My foray into homemade herbal shampoo began last summer. Up until that time, I just used whatever cheap shampoo I could get my hands on. Times were tight and my beloved salon shampoos were most certainly not in the budget. However, I was pretty uncomfortable with the thought of us being exposed to all of those weird sounding chemicals and knew I could do better than that.
I got the framework for this shampoo from the book Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair by Dina Falconi. Oh, how I love this book! If you want to make your own natural body care recipes, then this is THE book to own (or check out from the library as much as they’ll let you!)
Before I share the recipe, just a few notes on shampoos made with castile soap:
- Don’t use straight castile soap on your hair. It’s just too concentrated & strong that way. Your hair will not be happy.
- Don’t use castile soap on dyed hair. It’s too alkaline and will strip hair color.
- Although you will see many recipes on the internet calling for it, don’t add vinegar directly to a recipe containing castile soap. One is an extreme acid and the other very alkaline – at best, the vinegar will react with the soap immediately and become uselessly inert, and at worse, it’ll create some sort of curdled mess. You’ll still want to use vinegar, just AFTER washing with your homemade shampoo.
- Homemade shampoo made with castile soap looks watery after you make it. However, pour a small amount into your hand and rub together and you’ll quickly see just how much lather it makes. A little bit, goes a long way.
- After washing, your hair will greatly benefit from a spritzing or rinsing of diluted vinegar and water – I use a roughly half and half mixture, you may find a better ratio for your own hair. Vinegar rebalances the pH of your hair, leaving it smoother and shinier. A rinse will also help remove any excess soap residue. More on that below.
- If you try this and aren’t happy with the results, keep experimenting or try a completely different option such as the popular “No ‘Poo” method. My friend Sara at My Merry Messy Life has a great post on this.
- You are either going to love this shampoo or you’re not going to love it. There’s not a lot of medium opinions on this one! I found this post from Lisa Bronner while browsing around the internet. Read through the comments on the post to see all of the different reactions that people’s hair can have to castile soap. It’s not going to work for every hair type/length/water situation so be sure to make a small, test batch to start.
- Everyone’s hair is different! What works for mine, won’t work for everyone. My husband uses this daily (without a vinegar rinse) and it’s the best thing we’ve ever found for his short, thick, slightly oily hair. My hair is long and fine and other than an unfortunate perm in the seventh grade and an I’m-9-months-pregnant-and-my-hormones-insisted-I-chop-off-my-waist-length-hair-and-get-blonde-highlights incident, it’s not been chemically treated. I find I need a wash with a store-bought clarifying shampoo (I use Neutrogena) once every few weeks to prevent my hair from feeling like it has buildup. Obviously not 100% natural, but as my hubby is fond of saying, I’m more flaky than crunchy sometimes… and I’m still quite happy that I’ve reduced most of my chemical exposure via shampoo.
Customizable DIY Herbal Shampoo Recipe:
- 2 ounces Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby Mild Pure Castile Soap
- 4 to 5 ounces of water, infused with herbs (see suggestions below)
- 1/4 teaspoon carrier oil – more for dry hair, less for oily (options below)
- 20 to 40 drops essential oil (suggestions below)
First, make your herbal infusion by placing a teaspoon, or pinch, of each type of herb you wish to use in a heat proof jar or glass, pour one cup of simmering hot water over the herbs, cap with a saucer and let steep for several hours. Strain and set aside 4 to 5 ounces. Any leftover infusion can be used in your bathwater or diluted with vinegar to use as a hair rinse.
Add the castile soap, carrier oil and essential oils to the water. Gently stir until mixed. Try to avoid whipping up any bubbles, as much as possible. Pour into an easy to dispense container. You can recycle an old shampoo bottle for this. This should stay fresh for about four to six weeks or so, depending on the types of essential oils you use. Refrigeration will increase the shelf life, but is not necessary.
Shake or swirl gently before each use. If at all possible, follow with either a rinse or spritzing of vinegar and water. More on this below.
Okay, so now that we know the basic recipe, let’s talk about how to customize this shampoo in order to make it your own.
