makes approx 8oz
measurements are in volume
ONE PHASE
5.5 oz Nettle and Horsetail tea
2 oz Aloe Vera Juice
0.32 oz Beet Sugar Extract (sub with glycerin)
1 dashes Citric Acid
1/4tsp Neodefend (or some other water-soluble preservative)
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INSTRUCTIONS
Preparation Required
# Take 2 TBSP of Nettle and 3 TBSP of Horsetail herb
# Pour boiling purified (or distilled) water over it. Use at least 6.5 oz of water
# Let steep for 15-30 minutes.
# Strain
Continue below:
# Take 5.5oz of that water
# Add 2oz Aloe Vera juice to your tea
# Add Beet Sugar extract and stir well
# Add 1 dash of Citric Acid. Stir until dissolved.
# Add preservative and stir very well.
# Put it in a spray bottle
My Notes
# This is a spray without any of the traditional conditioning ingredients (BTMS, etc), so it won't be thick. It will remain a liquid spray.
# Neodefend will cause your pH to drift downward towards where you want it to be.
# The Citric Acid is just to ensure the pH stays as low as possible. If you test and the pH isn't 4 – 5.5, add a bit more citric acid. If you test and the pH is lower than 4, add more plain water.
Why Nettle and Horsetail?
For me when I use nettle tea (deep colored dark green) on my hair, it leaves a conditioned feel when it dries, ALMOST like I've used an actual conditioner.
Depending on your hair's porosity, you may or may not experience this. However, Nettle is a mineral rich herb. It has everything from linoleic acid (omega family) and pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5), to lecithin and carotenoids.
Horsetail! Don't eve get me started on horsetail! Horsetail is full of silica. I'm telling you I can use horsetail tea to retwist my hair for a week and even my nails will be whiter and feel stronger.
Horsetail is one of the oldest herbs known to be used for medicinal purposes. It is though to be the "most abundant source of silica in the plant kingdom".
Silica is said to be very necessary for good hair growth and thickening (and nail strength too!)
Related
https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/horsetail-shavegrass/profile
http://www.examiner.com/article/silica-the-mineral-your-hair-cannot-go-without
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can this be used as an everyday moisturizing spray for twist outs etc. instead of using water?
Definitely. For the longest time, this is what I used to retwist my hair between washes.
Do you need the neodefend?
And can you give me an idea of some other water soluble preservatives? I am a newbie.
Thank you,
Neodefend (Gluconolactone SB) is a broad-spectrum preservative. You can choose to use other broad-spectrum preservatives, but if you’re going to give your mixes away or sell them, use a broad-spectrum preservative. I can look up some other water-soluble preservatives, but the only 3 preservatives I have experience using are:
(1)gluconolactone SB – water soluble
(2)optiphen – oil soluble
(3)Leucidal Liquid – water soluble
You can try to the Leucidal liquid and read about it at lotioncrafter: https://lotioncrafter.com/products/leucidal-liquid?_pos=2&_sid=b25de1882&_ss=r