# What shampoo recipe do you use...



## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

...to make either a shampoo bar, or liquid shampoo? 
I can find all sorts of recipe online, but who knows if they really work? or turn out right? 
Can someone please point me to a recipe that they have made and that they know works? 
We have TOTALLY cut out using store bought shampoo and conditioner, but my daughter has really long hair and she is only 11 so she is having trouble getting it really clean at the scalp using just borax to wash and vinegar to rinse.
(She did fine when we used shampoo. I just want to stay away from those chemicals.)
TIA!
ARK


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## SimplerTimez (Jan 20, 2008)

I haven't ever made shampoo; I use Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Lavendar for my shampoo, or even the bar soap. No chemicals at all. I did make a rinse with apple cider vinegar and several different herbs (lemon balm, rosemary, chamomile) to use after about every 3rd washing. I have naturally curly hair, so it's a bit more coarse than a lot of people's. The good thing about Dr. B's stuff is that it lasts FOREVER - you just need about a nickel size amount for a full wash.

~ST


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2008)

SimplerTimez said:


> I haven't ever made shampoo; I use Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Lavendar for my shampoo, or even the bar soap. No chemicals at all. I did make a rinse with apple cider vinegar and several different herbs (lemon balm, rosemary, chamomile) to use after about every 3rd washing. I have naturally curly hair, so it's a bit more coarse than a lot of people's. The good thing about Dr. B's stuff is that it lasts FOREVER - you just need about a nickel size amount for a full wash.
> 
> ~ST


I also use Dr. Bronners. For shampoo, bodywash, washing dishes, washing clothes, and general household cleaner. It's good for everything, and a little goes a LONG ways.


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## elliemaeg (May 1, 2005)

I bought the liquid castile with Lavendar for my DH and he liked it better than any name brand shampoo.


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## JGex (Dec 27, 2005)

Serious question.... I tried using Bronner's for my hair a few times, but it seemed to strip ALL of the oils, good and bad, from my hair. Does it do this to y'all? :shrug:


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## homebody (Jan 24, 2005)

JGex said:


> Serious question.... I tried using Bronner's for my hair a few times, but it seemed to strip ALL of the oils, good and bad, from my hair. Does it do this to y'all? :shrug:


I used it once on my hair: did the same to mine. Used the rest of the bottle (lavender) to add to the clothes washing liquid. BTW, all that weird writing on the bottle freaked me out.


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## JGex (Dec 27, 2005)

homebody said:


> I used it once on my hair: did the same to mine. Used the rest of the bottle (lavender) to add to the clothes washing liquid. BTW, all that weird writing on the bottle freaked me out.


lol... yeah, I was a little weirded out by the writing, but that was 20 years ago. I swear by Bronner's for a lot of uses and keep a couple of gallon jugs in the pantry.


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## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

homebody said:


> I used it once on my hair: did the same to mine. Used the rest of the bottle (lavender) to add to the clothes washing liquid. BTW, all that weird writing on the bottle freaked me out.


You think the weird writing is freaky, you should see the Biography channel's documentary on the man - freaky for sure!

Sorry, to go off topic, I'd be interested in a shampoo recipe too.

Halo


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

I've killed alot of time pondering the writing on a Doc Bronners soap bottle. When you're on a 8 week canoe trip and the weather turns against you and you've burned all the pages of the book you brought to read starting fires, Ole Doc Bronners can be a lifesaver when tent fever sets in.


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

All of this is very interesting, _to be sure!_  
BUT, what I really need is a *RECIPE * that I can make myself. LOL  
I guess nobody makes their own?????????????


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## MtnGranny (Mar 3, 2006)

Here is the recipe I have used for over 5 years now. It is from Annie Berthold-Bond's book, "Better Basics for the Home". My hair is softer than it has ever been. I have extremely dry hair & skin and have not noticed it drying my hair out. My hair is much healthier looking since I started making this - and by the way, my hair is past my waste.