Herbs to try in your infusion:
These can be fresh or dry or a combination of both types. Chamomile is traditionally used for light hair and rosemary for dark hair, but feel free to mix and match as you please. You can make a lovely floral shampoo, using roses, violets, lavender and other flowers with matching essential oils or create a more medicinal one with rosemary, thyme and tea tree oil. Comfrey and calendula are great for scalp conditions and rosemary is said to prevent thinning hair. Lavender may help a dry, itchy scalp. These are just a few suggestions. Peruse through the listings of available bulk herbs at Mountain Rose Herbs and see which names catch your eye. Each herb has a little link under its name that you can click for more information that will let you know what it’s useful for.
- Calendula
- Chamomile
- Comfrey
- Lavender
- Lemon or Orange Peel
- Nettle Leaf
- Oregano
- Plantain
- Rose Petals and/or Leaves
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Thyme
- Violet Flowers and/or Leaves
I buy my herbs from either Mountain Rose Herbs or Bulk Herb Store.
Carrier Oils:
These add a little bit of a moisturizing boost to your shampoo. My favorite to use is Tamanu Oil since it has so many great skin-healing properties and is also anti-microbial, making it ideal for those with dandruff or other scalp conditions. If you have very dry hair, you can use a bit more in your shampoo, if your hair is very oily, use less or omit completely. Make sure to shake your shampoo before each use so that the oil isn’t used up within the first washing or two.
Essential Oils:
Essential Oils are added for scent and therapeutic use. Depending on the types and amount used, they can also help extend the shelf life of your shampoo. If you have any type of dandruff or scalp conditions, tea tree oil is an excellent addition to consider. There are many other options however, including the ones listed below. Click on the link, find the name of the essential oil and click “Learn More” located under the name. This will show you benefits of each type plus any contraindications for use. Be especially careful if you are pregnant, nursing or on any medications before using essential oils.
- Lavender
- Peppermint
- Rose
- Geranium Rose
- Rosemary
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
- Grapefruit
- Sandalwood
- Spearmint
- Tea Tree
- Bergamot
- Peru Balsam
- Jasmine
- Ylang Ylang
Vinegar Rinse:
Ideally, you’ll follow your homemade shampoo with a vinegar rinse. As I mentioned above, my husband skips this step and still has excellent results with the type I make him. (I’ll put that particular recipe at the bottom of this post.) For my hair, I fill a small spray bottle half way with vinegar then top it off with water. I then spritz all over my towel dried hair. (Don’t worry, the vinegar smell disappears after a while!) You can also mix some up and pour over your hair as a rinse. (No need to rinse it out afterwards with plain water.)
The vinegar helps smooth your hair, restore pH and when used as a rinse – remove soap residue.
I like to use either my homemade lavender vinegar or rose petal vinegar, but you can infuse your vinegar with other herbs, or just use it plain. Most people prefer apple cider vinegar and I do use it sometimes, but I like how white vinegar lets the floral notes of lavender and rose shine through, so use that more often.
To infuse vinegar, just place flowers and/or herbs (fresh and/or dried) in the bottom of a glass, heat proof jar. Pour simmering (not boiling) vinegar into the jar to fill, then cap and let sit in a dark, coolish place for several weeks. Strain and store in the dark for a shelf life of at least a year, most likely much longer. Sunlight will make the pretty colors fade faster than just time alone, which is why a dark storage place is emphasized.
Rosemary Calendula Shampoo:
This is the recipe that works best for my hubby. You can use dried or fresh herbs.
- 2 ounces Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby Mild Pure Castile Soap
- 4 ounces water infused with: rosemary, plantain, calendula flowers and rose petals
- 1/4 teaspoon tamanu oil
- 10 drops tea tree oil
- 5 drops rosemary essential oil
- 15 to 20 drops lavender essential oil
I hope this post helps to show just how easy it is to create your own herbal shampoos! You may want to use them full-time or part-time or, if you find you don’t care for it as a shampoo, you can still use it as a body wash or even a bubble bath. Have fun experimenting!
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter and get free herbal ebooks, starting with one containing my Favorite Lavender Recipes!
I want to try this soon! I’ve been wanting to do something different than store bought shampoo, but don’t have the guts to do the no ‘poo method!
My husband had pretty bad dandruff but has been using a almond oil/tea tree oil mix (that I use for my face) and it’s gone away! He keeps his hair short so he just wipes away the oil in the shower with washcloth. If this stops working, I’ll have to try this for him.
