If your hair feels dry, rough, frizzy, or difficult to manage, you don’t always need an expensive store-bought conditioner to give it some extra moisture. The key is choosing ingredients that match your hair’s needs rather than combining every ingredient you have available.
What Makes a Good DIY Hair Conditioner?
A good hair conditioner should help make your hair feel softer, smoother, and easier to detangle. Different ingredients provide different benefits, so combining a few complementary ingredients can create an effective treatment.
Moisturizing ingredients: Ingredients such as aloe vera and honey can help provide moisture and leave hair feeling softer.
Nourishing oils: Coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and other plant oils can help reduce dryness and improve the feel and appearance of the hair.
Rich butters: Shea butter is especially useful for hair that tends to feel very dry or coarse because it provides a richer conditioning treatment.
Smoothing ingredients: Some homemade treatments can improve manageability and help temporarily smooth the hair cuticle, making strands feel softer and easier to comb.
Before You Make Your DIY Conditioner: Know Your Hair Type
Your hair type can help determine which ingredients are most appropriate.
Dry or coarse hair: Dry or coarse hair generally benefits from richer conditioning ingredients such as avocado, shea butter, coconut oil, and olive oil.
Fine or oily hair: Fine hair can become weighed down easily. Lightweight ingredients such as aloe vera and small amounts of jojoba oil may be more appropriate.
Curly hair: Curly hair can be prone to dryness, so moisturizing ingredients and richer conditioning treatments can help improve softness and manageability.
Frizzy hair: Aloe vera, honey, and lightweight oils can help make hair feel smoother and more manageable.
Damaged hair: Hair that has been exposed to frequent heat, coloring, bleaching, or chemical treatments may benefit from gentle conditioning treatments. However, no homemade conditioner can permanently repair severely damaged hair.
1: Aloe Vera & Coconut Oil DIY Conditioner
This simple combination is a good starting point if you want a lightweight homemade conditioning treatment.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons pure aloe vera gel
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
How to Make It
Place the aloe vera gel in a small bowl. Add the coconut oil. Mix thoroughly until the ingredients are evenly combined.
How to Use It
Apply the mixture to damp hair, concentrating on the mid-lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 10–15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. If your hair is fine or easily weighed down, use less coconut oil.
Best For
This treatment can be particularly useful for dry, normal, or textured hair that needs some additional softness without an extremely heavy mask.
2: DIY Honey & Olive Oil Deep Conditioner
Honey and olive oil make a simple combination for hair that feels dry or rough.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain conditioner or aloe vera gel
How to Make It
Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl until you have a smooth mixture.
How to Apply
Apply the mixture to damp hair, focusing primarily on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for about 15–20 minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
Best For
This treatment is particularly suitable for dry-feeling hair that needs a richer conditioning treatment.
Rinsing Tip
Because olive oil can leave a coating on the hair, rinse thoroughly and follow with your normal cleansing routine if necessary.
3: Avocado & Coconut Milk Hair Mask
Avocado and coconut milk create a creamy, rich treatment that works especially well for dry hair.
Ingredients
- ½ ripe avocado
- 2–3 tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
How to Make It
Mash or blend the avocado until completely smooth. Add the coconut milk and olive oil, then blend again until you have a creamy mixture.
How to Apply
Apply the mask to damp hair, concentrating on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
Best For
This treatment is best suited to dry, coarse, curly, or textured hair that tends to need richer conditioning. For easier rinsing, make sure the avocado is blended completely smooth.
4: Banana & Honey Conditioner
Banana and honey can create a moisturizing-feeling treatment for hair that looks dull or feels dry.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
Preparation
Blend the banana until completely smooth. Add the honey and oil, then blend again.
Avoid simply mashing the banana with a fork because small pieces can become difficult to remove from the hair.
How to Apply
Apply the mixture evenly to damp hair, concentrating on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 15–20 minutes and rinse thoroughly.
Best For
This treatment can be useful for dry or dull-feeling hair that needs additional conditioning.
5: Yogurt & Aloe Vera Conditioner
If rich oils tend to make your hair feel heavy, this lighter recipe may be worth trying.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
Preparation
Mix both ingredients together until smooth.
How to Use It
Apply the mixture to damp hair and leave it on for approximately 10–15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.
Best For
This treatment may work well for normal, slightly dry, or fine hair that needs conditioning without a large amount of oil.
