hair Archives - Soap Queen

Hydrating Lavender Hair Oil Tutorial

October 10, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials

If your hair is feeling dry, oil might be the answer. This is especially true if you use hot styling tools every day or color your hair. Hair oil can be used in a variety of ways depending on your hair texture and severity of dryness. This Hydrating Hair Oil was specifically formulated to be easy to make and to be used in a variety of ways depending on your preference. Fractionated coconut oil gives this oil an overall light texture, while argan oil adds amazing antioxidant properties along with a blend of fatty acids that are amazing for hair.

Need some extreme moisture? Gently heat the hair oil and apply to dry hair. Wrap your hair in a warm, dry towel and allow the oil to penetrate the oil for about 30 minutes. Wash out thoroughly; it will probably take two shampoos to fully remove the oil. You can also apply a small amount of oil to the ends of dry or wet hair to keep hair smooth throughout the day. This recipe is also suitable for beards, facial hair and can be used as a body oil. This project also includes free templates! Download them here.

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Hair Recipe Roundup + #ThrowbackThursday Video!

November 5, 2015 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials

On Tuesday, I showed you how to get fun rainbow colored hair using only LabColors and Stephenson Organic Hair Conditioner Base. If you missed that tutorial, check it out here. While the pink tips of my hair are gone (I got a hair cut a few weeks ago), the hair care fun doesn’t have to stop. =) There are many fun hair recipes and tutorials to keep your hair in tip-top shape.

LabColors can be used to dye light or blonde hair; learn how in this blog post!

In the LabColor Hair Color Tutorial, the Stephenson Organic Hair Conditioner Base diluted the LabColor slightly and made it easier to apply. If you prefer to create your own hair care products, the How to Make Shampoo and Conditioner video on Soap Queen TV shows you how. This video is an oldie but a goodie (made in 2010!), making it a great #ThrowbackThursday. The video first demonstrates how to customize a shampoo base, then how to create a conditioner from scratch.

The process of creating homemade conditioner is similar to making a lotion. Conditioner also includes many of the same ingredients as lotion, such as distilled water, oils, BTMS-50 and Optiphen. The How to Create Homemade Lotion Recipes post goes over the basic ingredients of emulsified products and how to use them.

If you like the idea of creating your own shampoo rather than using a base, the Argan Oil Shampoo is great for dry hair. The addition of carrot and nettle extract give the shampoo great hair-loving properties. If you prefer a different type of extract, feel free to customize the recipe to meet your particular hair needs. Learn more about extracts in this Sunday Night Spotlight.

You can also create solid shampoo bars with the cold process soaping technique. In the Sudsy Shampoo Bar recipe, citric acid is used to lower the pH and make the bars gentle for the hair. The Invigorating Shampoo Bars have zesty Tea Tree Essential Oil to make your hair smell amazing.

Top: Sudsy Shampoo Bar recipe, Bottom: Invigorating Shampoo Bars

If you don’t have the time to wash your hair, dry shampoo is a fantastic option. Simply shake the powder into your roots to absorb excess oils. Making your own dry shampoo is incredibly easy. Learn how in this Dry Shampoo Tutorial. The shampoo can be customized with fragrance and color. We used Relaxing Fragrance Oil, which is a luscious blend of lavender, pine and vanilla.

Dry shampoo is a great option for busy mornings when showering is not possible.

Love the idea of brightly colored hair, but need something a little less permanent? The Hair Chalk Recipe and Application Tutorial shows you how to create hair chalk that can be customized to any color you’d like. The hair chalk works great on both light and dark colored hair. This makes it a great option for brunettes who don’t want to bleach their hair to achieve rainbow locks.

Have you ever made shampoo, conditioner, or other hair products before? I love treating my hair to homemade hair care products.

How to Dye Hair with LabColors

November 3, 2015 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Home Crafts

Rainbow hair has become beyond popular over the past few years, and it’s easy to see why! Adding color to your locks is a fun way to switch up your look. I love how versatile the trend is; there is a color and technique for every comfort level. Looking for a dramatic effect? Dye your whole head! Want just a hint of color? Dye the ends of your hair, or just a streak. After oohing and ahhing over rainbow-hued hair on Pinterest for months, I decided to take the plunge. But of course, I wondered how I could turn the trend into an easy and cost effective DIY project. The answer? LabColors!

The idea of dyeing hair with LabColors came to me after watching a video on how to dye your hair with Kool-Aid. Since I had dyed my hair with Kool-Aid as a kid, I knew that concept worked. Both Kool-Aid and LabColors are made up of similar dye components, and I thought, “If you can use Kool-Aid to dye hair, why not use LabColors?” Then, it was time to experiment. In the photos shown above and below, I used Impatien Pink LabColor mixed with Stephenson Organic Hair Conditioner. Lightweight and full of hair loving ingredients, the conditioner is a great way to disperse the color and makes applying easy. As a bonus, you can save $10 off any Stephenson purchase of $20 or more with the coupon code: SAVETEN. But but don’t wait too long! Only the first 600 customers will get this deal. Browse through Stephenson products here.

Interested in giving your hair a little color with LabColors? The process is easy as can be. One word of caution: in our tests, we found the LabColor dye technique only works well on light colored hair. In addition, it works best on color treated hair. If your hair is brown, I recommend bleaching your hair first before applying the color. We found the LabColor does not leave much, if any, color on darker shades of hair.

All you need to dye your hair with LabColors is undiluted LabColor and a diluting agent! I highly recommend diluting the color in Stephenson Organic Hair Conditioner; we found this the easiest way to apply the color. That being said, the color can also be diluted in hot water. Scroll down to see our results from dispersing the LabColor in both conditioner and hot water.

