I searched and searched the WHOLE DAMN INTERNET and none of it had a recipe like this. I wanted a recipe using natural, vegan ingredients, so I could make my own conditioner bars. I also wanted something that didn’t require expensive or bulky equipment to make it.

I needed this recipe to make a bar, not a liquid, because I travel a lot and I have super dry curly hair, and I am very fed up of not being able to take conditioner on a plane unless it’s in my checked baggage or in a very tiny bottle.

When I didn’t find a vegan hair conditioner bar recipe for travel, I made my own.

This bar is super-nourishing for very dry hair, you really don’t need much of it. I like to use it by working it into the ends first, while my hair is wet, then moving up slowly until I get to my ears. Lastly, I put the rest onto my hair from my parting downwards in one or two swift strokes.

If you accidentally use too much, get a bit of your shampoo bar and rub it between your hands then wipe the lather onto your hair where there’s too much conditioner.

This conditioner is a little bit soft, I’ve played around with the recipe and every time I’ve tried to harden it, it just goes oilier but not harder. So I find the original bar cracks into three or four pieces after a few uses, but after that it seems pretty stable.

If you’re a fan of using a bit of coconut oil to moisturize your hair, you will LOVE this recipe as it incorporates coconut oil but makes a solid bar for travelling with!

You will need:

• A glass jug
• A spoon for mixing
• A soap mould
• 40g shea butter
• 30g olive wax
• 20g cocoa butter
• 20g coconut oil
• 10ml rice bran oil
• 10ml avocado oil
• 30 drops lavender oil (or other essential oil of your choice)

Method (no microwave… scroll for microwave method)

1. In a saucepan, boil some water and place your glass jug in it.
2. Add the cocoa butter and olive wax as these take the most heat to melt.
3. When they have melted, add the rest of the ingredients except the lavender oil.
4. Once the whole lot has melted, remove jug from saucepan, add lavender oil and mix well.
5. Pour the mixture into your soap mould and leave it to harden. This takes about 2-3 hours.
6. Pop it out of the mould. Wrap to keep moisture out and it’s ready to use!

Microwave method:

1. Put the cocoa butter and olive wax in the microwave and heat in 30-second bursts until they have melted.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lavender oil and heat in 20-second bursts until everything has melted.
3. Add the lavender, pour into a mould and leave to harden for 2-3 hours.
4. Pop out of mold. Wrap. Enjoy.

So there you have it, a 100% vegan conditioner bar recipe that requires nothing complicated or weird, no dodgy chemicals and you can even make it in a campervan. Let me know if you’ve used it!

If you want to learn more about making cosmetics, you might like my really long and comprehensive article on how to make soap!