My 2 Fave DIY Recipes for Natural Hair

After being natural for almost 6 years now, I’ve tried a lot of different products and techniques. Some of them have been absolute disasters, while a few have worked nicely for Fro. But only two have been Fro’s allies from TWA to awkward length to bra strap length and now, back to TWA. Many of my regular followers know that whenever I’m asked what products I use on my hair, it really depends on what time of my life and what the length of my hair is when I’ve been asked that question. I know some may not like the idea of making your own products, you might not have time etc. but I promise you, it’s much easier than you think and I’m quite sure your hair will thank you for it. I know mine has. I may drift from them every once in awhile but I always go back to and recommend these two. I’ve adjusted the recipes over the years and also over the different seasons too. Without further ado, here they are:

Daily Spritz

Put all of the below ingredients into a measuring cup and stir it until it’s uniformly mixed. I get most of them from Dischem. Pour into a small spray bottle (a 300ml capacity should be enough). This mix gives me about 250 ml worth of spritz and depending on my hair length, can last about a week or two in the fridge.

• 60 ml previously boiled water
• 60 ml conditioner (Just a normal, basic conditioner. The cheaper, the better as you’ll be using this everyday.)
• 60 ml Aloe Vera juice (ask for Nature’s Choice Aloe Vera Juice at Dischem)
• 30 ml glycerin
• 1 tsp castor oil
• 1 tsp avocado oil

What it does

• Moisturises my oh-so-dry hair
• Gives it elasticity
• Reduces itching and dandruff

This is my go to product. I swear by it. And Fro has never stopped liking it, ever since I started using it about 2 months into naturaldom. I add a bit more oil in the winter and lessen the conditioner amount in summer slightly but this has always worked for me. If the mix above is too oily for you, lessen the amount of oil you put into your mix. If the conditioner you use is too heavy, switch conditioners. I find that the lighter ones are the best for a daily spritz. I spritz this on my hair everyday. Once in the morning, once in the evening. To limit shrinkage, be careful not to soak your hair with it, just literally spritz it. I also spritz it on before I take down my stretch hair style to reduce shrinkage. But if I want the shrunken fro look, I spritz it on with my hair free. I used to do this a lot when my hair was longer in order to make it look like I have more volume 🙂

Homemade Butter

Heat the below ingredients in a pot and let it cool. Pour the mix into a heat resistant container. I like to use a small glass jar. Some people like thicker butters than others so I always suggest to play with the ratios until you get a consistency you and your hair likes. At the moment, I love the 80% shea butter to 20% coconut oil ratio. It’s a nice thick consistency that’s soft enough to smooth onto my hair without it getting gunky.

•  Shea butter
•  Coconut oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil (available pretty much anywhere. I get mine with my groceries from Pick n Pay)

What it does

• Seals in moisture
• Adds shine
• Lessens breakage

I use this almost every other day, depending on the style I want to achieve. At the moment with my TWA, I apply this on my hair as my ‘C’ in the LOC method after I wash it in order to seal in moisture. A little really goes a long way, especially when you use the unrefined version of shea butter. A bonus with this is that you can use it on your skin too. Great for dry, ashy feet haha!

And there you have it. My go-to, must-have, absolutely-need-it-for-my-hair products, that you can easily make yourself.

What are some of your fave DIYs?