With coconut milk and essential oils, this leave-in conditioner spray DIY is just the thing for lightweight moisturizing. It also smooths and eliminates frizz!
Leave in conditioner spray DIY
Dry hair is not fun. And, anyone with a young daughter knows: tangled hair is bad news. Thankfully, there’s a quick, easy, and completely natural solution for both.
As I mentioned in my all-natural hair care routine, which you can read about here, I love tallow balm for some occasional, deep nourishing for the ends of my hair. For daily use though, something lighter is nice.
This leave-in conditioner spray DIY uses coconut milk. I find it has just the right amount of moisture, without being too heavy, like coconut oil can be.
I also like to use bergamot essential oil. Bergamot has a lot of benefits for hair. It helps to control frizz, and it smells beautiful and fresh.
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Skip the toxins
Of course, there are so many options for hair conditioning and detangling at the drugstore. But these often contain lots of questionable ingredients. I don’t feel comfortable using them on myself or my family, so I opt to make the products we use.
How to use it
This leave-in conditioner spray DIY recipe can be used on wet or dry hair. I normally like to use it on my hair when it is wet, and let it air dry. If I have trouble with frizz, I will use a little dry hair to calm and smooth it.
Personalize it
There are other essential oils that are great for hair, too. Peppermint and rosemary are other great options. Feel free to experiment and find out what you and your hair like best!
Which coconut milk?
I find that canned coconut milk works best. One without thickeners or other additives is a good idea, like this one. Trader Joe’s also has a really nice organic canned coconut milk for a great price.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Get my full disclosure here.
Preserve it
Like any product made with water, this leave-in conditioner spray DIY recipe will need a preservative to stay fresh at room temperature. This is the one I like to use in my products. I like it because it is very natural, while still being effective.
Of course, if you don’t want to buy or use a preservative, you can just keep your leave-in conditioner spray in the refrigerator. You will need to let it warm up a bit before it will spray. The coconut milk will tend to solidify a little when it gets cold. When I’ve used this without a preservative, I just leave the bottle on the bathroom counter while I take a shower. Then, by the time I get out of the shower, it has warmed up enough to spray easily.
Leave in conditioner spray DIY directions
Ingredients:
- 2 TBSP coconut milk
- 3 fl. oz. filtered water
- 24 drops of bergamot essential oil
- 12 drops preservative (optional)
Instructions:
- Put coconut milk, essential oil, and preservative (if using) into a 4 fl. oz. spray bottle.
- Fill the bottle to the top with filtered water.
- Shake well before each use.
Leave in conditioner spray DIY video
More DIY hair care recipes
My all-natural hair care routine
Do you make any of the hair care products that you use?
What do you like to make? Tell me about it in the comments!
Can I use 100% pure organic vitamin e oil in place of Optiphen Plus? I’ve seen it used in other diy hair products as a preservative.
3fl. oz. = 6 tablespoon?
Hi Marisa!
I have made this leave in conditioner twice and really enjoy it! However halfway thru my second bottle and the sprayer is starting to clog up and not work right. I have washed it off and sprayed straight warm water out of it to unclog it and then it works just fine. But as soon as I use it again with the conditioner it clogs right back up. I don’t know if you’ve experienced this at all when using yours?
It’s only a little over a month old and I also put the preservative in it so I don’t know what could be causing it to clog all of a sudden. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
I’m not sure, I do find that the sprayer tops sometimes fail and have to be replaced. Hope this helps!
How would I use Euxyl K 903 or Ultra Guard preservative in this recipe? They both dissolve in water I believe.
Hello! I’d like to ask what you usually do with the leftover coconut milk? Especially if you are on GAPS intro..
I actually pour the coconut milk into ice cube trays and freeze it. Then I can pull out the perfect amount whenever I want to make more leave in conditioner 🙂
For the leave in conditioner can you use coconut milk with organic Guar gum and not add the preservative you suggested?
I recommend using coconut milk without any thickeners like guar gum. You can leave the preservative out, but you’d need to store it in the fridge. Hope that helps!
Hello great video! How long does something like this stay fresh? I know that there is a preservative in it but it’s coconut milk at room temp. Everyone always says to store diy products in the fridge I’m excited to actually try one that isn’t freezing cold on my kids scalp.
Thank you! For us it stays fresh for about 6 months with the preservative 🙂
What preservative do you use?
I use Optiphen Plus. There is a link to it under the “shop this post” section 🙂
Hi there! I am curious to know what preservative you are using. The link in the post brings up a powdered probiotic supplement but the directions say 12 drops. I’m hoping you can clear this up for me!
Thank you!
Oh thank you for letting me know! I will go fix that link right away. I use one called Optiphen Plus 🙂