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Homemade hair conditioners are great for keeping your hair soft and shiny. And while many commercial products contain harsh chemicals, artificial fragrances, and dyes that can damage your hair over time, this homemade hair conditioner bar contains minimal, natural ingredients to nourish and strengthen hair.
This post was originally published on July 7th, 2020, and has been updated with more relevant information and a revised recipe.
Making these homemade conditioner bars was certainly a process of getting the perfect recipe nailed down.
In the end, though, I think we finally have the perfect solid conditioner bars to moisturize and repair damaged hair.
Beginning my hair care journey years and years ago with a simple DIY dry shampoo spray, I had made it a goal to convert all the hair products I used at the time (and ones I’ve added since) over to a more natural alternative.
What is a hair conditioner bar?
A hair conditioner bar is essentially a homemade hair conditioner in a solid form. They are becoming increasingly popular for a number of reasons, including they are great for travel and are inexpensive to make.
Homemade conditioner bars are straightforward to make and will last forever! Well, not quite forever, but a little goes a very long way compared to liquid conditioner.
Why make your own hair conditioner bars?
Let’s face it; it would be a whole lot easier to go the natural route by simply buying natural, organic hair care products.
But as you probably know, without your personal money tree, it’s hardly practical.
In addition, many products labeled ‘natural’ often turn out to be not all that natural after all.
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Conditioner bar recipe
What You Will Need
- Cocoa butter
- Coconut oil
- Emulsifying wax
- Vitamin B5
- Vitamin E oil
- Essential oils (optional)
- Double boiler or a small glass bowl and saucepan
- Silicone molds
INSTRUCTIONS
Add the cocoa butter, coconut oil, and emulsifying wax to a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can place a glass bowl over a pot of water and bring it to a boil.
Once the ingredients are melted, remove the bowl from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. You don’t want it to ‘set up’ just cool enough to work with.
Finally, add the remainder of the ingredients in with the oils and stir well.
Transfer the melted conditioner into silicone molds to harden.
They should be ready to pop out of the molds in just a few hours but definitely allow the conditioner bars to harden for 2-3 days before using to receive the maximum life out of them.
How to use conditioner bars
Rub your homemade conditioner bar between your hands and apply it to the hair. Use a wide-tooth comb to evenly distribute the conditioner for curly or thick hair.
Leave the conditioner in the hair for several minutes before rinsing with warm water.
For tangly hair, follow up with a DIY hair detangler spray.
Why I chose these ingredients
Each of the ingredients listed below are necessary for making a long-lasting, effective hair conditioner bar.
Cocoa butter
Cocoa butter smells as good as it sounds. It is very versatile with incredible benefits for the skin and hair.
With its fantastic moisturizing properties, cocoa butter works excellently at conditioning the hair. In addition, it provides shine, protects against split ends, and softens hair.
And best of all, any leftover cocoa butter can be used to make homemade chocolates!
Coconut oil
Oh, the superfood coconut oil! You probably would be more shocked if it didn’t appear in this conditioner bar recipe. I buy coconut oil in bulk and use it daily for skin care, hair care, and even in the kitchen.
Coconut oil is very moisturizing, and can help with dandruff, dry scalp, split ends, and hair breakage. I even have a coconut oil hair mask, which is ideal when your hair needs a little extra TLC.
Essential oils (fragrance)
Essential oils are a great way to add a beautiful scent to your conditioner. And the sky is the limit when it comes to which oils to choose. In this case, I went with the refreshing citrus aromas of tangerine and lemon.
Give this combination a try, make up your own blend or give one of the blends below a try.
Choosing the fragrance
Wild Forest for men
- 6 drops sandalwood
- 3 drops rosemary
- 3 drops lemongrass
Floral Fresh for women
- 5 drops lavender
- 3 drops of clary sage
- 2 drops of wild orange
- 2 drops lime
Gentle and Calm
- 3 drops lavender
- 1 drop of Roman Chamomile
Why you will love these conditioner bars:
Have a super long shelf-life. Homemade conditioner bars are one of my favorite products to make. I love that they can last for years with very little money out of my pocket.
Little to no impact on the environment. These conditioner bars are made using eco-friendly ingredients naturally derived from plants.
The recipe can be adjusted even after the bars are made. So while this conditioner bar recipe will work for most hair types, If you do find the need to fine-tune some of the ingredients, simply melt it back down, make your adjustments and let it reharden back in the molds.
A travel-friendly hair care product. Your hair deserves so much more than a travel-sized hotel shampoo/conditioner. Bring your conditioner bar with you for your next holiday travels or last-minute work trip.
