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I’m sure you’ve heard of the no-poo method of shampooing – wash with baking soda and water, rinse with apple cider vinegar. I’ve heard that for some people it takes an adjustment period where their hair is greasy, but I tried it for a month and it worked perfectly, right from the start. But, oh, I admit it. I really missed suds. I make my own soap, so I checked to see if Handmade Soap: Recipes for Crafting Soap at Home had any shampoo recipes and sure enough, they had a few for shampoo bars.
I made a few adjustments because of sensitivities and made a nice, lathery, sudsy bar of shampoo soap. It contains rosemary oil which is purported to have a number of benefits:
- stimulates circulation to the scalp
- is anti-bacterial
- makes hair shiny
- helps to stop hair loss
- stimulates hair growth
- treats dandruff
- soothes itchy scalp
- darkens hair
- and is good for all hair types
Here are my ingredients for the shampoo bar:
- 15 ounces distilled water
- 5.6 ounces lye (why lye is safe)
- 12 ounces coconut oil
- 6 ounces palm oil
- 10 ounces castor oil
- 8 ounces olive oil
- 4 ounces jojoba oil (improves hair’s texture and appearance)
- 0.5 ounces rosemary oil (do not add until the soap traces and is ready to be poured into your mold)
For specifics on how to make soap, see my post Basic Soap Making. The shampoo bar is made using the exact same method. Two added benefits of this soap – I find that I do not need conditioner when I use this shampoo bar because of the jojoba oil, and it makes a great body bar as well. So, I hop in the shower and use the same bar to shampoo, condition, and wash.
Do you want to learn more about DIY Natural Skin Care and Cleaning Products? I recommend the following eBooks:
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DIY Organic Beauty Recipes
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Thanks for the recipe. Good to know that the no-poo method worked for you right away.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, this is definitely something I want to try and I’m pinning it
Yay! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I asked my soap-making friend to make me a shampoo bar and now can give her your recipe but without the rosemary. Don’t want darker hair. Would like to add peppermint
I am certainly going to make this! I recently began making my own cleaning supplies so why not shampoo! Thanks for the recipe! I am having a linky party tomorrow at my site http://www.frugalfitfamily.com tomorrow! Link in if you have a chance! I found you from Thank your body thursday!
I wonder if you could make this as a liquid and leave out the lye.
Leaving out the lye will just leave you will oils which will not clean your hair. It’s the chemical reaction between the oils and the lye that create soap. After the chemical reaction occurs, no more lye is left. A different type of lye is used for liquid soaps.
I confess that I have been hesitant to try the no-poo method because of the loss of suds! You’ve got a wonderful solution here – thanks!
Ya know I’ve seen the posts about not using shampoo, but I…don’t know. I really like my lather too. It just somehow feels clean. I am hoping to learn how to make soap someday soon, so we may decide to give it a try. Thanks so much for sharing at the HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you again tomorrow evening: http://blackfoxhomestead.com/the-homeacre-hop/
~Jenny
I just starting using shampoo bars instead of no-poo! the baking soda was just too harsh for me. After about 5 months, my scalp felt raw. I love with shampoo bars that I can often just water-wash every other time. They last forever!!
I have been no poo for well over a year, but this looks like a great alternative!
Thanks for sharing with us! I hope you stop by again next week at Eco-Kids Tuesday!
I love shampoo bars, and that’s awesome that your recipe can serve double duty as a body bar too! That’s really convenient, especially for traveling. It’s a lot easier bring a bar of soap in your suitcase than it is to try to bring a no-poo baking soda and vinegar concoction!
Thanks for sharing with Old-Fashioned Friday!
These sound great! Congrats on your feature on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
I concur on the properties of rosemary you listed. I had some sort of itchy scalp issue a few years ago that was making my hair fall out (over 100 strands every shampoo- yes I actually counted them). I began using a rosemary shampoo bar and it reduced my hair loss significantly, even the first time I used it. It also soothed the itchiness. The only thing I didn’t like was that it darkened my hair…I considered my self blonde, but not so much anymore.
I’ll try making soap someday and I’m really glad you posted your recipe. It’s on my to-do list!
That’s so great to hear, Kristel! I’m hoping it may darken my gray hair!!
Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!
My wife does the baking soda and vinegar method. I on the other hand use goat’s milk soap for my hair. It is hard for me to find soap that doesn’t bother my eczema but, goat’s milk soap seems to do pretty well.
I’ve been meaning to make my own shampoo. I’ll have to try this out. Thank you for linking up at my first ever Tuned-in Tuesday Blog Hop!
Hope to see you there tomorrow with new stuff! http://www.healthyrootshappysoul.com/2013/03/tuned-in-tuesday-blog-hop_25.html
By the way, this post is featured on as one of the top articles on the Tuned-in Tuesday blog hop!
Thank you, Loriel!
Thank you for sharing on Eco Kids! I’m featuring this today, and I do hope that you’ll link up with us again!
I’ve been looking at apple cider vinegar shampoo bars. Do you have any info on how to add ACV to a shampoo bar?
Thanks!
I’m afraid that I don’t have any experience with that.
This is going to make great homemade Christmas gifts! How many bars does the recipe yield?
Hi Sarah! The recipe makes approximately 20 bars, depending on how large you cut them, of course.
Fabulous! Thank you
Do not use palm oil ever. It destroys orangutangs because of the forresting. Use an alternative.
Bramble Berry, my source for palm oil says “In keeping with our social and ethical responsibility goals, our Palm oil supplier is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization that supports sustainable palm oil production. ” I sure do appreciate your concern; thanks for stopping by.
Can we leave out the palm oil? And/or the castor oil?
Thanks
You would have to substitute with another appropriate oil, Paula, to correctly balance the lye. You cannot just leave them out.
Is Palm oil a liquid? Where can I find it and what will it look like? I have never used it before. Also, do have a link for where you buy lye? Thank yo so much. I am looking forward to trying this.
Palm oil is solid, like coconut oil, unless it is kept in a warm place. Bramble Berry is a good source for soap making supplies:
http://www.brambleberry.com/Palm-Oil-P3210.aspx
http://www.brambleberry.com/Sodium-Hydroxide-Lye-2-lbs-P3037.aspx
Firstly, thank you for sharing your experience and recipe.
I want to give this recipe a try. When running this recipe in the soaping calculator, it´s giving me a 2% superfat; is this correct? At a low 2%, it might work for a shampoo but not sure if it´s too drying for the scalp. BTW, do you use the vinegar rinse afterwards?
Hi Siloe! Thank you for visiting. I find the recipe very emollient and not at all drying; I don’t rinse w/vinegar, nor do I need conditioner w/this shampoo. Let me know if you try it and what you think.
Is the rosemary oil you use in this recipe rosemary essential oil? Thanks!
Hi Marisa!y Yes that’s correct.
I am confused on what kind of Lye do you buy? Where do you buy yours and what is the brand? I read somewhere you can buy Lye at Lowes, but not sure if that is correct or not. I was looking on Amazon and there are so many choices. I wasn’t sure which brand or kind is the best. Thanks for your input! I am really looking forward to trying to make these.
Hi Kim, the brand does not matter. I often purchase on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=lye&linkCode=ur2&tag=learningandye-20&url=search-alias%3Daps
As long as it is sodium hydroxide and no other ingredient, it will be fine.
Great!! Thanks.
I am looking forward to making these. Thank you for helping and responding so fast!