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EBC Hair conditioner


Jcandleattic

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I know there are a few people here who use Essentials by Catalina's bases. 

Has anyone ever used their Reconstructive Conditioner base? 

 

I've always bought my shampoo and conditioner from Bath and Body Works, and they recently discontinued all shampoo and conditioners from their line. I color-treat my hair, but besides that, shampoo and conditioner, I do not use products in my hair (gel, hairspray, etc.) and I never, EVER, blow-dry my hair, and very rarely use a straightener or curling iron on my hair. 

My hair is fairly healthy, and I really want it to stay that way, without the color fading too fast. 

 

I'm sure the base is going to be better than what I got at B&BW - but that really was good on/for my hair, and I hate that I have to find a new source... 

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I use their Hydrating Cleansing Conditioner. Got it about 6 months ago and its all I use on my hair. It both washes and conditions hair so its a 2 in 1 product.  I can't say enough about it. I love it. Was looking for a conditioner base to sell with my shampoo bars. So I bought it to test it out. Its all I use on  my hair now.

 

When you wash your hair with it its the same as putting on thick, heavy, creamy hair conditioner. It doesn't suds up at all. You just work it through your hair just like you do when you wash and condition your hair. Rinse it out and your hair is super clean and conditioned. I love it so much I kept the whole gallon for own personal use!

 

Anyway, I have had good luck with any base of theirs I have tried so far. But I have not tried the reconstructive? one. I almost got that one but decided to try the hydrating cleansing conditioner instead because I liked the idea of washing and conditioning my hair all at once. I am sure the other conditioner is top notch as well. Have yet to use one of their bases I did not like.

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5 minutes ago, Candybee said:

I use their Hydrating Cleansing Conditioner. Got it about 6 months ago and its all I use on my hair. It both washes and conditions hair so its a 2 in 1 product.  I can't say enough about it. I love it. Was looking for a conditioner base to sell with my shampoo bars. So I bought it to test it out. Its all I use on  my hair now.

 

When you wash your hair with it its the same as putting on thick, heavy, creamy hair conditioner. It doesn't suds up at all. You just work it through your hair just like you do when you wash and condition your hair. Rinse it out and your hair is super clean and conditioned. I love it so much I kept the whole gallon for own personal use!

 

Anyway, I have had good luck with any base of theirs I have tried so far. But I have not tried the reconstructive? one. I almost got that one but decided to try the hydrating cleansing conditioner instead because I liked the idea of washing and conditioning my hair all at once. I am sure the other conditioner is top notch as well. Have yet to use one of their bases I did not like.

This is good to know. 

I'm normally not a 2-in-1 kind of person, but again, that has been using what is commercially available out on the market and inevitably by using them my hair gets a waxy build up. 

The conditioner I have been using for the past 4 years has rinsed clean with no build up. 

 

Before that I bought enough of the conditioning pellets to make my own from scratch, for about 5 years until I ran out. It was from a company out of Utah - Cannot remember the name of it to save my life (I'll have to look up an old invoice) gosh, I can't remember, and then they moved to Nevada, and changed their name to Elements something or something elements, and changed the pellets which were basically wax and didn't work for my hair at all, and I've not been able to find the original pellets since then. That was the best conditioner my hair had ever had, and took my slightly damaged hair and completely repaired it. 

So long story short, I'm looking for something comparable to that. 

 

I think I will get the 4oz sample to test each of them, and then decide. 

 

I appreciate the input. :)

 

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I've been making my conditioner from scratch for a couple of years now using BTMS 50. Someone has it pretty cheap... Bramble Berry, I think might be the best I've found, but I'll dig out my invoices and double check that.

It's sooooo easy, it emulsifies like a dream, I add a little coconut oil for my super frizzy hair, panthenol for damage (cause I blow dry and flat iron!) and rice protein. All those ingredients do double duty in my lotions too, so it's really cost effective. I make giant buckets of it at a time, because both my girls have super long hair and we go through a lot. The BTMS makes my hair so soft, and I really do have difficult hair!

You could make a very nice basic conditioner with water, BTMS, coconut oil, silk protein, and a preservative.