Basic Soap Shampoo Formula
10 oz water, or herbal water
1-2 oz liquid castile soap
1 tsp glycerin or 1/4 tsp oil
20-35 drops of essential oil

I have used different "flavors" of Dr Bronners and essential oils. I think the glycerin helps if you have dry hair. You can adjust the amounts to suit you, I use a little more soap, but don't use too much glycerin as it gets hard to rinse out. I use organic apple cider vinegar as a rinse. If you don't want to use Dr Bronners, you could use homemade soap.


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Hello Everyone, newbie here 


I have my own recipe I have used for years:


16 oz spring or rain water (bottled is ok, just not that city tap water crap 

1 teaspoon EACH of

Nettles
Rosemary
Sage
Lavender

1/2 teaspoon sweet almond oil

1 Tablespoon of soapwort or

2 oz of liquid castille soap


Boil the water, add all herbs and steep, allow to cool about 30 minutes. Add sweet almond oil and castille soap (if soapwort isnt used) to herb water mix and pour into bottle. Shake before each use.

For a rinse I use apple cider vinegar steeped with rosemary and because I have dark borwn hair with red highlights I use a little chamomile too to bring out the red lighlights.

I use warm almond oil as a hot oil treatment every two weeks as well.

I have hair 4 inches from my knees and this recipe has worked well for about 10 years now. 

Bravo for using chemical free products


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## Up North (Nov 29, 2005)

Here's a CP shampoo bar that I use and my family likes a lot. The bar gets better as it ages. My mom just pulled out a bar that was a year old and she keeps raving about it. Of course a freshly cured bar works good too. I like using a cider vinegar rinse as well. Makes a big difference. Here's my recipe. 

6 oz Castor oil
15 oz Coconut oil
10 oz Hazelnut oil
6 oz Jojoba
3 oz Palm oil
5.4 oz Lye
15 oz water

Heather


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## TrapperJimsWife (Jan 29, 2008)

I'm someone who can't use true soap in my hair ( BTW ...Dr Bonners is true soap ...so maybe that is why some of you have noticed it doesn't work for you). True soap has quite a high pH and it really isn't compatible to hair - skin, no problem. Some people however, do seem to be fine with true soap in their hair.

I make my own soap free sulfate free shampoo using surfactants you can purchase through most soap supply companies ...there are many to choose from, and they are naturally derived from sugars & veg. oils & are very mild - and you can make an easy cold mix formula ...only problem is when scenting with essential oils, you may end up with a thin product ...not a big deal really - as long as you are aware of that & don't pour it out too fast! There are ways to thicken you shampoo but it's just another step to make things more complicated. Supposedly, a pinch of kosher salt can help to thicken but I have never tried.

You will need a preservative though - which you don't if making a soap 'shampoo'. Some of the ingredients sound like scary chemicals, but they are not.

a very easy cold mix shampoo is:

30-35% Sulfoacetate/Sulfosuccinate Blend
10% Cocoamidopropyl Betaine
5% honey
5% hydrolyzed milk protien
.20% germall plus or 1% optiphen plus
balance in water &/or aloe 

I love to add all sorts of extra goodies - like silk protien, oat & calendula extract ...but this will add to your cost & isn't really all that important for a wash off product. I gave a few sources in the thread about hair conditioner , so check that out ...plus Supplies to Die For  is another good source. HTH & have fun!!


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

I make my own shampoo bar. We like it for our hair (long) with our water, but notice the condition of our hair after shampooing is considerably different when traveling (due to the differences in water), so you will need to find one that works for your hair with your water.

