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As beauty editors, we spend a lot of our lives testing out the latest, greatest, and most talked about products. But every so often, the most effective solutions to our beauty needs don't come in a bottle emblazoned with a brand name. Sometimes the best formula is one that's been whipped up in our very own home. Whether your beauty secret was passed along by your grandmother or your best friend, these homemade remedies become our holy grail treatments. For haircare, the DIY approach can be especially desirable (and rewarding), avoiding chemicals and other havoc-wreaking ingredients that can mess with our tresses. For our curly-haired girls, we've rounded up three of our favorite DIY curl cream recipes so you can stick to natural ingredients (and save your hard-earned money).
Head below to discover three DIY curl cream recipes with ingredients from your kitchen.
Softening Shea Butter Curl Cream
Shea butter and coconut oil are usual suspects when it comes to DIY curl creams. This particular recipe makes use of both while incorporating aloe vera gel for texture and refreshing essential oils for that added oomph.
Ingredients:
Shea butter
Coconut oil
Apricot kernel oil
Pure aloe vera gel
Rosemary essential oil
Chamomile essential oil
Directions:
Melt and mix together the shea butter and coconut oil, then let the melted mixture cool in the refrigerator until it partially solidifies.
Whip with a hand mixer, add the apricot kernel oil, then continue mixing.
Add the pure aloe vera oil until it is completely mixed (and add essential oils for a rejuvenating scent, as desired).
Transfer to a mason jar and store in a dry, clean place.
Lightweight Curl Perfecting Cream
Easier than starting from scratch, you can add to the conditioner you already have to create an effective lightweight styling cream in seconds.
Beauty YouTuber Curly Penny shares her straightforward recipe
Ingredients:
Conditioner
Blue agave nectar
Sea salt
Coconut oil
Directions:
Combine conditioner and agave until golden, then add crushed sea salt.
For the last step, add a bit of oil and mix. Curly Penny advises applying a quarter size of the goopy mixture to wet hair and scrunching.
Coconut Oil Curl-Refreshing Spray
While not exactly a cream, this spray is a favorite of singer-songwriter Kandace Springs (and many others in the curly hair community) for keeping dry curls moisturized and tame, no matter what the day or weather brings.
Ingredients:
Coconut oil
Warm water
Directions:
This one may require a bit of trial and error to create the right balance of oil and water for your hair type. Start by adding a tablespoon of coconut oil to a spray bottle, then dilute the oil with warm water until you have your preferred viscosity. Thicker, collier curl patterns will typically find that filling the spray bottle half-way with warm water will create your desired consistency. Meanwhile, looser, waiver curl patterns should fill the bottle all the way to the top. Remember, oil and water separate, so you'll need to thoroughly shake your mixture before each use.