I could see how a base would be easier if you don't already have a stash of preservatives and proteins and such though. 🙂

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If you get the sample of the conditioner let me know how it works on your hair. I am interested because I have very fine, frizzy, dry, graying hair. My hair changed from straight to frizzy in my 30's but it has always been extra fine and flyaway. So keeping it conditioned yet still full looking is not easy. Over the counter conditioners and commercial shampoos just don't work for me at all. My shampoo soap worked for years for me but my hair changed again in my 60's and now it is dry.

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11 hours ago, Jcandleattic said:

Thanks Sarah. I have everything you mentioned except the BTMS, and I can easily get that from Lotion Crafters. 

 

Oh, I love that website! Jenny has so many fantastic ingredients! Do make sure you get the BTMS 50, not the 25 - the 25 is 75% cetyl alcohol, which I find is just too waxy feeling. Great for lotions and cream cleansers though. 😁

If you'd like a recipe, just let me know, I'd love to share some, I have everything from heavy hair butters to ultra light leave-ins! 😃

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10 hours ago, Candybee said:

If you get the sample of the conditioner let me know how it works on your hair. I am interested because I have very fine, frizzy, dry, graying hair. My hair changed from straight to frizzy in my 30's but it has always been extra fine and flyaway. So keeping it conditioned yet still full looking is not easy. Over the counter conditioners and commercial shampoos just don't work for me at all. My shampoo soap worked for years for me but my hair changed again in my 60's and now it is dry.

 

Candy, I have really frizzy hair too, and I use a silicone serum on it every day, which really helps. Now, mine is also super thick, so I use dimethicone and coconut oil mixed with a little cyclomethicone, but if my hair was fine I'd try something like:

75% cyclomethicone

23% dimethicone

2% fractionated coconut oil

 

I put mine in a fine spray bottle, lightly mist my palms and run them through my dry hair. 

 

Now, if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, I could share my style-prep anti-frizz serum recipe using a load of conditioning ingredients from Making Cosmetics. 😉

I love playing with hair products! Lol

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On 11/15/2017 at 6:14 PM, Sarah S said:

I've been making my conditioner from scratch for a couple of years now using BTMS 50. Someone has it pretty cheap... Bramble Berry, I think might be the best I've found, but I'll dig out my invoices and double check that.

It's sooooo easy, it emulsifies like a dream, I add a little coconut oil for my super frizzy hair, panthenol for damage (cause I blow dry and flat iron!) and rice protein. All those ingredients do double duty in my lotions too, so it's really cost effective. I make giant buckets of it at a time, because both my girls have super long hair and we go through a lot. The BTMS makes my hair so soft, and I really do have difficult hair!

You could make a very nice basic conditioner with water, BTMS, coconut oil, silk protein, and a preservative.

I could see how a base would be easier if you don't already have a stash of preservatives and proteins and such though. 🙂

Is this recipe on BB ? You described my hair to the T.... It would be for personal use + family. Thanks for sharing this. After years of color/highlights my hair has lost its

natural luster + is fuzzy unless I flat iron :( Can EO be added without it irritating the eyes ?

 

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9 minutes ago, Sarah S said:

 

Candy, I have really frizzy hair too, and I use a silicone serum on it every day, which really helps. Now, mine is also super thick, so I use dimethicone and coconut oil mixed with a little cyclomethicone, but if my hair was fine I'd try something like:

75% cyclomethicone

23% dimethicone

2% fractionated coconut oil

 

I put mine in a fine spray bottle, lightly mist my palms and run them through my dry hair. 

 

Now, if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, I could share my style-prep anti-frizz serum recipe using a load of conditioning ingredients from Making Cosmetics. 😉

I love playing with hair products! Lol

Yes please :) Share away - this sounds awesome !

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11 hours ago, Sarah S said:

 

Oh, I love that website! Jenny has so many fantastic ingredients! Do make sure you get the BTMS 50, not the 25 - the 25 is 75% cetyl alcohol, which I find is just too waxy feeling. Great for lotions and cream cleansers though. 😁

If you'd like a recipe, just let me know, I'd love to share some, I have everything from heavy hair butters to ultra light leave-ins! 😃

I'd love to try a light wash-out light conditioner if you have something like that. 