I don’t have the guts to drop shampoo completely either! That sounds like a great method your hubby has going on – do you have a post on that or recipe to try? I’d love to try it with my son – he can never seem to remember to actually suds up when he takes a bath lol, so this sounds quick and easy to do!
All I do is put 5-10 drop tea tree oil in a 2 oz dropper bottle, and fill with almond oil. Then we just use one dropper full! Super easy.
Awesome – thanks! I’ll try it out on him starting tomorrow!
Sweet, let me know how it goes!
I want to try this over the weekend. Would I be able to pour it into a squeezable plastic bottle once it is done cooling? The glass jars are a prettier look but I feel I would drop it in the shower.
Yes! A plastic bottle will be fine to use. You can even recycle an old shampoo bottle. I do the same with my kids; even though they are used to handling glass jars, I feel it’s safest for them to have non-breakable in the bath. Have fun making your recipe!
I love this idea and just ordered the Dr. Bronner’s castile soap through your link. I was able to pin this through your Pinterest board, and I would also like to do a separate pin for the rose petal vinegar rinse, but I cannot find a pin button on that one and I can’t find the post for it when I search your Pinterest boards. Please help.
Hi Tricia, thanks so much for ordering and pinning! I’m redoing a few things on my site, so the pin it buttons are currently down, but hope to get them back on this coming week or the next! Thanks for letting me know that the rose petal vinegar needed pinning to my boards! I somehow overlooked pinning it, it seems! Here’s the pin that I just made for it:
http://pinterest.com/pin/262756959481340649/
so hopefully you can repin from that.
I hope you have fun making your shampoo!
I have been using a baking soda wahs with a vinrgar rince for over ayear now and just love it. Now I am very excited to try this. Thanks for sharing these great ideals. Please keep up the Great work!
Thanks Sue! I hope you have great luck with your shampoo!
for my hair, I’ve learned to consider the type of water your house is hooked up too. Here in Seattle the water is very soft. We also use a filter on our shower head to deal with the chlorine The city puts into our water. I’ve been experimenting with using the Castile soap shampoo recipe and have also found the African Black Soap along with a vinegar rinse works wonders with my baby fine straight hair. But then we went on vacation for a week to an island in Puget Sound Washington. Our cabin had well water. I noticed it had a mineral content from the residue in the bathroom and kitchen sink. It was a disaster as far a my hair. The soap wouldn’t rinse out and the vinegar rinse made no difference. My hair was an extreme oily mess.
had to go buy some shampoo so I looked presentable when we went out for a romantic dinner at the village restaurant.
Alyse, that is an excellent point that I’ll add to my post – thanks! We have hard well water also, which is probably why I have to use the clarifying shampoo every few weeks.
Yes a shower head filter is the best thing I ever found. I use Sprite filters =)
Jan, this is a great post! I love castile soap and use it all the time, just haven’t used it on my hair. Thanks for the link back to my site! I’ll have to link to your’s.
Hi Sara, thanks! No problem on the link – it’s a great post!
could I use a different castile soap, rather than the mild? I have that brand but I believe I have a different scent and just wanted to be sure I could use is without hurting my hair(obviously the smell will be different)?
Hi Juli, you sure can!
You may want to use a little bit less of it, than the mild version.
So much great info! I am a no-poo girl myself.. but use parts of this.. vinegar rinse from time to time, EOs.. Please consider sharing your post with us at Eco-Kids Tuesday! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/01/night-weaning-again-and-eco-kids.html
Hi Hannah, Thanks for the invite, I’ll pop right over there now.
I pinned this! http://pinterest.com/pin/48554502204479665/
For the build-up, you could try washing your hair with baking soda and rinsing it with vinegar when needed. I had to do it twice, and my hair was so nice! This would completely eliminate your chemical exposure from shampoo! Yay!
BTW- Thanks for posting on Eco Kids!
I’m featuring this post tomorrow!
Awesome, thanks!
Thanks for the pin! I’ve never tried the baking soda and vinegar trick for removing build-up; I’ll try it out! Thanks!
Beautiful recipe! I LOVE your use of herbs! Thank you so much for sharing this with us on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Thanks Kathy!
