In the spirit of Anky's intriguing post, I thought I'd try to shed some light on what usually goes into the thought process of making these mystery conditioners that Dominican stylists make at the salon.
There are certain ingredients that Dominicanas tend to associate with and prescribe for certain hair problems. Often, these "associations" inform their special conditioner mixes. Here are some of the ones I know of:
Dryness/Lack of Softness: Avocado, Olive Oil, Aloe Vera, Coconut, Silk (usually worm), Jojoba
Shedding (otherwise refered to as "falling hair")and Growth: Garlic, Wheat Germ, Cinnamon, Rosemary
Dullness: Silicone, Honey, Olive Oil, Strawberry, Placenta, Coconut, Jojoba, Almond
Strength: Lecithin, Egg, Milk, Collagen, Placenta, Whale Sperm
So what they usually do is:
1. identify the problem/s
2. find a conditioner formula (or several) with ingredients that target the problem/s, to use as a "base" for the whole formula
3. mix them all up with oils, and some natural ingredients to make special formulas all their own.
Some salons even sell them as a special treatment - you've seen them...it comes out of a big vat by the sink marked "treatment" with a sharpie, and it's almost always some greenish hue. :haha:
Anyway - I digress...
So a person who wanted to correct weak, dull hair might find their Dom. stylist mixing up a formula that contained: Lecithin, Olive Oil, Collagen, Silicone, and Coconut. To do this they might choose the actual ingredient (aloe vera gel from the plant, coconut milk, EEVO, cow or goat's milk, liquid lecithin) or a conditioner with that ingredient already in it, or some combination of the two.
They almost always add a bit of plain Olive Oil to the mix as well as it helps emulsify whatever you're concocting. They'll add other ingredients in the form of their essential oil sometimes too. Cinnamon oil, or Rosemary oil for instance. They also sometimes add "essences" - water based extracts of herbs like Rosemary. Sometimes too, they add plain old water, to loosen things up a bit.
So there is some method to the madness. Now that you know what some of the common uses are tho, get creative!
Hope this helps you guys organize your thoughts as you ponder Anky's post, and become Dominican conditioner making aficionados!
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