This hair conditioner is made with a combination of carrot seed oil, carrot extract, and carrot essential oil. Carrot seed oil is known for its silky texture and carrot essential oil is known for its carotene and vitamin A content. Both ingredients leave hair feeling soft and moisturized.
Carrot essential oil does has a unique earthy smell. It’s not everybody’s favorite, but when mixed with Lavender Fine Essential Oil, the conditioner has an earthy, floral smell. Feel free to use any essential or fragrance oil you like in this recipe.
This conditioner has a thinner, more lightweight texture. If you prefer a thicker conditioner, decrease the water and increase the amount of cetearyl alcohol. The Ginger & Moringa Conditioner is a great example of a thicker, heavier conditioner. In general, this recipe may be better for finer hair that is easily weighed down.
What You Need: Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!Carrot Hair Conditioner Tutorial
Four 8 oz. Bail Jars
21 oz. Distilled Water (81%)
0.5 oz. DL-Panthenol (2%)
1.8 oz. BTMS-50 Conditioning Emulsifier (7%)
1.3 oz. Carrot Seed Oil (5%)
0.5 oz. Cetearyl Alcohol (2%)
0.3 oz. Carrot Extract (1%)
0.2 oz. Lavender Fine Essential Oil (1%)
0.1 oz. Carrot Seed Essential Oil (<1%)
0.3 oz. Optiphen (1%)
Find the supplies you need for this project below
EQUIPMENT PREP: Disinfect your utensils by dipping them in a 5% bleach water solution and allowing to dry. This includes mixing containers, your stick blender, and any spoons or spatulas that may come in contact with your lotion. Your products must be as free of germs, bacteria, and microbes as possible. To be safe, bleach water all your utensils.
ONE: In a heat-safe container, combine 1.3 ounces of carrot seed oil, 0.3 ounces of carrot extract, 0.5 ounces of cetearyl alcohol, and 1.8 ounces of BTMS-50. Heat the mixture in the microwave on 30-60 second bursts until the waxes are fully melted and the mixture is about 180° F.
TWO: In a separate large container, heat 21 ounces of distilled water in the microwave until it reaches about 160-170 ° F. Once the water reaches the correct temperature, some of it may evaporate. Remeasure and add more distilled water if necessary. Add 0.5 ounces of DL-Panthenol to the hot water and stir until dissolved.
THREE: Check the temperature of both containers. Each one should be about 160° F (the oils may be hotter). When they’re ready, tap your stick blender on the bottom of the bowl to release bubbles. Pour the oils and wax into the water and begin pulsing the stick blender. Blend the mixture for 2-3 minutes, making sure the oil and water phases are fully emulsified. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
FOUR: Continue stick blending until the temperature drops to about 140° F. Add 0.1 ounce of carrot essential oil, 0.2 ounces of Lavender Fine Essential Oil, 0.3 ounces of carrot extract, and 0.3 ounces of Optiphen. Stick blend for another 2-3 minutes to fully combine.
FIVE: Pour the mixture into jars. Let the jars sit overnight without the lids on (otherwise condensation can form inside the jars). Once the mixture is completely cool, shut the jars and enjoy. To use, apply the conditioner to wet hair after shampooing. Wait 2-3 minutes and rinse off.
- Four 8 oz. Bail Jars
- 21 oz. Distilled Water (81%)
- 0.5 oz. DL-Panthenol (2%)
- 1.8 oz. BTMS-50 Conditioning Emulsifier (7%)
- 1.3 oz. Carrot Seed Oil (5%)
- 0.5 oz. Cetearyl Alcohol (2%)
- 0.3 oz. Carrot Extract (1%)
- 0.2 oz. Lavender Fine Essential Oil (1%)
- 0.1 oz. Carrot Seed Essential Oil (<1%)
- 0.3 oz. Optiphen (1%)
- In a heat-safe container, combine 1.3 ounces of carrot seed oil, 0.3 ounces of carrot extract, 0.5 ounces of cetearyl alcohol, and 1.8 ounces of BTMS-50. Heat the mixture in the microwave on 30-60 second bursts until the waxes are fully melted and the mixture is about 180° F.
- In a separate large container, heat 21 ounces of distilled water in the microwave until it reaches about 160-170 ° F. Once the water reaches the correct temperature, some of it may evaporate. Remeasure and add more distilled water if necessary. Add 0.5 ounces of DL-Panthenol to the hot water and stir until dissolved.
- Check the temperature of both containers. Each one should be about 160° F (the oils may be hotter). When they’re ready, tap your stick blender on the bottom of the bowl to release bubbles. Pour the oils and wax into the water and begin pulsing the stick blender. Blend the mixture for 2-3 minutes, making sure the oil and water phases are fully emulsified. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Continue stick blending until the temperature drops to about 140° F. Add 0.1 ounce of carrot essential oil, 0.2 ounces of Lavender Fine Essential Oil, 0.3 ounces of carrot extract, and 0.3 ounces of Optiphen. Stick blend for another 2-3 minutes to fully combine.