P.S. Don’t forget your travel-friendly DIY shampoo bar to take along with you.
FAQs/Tips
- The conditioner bars will last between 60-100 washes. Remember, less is best.
- These bars are very effective, perfect for anyone who washes their hair once or twice a week.
- Shelf life is right around 2 years when stored properly. I.e., a cool, dry place.
- Cocoa butter can be substituted for shea or mango butter. Note: using shea butter will result in a softer bar.
- Coconut oil will melt at temperatures over 76°. If that is the case, you will need to store these bars in the fridge or a cooler area in the home.
Wrapping up
As with any natural conditioner, if you are making the switch from conventional products, there will be an adjustment period as your hair adapts to the new routine.
Be patient and trust me; it is totally worth it, and you will be thrilled with the results!
During this transition time, remember that this DIY dry shampoo is your friend and washing with a homemade natural shampoo is a must.
Please note, that this is an updated recipe. I have had many readers comment that their hair felt greasy after using.
And while training your hair to adapt to natural products or more infrequent washes, the hair is going to be more greasy. I was able to make a few adjustments to help with it.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you found this hair conditioner bar recipe to be just what you were looking for. And if you love natural hair care products, be sure and check out some of these popular products below!
- Homemade nourishing hair serum
- DIY hair spray
- Natural DIY clarifying shampoo
- Cold-process shampoo bars or hair growth mask
- DIY leave-in conditioner
Homemade Conditioner Bars
Equipment
- Double Boiler
- Silicone molds
Ingredients
- ½ cup of cocoa butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon of emulsifying wax
- 1 teaspoon of vitamin B5
- 10 drops of vitamin E oil
- 8 drops of tangerine essential oil
- 4 drops of lemon essential oil
Instructions
- Melt cocoa butter, coconut oil, and emulsifying wax in a double boiler. Or make your own double boiler by placing a glass bowl over a pot of water and bringing it to a boil.
- Once the ingredients are melted, remove the bowl from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. You don't want it to 'set up' just cool enough to work with.
- Finally, add the remainder of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
- Transfer the melted conditioner to the molds to dry.
I make shampoo bars in bulk, 14 lbs. at a time (once a year for gifts only – I never sell my soap) and am looking to make a conditioner bar In the same amount. What is the total weight of this recipe.
.
How can we measure cocoa butter in cups? It is so hard and difficult to measure that way. Could you please tell us the quantities in grs? Thank you!!
I cut it into cubes and put it in a measuring cup, it doesn’t have to be exact.
If I were to store a bunch of these…would I need one of those dry packets that takes away moisture and throw it into the mason jar…or would that defeat the purpose of having a conditioner/moisturize? Or is it good enough to just put it in a mason jar with a top that screws down? How long would these be good for?
I leave them in a basket in my bathroom closet, that is what I do with all of my soap bars to after they cure and they are good for a year like that!
Hi, I was wondering if there is an alternative to the beeswax, to make these bars vegan?
Soy wax
Can I replace shea with kokum butter? Tia.
Hi Laura, I am very excited to try these conditioner bars. I reviewed many of the comments and wonder about the following:
1) would adding a tiny amount of SLSA (for its surfactant properties) help with the “greasiness”?
2) What amount of carrier oil is used if I scale up or down the recipe (do you have an appropriate percentage to follow)?
3) Are you able to provide recipe in grams? I used a converter to estimate based on your recipe.
4) can I “rebatch” these bars like soap if I want to experiment? Or would that destroy the properties of the oils?
Hi Jacki, you have some really good questions. I am looking for a conditioner bar recipe and happened upon this one. However, after examining the ingredients I can say with certainty that this is a lotion bar, not a hair conditioner bar which explains all the comments about greasiness. And I think I can answer your first question. You don’t want to add a surfactant to a conditioner as they are specifically for cleansing and are great in shampoo bars. And finally, I am grateful to all the diy bloggers out there … I have learned a lot from so many of them. However, I have yet to find a conditioner bar recipe that is a) an actual conditioner and b) if actually a conditioner, has a list of ingredients feasible for me to obtain without spending way too much money. So the search continues.
I am looking at the recipe and I cannot see how it would lather. How is that possible? It’s all oil and beeswax which would basically make a lotion bar. It’s not made like it’s a soap which requires sodium hydroxide. I can see this mixture just feeling like a lotion bar. Help me out here? I’d like to make this but I can’t see how it would work very well and I don’t want to end up wasting ingredients.
It doesn’t lather the way traditional conditioner does.