More adventures in homemade shampoo
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Dragonwolf
Posts: 5,600 Member
For the life of me, I can't remember if I posted this already or not. so I'm posting it anyway. If nothing else, new people will be able to find out about this.
For the older readers, you're probably aware of my previous attempts at homemade shampoo, which involved avocado. They failed miserably, in no small part due to my hair being thick and (at the time) very long. Well, I've found a shampoo recipe that I absolutely adore!
Pros:
Fewer tangles!
No need for conditioner!
Can be unscented or scented
No gobs of stuff left
Hair feels great!
Cons:
Needs mixed before use (ingredients separate)
Kind of watery (does the job, it's just really thin compared to store shampoo)
Recipe
Like so many gems I find, this comes courtesy of Wellness Mama - http://wellnessmama.com/3701/how-to-make-natural-shampoo/ . Seriously, if you don't have her website bookmarked yet, you need to. Her stuff is all kinds of awesomeness.
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup liquid castille soap
1/2 tsp Vitamin E oil
20 drops essential oil
1/2 tsp olive or almond oil (for dry hair, optional)
Mix ingredients together in an old shampoo bottle or other container. Shake before use. Keep in shower for up to a month. Use about a teaspoon.
I used homemade coconut milk from flakes for the batch I currently have. I'll be trying it with canned coconut milk next time (YMMV when it comes to the coconut milk). I also did it without the essential oil, because all I have that's skin grade is Clove and Cinnamon Bark, and I'm kind of sick of both of them (and don't really want those scents for hair).
My hair is fine and extremely prone to tangling, especially before I chopped it a couple of weeks ago, and this shampoo is so awesome, I don't even need conditioner, even if I use it daily. Now that I've chopped it, I don't even need a brush to get the tangles out of my hair.
I'm no hair color expert, but I got highlights when I chopped my hair, and so far, it hasn't affected them at all that I can tell, but if you're worried about it, the comments mention following with a vinegar rinse to provide an acid balance to the soap.
It's also far, far cheaper than the shampoo I was getting. I went from $8 for a ~16oz bottle for Nature's Gate, to about $1-$2 for 8oz worth of this, and it lasts about as long (and that's with getting a giant bottle of Dr. Bronner's castille soap).
For the older readers, you're probably aware of my previous attempts at homemade shampoo, which involved avocado. They failed miserably, in no small part due to my hair being thick and (at the time) very long. Well, I've found a shampoo recipe that I absolutely adore!
Pros:
Fewer tangles!
No need for conditioner!
Can be unscented or scented
No gobs of stuff left
Hair feels great!
Cons:
Needs mixed before use (ingredients separate)
Kind of watery (does the job, it's just really thin compared to store shampoo)
Recipe
Like so many gems I find, this comes courtesy of Wellness Mama - http://wellnessmama.com/3701/how-to-make-natural-shampoo/ . Seriously, if you don't have her website bookmarked yet, you need to. Her stuff is all kinds of awesomeness.
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup liquid castille soap
1/2 tsp Vitamin E oil
20 drops essential oil
1/2 tsp olive or almond oil (for dry hair, optional)
Mix ingredients together in an old shampoo bottle or other container. Shake before use. Keep in shower for up to a month. Use about a teaspoon.
I used homemade coconut milk from flakes for the batch I currently have. I'll be trying it with canned coconut milk next time (YMMV when it comes to the coconut milk). I also did it without the essential oil, because all I have that's skin grade is Clove and Cinnamon Bark, and I'm kind of sick of both of them (and don't really want those scents for hair).
My hair is fine and extremely prone to tangling, especially before I chopped it a couple of weeks ago, and this shampoo is so awesome, I don't even need conditioner, even if I use it daily. Now that I've chopped it, I don't even need a brush to get the tangles out of my hair.
I'm no hair color expert, but I got highlights when I chopped my hair, and so far, it hasn't affected them at all that I can tell, but if you're worried about it, the comments mention following with a vinegar rinse to provide an acid balance to the soap.
It's also far, far cheaper than the shampoo I was getting. I went from $8 for a ~16oz bottle for Nature's Gate, to about $1-$2 for 8oz worth of this, and it lasts about as long (and that's with getting a giant bottle of Dr. Bronner's castille soap).
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Replies
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YEEES. Thank you for this.0
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I'm seriously too lazy to make my own shampoo. It's just not on my list of to-do's. BUT... I use some AWESOME shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley Soaps. I love love love them. My favorite is the soapnut shampoo bar, but I also like Lavender Spice. I really like shampoo bars over liquid shampoo because they last a long time... much longer than liquid so the value is probably comparable to making your own. I ordered about 10 different flavors of their samples, and just the samples will likely last me more than a year... maybe two.
http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/products/for-the-hair/shampoo-bars/
I also tried JR Liggett's shampoo bar. Not a fan.
Through the winter, I've been using Desert Essences conditioner, but now that the heat is off in our house, I think I'll switch back to Apple Cider Vinegar as a conditioning rinse. I couldn't use that in the winter because the static electricity in my hair was intense.
My hair has become much softer, shinier, and way less frizzy since I stopped using commercial shampoos, even the expensive organic/non-bad stuff shampoos. I also stopped shampooing every day (which I thought I HAD to) and now only shampoo every 3-5 days. I could go longer... may hair hardly is greasy and still pretty full by day 5, but I like shampooing. It's just nice.
I also stopped using a regular towel on my hair after my showers. I either use a t-shirt or a "turbie twist". I use the turbie twist as my shower cap on my non-poo days (yes, I still shower every day).
/crazy post0 -
I'm seriously too lazy to make my own shampoo. It's just not on my list of to-do's. BUT... I use some AWESOME shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley Soaps. I love love love them. My favorite is the soapnut shampoo bar, but I also like Lavender Spice. I really like shampoo bars over liquid shampoo because they last a long time... much longer than liquid so the value is probably comparable to making your own. I ordered about 10 different flavors of their samples, and just the samples will likely last me more than a year... maybe two.
http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/products/for-the-hair/shampoo-bars/
I also tried JR Liggett's shampoo bar. Not a fan.
Through the winter, I've been using Desert Essences conditioner, but now that the heat is off in our house, I think I'll switch back to Apple Cider Vinegar as a conditioning rinse. I couldn't use that in the winter because the static electricity in my hair was intense.
My hair has become much softer, shinier, and way less frizzy since I stopped using commercial shampoos, even the expensive organic/non-bad stuff shampoos. I also stopped shampooing every day (which I thought I HAD to) and now only shampoo every 3-5 days. I could go longer... may hair hardly is greasy and still pretty full by day 5, but I like shampooing. It's just nice.
I also stopped using a regular towel on my hair after my showers. I either use a t-shirt or a "turbie twist". I use the turbie twist as my shower cap on my non-poo days (yes, I still shower every day).
/crazy post
Yep, I use a t-shirt, too! Finally a use for all the shirts I keep finding with holes in them (seriously, my husband's body oils eat through things like thread, it's bizarre)!
I've heard of shampoo bars before, but haven't really had a chance to wrap my head around the idea of a bar soap for hair. Since I make (cold processed) soaps, anyway, I might add that to my list of stuff if it's not too much of a PITA. I'm also planning on looking into making shaving soap, too.
As for being too lazy to make shampoo -- lol, that is some serious laziness! :laugh:0 -
As for being too lazy to make shampoo -- lol, that is some serious laziness! :laugh:
I am so supremely overworked and stressed out... That would just push me to full lunacy.
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