When I came across Oleum Vera* (www.oleumvera.com), my memories came back. This brand offers various do-it-yourself kits that contain organic ingredients and all necessary tools. They have body care kit, facial kits (e.g. toner kit, face mask kit, moisturizer kit), hair treatment kit, etc.. They even offer a set for men, which is an interesting gift idea.
It was tough to choose which set to try out as all of these kits seem tempting, but finally I picked out Organic Hair Care kit (here). This set has 4 cold pressed & unrefined carrier oils (1 oz each), 4 essential oils (0.17 oz each), a recipe/info booklet, and containers/tools (glass bottle, dropper vial, mortar & pestle, funnel). This kit is $74.95, which might seem a little expensive, but if you ever bought high quality oils, especially essential oils, you know those cost a lot and in the end you end up paying the same or more. Besides, the supplies last 4 months or more. I also love the idea of getting everything in one box. You not only get the ingredients, but containers as well, and they are all designed to work together in a bunch of recipes.
The booklet tells about the company, about the ingredients, and features some recipes. It also tells how to use different hair products (serum, mask, rinse). While there are a couple of recipes in it, you should register at Oleum Vera's website to get full access to the recipes online. I really wish the booklet contained all hair recipes as that would be more convenient. Also, some recipes call for ingredients you should get yourself (e.g. eggs, banana, yogurt), so be aware of that as for some reason I thought I will not need any extras besides what's in the box.
The kit arrived packed very securely, and even each bottle was protected from leaking by having a bottle stopper under the cap, which really impressed me. I never store liquid bottles on their sides, but those stoppers are a nice extra as no one wants anything, especially oils, spilling.
I haven't used any of the containers yet (I'll tell you why a little later), but they're a nice addition, and provide easy storage as the need to have your own containers is eliminated.
I was still undecided which recipe to try out first when I found an opened bottle of beer that gone flat in the fridge, so I decided to go with Nourishing Beer & Honey Hair Rinse. It calls for jojoba oil, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils, beer and honey. The ingredients need to be mixed together and voila! The smell is divine! In fact, it smells so good that I used it a couple of times already. I got this recipe online, and only in the shower did I realize that I didn't know how to use it (shampoo or not afterwards, how long to keep on the hair, etc.). Since the mixture contained honey, I decided to lightly shampoo my hair after using the rinse. Turns out the instructions are different, but I was too late reading them.
One thing I want to warn you about essential oils is that while all recipes have them mixed in with other ingredients, they might still hurt you if the products come in contact or close to your eyes. I didn't even think about that until one day I was pouring the rinse on my hair, and I bent my head forward too quickly, so some water+rinse from my hair ran down my face. It didn't get directly in my eyes, but essential oils are strong and my eyes got a little irritated/burning/itchy from their smell. That's not something to stop me from using these products, but it's something to keep in mind and be careful.
Some recipes I didn't try, because I didn't feel comfortable with additional ingredients needed (e.g. banana and how that would have to go down the drain) or because I simply didn't have those ingredients on hand (e.g. Greek yogurt). However, I wanted to try something new, and I chose Nourishing Rosemary and Mint Serum, which only needed base and essential oils that were all provided in the kit. Silly me read how to use the serum way before making it, and I didn't pay attention to the part that mentions "a few drops" (surprise surprise, that's where containers come in handy when storing the rest of the mixture), so of course I messed up the whole deal. I put the whole mixture on my hair. When I got into the shower to wash it out, my hair actually felt dry, and I had to put some conditioner to make the process easier. I shampooed 3 times to get rid of greasiness, but when my hair dried, halfway from the roots it was perfect, and halfway to the ends it was an oily mess. Since I don't want to have bad hair days, I went back and shampooed my hair for another 3-4 times. This time my hair was perfect! Well, lesson learned, and next time I will double check before pouring half a bottle of oil on my hair.
I might not be into making my own beauty products anymore, but mixing a mask/serum/rinse here and there is quite fun. I can put a mask on my hair, wrap a towel on my head, and continue my spa experience with a facial mask. In fact, I had so much fun with this kit that I'm already thinking what it would be like to try a different set. These kits are nice to get for yourself, but also they can be an unusual and different gift for someone else.
* marks PR samples that I received complimentary
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