How to Make Your Own Hair Care Products

Treat your hair to some special care and save money at the same time with these easy recipes for shampoos, conditioners, bleaches, and dressings. You can even treat dandruff with one of the recipes. All of these products use ingredients you can find in your local pharmacy and grocery store.

Bronze Henna Shampoo

Henna, a centuries-old favorite, won't damage your hair the way dye or bleach can. To give a bronze or reddish cast to dark hair, try this gentle henna shampoo.

Equipment:

• Measuring cup
• Saucepan
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing spoon
• Pint container with cap
• Funnel
• Coffee filter
• Sharp knife

Ingredients:

• Water
• Powdered henna
• Borax
• Liquid laundry bluing
• Castile soap

Yield: About 1/2 pint

Pour 1 cup of water into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Remove it from the heat and add 1 teaspoon of powdered henna, 1/4 teaspoon of borax, and 1/4 teaspoon of liquid laundry bluing. Stir the mixture and strain it into a pint container through a funnel lined with a clean coffee filter. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Cut a small, hand-size cake of castile soap into quarters with a sharp knife. Cut one quarter of the soap into shavings, and add the shavings to the mixture. Heat the mixture over a low flame until the soap dissolves, and strain it again into the pint container. Cover it tightly.

Protein Shampoo

Mix this high-protein shampoo fresh whenever you need it -- it does the job at least as well as store-boughts.

Equipment:

• Small mixing bowl
• Electric mixer or egg beater
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing spoon

Ingredients:

• Egg white
• Water
• Gelatin
• Ammonia
• Cologne
• Rubbing alcohol

Yield: Enough for one shampoo

In a small mixing bowl, beat the white of an egg until frothy with an electric mixer or egg beater. Soften 1 packet of gelatin in 1/4 cup of warm water and add the mixture to the egg white; mix well. Add 3 tablespoons of ammonia and mix thoroughly. Add a few drops of your favorite cologne to mask the ammonia. Finally, add 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and mix thoroughly.

Shampoo the mixture thoroughly into your hair; only one application is necessary. Rinse your hair thoroughly and apply a standard conditioning rinse as directed.

Cream Shampoo

For a natural, gentle, effective shampoo, mix this simple cream formula.

Equipment:

• Measuring cup
• Saucepan
• Mixing spoons
• Quart jar with cover

Ingredients:

• Water
• Soap flakes
• Glycerin
• Borax
• Perfume

Yield: About 1 quart

Measure 2 cups of water into a saucepan and heat it. Add 1 cup of soap flakes to the hot water and stir to dissolve. Remove the pan from the heat and add 11/2 cups of glycerin and 3/4 cup of borax; if desired, add a few drops of your favorite perfume. Stir the mixture thoroughly. Pour it into a quart jar and cover it; let it cool completely before using.

Dandruff Treatment

Troubled by dandruff? This dandruff treatment should work wonders.

Equipment:

• Measuring cup
• Small saucepan
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing spoon
• Small jar with cover

Ingredients:

• Mineral oil
• Anhydrous lanolin (Buy lanolin at a pharmacy.)
• Tincture of iodine

Yield: About 6 ounces

Measure 1/2 cup of mineral oil into a small saucepan and warm it over a low flame. Empty a 1-ounce tube of anhydrous lanolin into the warm oil and add 2 teaspoons tincture of iodine; stir to blend thoroughly and remove from the heat. Pour the warm mixture into a small jar and cover it tightly.

Massage the lotion into the scalp daily.

Liquid Hair Bleach

This gentle liquid hair bleach is easy to mix and use.

Equipment:

• Measuring cup
• Small saucepan
• Eyedropper
• Mixing spoon
• Bowl

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• Hydrogen peroxide (3 percent solution)
• Ammonia

Yield: Enough for one application

Measure 1/4 cup of vegetable oil into a small saucepan, and heat it gently over low heat until it's warm. Remove from the heat. Add 1/4 cup of 3 percent solution hydrogen peroxide and 20 drops of ammonia; stir to blend. Pour the bleach into a bowl.

To use the bleach, swab the mixture into the hair with absorbent cotton. Leave it on the hair for about 20 minutes; rinse thoroughly and shampoo.

Hair Dressing

To keep unruly hair in place, try this lightly scented conditioning dressing.

Equipment:

• Double boiler
• Measuring spoons
• Small saucepan
• Measuring cup
• Mixing spoon
• Small jar with cover

Ingredients:

• Beeswax
• Castor oil
• Anhydrous lanolin
• Vegetable oil
• Oil of bergamot

Note: Buy beeswax, lanolin, and oil of bergamot at a pharmacy.

Yield: About 3/4 cup

In the top of a double boiler, slowly melt 1/2 ounce of beeswax, about 1 tablespoon. In a small saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of castor oil, 1/4 cup of anhydrous lanolin, and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; stir to blend the oils. Add the melted beeswax to the oils and stir well; then add 2 teaspoons of oil of bergamot and stir again. Pour the mixture into a clean jar and let cool.

To use the dressing, place a small dab on one palm and rub your palms together to spread it; run your hands through your hair to distribute the dressing evenly. Use only a little; more than a dab will make your hair greasy.

Scented Setting Cream

Make this cream to help your hair hold a style longer.

Equipment:

• Measuring cup
• Mixing bowl
• Mixing spoon
• Measuring spoons
• Small jar with cover

Ingredients:

• Powdered karaya gum (Buy karaya gum at a pharmacy.)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Perfume or cologne
• Borax

Yield: Enough for one application

Measure 1/2 cup of powdered karaya gum into a mixing bowl. Add just enough rubbing alcohol to give the mixture the consistency of thick, heavy syrup; mix well until the mixture is free of lumps. Add 1 or 2 drops of perfume or cologne and mix thoroughly.

To mix enough lotion for future use, double the ingredients and add 2 teaspoons of borax as a preservative. Spoon the mixture into a small jar and cover it tightly.

Use the cream as you would a commercial preparation.

Quantity Waving Lotion

Add some spring to your curls with this gentle lotion.

Equipment:

• Measuring cup
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing spoon
• Pint jar with cover

Ingredients:

• Rose water
• Tragacanth gum
• Glycerin

Note: Buy the ingredients at a pharmacy.

Yield: 1 pint

Measure 2 cups of rose water into a mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of tragacanth gum and 2 tablespoons of glycerin. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Pour the lotion into a pint jar and cover it tightly.

Use the lotion as you would a commercial preparation.

You can also make your own facial care products, and can tailor them to your own skin type and needs. See the next page of this article to learn how to make your own facial masks, lip creams, and skin whiteners.

• Home Remedies for Oily Skin: In this article, you will learn how to change your diet and beauty routine to combat oily skin and acne.
  
• Home Remedies for Oily Hair: Here you will find some simple solutions you can try at home to combat oily hair.
  
• Home Remedies for Dry Hair: Dry hair can result from a number of factors including the shampoo you’re using and heredity. In this article, you will learn how to relieve dry hair at home.