10 Amazing DIY Leave in Conditioner Recipes

Leave-in conditioner is a must-have hair care product in your beauty bag. But if you really want to pamper your hair and spare your tresses the harsh chemicals found in some store-bought products, then these DIY leave in conditioner recipes and tutorials are the way to go. You’ll love the natural smooth feeling of your hair and the de-frizz effect many of these homemade leave in conditioners provide. Most recipes take five minutes or less to make and last you at least a month, depending on the frequency of use.

Without further ado, here is our collection of homemade leave in conditioner recipes for a healthy, smooth, and detangled hair.

1. DIY Leave in Conditioner Spray for Dry Hair

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Are you looking for a budget-friendly hair care product which nourishes your hair root to end while offering 100% anti-frizz protection and amazing shine? You’re in luck, because with four all-natural and cheap ingredients you can whisk up a great DIY leave in hair conditioner. Here are the ingredients:

• Jojoba oil – 5 ounces.
• Sweet almond oil – 5 ounces.
• Vegetable glycerin – 1 ounce.
• Rosemary essential oil – 15 drops.

Pour all the ingredients in a spray bottle, give them a good shake, and stir. Don’t worry if they’re not fully incorporated, each one of the ingredients has a different consistency. Thus, even though most are oils, they won’t fully incorporate into the solution. Add water until the spray bottle is almost full and give the DIY leave in conditioner another good shake. Here it is, your own leave in conditioner carrying amazing properties for your hair. Just remember to shake it before each use.

2. DIY Anti-Breakage & Pro-Growth Leave in Conditioner

If your hair is extremely dry, brittle, and with lots of split ends, you can use this highly nutritious leave in conditioner formula with ylang-ylang. This recipe uses a handful of natural ingredients which are known to repair our hair’s structure and encourage growth. Here are the ingredients you need to gather:

• Coconut oil – 2 tablespoons
• Aloe Vera juice – 2 tablespoons
• Essential oils – 6 drops (optional)
• Ylang-ylang oil – 2 teaspoons
• Castor oil – 2 tablespoons
• Coconut water – 2-4 tablespoons
• Honey – 2 tablespoons

Place the coconut oil in a pot on low heat and mix in the other ingredients as soon as it starts to melt. Then, turn off the stove and allow the mixture to reach room temperature. This DIY leave in conditioner will make your hair grow faster, but it will also make it grow thicker thanks to the ylang-ylang & castor oils.

Note: If you are a coconut oil addict, you will love our collection of DIY hair masks! They use natural oils and other ingredients to nourish your tresses and give them the healthy shine and weight you want!

3. DIY Leave in Conditioner for Sensitive Hair and Skin

Provided you are prone to allergies and easily break out into rashes, you want to steer clear of store-bought hair care products packed with harsh chemicals. Even some natural organic ingredients can wreak havoc on a sensitive skin, scalp skin or hair.

Vegetable glycerin, however, is known for its healing and nourishing properties. Moreover, it’s rarely a cause for concern with people who suffer from a host of allergies. Protective for your skin and scalp, vegetable glycerin makes a wonderful DIY leave in conditioner for a smooth and shiny hair that’s easy to detangle. With no particular smell, it will be your secret sidekick in the fight against frizz and dry hair. You will need:

• Vegetable glycerin.
• Water.

Even when it’s mixed with water and essential oils that are fit for hair care, vegetable glycerin makes the ideal base for a hypoallergenic DIY leave in conditioner.

4. DIY Honey & Hibiscus Leave in Hair Cream

This DIY leave-in hair treatment moisturizes the scalp and reduces dandruff while also preventing hair loss. In addition, this nutritious conditioner can also treat a handful of scalp conditions & does a great job at keeping frizzy, rebel hair in place. Here’s what you need to gather:

• Hibiscus powder – 1 tablespoon
• Shea butter – 4 ounces
• Aloe Vera gel – 2 ounces
• Grapefruit seed extract – 1 tablespoon
• Essential oils – 1 tablespoon total
• Honey - 2 tablespoons
• Water or coconut water – 3-6 ounces

Mix all of the ingredients (you might need to melt the shea butter first) and wait for the cream to cool down completely. You can control the thickness of this product by adjusting the amount of water or coconut water you add.

5. DIY Leave in Conditioner for Curly Hair (Spray)

If you’re one to flaunt beautiful coils and springy tresses, you know how painstaking hair care is. A host of hair care products is needed upon every single wash. The biggest problem with curly hair is de-tangling it. As such, here is a DIY leave in conditioner for curly hair that should make the issue of de-tangling a problem of the past.

As we mentioned before, natural or vegetable glycerin is a common ingredient for a host of beauty products. This is due to the fact that it acts as an amazing moisturizer as it absorbs moisture from the environment. Therefore, this DIY leave in conditioner doesn’t simply moisturize, but aids in reducing the dreaded frizz that's inherent to curly hair. Essential oils such as lavender, rosemary or orange smell delicious and carry beneficial properties for the hair as well. Aloe Vera Gel packs nourishing and moisturizing properties. As such, here is how much of each ingredient you should use:

• Aloe Vera Gel – 1 (one) tablespoon.
• Vegetable glycerin – ½ (half) a tablespoon.
• Essential oils – 10 (ten) drops.
• Distilled water – 5 (five) tablespoons.