- Pour the mixture into jars. Let the jars sit overnight without the lids on (otherwise condensation can form inside the jars). Once the mixture is completely cool, shut the jars and enjoy. To use, apply the conditioner to wet hair after shampooing. Wait 2-3 minutes and rinse off.
can i use 8 tablespoons of oil instead of 2?
That would throw off the emulsion and cause your product to be heavy and also cause separation, so we can’t recommend it. You’d have to scale up the entire recipe if you wanted to use more oil.
can i use like 8 tablespoons of avocado oil? would i have to add more of anything if i add more oil?
Can you substitute the Carrot Seed Oil with Avocado Oil?
I think the Avocado Oil would be a good substitute for the Carrot Seed Oil.
Avocado Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/shop-by-product/ingredients/oils/avocado-oil/V000524.html
Hi
Can I skip DL-Panthenol in this recipe? And.. I have noticed that you have used the Preservative Optiphen in all you recipes. Can I replace it with ‘Phenoxyethanol’? Please guide.
Sure, though the DL-Panthenol does make the recipe feel more luxurious. Phenonip is Phenoxyethanol and we use that as a substitute for Optiphen frequently so that should be just fine to use.
I have a conditioner question in general. I bought stephensons conditioner base, but im finding its not moisturizing enough. can i add argan oil? if so how would you recommend I emulsify it, whip it again?
What would be a good sub for the cetearyl alcohol in this recipe? I want to try this with raspberry seed oil and raspberry fragrance.
You would want to use another emulsifier to keep the recipe from separating, like Emulsifying Wax.
https://www.brambleberry.com/Emulsifying-Wax-P4896.aspx
Okay thanks! Added to my wish list.
I noticed your cetearyl alcohol has been discontinued. Could I use stearic acid instead of cetearyl alcohol in this recipe?
Cetearyl Alcohol is a co-emulsifier used in combination with Btms-50 for this recipe. Stearic Acid won’t work quite the same since it is more used as a thickener in lotions. You could give that a try though if you experience any separation without the Cetearyl Alcohol you would want to add in another emulsifier, like Emulsifying Wax.
Emulsifying Wax: https://www.brambleberry.com/Emulsifying-Wax-P4896.aspx
my hair is starting to thin out. what is your best sleeve -on conditioner that I can make at home?
We have a Leave-In Argan Oil Conditioner you may like: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/sizzling-summer-hair-leave-argan-oil-conditioner/
It’s intended to moisturize and hydrate the hair, not stimulate hair growth. It hasn’t been tested to prove that it will do that.
Can I leave this conditioner in my hair or I have to wash it?
This conditioner is meant to be rinsed out of the hair. You can try it as a leave-in conditioner if you like – I would recommend testing a small part of your hair on the ends to make sure you like the way it feels.
You may also like this Leave-In Argan Oil Conditioner recipe: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/sizzling-summer-hair-leave-argan-oil-conditioner/
Can this recipe be put into bottles or is it too thick?
This recipe is thin enough to put into bottles. These disk cap bottles are a good option: https://www.brambleberry.com/8-oz-Bottles-Black-Disk-Cap-P4455.aspx
Hey…. The place where I live btms50 isn’t available… What could substitute it.. Will armocare suffice…
You could try another emulsifier like Polawax Emulsifying Wax, or Bio-Mulsion Wax. We have not tested this recipe with another emulsifier, so you may want to make a small test batch because it may change the texture. The blog post below has tips for creating your own emulsified products like this one.
How to Create Homemade Lotion Recipes:
https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/how-to-create-homemade-lotion-recipes/
I agree the scent of the carrot seed essential oil is “unique”. I used it in a hair and skin oil that is 50/50 Argan oil and Jojoba along with some Lavender EO to help with the earthy scent. I love how it helps my hair and the skin on my neck, but I always use it at night so the scent dissipates by morning.
We found the combination of carrot and lavender essential oils to be really nice as well. Your recipe sounds great!
Thank you so much for sharing all the D.I.Y body products here. Being a freelance writer ( http://essaycaptains.com/ ) I don’t get much time for shopping and all, also I don’t prefer any other product since i get allergic to most of the products. So I usually make everything at home by using the favorable products for my body. So thanking you so much for sharing everything here.
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Could I use Optiphen ND for this?
Yes, you can use Optiphen ND if you prefer. In our experience, we’ve found that Optiphen works better for oil based recipes, like lotion that has BTMS-50. Optiphen ND works better for water-based recipes like toners, that don’t contain BTMS-50.