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13 hours ago, Sarah S said:

 

Oh, I love that website! Jenny has so many fantastic ingredients! Do make sure you get the BTMS 50, not the 25 - the 25 is 75% cetyl alcohol, which I find is just too waxy feeling. Great for lotions and cream cleansers though. 😁

If you'd like a recipe, just let me know, I'd love to share some, I have everything from heavy hair butters to ultra light leave-ins! 😃

Actually, cetearyl is blended at a higher rate in the 25, not cetyl. Cetearyl can be different ratios of cetyl and stearyl fatty alcohols. 

 

btms and btms 50 without other conditioning agents ( like cetyl among others) fry my hair. It took a while to stop the breakage from leaving handfuls of hair in the shower floor. 

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Sarah if you have a recipe you wouldn't mind sharing that is easy to make I would love it. I need one for dry, fine, aging hair. I don't care too much about the frizzy cause I keep my hair short these days. But the dryness and lack of shine I would love to fix!

 

I shop at lotion crafters too and am always checking out all their ingredients and recipes.

 

Oops! Meant to add I need to know the recipe ingredients and how to make. I only make a few B&B products so I am just learning stuff and don't know anything about hair products so I am a total newbie at that. That is why I went to EBC to get a conditioning base to try.

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@Candybee @Jcandleattic have you ever visited the Point of Interest blog? Here's a query just for conditioners: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=Conditioner

 

susan goes into the types and reasons behind ingredients, and provides formulations for different hair types. Once you understand the ingredients whipping up hair care products is simple. 

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20 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

@Candybee @Jcandleattic have you ever visited the Point of Interest blog? Here's a query just for conditioners: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=Conditioner

 

susan goes into the types and reasons behind ingredients, and provides formulations for different hair types. Once you understand the ingredients whipping up hair care products is simple. 

I have. By following Susan's blog/tutorials/information pages, is how I learned how to make/formulate lotions. Did not even think about it for conditioners!! What a good ideal 

 

Thank you for the link and reminder about her blog! 

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4 hours ago, TallTayl said:

@Candybee @Jcandleattic have you ever visited the Point of Interest blog? Here's a query just for conditioners: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=Conditioner

 

susan goes into the types and reasons behind ingredients, and provides formulations for different hair types. Once you understand the ingredients whipping up hair care products is simple. 

 

Yes, you beat me to it, lol!

 

Maybe just my opinion, but I find the recipes and tutorials on the various supplier's websites to be more about selling thier products. Totally understandable, but Susan's blog really helped me understand how to craft products that work for my specific needs, and not just whatever hot new ingredient is out there.

 

So a real basic conditioner recipe might look like:

q.s.  water

5% BTMS

1-3% fatty alcohol/fatty acid

q.s. preservative

 

You'd make it just like a lotion - heat and hold the water phase, heat the oil phase (the BTMS and fatty acid), combine, mix, cool, add preservative and voila! Super easy! I always work in grams to make the math super easy too.

 

When you want to add the fun stuff like hydrolyzed proteins, silicones, quats and stuff, you just need to check the reccomended usage rates and if it's water or oil soluable to figure out what phase to put it in, just like a lotion or butter.

 

Susan is an absolute gem of no bullshit advice, if you have the patience to really read through her blog. Much like Craftserver!! :D

 

So @Jcandleattic, my light conditioner recipe looks like:

 

88.5% water

.2% TEDTA

1% panthenol

.5% polyquat 10

2% hydrolyzed wheat

4% BTMS 50

2% cetyl alcohol

1% dimethicone

.5% liquid germall +

.3% fragrance

 

Of course you can modify to suit what you have or what works for your hair!

 

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MakingCosmetics.com has a great product called "Hairfix HX". They have formulas for creating various hair gels with it on their website.

 

Because I heat style my hair every day (and wash it every day!), I wanted to make a pre-style heat protection serum. It also doubles as a really light hair gel or leave-in conditioner.

