How to Preserve Your DIY Homemade Haircare Products [2024]

The benefits of DIY haircare are endless. But if there's one thing that holds us back from making our own haircare, it's the confusing art of preserving them.

The good news is, there are many simple ways to make your DIY haircare last longer. Let’s shine a light on some of the most effective ones.

Don’t Use Water

If you can avoid it, make your recipes without water. It can add bacteria to your product and this massively shortens its shelf life. If you chose to use water, opt for distilled water. However, even if it's distilled, you will likely need a preservative to prevent bacteria from growing.

On the other hand, oil-based recipes will not require any preservation. In my Luxury Homemade Formulation Guide, you’ll notice our oil-based formulations don’t feature the optional potassium sorbate because they do not need any preservatives. Oil-based formulations can be kept in an air-tight jar for a long time without any issues. It's only when water is added that you need to preserve it. 

Clean Your Hands and Disinfect Your “Lab”

Wash your hands thoroughly before getting to work on your products. Disinfect any tools and surfaces you plan to use. You don't want to risk contaminating the product. If bacteria gets in your product, it will start going rancid a lot faster. Make sure to wash your containers with soap and then boil them in water bath before you start making a new batch of product. Be sure to let them dry completely before filling them up.

Protect Your Products From Sunlight

To reduce the risk of ruining your product through oxidation, you should keep it in a dark container. If you can. the idea container would be made of UV protected glass (glass is easy to sterilise too). Additionally, you should store your product in a cool and dark place. This place shouldn’t be your bathroom it likely gets warm and moist when you shower. 

Refrigerate Your Products

If you don’t plan on adding preservatives, keeping your haircare inside the fridge is the easiest, safest and fastest way to keep it lasting longer. Most products won't last more than 3-5 days so make sure to check that they haven't spoiled before you use them. 

Use a Preservative

Freshly made products are always best. But we don't always have time to make a new batch whenever we need it.  When it comes to using a preservative, I often go for the most natural ones. My two favourites are potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate which are considered to be very mild and non-irritating. 

If you prefer to go even more natural, you may use essential oils such as rosemary oil (.5% of the mixture) as well as oils high in antioxidants (Jojoba and Vitamin E). Another useful addition is Grapefruit Seed Oil which is antimicrobial and it can be added to oil formulations to reduce the rate at which they oxidate.

Conclusion

Making haircare at home has been happening even before the haircare industry existed. As you can see, there are many simple ways to make your products last longer. Even though making your products at home can be more time-consuming than buying them off the shelf, you have the benefit of being in control of the production process. 

Now you know how to preserve your products for longevity but if you still find yourself contemplating buying certain products from the store, read here why making your own haircare at home ist the ultimate product recommendation.