How to Be a Mad Scientist with Your Hair Products!

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Last updated on September 6th, 2024 at 11:31 pm

The decision to become a mad scientist (or you can call it a happy mixtress ) by making your own hair products can be fun. It can also save you money, which is often a concern for naturals who after a while have allowed themselves to become product junkies.

If you are ready to start saving money on hair products or you just want to create some DIY hair treats for the heck of it, this article will share some tips on how to do so.

The Characteristics of a Mad Scientist (or Sane Mixtress)

Before you can start whipping up your hair creations, you need to get into the right head space. The mad scientist for example is a doctor of sorts. He’s not afraid to try different concoctions and he thinks outside the box.

The mad scientist from the cartoons can be considered a bit deranged and some would say, evil. He’s quirky, outgoing, clever and highly organized.  Now, I don’t want you to get all crazy on me. The only characteristic I want you to pick up from this dude is creativity.

How to Be Creative

The key to mixing things up with creativity is that there are no rules. You’ll be making your own potions and while you still want to keep safety in mind (for ex: not mixing in any dangerous chemicals), you still want to make your creations without following any recipes to the letter.

You want to look at recipes to get an idea of what you’d like to make but for example, let’s say you are creating a Whipped Hair Butter and the recipe calls for Shea Butter and 1 essential oil for scent. Why not swap that Shea Butter for another butter like Mango or Cocoa and then toss in a few drops of different essential oils for a custom made scent?

Making Hair Products

Now that you have your creative cap on, it’s time to whip up some hair products!

There’s a number of different type of products you can make:

• Cleansers
• Hair masks (Deep conditioners and protein treatments)
• Moisturizers
• Stylers

To make the various products (the mad scientist or sane mixtress way), you need containers and ingredients.

A great place to get containers is SKS Bottle & Packaging. Their prices are very reasonable and they carry a wide range of containers in plastic and glass. Navigate their site using the “Shop by Industry” link to find what you need.

Most of the ingredients you’ll need for your hair products will be right in your own kitchen. Others you will need to pick up from specialty stores such as Butters ‘n Bars, Mountain Rose Herbs or even on Amazon.

A few key ingredients to use in cleansers include African Black Soap, Castile Soap, Coconut Milk, Camille Tea, Essential oils, and Clays.

For your deep conditioners, the list of ingredients you can toss together is endless and include Avocado, Honey, Oils, Shea Butter, Beeswax, Bananas, Mayonnaise, Herbal powders and more.

Moisturizers and stylers can be made with a combination of butters, natural gels (flaxseed or aloe vera) and oils. Try a variety of oils for a unique blend and don’t forget the essential oils for scent. Some of my personal favorites are lemongrass, sweet orange, peppermint and grapefruit.

Notice all of the ingredients used in your DIY creations are all natural so you don’t want to go too crazy with the amount you make. A good rule of thumb to follow is “less is more.” Make small batches – enough for 1-3 uses so you don’t waste product. The exception is whipped hair butters. These have a longer shelf life; especially when you add Vitamin E.

A Word on Measuring

By now you may be wondering, “How do I know how much of each ingredient to use?” That’s a good question because you do want your hair products to be pH balanced. You can purchase Litmus pH Test Strips to test your products pH level when you’re done making them (Read about pH Balanced Hair Care here).

As I mentioned earlier, you can look at recipes for inspiration. Just don’t follow them exactly. Be creative and make similar ingredient substitutions.

When it comes to using essential oils, 5-10 drops is a good guesstimation (the nose knows!). For natural carrier oils, estimating one teaspoon or tablespoon per cup of your main ingredient is a good “non-measurement.”

The main ingredient of your mixture is the item that’s added in abundance. For example, an Avocado Hair Mask would have about a cup of mashed avocado, so you could potentially add a teaspoon of coconut oil and a tablespoon of honey to the mix. Did you see what I did there? The main purpose of a deep conditioner is to add moisture to the hair. Honey is a humectant and coconut oil helps protect the hair’s moisture level.

Creating your all natural hair products is not only cost effective, it’s fun because the possibilities for your creations are extensive. Do a little research on the various natural ingredients I mentioned. Research their benefits and you’ll be able to whip up some great all natural hair products in no time flat.

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