I warn you in advance...this is a long post. I thought I'd post some thoughts on making conditioner...it's not meant as the end all and be all of making conditioner, but just what I've learned so far.
Basics for a very thick conditioner...
7% BTMS-50
.5 to 1% preservative of choice (I use .5% germall plus)
water to get to 100%
Water and BTMS into a double boiler. Heat and hold until the BTMS has melted completely (at least 20 minutes). Let cool. Add preservative. Rejoice!
It's basic, and it will work. But where's the good stuff? Always ask yourself -- what exactly am I looking for in a conditioner? Moisturization, detangling, de-frizzing? Everyone has different needs, so figure out what you want, then work backwards with your ingredients.
As a note on the BTMS -- you can go lower if you want. This recipe will be very thick. But I have chosen 7% to ensure it will emulsify the oils and silicones -- start at 3.5% if you want something thinner.
Liquids - you can substitute some of the water for various liquids like aloe, hydrosols, etc. I'm only starting to experiment with hydrosols like neroli, lavender, and rose right now, so I don't know much.
Hydrolyzed proteins (oat, silk, wheat, soy, etc.) -- 1 to 2%. These are film forming and offer some moisturization without oils.
Silicones, cyclomethicone or dimethicone -- up to 2% each - dimethicone offers a bit of "conditioning" and helps with frizzies, cyclomethicone is good for frizzies.
Oils - up to 6% - choose a hair loving oil like jojoba, coconut, or camellia. Sea Buckthorn is apparently very good, but expensive. Avocado can be good for dandruff prone hair. Coconut is supposed to be great for hair in general. If you have oily hair, you might want to avoid the oils...instead choose...
Cetyl alcohol -- up to 3% -- this offers "oil free" moisturization.
Panthenol -- up to 2% - the vitamin B5 is good for hair...
Humectants - various amounts - glycerine, honeyquat -- offers moisturization to your hair. And the glycerin does add some thickness to the mixture. Olive oil is a great humectant, so you could add it as an oil at a low percentage for a two-fer! Honeyquat is also a good conditioning agent, so you could add this to do double duty.
Cetrimonium chloride (cetac) - up to 2.5% - great for detangling!
Other quats - honeyquat, celquat, condition-eze 7 (polyqyuat 7), etc. -- these are conditioning polymers, which means they aren't great on their own but add some oomph to your conditioning. Some are also humectants. Each has their own suggested usage, so check the bottle. (I use condition-eze 7 at 2 to 3%). Celquat will thicken your mixture substantially as it tends to gel things, so check your consistency.
A note about Incroquat CR - it is not an emulsifier like the BTMS and makes a "cream rinse". It is a great way of stretching out the more expensive BTMS. Use at up to 5% for conditioning and anti-static properties. If you are going to use this, use less BTMS -- start at 4% BTMS and 5% CR (keeping in mind your emulsification needs...)
Extracts - rosemary, Multifruit BSC, etc. -- again, these have their own usage rates and purposes. For instance, rosemary is suggested at .5% to help with oily hair and claims to stimulate hair growth (not making claims, just reading the package).
Essential oils and fragrance oils -- up to 1% for FOs, check the EOs you want to use to see what the guidelines might be. There are many EOs suggested for hair.
Check your chosen ingredients to see when you would add them to the conditioner. The BTMS, oils, cetyl alcohol, incroquat CR, and some humectants will be added in the heating stage. Others like the hydrolyzed proteins, some quats, some extracts, some hydrosols, silicones, your preservative, and EOs or FOs will be added in the cool down stage.
So what are you looking for in a conditioner? I'll use my hair as an example -- I have waist length, frizzy, coarse hair that gets oily in two days. My goals with a conditioner are to condition, detangle, moisturize without oils, de-frizz, and keep it from getting oily in two days! So my choices in making a conditioner would be...
7% BTMS
.5% preservative
2% cromoist -- my hair hates silk, so I have chosen oat protein
2% panthenol - is supposed to keep my hair healthy
2% cetac - detangling is a must for me!
2% cyclo - defrizzing action
2% dimethicone - again with the defrizzing action
2% cetyl alcohol - moisturization without oils
1% EOs -- oily hair blend - equal parts rosemary, clary sage, cedarwood, and lemon
water up to 100%
My friend has very dry, curly, dyed hair. Her goals are moisturization and conditioning. So for her conditioner I'd use...
7% BTMS
.5% preservative
2% silk - she loves this stuff
2% panthenol
6% oils - sea buckthorn, camellia, and jojoba -- all hair loving oils
2% cetyl alcohol - can't get enough moisture for her
2% honeyquat or glycerin - again, humectants are good for dry hair
2% dimethicone - extra conditioning, soft feeling
1% FO - she likes black raspberry vanilla
water to 100%
And my best friend has normal hair. Our goal is to condition, keep it healthy, and give her a nice scent.
7% BTMS
.5% preservative
2% cromoist
2% panthenol
2% dimethicone - for the soft feeling, not de-frizzing
1% FO - she changes her choice every time we make it!
water to 100%
I hope this information helps!