 

85.5% water

1% panthenol

1% hydrolyzed wheat protein

 

2% BTMS 50

3% dimethicone

 

* I heat and hold those two phases, combine and cool just like usual

 

2% cyclomethicone

.5% liquid germall +

5% hairfix HX

 

* I add the final phase after it's cooled

 

Again, so easy to modify as needed! Check my math before proceeding, sometimes I fragrance, sometimes I don't, so it could be +- 1%

 

:D

 

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6 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Actually, cetearyl is blended at a higher rate in the 25, not cetyl. Cetearyl can be different ratios of cetyl and stearyl fatty alcohols. 

 

btms and btms 50 without other conditioning agents ( like cetyl among others) fry my hair. It took a while to stop the breakage from leaving handfuls of hair in the shower floor. 

 Thank you! For some reason I had it in my head that cetyl always goes with BTMS. Clearly I need a fact checker on my posts! *drunkenposting*

You know, I don't think I've ever made a conditioner without adding extra cetyl, quats, and oils. That's a terrible way to have to figure that out TT! :(

 

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13 hours ago, Sarah S said:

MakingCosmetics.com has a great product called "Hairfix HX". They have formulas for creating various hair gels with it on their website.

 

Because I heat style my hair every day (and wash it every day!), I wanted to make a pre-style heat protection serum. It also doubles as a really light hair gel or leave-in conditioner.

 

85.5% water

1% panthenol

1% hydrolyzed wheat protein

 

2% BTMS 50

3% dimethicone

 

* I heat and hold those two phases, combine and cool just like usual

 

2% cyclomethicone

.5% liquid germall +

5% hairfix HX

 

* I add the final phase after it's cooled

 

Again, so easy to modify as needed! Check my math before proceeding, sometimes I fragrance, sometimes I don't, so it could be +- 1%

 

:D

 

 

Dang it, that's "Hairfix XH"

 

Sorry!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I think I am going to try out that base too JC. I would much rather buy a good base than make one. At least for now. I just don't have the time or money to buy all the ingredients I need to experiment with something like that.

 

I am loving the hair conditioning base I have so much. Lately I have been washing my hair again with my own shampoo soap then using the conditioning base on it. My hair is still staying nicely conditioned and shiny. Not sure how long a gallon will last but I have had it for several months. I think I got it last spring or early summer and have used less than a quarter of it.

 

BTW-- I mix mine with Nurture's Shampure FO. OMG I love this scent so much! Reminds me of the old Prell shampoo only nicer!

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57 minutes ago, Candybee said:

I think I am going to try out that base too JC. I would much rather buy a good base than make one. At least for now. I just don't have the time or money to buy all the ingredients I need to experiment with something like that.

 

I am loving the hair conditioning base I have so much. Lately I have been washing my hair again with my own shampoo soap then using the conditioning base on it. My hair is still staying nicely conditioned and shiny. Not sure how long a gallon will last but I have had it for several months. I think I got it last spring or early summer and have used less than a quarter of it.

 

BTW-- I mix mine with Nurture's Shampure FO. OMG I love this scent so much! Reminds me of the old Prell shampoo only nicer!

Exactly this. I don't have the money (or at least feel like I can't spend on stuff not direly needed since we are trying and working so hard to catch up and get out of debt! -completely with all cards, bills, etc, paid off so all we will have is a couple years left on the house and our regular household bills - it's been a struggle - but will be worth it in the end) 

 

Not sure if I mentioned this in this thread, but I don't use any products in my hair other than shampoo and conditioner, with every now and then (about once a month or less) a leave in conditioner. I don't iron or blow dry my hair, and since eliminating all that extra fuss, my hair is now healthier than it has ever been. 

I do, however, get it dyed/highlighted about every 8 weeks or so, and that's it. I think once I hit retirement though I will let it go natural (did I mention, I am also hoping for an early retirement too! We'll see about that! HA) 

 

So anyway, I want something that will not damage my hair and still leave it healthy without leaving it heavy feeling, if you know what I mean. And I just don't have time to research, experiment, and test to make my own, but I will need something now that my favorite shampoo and conditioner is no longer available. 

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