Hair Serum Advice

[Aspiringdakini]

Hi. I am formulating a hair serum. I live in the UK and have recently had my daunting assessment and I had products and certain brands of products left over which are not covered by EU regulations so I have been looking online for ways to use these products so that they don't go to waste. I have done research on the benefits for the hair and skin of the oils listed below and all seem to be very good for the hair. I am hoping that the combination will be safe. I came up with 2 nice hair serum recipes but I want to make sure they safe to use on the skin and hair. I have tried the first recipe listed below and LOVE it as I have frizzy, dry hair. It feels great on my skin as well. It has done wonders for my hair but would like to know what you experts think. Here is my recipe, let me know what you think.

First Recipe
Glycerine
fractionated coconut oil
Mineral Oil
rapeseed oil
(all above ingredients are more or less equal parts)
vitamin E oil
Jojoba oil
fragrance oil or essential oil
very small amount of liquid colorant

Second Recipe
Glycerine
Fractionated coconut oil
Argan carrier oil
Jojoba Oil
Fragrance oil
Very small amount of liquid colorant

Any advice or comments would be very helpful. I have grown up in a hair salon with my mother being a cosmetologist and cosmetology teacher so I am not entirely in the dark with hair products but would like to know what you all think. :mrgreen:

 

[melstan775]

These look fine to me. I'm a hairdresser and you generally find these ingredients in hair products anyway. I do suggest in the future to switch glycerine to dimethicone if you can get it. Silicons increase shine without greasiness and help the product glide through the hair.

 

[Aspiringdakini]

Thank you for that. Unfortunately Dimethicone is not covered on the EU legislation list of usable products . Another question for you, I read somewhere that the Glycerine can dry out the hair in dry environments and cause blisters on the scalp, but adding jojoba oil to the mixture will combat that problem. Does the oil to combat that problem have to be jojoba oil or will the other oils I have listed in my recipe suffice to combat that problem? It seems unneccessary with all of the other oils but I wasnt sure if there were something special in the jojoba oil. Do you think both recipes would be okay without the jojoba oil added even in a dry environment?

 

[melstan775]

Oils will cause greasiness and block humidity, so no. Oils causing dryness has to do with adding too much protein to the hair. When hair absorbs protein, it does so like a balloon taking in air - too much and it pops. The only thing I see in your recipes which might be a problem is the mineral oil - mineral oil is fine in small amounts, but fine haired and very coarse haired people might notice some dryness. But even then you have so many humectants ans moisturizers in there it might balance out.

Serums are only meant to be used on the midshaft and ends to add shine, very light conditioning, and over time (not immidately), the user may notice fewer flyaways due to better moisture retention in the hair. Serums are not meant to be used in place of hairsprays, humidity blockers, or conditioners. Not even leave-in conditioners. Serums are a finishing product only, so I can't imagine why anyone would suffer from scalp lesions using glycerin. Besides, glycerin is a humectant and attracts moisture. and it is found naturally in soaps and no one's skin burns from it unless they are allergic. Try bottling your product in one of those pump dispensers that only dispense one drop at a time. 1-2 drops of serum is enough for a full head of hair. Make sure it's melted in your palms before rubbing it into your hair. Apply to ends first, midshaft second in a downward motion, and use it on the top layers near your hairline and part last so you don't oversaturate and cause greasiness.

 

[Aspiringdakini]

Thank you!!!! What a wonderfully thorough reply. I really appreciate your help. I have already bought the bottles I will be using. I couldnt find and like the type you mentioned but they are a flip top lid with a tiny hole and on the directions I will clearly state to only use a dime sized amount will explain in detail about applying to the ends first and why etc. It makes my hair so shiny and soft! I am so happy it is going to work out. Thanks again so much for your help! Your advice will certainly be used. xoxo

 

[Earthchild]

Aroma Zone carries Dimethicone, I believe they're in France? Your glycerin will separate out of your oils, and defeats the purpose of a hair serum. A serum is designed to seal the cuticle and make hair smooth. Glycerin draws moisture to the hair and creates frizz in curly/wavy hair types. Go with just oils, or much better would be a combination of cyclomethicone and dimethicone with 10% or less oils. Hth!

 

[melstan775]

Aroma Zone carries Dimethicone, I believe they're in France? Your glycerin will separate out of your oils, and defeats the purpose of a hair serum. A serum is designed to seal the cuticle and make hair smooth. Glycerin draws moisture to the hair and creates frizz in curly/wavy hair types. Go with just oils, or much better would be a combination of cyclomethicone and dimethicone with 10% or less oils. Hth!

You bring up some good points. I suggested silicons too, I didn't think of the seperation issue. Is there an emulsifier she can use if she can get her hands on one? I believe she said she can't use dimethicone because it's not on the safe substances list, not because she can't find it.

 

[Earthchild]

You bring up some good points. I suggested silicons too, I didn't think of the seperation issue. Is there an emulsifier she can use if she can get her hands on one? I believe she said she can't use dimethicone because it's not on the safe substances list, not because she can't find it.

Ah, I didn't catch that. I was thinking availability. In this case I would go for just the light oils and leave out the glycerin completely. Op could make a hair cream/lotion with water, glycerin, oil, preservative, etc. But then it's getting complex and the purpose of the product is getting lost. I would do FCO, almond oil, coconut oil, and a titch of broccoli oil for shine (seriously a titch because that stuff can stink!).

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

I'm not a hair expert. But the op comment about glycerin causing damage to hair in an arid environment, reminded me of something I read on The Sage blog. They stated glycerin is indiscriminate about where it draws it's moisture from. So if there isn't any humidity, the glycerin may draw moisture out of the hair or skin. My hair is medium length thick and wavy. I've been using a combo of 76 Coconut, olive oil vit E. it makes a simi-solid mixture. I use a tiny dab on my ends only. I realize it's heavy and wouldn't work for all hair types. But I'm thrilled with it.

 

[Aspiringdakini]

I have decided to go with a leave in conditioner instead of a serum. Reason being, I mixed up some oils with glycerine and everything you said was absolutely correct. It separated AND drew moisture to my hair. I put it on my hair a couple of days ago and my hair is still wet feeling!!! Keep in mind I live in a very damp country but this was not the result I was going for. I want a product that I can sell but also use for myself and like it so it must be good! I use bleach on my hair so it is quite dry plus even without bleach, my hair tends to be frizzy. So I am just going to experiment a little until I find the right combination. I found a recipe for a leave in conditioner for very dry hair. It is whipped Olive oil, glycerine, vitamin E oil, coconut oil and shea butter. Do you think with the butters and hard oils that the glycerine will still separate once it has been whipped and cooled down? If so, do you have any suggestions of what I could do with the glycerine as in another product all together? One of you mentioned a preservative, what kind of preservative would I use in a mixture like this? Would Glycerine work as a preservative?


Thanks for all of your helpful replies!!!