! I need to practice with the harder butters because cocoa butter is supposed to be a tricky one to work with.

 

[snoop]

Maybe a really light oil might work next time, like grapeseed.

I've used cupuacu for years, but I've never melted it down on its own to check it's properties. In fact, I've not done that for any of my hard butters. I think you've just given me a job for this week.

I made an oil mixture on Friday, using some hard butters and oils. I'll test it and post soon.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Cocoa, kokum & Capuacu are all butters I've tried alone as well as mixed with a smidgen of oil. They work well in my DC as I'm rinsing that out and removing that top greasy layer. Otherwise...fail.

My skin soaks them up though if I mix one with a softer butter like mango or shea. Especially kokum. It has a dry crusty kinda feel to it so it works well with blending with the soft butters.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Can we talk about our DIY body care experiments as well? @Sharpened

I was having issues locating a good Vanilla oil, so decided to make my own. So I'm soaking some Vanilla beans in a mix of Grapeseed and rice bran oil.



I plan to let it infuse until the first day of fall then use it to make Vanilla bean scented body cream, body scrub and perfume trio. Depending on how much oil I have left, I may add additional fragrance to it...not sure yet. I do have a natural pumpkin spice fragrance that would go perfect for fall weather.

 

[Sharpened]

I don't mind, @lulu97 this is not my forum, lol. Doing an oil infusion of dried jasmine petals and cinnamon is a idea I had planned for this winter. Those two scents are the top notes for every cologne I have ever loved.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

I don't mind, @lulu97 this is not my forum, lol. Doing an oil infusion of dried jasmine petals and cinnamon is a idea I had planned for this winter. Those two scents are the top notes for every cologne I have ever loved.

I peeped some whole jasmine flowers online at Vitacost a few months ago. Thanks for that reminder. Jasmine is one delicious smelling flower!

 

[snoop]

I've never tried infusing oils but that sounds like something to try.

Do any of you ever do emulsified mixes?

 

[snoop]

So here is the oil blend that I was experimenting with. I was going to try to make a dupe (or as close to) of Rainforest Chica's Glossy Hair Oil, but I substituted all but 1 ingredient so it's a completely different blend. The butters I used were ucuuba and tucuma (at 40% between the two butters) and the rest were various oils. The firs pic is of everything melted using a double boiler method. It was taking so long to firm that I thought I'd succeeded in making a product that was going to stay liquid. I put it in a bottle with a pump, but it firmed up in there. The second picture shows what it looks like, but it melts so easily in my hand (pic 3).

The only problem (for me) is that although this oil feels nice and light it doesn't fully absorb into my hair. I normally just use broccoli seed oil to seal and I'm good to go -- even when I'm heavy handed. But after the thread about the Chad Baggara Arabs I have been considering this an opportunity to pay attention to my ends by oiling them more. The unfortunate thing is that when I first went natural, oils would sit on my hair. Not a good thing for my furniture, sheets, clothes, walls, etc. So I'll have to experiment on how best to use this oil (hair? body?) and to decide whether or not I should make another batch after this one is done.

 

[Sharpened]

@snoop are you using it on wet, damp, or dry hair? I have found some oils work best on either wet hair or as a pretreatment.

How penetrating is broccoli seed oil?

 

[snoop]

@snoop are you using it on wet, damp, or dry hair? I have found some oils work best on either wet hair or as a pretreatment.

How penetrating is broccoli seed oil?

I'm using it on slightly damp hair -- it's the O in my LCO. Yesterday was my first time and I used it after washing as part of my LCO on freshly washed but very damp hair.

As for broccoli seed oil I can't really say how penetrating it is. I've been using it for about 2 years but I don't know if it makes a difference. I should say that before I started using it I experimented with just LC and I feel that my hair was doing well. When I did my Komaza Care hair analysis and mentioned that I was using broccoli seed oil she seemed pleased.

From New Directions Aromatics:

Description: The Broccoli Seed Carrier Oil is extracted using cold press method without the use of solvents, chemicals, or preservatives. The fatty acid composition of this oil is unique and composed of approximately 50% Erucic Acid (22:1). Its excellent anti-oxidant profile makes Brocccoli Seed Oil an easy substitute for the activity of silicones where the film forming activity results in a natural shine, and cuticle smoothing of the hair while preventing oxidation. The Broccoli Seed Oil is light, non-greasy, and is easily absorbed into the skin.