# shampoo/ conditioner bars



## JCsuds (Jan 15, 2015)

Hi I am new here I have 3 daughters and a wife with long thick hair (I am mostly bald ) and we want to get off the grid as far as shampoo and conditioners etcâ¦. I am looking for some good shampoo bar soap recipes . I have been spending a couple of hours at night reading but I am not sure I am getting it . 
Or are there other hand soap recipes , or conditioner bars that you might have under your belt now that you could share ? I am particularly interested in ones with tallow .I have access to an abundance of Beef suet . I have heard that it can go rancid fairly quickly does anyone know what could added to the tallow to be a natural preservative that they have had experience with like Benzoin , ascorbate etcâ¦.I dont eat pork so the thought of washing in pig fat freaks me out but I do have access to a lot of Beef suet / and tallow (I do eat burgers occasionally ) I have not made my first batch yet but I am hoping to gain the wisdom of other soapers first Thanks in advance James


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

First off, render the suet into tallow. I now render my tallow in my roaster at the lowest temp. No, I do not use water to render. I store my rendered tallow in canning jars. I leave about 1/2" headspace, wipe rims, apply 2-piece lid and flip over until cool. They keep forever.

Next, if you're on FaceBook, come join my Tallow Soapers group. They love to answer questions and you'll get a lot more input than just me and the few folks that frequent this board.

Actual shampoo bar .... some hair likes it, some does not. Mine does not. Bar soaps are alkali and your hair is not. The alkali causes the scales on your hair to lift. To combat this, folks who use bar soap on their hair will then use vinegar to bring the acidity back to the hair follicle.


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## Guest (Jan 17, 2015)

I was given a little sample of Chagrin Valley Shampoo and Conditioner bars and have tried several of them, so far. My hair likes a couple, and didn't like one... 

Perhaps play with a few samples and see which works best for your hair & water - then work on Duplicating their favorite recipe?


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

If you do a search in this forum (do an advanced search and limit to the soapmaking threads), there have been a couple of discussions on shampoo bars. They work for some, not for others. I love my shampoo bar that I make for use at home, but when traveling it doesn't work the same due to differing water chemistry. 

One of the most important oils in a shampoo bar is Castor oil, which should probably be in the 15-25% of your oils range. I also use jojoba, Sweet almond, apricot, avocado oils in mine, plus a little shea butter for help in conditioning. I like to use lavender and rosemary oils in mine.

Dawn


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## hurryiml8 (Apr 15, 2009)

I use 95% olive oil and 5% castor in my shampoo bar. This is conditioning to my hair and is what works for me. It's really something you have to experiment with as everyone's hair and water are different.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Castor oil gives a thick lather, like shampoo. It is also very conditioning for the hair and skin. The only recipe I use (sometimes alter it a little) uses castor oil. I use more than 5%, about 8%.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

I like this shampoo bar. The apple cider vinegar one. She also has a beer shampoo bar.

http://lizardladysoapinfo.blogspot.com/2014/06/so-you-want-to-make-bar-of-shampoo.html


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