Homemade Hair Conditioner Formula Review

Hello! It's great that you're looking into making your own hair conditioner to address hair loss, dryness, and oily scalp. The ingredients you've chosen are beneficial for hair and scalp health. Let's review your proposed formula and address your questions.

Ingredient Analysis

Here's a look at the ingredients you plan to use and their potential benefits:

• Zinc PCA: This ingredient is excellent for controlling oiliness on the scalp and can help reduce hair loss associated with an oily scalp. Your proposed concentration of 0.3% is within the recommended range for hair products.
• Biotin: Also known as Vitamin H or B7, Biotin is known to help strengthen hair roots and support healthy hair growth, which can be beneficial for reducing hair loss.
• Pure Keratin: As a key protein in hair, Keratin helps to restore and protect damaged hair, making it stronger and more moisturized. Your proposed concentration of 1% is suitable for a rinse-off conditioner.
• Long-Lash™: This ingredient contains peptides that stimulate keratin production, primarily marketed for eyelash growth. While peptides can generally support hair health, its specific effectiveness on scalp hair for hair loss might not be as targeted as other ingredients designed for the scalp.
• Poly-Conditioner Eco: This provides conditioning benefits, making hair soft and smooth, and is a good alternative in silicone-free formulas. Your proposed concentration of 5% is at the higher end of the recommended range for conditioners, which should provide good conditioning for your moderately dry/damaged hair.
• Phenoxyethanol: This is a common and effective preservative to keep your product safe from microbial growth.

pH Compatibility

You've correctly identified a potential issue with the pH. Biotin, particularly Pure-Biotin powder, has a recommended pH range of 7-9 for solubility. However, Zinc PCA works best in a pH range of 4-6, Pure Keratin is 4.5-6.5, and Long-Lash is 3.5-5.5. Mixing ingredients with such different optimal pH ranges can lead to several problems:

• Reduced Effectiveness: Ingredients may not function optimally outside their recommended pH range.
• Solubility/Stability Issues: Some ingredients might precipitate out of the solution or become unstable if the pH is not within their soluble range. For example, Zinc PCA's solubility decreases above pH 6.

If you are using Pure-Biotin powder, achieving a stable and effective formula at a suitable pH for the scalp (typically slightly acidic, around pH 4.5-5.5) will be challenging due to its high optimal solubility pH. Consider checking if you have ActiveRelease™ Biotin, which is designed to be water-soluble at lower pH (from 3.5+) and is better absorbed by the scalp at pH 4-5. If you use ActiveRelease™ Biotin, a usage rate of 1-5% is recommended (5% ActiveRelease™ Biotin is equivalent to about 0.12% Pure Biotin in terms of effective concentration absorbed by the scalp). You might need to adjust the concentration depending on the type of Biotin you have and the desired efficacy, keeping in mind that 1% of Pure-Biotin powder is a high concentration that might not fully dissolve/disperse well.

To ensure the stability and effectiveness of your final conditioner, you will need to adjust the overall pH of the mixture to a range that is compatible with most ingredients and suitable for the scalp (ideally between 4.5 and 5.5). This will likely require adding a small amount of a pH adjuster (like citric acid or lactic acid solution) after all ingredients are mixed.

Mixing Order

The proposed mixing order (1, 2, 3, 4 then 5 then 6) could be problematic due to the pH differences, especially adding Biotin early if it's the powder form. A more general approach is to combine water-soluble ingredients, considering their heat sensitivity, and then add heat-sensitive or pH-sensitive ingredients after cooling.

Here is a suggested mixing order:

1. Combine the main water phase ingredients: Add Zinc PCA, Pure Keratin, and Poly-Conditioner Eco to your water base. Mix until fully dissolved or dispersed. Gentle heating might help dissolution for some ingredients, but avoid prolonged high heat.
2. Allow the mixture to cool down.
3. Add heat-sensitive ingredients: Add Long-Lash™ and Biotin (if using ActiveRelease™ Biotin, it can be added here; if using Pure-Biotin powder, ensure it is well dispersed). Mix thoroughly.
4. Add the preservative: Add Phenoxyethanol and mix well.
5. Check and adjust the pH: Measure the pH of the final mixture. Slowly add a pH adjuster (like a dilute citric acid solution) drop by drop, mixing well after each addition, until the desired pH (ideally 4.5-5.5) is reached.

Overall Formula Review

The ingredients you've selected target hair loss (Zinc PCA, Biotin), damaged hair (Pure Keratin), and conditioning (Poly-Conditioner Eco). The inclusion of Long-Lash™ is less conventional for scalp hair but won't necessarily harm the formula. The main challenge will be managing the pH to ensure all ingredients remain stable and effective, particularly concerning Biotin. Adjusting the final pH is a crucial step for both product stability and scalp health.

Remember to perform a small test batch first to check for compatibility and desired results before making a larger quantity.