Hi Jan. Although I can’t really weigh in on the subject matter in this particular post (it may, nonetheless, provide a solution to my constantly-itchy scalp!), I must commend you on the impressive detail and many helpful photos it contains. Another fine example of your considerable talents. All the best in 2013…from “Farmer Doug” and “The Other Farmer” @ Ladybug’s Mew in Yellow Point (on Vancouver Island), B.C. Canada
Thanks Farmer Doug! I hope it helps! You might also want to check out Steff’s comment above about almond oil/tea tree oil combo her hubby uses. Sounds great!
Can you buy castle soap in Australia?
Hi Trish, I’m not sure about that since I live in the U.S. – you could try googling something like…. castile soap australia …. and see what pops up!
I love making my own products but have not tried shampoo yet! Thanks for the info on the different oils and ingredients!
I would love to have you share this on Thursdays at Tasty Traditions: http://myculturedpalate.com/
Hi there and thanks for the invitation! I’ll see you Thursday!
That looks super fun! Can’t wait to try it. Would you link this up to our blog hop?? I think our readers would love it!
xoxo, Jordan
http://www.lilywhite-designs.com
Hi! Thanks for asking – I’ll link up now!
Hi Jan! I’m featuring your shampoo at my next Super Link Party on Wednesday! I can’t wait to make some of my own!
Thanks Susie!!
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Hi and happy New Year! Thank you for your submission on Seasonal Celebration Wedensday at Natural Mothers Network! Your shampoo recipe is definitely one to try!
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you are the featured post!
Hi Rebecca, thanks and happy New Year to you also!
I use my homemade goat milk soap shampoo bars with a vinegar rinse daily. My hair has never been healthier and my scalp does not itch like it used to.
That’s something I’d love to try – homemade shampoo bars. I had a friend use one of my regular soaps as a shampoo bar and said she loved it, but I thought there needed to be some adjustments to the recipe like extra castor oil and such… it’s on my list to experiment with!!
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Great recipe for shampoo! Congrats on being featured on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Thank you so much!!
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I am not a chemist, and don’t know everything there is to know on the subject, but I am a professional cosmetologist and know that if you need to use a clarifying shampoo, because your hair is feel loaded down, something in your shampoo is coating the hair or the shampoo is not totally cleaning, which is causing the buildup. You need to know what you are putting together and what exactly will happen to the hair with these products. Not something I would be doing. I feel what happens to my customers hair when they use some of the so called “organic” products. and I have an organic salon, so I am not against it. Just be very aware of what you use.
Hi tjc, the buildup issue has been something I have dealt with my whole life. The reason my perm and highlights incidents were both disasters is because both times the hairdresser told me I had buildup on my hair so they didn’t “take.” I’ve taken iron supplements off and on in my life, when I used to get anemia a lot and they blamed those. I would also think it’s my water since we have hard well water and when I was at home, we had hard spring water near an old iron and manganese mine (the water later tested out to be pretty bad.) However, the kids and my husband don’t have this & use the same products that I do. I would love to know the why and since I plan on studying chemistry when I return to school, hopefully in the next year, then perhaps I will find out!
your husband I am sure cuts his hair more often, no chance for build up, his hair consists of all new growth. Have your children had anything chemically done to their hair to really know? and how long is their hair? Build up is just that, it takes time, therefore in shows up on the length. If you take a sharper object and gently run from length to scalp on a strand of hair, and you have white showing up on the blade, you have buildup. Your hairdresser could be using a good clarifying shampoo before services, to make your services turn out. I hope this little extra info helps you.
Can I use this on color treated hair.? Also can I use the vinegar rinse on color treated hair?
Hi Lisa, I wasn’t sure about using on colored hair, so did a search on the Dr. Bronner’s website. This is what they said about castile soap as shampoo:
“One disclaimer – don’t do this on colored hair. The alkalinity of the soap opens up the hair follicles, where the color resides. The color will drain out and fade quickly. Colored hair needs acidic products only. (Soap, by nature, cannot be acidic. Only detergents (shampoo) can be.)”
http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=256
There were a lot of comments I didn’t read through, some of them might have helpful info though, if you want to scan them for alternative ideas.
