Post: #1

Thanks to hipsters and Mad Men the dapper look has been in for quite a while now. This requires old fashioned hair grease/wax/pomades. No gels or spray.

Personally, I don't like putting un-natural products on my body/skin. It usually causes some kind of irritation. For the past year I've been experimenting with making my own. Something I thought of reading the labels of various products. However, I didn't come up with this idea myself - I totally took it from some housewife's blog.

I've found this to be quite decent:

Base:
40g/1.5 oz beeswax (typical available from health food stores)
40g/1.5 oz extra virgin coconut oil

Essential oils for fragrance (you can use whatever you like, really):
3-4 drops peppermint oil
3-4 drops tea tree oil

I gently (using very low heat) warm the base wax/oils on the stovetop in a metal bowl to liquify them. Once off the heat, add the essential oils and pour into a container of your choosing. It will harden into a semi-solid paste wax at room temperature.

I found this to be pretty good, but it is on the stiff side, for sure. In the winter time it can be hard to work with at first. I think I may want to adjust it, either by adding slightly more coconut oil or perhaps some jojoba oil to make it more pliable. Not too much, though, otherwise it will lose the holding power you get from the beeswax.

Post: #2

I ended up with an amalgam of these two recipes to get my pomade where I wanted it.

http://www.momtastic.com/diy/425571-diy-...thers-day/

http://www.thankyourbody.com/diy-all-nat...de-pomade/

To get the pomade out of the "too-stiff" zone, I just added more Olive and Coconut oil. It's almost exactly where I want it now. Pretty sure I'll have my next batch dialed in.

Between making pomade and beard oil I've found Avocado oil and Sesame oil to both be very nice alternatives to Olive.

My go to essential oils are currently Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Frankincense, Rosemary and Lavender

Post: #3

That first blog was my inspiration. I know the Romana and Greeks used Olive oil but it seems like that would go rancid or cause irritation...or make you smell like a pizza? Joking there but I never liked getting too greasy with while cooking or eating.

Anyway, Jojoba oil is supposedly one of the closest the to natural oils produced by the human skin and it shouldn't go rancid.

Post: #4

I quit washing my hair with shampoo. I use the natural oils from my head.

Post: #5

(04-02-2015 06:54 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  That first blog was my inspiration. I know the Romana and Greeks used Olive oil but it seems like that would go rancid or cause irritation...or make you smell like a pizza? Joking there but I never liked getting too greasy with while cooking or eating.

Anyway, Jojoba oil is supposedly one of the closest the to natural oils produced by the human skin and it shouldn't go rancid.

Definitely looking to give Jojoba oil a run after I use through this current batch. That said, the olive oil worked fine as a fairly cheap way to ease the hold a little more without using tons of coconut oil.

Haven't had any irritation issues, personally.

The fragrance of the coconut oil I used overtook everything else for the most part.

Overall, it's been fun refining the recipes for the pomade and beard oil. Quick, simple and fairly cheap to make. I'd recommend making your own to any guy that uses either.

Post: #6

I've just made my first test batch today.

Like the OP, I don't like using a bunch of chemical shit on my body. I also have a bad case of seborrheic dermatitis, so I avoid almost all hair products, the only exception being a prescribed shampoo that I use every day or every couple of days.

For this first batch, I used:
- 10g shea butter
- 10g beeswax
- 10 drops of rosemary essential oil

My hair is pretty curled and thick and I applied a very small amount (half a dime). Shine looks good, frizz is very reduced. The hold is light, which I really like.

The 10 drops of essential oil resulted in almost no scent on the hair, although the container smells great.

Price wise:
Lower end store bought: US$0,12/g
Higher end store bought: US$0,25/g
DIY pomade (with the recipe above): US$0,07/g

So far so good, will report back if I change the recipe.

Post: #7

Just got done cooking up batch #2.

Batch #1 above was pretty good, can't believe it lasted 6 months of daily use.

This time added more shea butter and essential oil to get a shinier, softer hair.

- 13g shea butter
- 10g beeswax
- 14 drops of rosemary essential oil