6: Shea Butter & Jojoba Oil Conditioner
This is one of the richer recipes in the guide and is best suited to hair that needs substantial conditioning.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon shea butter
- 1 teaspoon jojoba oil
- 1 tablespoon aloe vera gel
How to Make It
Gently soften the shea butter by placing it in a small bowl and warming it indirectly. Do not overheat it.
Add the jojoba oil and mix thoroughly. Once the mixture has cooled somewhat, add the aloe vera gel and combine well.
How to Apply
Use a small amount on damp hair, focusing on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 15–20 minutes before rinsing.
Best For
This richer treatment is particularly suited to coarse, dry, curly, or textured hair. Because shea butter is rich, start with a small amount to avoid leaving your hair greasy or weighed down.
7: Egg & Olive Oil Protein Treatment
Egg-based hair masks are a popular DIY treatment because eggs contain proteins and fats. However, they shouldn’t be used excessively.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
Preparation
Whisk the egg until smooth, then add the olive oil and yogurt. Mix thoroughly.
How to Apply
Apply the mixture to damp hair, focusing on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 10–15 minutes.
Rinse thoroughly using cool or lukewarm water. Hot water can cause the egg to partially cook, making it much more difficult to remove from the hair.
Best For
This treatment can be used occasionally by people who want a conditioning treatment containing a protein-rich ingredient.
Don’t use protein-focused DIY treatments too frequently if your hair becomes stiff, rough, or brittle afterward.
8: Coconut Milk & Aloe Vera Conditioner
For a lighter moisturizing treatment, combine coconut milk with aloe vera.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
- ½ teaspoon jojoba oil
Preparation
Combine all three ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth.
How to Apply
Apply the mixture to damp hair, focusing on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 10–15 minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
Best For
This recipe may be suitable for normal, dry, or mildly frizzy hair. If your hair is fine, reduce the amount of oil to prevent the mixture from feeling too heavy.
9: Honey & Aloe Vera Leave-In Conditioner
This simple combination can be used as a very light conditioning treatment.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
- ½ teaspoon honey
- 2–3 tablespoons water
Preparation
Mix the ingredients thoroughly until evenly combined.
How to Use It
Apply a very small amount to damp hair, concentrating on the ends and areas that feel particularly dry. Because honey can feel sticky when used in large quantities, use only a small amount.
Best For
This treatment may work well for people with dry or frizzy hair who want lightweight conditioning. If your hair feels sticky or heavy, rinse it out rather than using it as a leave-in.
10: Simple Oil Conditioner
Sometimes the simplest treatment is the easiest to maintain. Instead of combining several ingredients, you can use a small amount of a suitable hair oil as a pre-shampoo treatment.
Choose One Oil
- Jojoba oil
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Argan oil
How to Use It
Place a small amount of oil in your palms. Rub your hands together. Apply the oil primarily to the mid-lengths and ends. Leave it on for approximately 15–30 minutes. Shampoo your hair thoroughly afterward.
How Much Should You Use?
Start with a small amount. You can always add more, but using too much oil can make washing it out difficult.
Best For
This treatment can be particularly useful for dry or coarse hair that responds well to oil-based conditioning.
How Often Should You Use Homemade Conditioner?
There isn’t one perfect schedule for everyone. Your hair’s texture, condition, oiliness, and styling routine all influence how frequently you need additional conditioning.
Lightweight treatments: Treatments based primarily on aloe vera or small amounts of lightweight ingredients may be used more regularly if your hair responds well to them.
Rich conditioning masks: Masks containing avocado, shea butter, coconut oil, or olive oil are generally better used occasionally rather than every day.
Protein-containing treatments: Treatments containing egg should also be used occasionally rather than repeatedly. If your hair begins to feel stiff or rough after protein-focused treatments, give it a break and return to simpler moisturizing treatments.
Pay Attention to Your Hair: Your hair will usually tell you when you need to adjust your routine. If it feels soft, manageable, and clean without being greasy or weighed down, your conditioning routine is probably working well.
My Final Thoughts
My recommendation is to start with one recipe and give your hair time to show you how it responds. If your hair is easily weighed down, choose lighter ingredients such as aloe vera and jojoba oil.
If it is coarse or very dry, richer ingredients such as avocado and shea butter may be more appropriate.
If you have a sensitive scalp or are prone to irritation, test a small amount of a new ingredient on your skin before applying it extensively to your hair or scalp.
Making your own hair conditioner doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. If you are interested in general wellness, hair care, and skin care, consider subscribing to my newsletter. Additionally, follow me on Pinterest to discover more amazing pins.