I’m getting all kinds of hits from you today from this post
. It’s a great post! Were you featured somewhere?
Hi Sara, yes! I was featured by several blog hops plus by Herbs & Oils World this week!
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What can I use for oily hair,I know it has something to to with the seborrhea glands or something like that,I hate it I have to wash my hair everyday! Help
Hi Char! My husband has hair on the oily side and has good luck with the rosemary formula I posted above. The thing with castile soap is that if you use too strong a concentration, it will strip your hair and then you produce more oil to compensate, making matters worse. If you try this recipe, I’d only make up a small amount to test & be sure to use the vinegar rinse. If you don’t like the results after a few times, then you might want to ask a trained professional at a salon what they would recommend for your hair type.
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Havent tried this yet or the vinegar rinse. But i normally need a conditioner after i shampoo to soften and detanlge my hair, will a vinegar rinse take care of that after the herbal shampoo?
Hi gry, I always had to use conditioner in the past (I used organix coconut milk type), but ran out so tried going without for a while. I haven’t bought any for a few months now, so, so far so good! I’m sure though that different hair types have different needs, so you’d just have to experiment and see what your hair likes best.
Hi, Jan! I’ve been using your shampoo and the vinegar rinse for the past four days. I have to shower every morning (since I have oily hair) and then blow it dry so it’s dry by the time I have to leave for work. My husband complains that blowing my hair dry makes the bathroom stink. Could I put some essential oils in the vinegar rinse maybe? Thanks for all the info!
Hi Rebecca, yes, you can most definitely add some essential oils to the vinegar rinse to help with the smell. You could also try making it a bit more dilute, by adding more water. I hope that helps a bit!
Hi!
I’ve been reading up and using the ‘no-poo’ method with just baking soda and vinegar for a long while now. It works great, and I never have any build up or smell. One of the posts I read (Ashley’s Green Life?? can’t remember…) had a couple great tips I’ve noticed make a HUGE difference.
With the baking soda, be sure to rub it in to your scalp very well, and then let it set and do the work for you during the rest of your shower, before rinsing/massaging thoroughly. This is great for no build up (along with the vinegar). Adding tea tree oil helps to not dry out your scalp.
With the vinegar, Ashley suggested if you rinse VERY thoroughly, there was no longer any smell afterwards. For the first month or so of being a new vinegar user, I would gets whiffs of the vinegar here and there. It was especially noticeable after sweaty exercise, or being outdoors in the heat. Once I started rinsing extra thorough, the smell completely disappeared. My husband has commented he doesn’t smell it anymore at all.
(FYI, my strait fine hair is ankle length, and the vinegar conditioner rinse -even rinsed out very well- is the only conditioner that leaves my hair smooth and tangle free – I don’t even have to brush afterwards! My daughters have thick, long, and curly hair, and it works wonderful as well. For reference, I use a lot of vinegar. Either half and half, or 1/3 to 2/3 ratio. As long as I rinse well enough, there is absolutely no smell afterwards. Just play with the vinegar/water ratio for your particular hair type.)
And last, I also read (and have good luck) with the “Art of hot water rinsing” hair first before applying shampoo or conditioner. This was new to me, I had never heard of it before. They explained (I forget which post it was, sorry) that your scalp produces the oils to naturally condition your hair. But who wants a greasy scalp, right? So work the water up to as hot as you can stand it, and massage down your scalp, (or brush/use wide tooth comb), to move the oils out of the hair shaft and into your hair where it’s needed. This leaves the scalp less oily, and the hair more conditioned. I do this as soon as I get in the shower as I’m wetting my hair down, then apply shampoo at a normal water temp.
Hope this helps!
Sorry so long and wordy, just excited to share what I’ve learned! 
Just bought some Kirk Castile bars from Walmart to shave and soak in hot water overnight for my own liquid Castile, and then I’m very excited to try some new shampoo recipes myself! 
Hi Faith!
Thanks for sharing all of this great information!
That’s good to know about rinsing the vinegar extra thoroughly – I hope Rebecca gets to see your followup comment to help her out and I’m sure other readers will benefit from this as well!
(PS: your hair sounds gorgeous!)
