Learn to make Shampoo and Conditioner in this episode of Soap Queen TV.
I love making my own hair care products so I can scent them with my favorite fragrances and layer my signature scents with matching bar soaps and lotions (for a subtle scent that lasts all day)! Making hair conditioner is just as easy as making lotion. You won’t believe how fast and economical this project is.
As a special bonus, I made the label template used in the video available as a free download on the Bramble Berry web site- Check it out here!
How to Make Shampoo and Conditioner from Soap Queen on YouTube.
Fragrance Blend:
1 part Rosemary Essential oil
1 part Peppermint 1st dist. Essential oil
1 part Tahitian Vanilla Fragrance
For the Shampoo:
1/4 oz Fragrance Oil Blend
10 oz. Shampoo Base
For the Conditioner:
2 grams Liquid Silk
22 grams Liquid Glycerin
35 grams BTMS-50
13 grams Jojoba Oil
6 grams Sweet Almond Oil
12 grams DL-Panthenol
374 grams Distilled Water
4 grams Fragrance Oil Blend
4 grams Optiphen
Get everything you need to make this project added to your Bramble Berry shopping cart by clicking here.
Thsnk you so much for again another wonderful recipe. I love it not just does it comdition my hair but my hands are so soft. I did and shea butter instead of the liquid silk. I will be trying pistachio butter in my bext batch. What does make the conditioner thicker? Is it the oils or BTMS-50? Thanks just wondering. Have a great day!
Good morning, Dawn! It is the BTMS-50 and less water that makes the condition thicker.
Btms- 50 Conditioning Emulsifier: https://www.brambleberry.com/Btms-50-Conditioning-Emulsifier-P3623.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I’d like to try this recipe out, but am unable to locate the liquid silk on the bramble berry website. Is or will it still be available to order?
Good morning, Angel! Unfortunately, we have discontinued the Liquid Silk, but you can still make a fabulous conditioner with out it. I’d suggest trying out a few of these extracts that are known to be great for the hair and scalp:
Nettle Extract: https://www.brambleberry.com/Nettle-Extract-P3835.aspx
Carrot Extract: https://www.brambleberry.com/Carrot-Extract-P4936.aspx
Calendula Extract: https://www.brambleberry.com/Calendula-Extract-P3836.aspx
Avocado Extract: https://www.brambleberry.com/Avocado-Extract-P4931.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
This Conditioner is Fabulous!! My daughter has thin, fine hair, and I have thick coarse wavy hair, both long, and it works great for us!! Going to make more now. Can I make it unscented, then separate and scent it later? Thanks!!
i have very dry hair and i’m wondering if it is possible to substitute the oils in the conditioner recipe to something that is more moisturizing without making the hair too oily? i was told that olive oil is good for hair, i wonder if i can use that in place of sweet almond oil…
Hi Joyce!
You can definitely play around with the oils in the conditioner if you find them too be too oily for you. I’d make a small batch using the oils your want to use and see if it works for your hair! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Are there any books you would suggest reading to learn how to formulate your own conditioner? Thanks!
Good morning Toni!
If you are looking for some simple recipes to formulate your own conditioner, I’d try the Herbal Home Spa by Greta Breedlove, it has a great section on shampoos and conditioners!
https://www.brambleberry.com/Herbal-Home-Spa-Book-1-Book-P3728.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
i made the conditioner i used it but… it was to thin of a conditioner for me i have dyed long curly hair i was wondering can i get a recipe for thickening this recipe up and to make it more tangle free
You could try something like this:
2 grams Liquid Silk
25 grams Liquid Glycerin
40 grams BTMS-50
15 grams Jojoba Oil
6 grams Sweet Almond Oil
12 grams DL-Panthenol
360 grams Distilled Water
4 grams Fragrance Oil Blend
4 grams Optiphen
That should get you a thicker product (about 10% thicker) and we can keep tweaking until we get to where you want to be.
Thanks ,It was thicker. I tried the new recipe but i still could not get a brush through my hair. What can i do to make it more tangle free?
Hi Donna!
It looks like Kristen already beat me to it! She got your email, and will answer you from there. I hope you two come up with the perfect recipe. 🙂
-Courtney with Bramble Berry
Hello Anne-Marie,
I have another question.Again about the conditioner. I added all the ingredients and heated till BTMS melted. Then tried to mix it, but I ended up with my emulsion separated and BTMS wasted 🙂 I would like to ask you what could be the reason for water and oils separation? Thank you.
