I was looking through some of the ingredients lists of conditioners available from hair direct. One ingredient listed in 'Nearly Natural Softening Solution' was honey..

I don't mind if this sounds a little crazy to everyone but I seriously wonder if that wouldn't be a good additive to the (leave in?) conditioners that we use? It is a natural preservative (if I remember correctly), and a I've read that it is a humectant and emollient, meaning that it is a naturally good conditioner and moisturizer because of its ability to attract and retain water molecules..

Anyone have any experience with it? or anything else they add to their conditioners? I'm looking to maximize my conditioners for the least cost.

Honey can be a bit of a miracle cure for all sorts of things can't it?
In simplistic terms, you'd think it might leave the hair sticky, but obviously that can't be the case.

Its probably ideal for hairwearers as it can add shine but not by using oils.
A couple of drops of Tea Tree would keep the scalp healthy if it were a lace system.

What about vinegar? Years ago women rinsed their hair in vinegar to make it shiny:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/3-vineg...-hair.html

I don't know if I could get past the smell of vinegar.. That link you posted also mentions that it dries out the hair somewhat.. so I don't know if vinegar would be a good option.

I did some further investigation of ingredients, and another that stood out to me was aloe vera juice.. while not a strong case for conditioning alone, what made it interesting for me was the anti-inflammatory and anti-pruritic (anti-itch) qualities of it.

I for one suffer from a really oily and sensitive scalp, despite changing up tapes and glues I tend to get itchy.. aloe vera juice on lace may improve my situation. The only trouble is that aloe vera juice can spoil if not refrigerated (apparently) so there's that to consider.

I noticed you mentioning avoiding oils as a positive.. I did remember reading something about oils.. maybe that they affect the bond? Is that right?

Because some (cheap) oils are said to be great for hair.. including grapeseed oil and macadamia nut oil. Also the non-cheap oil jojoba oil (which is in the bluemax products, and JRob mentioned) is said to be the closest thing to the natural oils our scalp feeds our hair.

Yes, I was saying honey was good because it wasn't an oil.
Oils break down bonds and shorten attachment times.
Also, if oils get in to the knots, it can loosen them and cause premature shedding.

I mentioned Tea Tree oil but only a couple of drops because it would help with any irritation on the scalp and you need such tiny doses of it.

I know what you mean re thinking the vinegar would smell, but the article points out that's a misconception.
Next time one of my systems goes dull, I'm going to try the vinegar thing.
It says it can cause minimal drying of the hair but you can prevent that by using it on conditioned hair and it will leave it super shiny.

Every time you do a reattachment, try washing your scalp with Neutrogena T Gel shampoo.
It really helps with scalp problems and keeps it healthy.

Good luck creating the perfect concoction!

I can attest that T-Gel shampoo is awesome, very good recommendation, thanks Hersute. I'm interested in hearing about your experiences with the vinegar rinse, when you get around to doing it. I missed the tea-tree oil tip in your first post, I'll be trying that myself, thanks once again. If I find any significant changes during my journey I'll be sure to share them myself.

What I've done so far is gotten a relatively cheap conditioner (which was sulfate and bad alcohol free), diluted it with purified water and mixed in honey, green tea extract, some grapeseed oil and macadamia nut oil [which I added before you posted]. The conditioner helped the oil mix with the honey, water and green tea extract.

I'll be trying it with less oil next time (or none at all), in hindsight. I think to see what effect anything has I might need to be trying them separately. I have noticed a difference with my hair though, its not as dry (to the touch) as it was.

Does your basic conditioner contain benzyl alcohol or cetearyl alcohol?
These are 'good' alcohols that help the hair to retain moisture and the other moisturising ingredients you're adding.

I think oils are always going to benefit the hair.
The problem with putting them in a spray is that they then get on to the base as well as the hair.

An easy and simple way to avoid spraying oils or conditioners directly to your hair is to simply spray your brush!
Simple and very effective way to avoid the oils reaching the knots!

Organic Aloe Vera gel is used to heal hair conditions such as dandruff, keeps hair conditioned, preserves PH balance of the scalp, and helps with hair growth. Or usually by drinking aloe vera juice to improve the internal state of the body.