I’m very keen to try your homemade shampoo and conditioner. What quantity (eg- a cup full) of rose petals would I need to say, 2 cups of vinegar? By the way – love your site – very informative. Thank you , Kath
Hi Kath! I never really measure… I just put what I have, or eyeball what seems to be a reasonable amount. It doesn’t have to be precise at all, but more petals gives a stronger solution – so if I have enough, I stuff the jar rather full of fresh petals. You don’t have to use as many dried though – 1 cup petals to 2 cups vinegar would be plenty. Have fun making your shampoo & rinse!
Hair has a pH of 4 to 5.5, so to not disrupt your acid mantle (sebum production on your scalp) you should only use pH balanced shampoos. I have done a lot of research on this, I have also attended beauty school so I can say this is true. Using highly alkaline solutions on your hair (baking soda, bronners soaps, etc.) though it feels soft and manageable that is really the disulfide bonds in your internal hair structure being weakened by the alkaline solution.The colors and perms that are performed use this method to work, they “open up” your hair to deposit the color or permanent, then a clarifying shampoo is used to “close” your hair and lock the color or permanent in. To then bring your hair down to it’s proper pH a acidic solution (apple cider vinegar) when using a alkalinic cleanser is used, this is called clarifying. This dual process is not healthy for your hair or your scalp. There is a great tutorial on youtube on your hair’s pH and why this rollercoaster up and down the pH scale is highly disruptive. The maker of these tutorials is a licensed salon owner and stylist. You can check her out at KimmayTube on youtube. Or, you can ask any stylist that you know. This is why so many shampoos on the market advertise that it is pH balanced. Because that is very important. So forcing your hair to go up to an 8 or 9 and then forcing it back down to a 4.5 in a short period of time is very damaging. If you would like to keep your hair in it’s proper pH, and love making homemade beauty products, then mix 1/4 cup of coconut milk (store bought or homemade both are fine) and 3 heaping tablespoons of aloe vera gel (lily of the desert), shake well, strain through cheesecloth to remove aloe fibers, and wallah! You have pH balanced shampoo that cleanses your hair, stimulates growth of your hair, and is edible! Food for your hair! Refrigerate after use, it generally has a 1 week shelf life. You can find this recipe on youtube as well. I find that if you pour it on your scalp only, and massage and let rest till you are done with your shower, then rinse, it is magic on your hair. Just google all the benefits of aloe vera, and you will see. Then google all the benefits of coconut milk, and you will see again. This shampoo has been so amazing, I can’t ever imagine using anything else ever again.
Hi Amanda, Thanks for that information! I’ll check out the videos you mention – I always love learning new things! That coconut milk shampoo sounds divine. I am absolutely going to buy some aloe vera gel and try it out myself! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Amanda, do you use a conditioner afterwards or is the shampoo conditioning enough?
thanks!
HI Jan,
I want to male several shampoos for my teens, son,daughter and hubby. My daughter came home from school on Thursday with lice. I was so pissed, since I have always helped her with her hair that’s long to her waist. We went through elementary with no problem, Technorati this new school at age 13 and gets it. I’m doing a herbal tonic with rosemary/calendula with tree oil in it. It’s working so far. I bought a baby shampoo and put 10 drops of tea tree oil. The is using that now. Finally, my question is what are your suggestions for prevention shampoo and dandruff control? Also where can I buy bulk castle soap? Any suggestions? Also wanted to do a body wash as well,this is why I ask? Thanks in advance. P.S. Don’t know if I’m subscribed. I missed some of your blogs.
Omg I need to learn how to spell. Hope you can understand.
I think I got the gist!
Let’s see – tea tree oil is a great preventative so I would keep that up in whatever shampoo you use. My kids were directly exposed to a child that had lice & came to our house. Our naturopath said to be generous with the tea tree oil, massaging it directly into their scalps. (I bought a bottle prediluted with a bit of carrier oil) I also used it in the laundry with hot water to wash everything. It worked for us!
A trick I learned when I was a preschool teacher is to always use a vinegar rinse – supposedly it helps repel lice & dissolve the coating on any eggs. They commonly went through the school a few times a year so I caught them the first year I worked there, then the other teachers told me about the vinegar trick and I never got them again.