FWIW, here is my recipe, plug the items into a soap calculator to get the lye:

22.5 oz olive oil
18 oz castor oil
18 oz coconut oil
3 oz jojoba oil
2 oz sweet almond oil
2 oz apricot kernel oil
2 oz avocado oil
1 oz shea butter

I make this cold process with about 22-24 oz of water, and usually only add some grapefruit seed extract and vitamin e oil. It will be a fairly soft bar for about 2 months, then becomes very hard. The bar has a very nice scent on its own with the oils in it. We wash hair about 5 times a week, and rinse once a week with apple cider vinegar. It may take some time for your hair to get used to a shampoo bar and weaned off of traditional shampoos as your scalp has been trained to quickly regenerate the oils that the shampoos strip your hair of.

Dawn


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

OK yall - thanks SO much!
I am going to try making a "Shampoo Bar". 

Will it *really * be better for our hair than my regular CP Goat milk soap recipe that uses goat milk, lye, coconut oil, safflower oil, and lard?


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

Get the book Liquid soaps by Catherine Failor . Lots of recipes and instructions .

Patty


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## Betho (Dec 27, 2006)

Yeah I'm another one who can't use real soap on my hair, makes it super limp with a gross dirty greasy texture. When I was making my own shampoo I made a solid bar with surfactants and it worked great. I even at one point made a 2-in-1 bar, I accidentally made my shampoo bar so conditioning with all the extras that I didn't need a separate conditioner. But even though I wrote down the formula, somehow I never was able to quite duplicate it. 

Anyway, it worked great


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## annabella1 (Feb 11, 2003)

I use an egg. Beat it up use it like shampoo rinse with apple cider vinegar or beer. works great. My husband did ask once why the bathroom smelled like Ceaser Salad when I got out of the shower.


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## Soap (Jan 2, 2003)

Ark said:


> OK yall - thanks SO much!
> I am going to try making a "Shampoo Bar".
> 
> Will it *really * be better for our hair than my regular CP Goat milk soap recipe that uses goat milk, lye, coconut oil, safflower oil, and lard?


Castor Oil is the secret to a great shampoo bar. You will note that both of the shampoo bar recipes included castor oil

-soap


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## Hummingbird (Aug 21, 2002)

This is one I just made that is curing as we speak. 

4 oz Castor Oil
7 oz Coconut Oil
9 oz Olive Oil
5 oz Palm Oil
2 oz Shea Butter
1 oz Stearic Acid
4 oz Sunflower Oil

10.9 oz water
4.4 oz lye

I used the Crock Pot method. I also didn't add any fragrance as DH wanted it unscented.

Hope you find one that works!


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## Tsadiyq (Jun 28, 2007)

YaY! Finally a hair recipe I can try without worrying I'm using the wrong recipe and wasted money and time! 

Thank you!!


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## Astrid (Nov 13, 2010)

I've made soap for years and tried to make a shampoo bar but had the same result as Betho. Then I noticed that the bars here have castor oil and read the comment by Soap. Mine didn't include castor oil. Why would that make a difference and does it prevent the huge mat of snarls that come with using a soap bar?


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I don't think it would make that much difference with hard water. With soft water, soap will rinse out better. With our hard water, I get a gooey mess. I have tried AC vinegar in water as a rinse and that helps some.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

linn, do you have a recipe that you like for a shampoo bar or do you just do something else?
I have been a baking soda "no poo" person for years, but since we have moved to a place with really hard water, it makes my hair feel gunky. I do rinse with ACV too.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I will pm you the recipe I have used for a shampoo bar, but as I said before I usually don't use a shampoo bar because of our hard water. I use commercial shampoo.


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## Fawnridge (Sep 13, 2010)

I have very hard water also. I started using the baking soda mixed in water for my hair washing a couple of weeks ago. I also made a rinse from steeped lavender and rosemary tea. I add apple cider vinegar and some water to thin if needed. That rinse really helps the feel and texture of the hair. No one can tell that I changed from shampoo and I love the idea of really cheap hair products! Oh, my scalp doesn't have an itch anymore either.
My daughter started using this also and we both are having good results. My hair is medium length and hers is long and thick.


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