Homemade leave-in conditioner

I have never really been a fan of leave in conditioners until the past few months. I have created a "concoction" that leaves my hair perfect every single day- I am amazed.
 
  First some history- I have long (bra strap length hair that I so wish was waist length but it never seems to grow) that is normal/thin and slightly wavy verging on very wavy in high humidity.

 Normally I would use big- brand- yet- still- grocery -store shampoos and conditioners such as Pantene, L'oreal(a favorite) Herbal Essences, Dove (another favorite) and Garnier Fructis with decent results, however I had a long term  gastro-intestinal illness back around the holidays (and I am still dealing with it)  that made my hair freak out. Every shampoo I used made my head itch  like crazy and every conditioner left my hair greasy, like I hadn't rinsed it greasy- weird. Desperate I turned to the basics- a "cheapy" shampoo and silicone free conditioner, first baby shampoo and vo5 conditioner then to Suave Coconut Tropical Coconut shampoo and conditioner which seems to be almost perfect, however, this duo still left my color-treated (black) hair a little dry at the ends. In comes my "concoction".


 After a ton of research  on ingredients and reading reviews I have found the perfect leave-in recipe with drugstore products.

  Needed-

   1.   V05 silky experiences conditioner in cashmere and shea (very new -and god I hope they never discontinue it) only found it a my local Giant grocery and Walmart, .99 cents for 15 oz.  

                                and

 2.   Johnson and Johnson cocoa and shea baby oil ( it needs to be this specifically-regular baby oil works ok but not as well a this stuff)  It is slightly more expensive than plain old baby oil but sooo worth it. Also Found at my local grocery and Walmart.



  Simply place a pea sized amount of the conditioner on your palm and then add 2- 3 drops of the baby oil.  Rub your hands together to mix and distribute the ingredients. Work into towel dried damp hair- this is key its does not perform as well on dry hair, - apply from ends up then comb through .

 I air dry my hair and using this leave-in my hair is soft, silky and shiny but never weighed down. Plus the  conditioner has a wonderful vanilla scent and the baby oil has a great scent that remind me of something tropical, unlike a traditional baby oil powdery scent. the scent will fade if you are afraid of it overpowering your perfume.

  Honestly for around 5 bucks I have more than enough enough stuff to make a leave in that lasts more than a year.

 NOTE-  I have also made this leave in using Suaves new Keratin leave-in conditioner. Speciffically 1/2 pea sized drop vo5 to 1/2 peas sized suave to 3 drops baby oil. Works slightly better- more shine but not as economical and not really sure if extra step is worth it. I had the Sauve Keratin leave-in on hand so wanted to use it up. This however is worth consideration and maybe be better for those with very coarse dry hair  (use slightly more accordingly).  Suave's Keratin leave-in runs around $4.00 also at Walmart and local grocery. 


 In case your are wondering,  I also have used this recipe with Suaves coconut conditioner in place of the Vo5 but it did not perform as well and I have also used Vo5's srawberries and cream conditioner in place of the Cashmere and Shea and it did not perform as well, I am convinced the Cashmere and Shea conditioner and the cocoa and shea baby oil are the true keys to the performance of this leave-in.


 Just because this recipe is perfection for me doesn't mean you can't tweek it for you. If your hair is thinner try using less baby oil, Thicker hair more baby oil. Either way this is so much cheaper than buying a "regular" leave-in and in my experience better.