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Sizzling Summer Hair Round Up

June 28, 2014 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s officially summertime, and if you’re anything like that Bramble Berry team, that means spending lots of time at the beach (believe it or not, even the chilly waters of the Pacific Northwest warm up enough for some swimming this last week!). Or, if you’re like me and Chris, you’re spending lots of time outdoors (hiking and triathlons).

Summer sun can be tough on your hair, so that’s why we’re rounding up our Sizzling Summer Hair series. Featuring nourishing ingredients such as Argan Oil, Nettle Extract and Carrot Seed Essential Oil, this is a collection of tutorials that will keep your hair healthy year ’round.

The Sizzling Summer Hair collection includes four tutorials: Argan Oil Shampoo, Conditioner, Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray and Hot Oil Treatment.

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Facebook Photo of the Week (June 21st ~ June 27th)

June 27, 2014 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This week, we shared a collection of recipes designed to keep your hair silky and smooth. The Argan Oil Shampoo Tutorial uses hair loving ingredients like Nettle and Carrot Extract to nourish hair during hot summer months. To complete the routine, the Leave-In Argan Oil Conditioner Tutorial is incredibly moisturizing and great for de-tangling.

If going to the beach everyday this summer is not a possibility, you can easily recreate the texture of beach-hair with the Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray. Simply spray dry hair and “scrunch” to help define curls, and make your hair more manageable when creating up-dos. If you’re tired of the traditional pony-tail, included in this post is a simple hair tutorial that’s great for beating summer heat.

The warm weather has certainly inspired use of bright color palettes and fruity scents. The soap created for an upcoming Soap Queen TV short is a perfect example! On the other hand, our Facebook Photo of the Week from Shana of Bathvs features a classic color combination of black and white, resulting in a soap that is perfect for all seasons.

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Sizzling Summer Hair: Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray + Hairstyle

June 26, 2014 Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

You’re shampooed, you’re conditioned, and now it’s time to finish your do with a Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray. This simple spray recipe relies on Dead Sea Salt and Pink Sea Salt to give your hair body and volume while enhancing any natural waves or curls. Finish off the look with an easy-breezy up-do. Now you’re ready for a day at the beach!

Check out the other tutorials in this series: Argan Oil Shampoo & Conditioner

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Argan Oil Shampoo Recipe

June 24, 2014 Filed Under: Lotion

Sunshine, ocean water and hotter temperatures are great for lifting your mood, but unfortunately they can be less than ideal for your locks. To help you achieve healthy, summer-ready hair, we’re rolling out a series of tutorials this week to rejuvenate and refresh your mane.

This Argan Oil shampoo is particularly loving to your hair and scalp. Argan Oil has long been used as an additive to hair products because of its high content of Vitamin E and essential fatty acids. The addition of Nettle and Carrot Extract provide some extra strand-nourishing power.

Check out the other tutorials in this series: Argan Oil Conditioner and Pink Sea Salt Beach Spray

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Hair Chalk Recipe and Application Tutorial

January 2, 2013 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials

I’ve been loving (obsessing over?) the hair chalking trend going around. If you follow me on Pinterest you may have seen a few hair chalking pins lately, so of course I had to give it a try. After a few test runs with the help of some gracious Bramble Berry team members’ luscious locks, I’ve come up with what I think is a great hair chalk recipe that works on both light and dark colored hair. Plus, a how-to about applying the chalk to hair once it’s made. It washes out in 1-2 shampoos (depending on the color of your hair before chalking; lighter hair may take a second shampoo) and really pops – the perfect low-commitment pizzazz to kick off the new year right.

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Hot Oil Hair Treatment – Recipe & Technique

July 18, 2007 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

I have been addicted to hot oil hair treatments since I was about 12 years old. I used to warm the oil up, put it on my hair, and then rinse it out with apple cider vinegar/baking soda. I’m not sure that the last part of my hair treatment was all that healthy but I swore by it.

Well, I’m a bit older now but still addicted to hair oil for a deep conditioning treatment. I normally toss together whatever the new oil de jour is with some jojoba and essential oils (Geranium and Lavender are my standbys).

Last night, I got inspired and made a more serious attempt at a conditioning hair oil.

First, I infused some sesame seed oil/unrefined hemp seed oil with herbs of calendula, and Fenugreek. Fenugreek is traditionally used in India by infusing the seeds into yogurt and using the mixture as a hair conditioner. I did a luke warm infusion and simmered the oil on low for an hour with the herbs. I strained the oil with a makeshift strainer – a coffee filter lining my pasta drainer.

You can see by the oil that it is very dark after the infusion. The unrefined hemp seed oil is a natural dark green brown color to start and the infusion darkened it.

The infusion was the time intensive part. The rest is easy. My recipe looks like this:

2 oz. Hemp and Seseme Infused oil

2 oz. Castor Oil

2 oz. Fractionated Coconut Oil

1 oz. Evening Primrose Oil

1 oz. Avocado Oil

1 oz. Soybean Oil

Essential Oil Blend: .25 oz. Carrot Seed Oil, .10 oz. Frankincense CO2 Extracted, .25 oz. Basil Essential Oil, .15 oz. Cedarwood EO, .15 oz. Rosemary EO

After I had all the oils assembled, it was a quick pour into the bottle and voila! A lovely, stimulating scalp and hair oil.

Directions for use: Massage into scalp and hair. Leave on for a minimum of 20 minutes. Wash and condition your hair like normal to rinse the hair oil out.