Use a spray bottle to shake all the ingredients together. You may have to shake and stir several times until the Aloe Vera gel is fully incorporated. Use this amazing DIY leave in conditioner on wet, damp, or dry hair and reap the benefits of a homemade anti-frizz, de-tangling, and nourishing conditioner.

Recommended read: If you struggle with curly hair that easily dries up at the ends while greasing up at the roots, check out our recipes for DIY dry shampoo!

6. DIY Anti-Dandruff Leave in Conditioner Spray

If you are looking for a leave-in conditioner that can effectively fight against dandruff & flaking while also protecting the hair structure, this is the one for you. In addition, this DIY leave in conditioner provides nutrients that will leave your hair supple, shiny, and smooth without compromising its volume. Here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe:

• Distilled / purified water – 1 cup.
• Aloe Vera juice – half of cup.
• Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon.
• Lime juice – 1 tablespoon.
• Vitamin E – 5 capsules or 1 tablespoon of oil.
• Essential oils – 40 drops total.
• Coconut milk – half a can.

Mix all the ingredients together and pour the mixture into a spray bottle for easier application. You can use this spray leave in conditioner between 1 and 3 times per week, depending on your hair type and how often you need to wash it.

7. Basic DIY Leave in Conditioner

Coconut oil is the miracle worker of beauty and personal care products. From body lotions to hand creams and shampoos, you’ll find coconut oil everywhere. Well, in this case, coconut oil is the most basic DIY leave in conditioner you can use. You will need:

• Organic extra virgin coconut oil

Pour a bit of coconut oil in your palms (depending on your hair length), rub them gently together to melt the typically solid coconut oil, and spread it through your hair using your fingers. A bad hair day can easily come to an end with this DIY leave in conditioner for natural hair. Moreover, if frizz and unruly hairs are your main concern, coconut oil will bring all of your problems to an end.

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Apply to damp hair to get that smooth feeling. In addition, coconut oil offers amazing shine and softness to your lovely tresses. With no whipping, shaking, or mixing involved, this must be one of the simplest DIY leave in conditioner “recipes” out there.

8. Clarifying DIY Leave in Conditioner

This recipe uses some of the lighter aforementioned ingredients to leave your hair clean, shiny, and properly moisturized. The star, however, is rooibos tea. Known for its antioxidant effects, this wonder plant will gently but thoroughly clean your hair and scalp. Here’s what you will need:

• Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon.
• Rooibos tea – between 1 tablespoon and 2 cups.
• Your choice of essential oils – a few drops.

Simply mix all the ingredients and apply the solution on your hair. Depending on your preference when it comes to the texture of this leave in conditioner, you can adjust the amount of tea to mix into the coconut oil.

Recommended read: If you are struggling with greasy hair, you should also check out our recipe for no-poo shampoo in our collection of DIY natural shampoos!

9. DIY Leave in Conditioner for Dry, Frizzy Hair (Spray)

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This DIY leave in conditioner for frizzy hair is truly a miracle worker if your hair is also dry. Why is that? Due to the fact that it contains nothing but nourishing oils with beneficial properties for the hair and the scalp. It’s a shine booster and your ally against split ends. Moreover, it nourishes your strands root to end and also helps your hair grow faster thanks to the castor oil. Here's what you need:

• Avocado oil – 3 (three) ounces.
• Extra virgin olive oil – 2 (two) ounces.
• Almond oil – 1 (one) ounce.
• Castor oil – 1 (one) ounce.
• Coconut oil – 1 (one) ounce.
• Essential oils – 10 (ten) drops.

Once again, put all the ingredients together in a spray bottle. Give it a gentle shake and there it is. Your oil mist DIY leave in conditioner to be used on damp or dry hair. Your hair will thank you for the added shine and sparkle and you will thank yourself for taking on the challenge to whisk up a homemade leave in conditioner that works so well.

10. DIY Honey Butter Leave-in Conditioner

If you are looking for a simple, yet highly moisturizing DIY leave-in conditioner, you will love this recipe! It uses honey to lock in moisture into the hair and is the ideal choice for those of you who prefer the wash-and-go option. The lavender oil adds a fresh touch and also increases the volume of the hair, while the jojoba oil nurtures and repairs the hair structure. Here are the main ingredients you will need for this recipe:

• Coconut milk - half of cup.
• Shea butter - 2 tablespoons.
• Jojoba oil - 2 tablespoons.
• Lavender essential oil - 5 drops.
• Honey - 2 tablespoons.

First, heat up the shea butter until it's liquid. Be careful not to overheat it as high temperatures destroy the nutrients in these ingredients. Then, mix it with the coconut milk and honey until it's smooth and add the oils drop by drop while still mixing. Then, simply pour the conditioner into a spray bottle and apply it to the hair as generously as needed.

Conclusion

These are the best DIY leave in conditioner recipes to whisk up for instant anti-frizz, extra shine, longer, and healthier hair. And because they are homemade and use ingredients as natural as possible, you can also use these homemade leave in conditioners on your kids’ hair, too.

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