Silly question, but are you sure it’s BTMS-50 and not beeswax? The two can look the same AND beeswax would separate out like that. Does it smell “synthetic” or does it smell like beeswax? That’s my first thought. Second thought is that you didn’t have a stable enough emulsion and it needed to be stirred longer.
Well, it was BTMS-50 🙂 I stirred not less than 15 minutes. Could the problem that I didn’t heat the water in which BTMS and other ingredients were added? I put everything to the cold water and then heated it.
I’m not sure that was the problem – it could have been – though I’m wondering about how you were stirring? Did you use a stick blender or something else? Either way, the emulsion wasn’t stable (for whatever reason – still diagnosing that!) so that’s why it separated on you.
Thank you Anne-Marie, I think it’s jsut the matter of trying and fails are also useful to have.Anyway, will try again 🙂 Thank you for shampoo recipe, I love it!
Thank you for such a good tutorial. I have a question about measures 🙂 It’s baout the conditioner. What is the total wieght of the conditioner made in the tutorial? I d not need that much and trying to figure out how to calculate the ingredients for a smaller volumes. Would you be so kind to advise the % of each ingredient? THANK YOU!
The recipe makes 472 grams. To find the % of each ingredient, simply divide the ingredient by 472 and multiply by 100.
And here’s a more thorough explanation on converting weight to %s and vice versa: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/how-to-convert-s-to-weight-amounts-2/
Thank you, Anne-Marie! Will try it today (love your advanced lotion tutorial, the recipe works perfectly every time! People love your lotion 🙂
Aw,thanks for the great report. I’m so thrilled to read that! =)
This is a really good shampoo. It is the best I ever used. My daughter could tell the difference in my hair. I can tell the difference in how it feels but when some one can see the difference it is a really good shampoo. Just a little bit goes a long long way.
You don’t need a fancy design program to make labels. Most word programs have templates for labels and even if you don’t print them out on label stock they still make it easy to format your soap ingredients and name into the right size. And some of my favorite soap labels are the simplest.
Good Luck!
I’d like to make my own labels for my projects, but I don’t really know what program to use to do this…any tips?
I ordered a solid conditioner from LUSH the other day. I’ll keep you posted on how I like it!
You can use Germaben II, Phenonip or any other effective preservative that you’d like to – just make sure that you definitely use a preservative because conditioners can get moldy just like lotions (but I’m pretty sure you knew that) =)
You can make liquid soap from scratch – and liquid soap is essentially a shampoo and you can make it SLS free shampoo with whatever ingredients you want. =)
In theory, you could use Emulsifying Wax but it really does not feel the same in the hair as BTMS-50. This is because the BTMS-50 has conditioning agents added to it that the E-Wax doesn’t have in it.
Hi! I love the idea of making my own conditioner! i use so much of it. is there any substitution for the BTMS-50, though? just wondering… 🙂 Thank you so much for posting this.
I would love to learn how to make a SLES/SLS Free shampoo from scratch!
This is great! I have a question though. The conditioner recipe calls for Optiphen. The one time I used Optiphen was in a moisturizer and it ended up having a slight curdled texture. I didn’t mind since it was just for me and not retail, but I’ve never had that problem with Germaben II or Phenonip. Is that common with Optiphen or did I goof up something. And does it matter which preservative I use (since the jury is still out as to the effects of parabens)?
Thanks!
Oh, they are so much fun to read!
It’s called Mary Jane Tankard created by Apostrophic Labs.
Making a solid shampoo bar is completely different than making a liquid soap. It’s usually a cold process soap recipe that’s got a high superfat % or the addition of 3% castor oil. As for a solid conditioner bar – that’s an interesting idea. I’ll have to think about that one. 🙂
Wow! Thanks, that is one of the best compliments I have ever received. Thank you so much Teresa for being such an active part of the Soap Queen blog.
P.s. the Percy Jackson series is so much fun!! Glad you’re reading it. 🙂
Love this. I’ve always wanted to make my own hair care products!
What is the font for the “Shampoo” & “Conditioner” on the labels? It’s adorable!
Any ideas on how to make solid shampoo & conditioner bars using these ingredients + additional ingredients to make them solid? Thanks for the ideas!
I am SOOO excited about this new video/project! I have really missed your blog while I was on vacation. I learn so much about everything here…not just soaping and body care stuff, but also about how to handle life and having a great attitude! I felt like my IQ dropped a few points by not reading your blog. 🙂