Probably your best price to buy castile soap in bulk would be amazon.com. I think I saw in a comment here or on Facebook that Target had reasonably priced bottles as well.
Sometimes, email providers send subscriptions to the spam folder, so I might be in there!
Hi
I’ve been using this shampoo and vinegar rinse recipe for a few days now and so far i’ve only been letting my hair air dry (its medium length, thick and kind of dry), but I’ve been noticing that afterwards it almost feels waxy and is kind of stiff/fluffy instead of soft. I dont want to give up on this and am willing to try any type of recipe, just wondering if I’m doing something wrong!
Hi Erin, I’ve heard from people who absolutely love it and people who are so-so about it and people who have the same trouble as you. You could try diluting the soap with more water (it sounds too concentrated), but I do think it’s very individualistic and it’s just not going to work for some hair/water types. I see you already saw Amanda’s comment above – I would use up your batch of this shampoo as a body wash & try out her coconut milk/aloe vera gel recipe. It does sound lovely!
Hi ,
I made a shampoo using your recipe (didn’t use the exact same oils as you .) My hair came out oily . Now I didn’t use the vinegar rinse .Would that be the reason it came out oily ? My hair is already oily . I uses chamomile ,avocado oil , tea tree and lavender . Any suggestions ???
Hi Neely! The vinegar rinse will help, but everyone has different reactions to castile soap. My husband’s hair is oily and the shampoo leaves his clean and soft. It depends on hair length, hair type, hair health, whether you have hard or soft water (soft water will usually give better results than hard)… lots of factors.
Some people stick it out and find that it’s just adjustment as their hair detoxes all of the old stuff; others find it never works well for them. I found this great post by Lisa Bronner (of Dr. Bronner’s Soap) and there are tons of comments in it where people tell their different reactions to castile soap as shampoo. It might be helpful to read through:
http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=256
Jan:
Wonder if you have video to show how to make them?
For me it is easy to learn by watching it in action.
Thanks.
Hi Shelia, I can definitely relate! I don’t have any video tutorials up yet, but that’s something I’ve been considering for the future.
How do you prevent mold growing it? In original recipe soap not deluded – paste kinde, not a liquid.
Hi Lidiia!
I haven’t had trouble with mold since I make small batches at a time and we use them up within a few weeks. I also add tea tree oil or rosemary which helps keep mold away.
You can also keep it cold in the refrigerator – that might help as well.
I’ve only used the liquid kind of castile soap for shampoo, so I’m not sure how it would apply to using the paste or bar type.
Liquid soap originally (when it made from scratch) -is a paste. To make it liquid you add water, it this original recipe herbs infused water. In your recipe you adding more water to already deluded soap. And on top you adding oil without emulsifier? Oil and water do not mix together without emulsifiers and soap will wash-brake oil inside bottle. Can you explain how it stay beneficial in a bottle and do not wash away and how it will help your hair? Regular soap have very high PH 8-9 which will kill 99.9% of viruses, bacteria and germs, but your hair need very low PH 5 to stay healthy. Vinegar after will help with some of them. Baking soda has much lover PH then soap. Properly made shampoo soap has Citrals inside it to keep PH lover. Do you run PH test on it ? You have twice deluded product which will be very runny and will grow mold and bad staff naturally in a couple days- sorry, they exist even if you can’t see them. Rosemary seeds extract are not the same as Rosemary essential oil http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1020026/rosemaryextracttutorialthingie.pdf . Pure tea-tree essential oil great for some kinds of fungus, pure- not 10 drops per cup. You can find simple mold test kit in most hard-where stores to help you see real picture inside your bottle.
Hi Lidiia, You bring up some great points. I don’t have time to look in depth right now, but a quick peek at several studies seems to suggest that essential oil vapor can kill some types of fungus and bacteria:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17235639
But even then, not all oils are equally powerful and some people may not use strong enough types. And what concentration would be needed?
Obviously, I need to do more reading on the subject when I have time. That is a great idea about getting a mold test kit – it would be really interesting to make a fresh batch and test it over a period of time to see when things develop. Maybe one with a lot of essential oils and one without. I also have a microscope here I could play with & see what grows.
This shampoo is not ideally pH balanced for sure – but I’m not sure how else to achieve that without chemicals. It’s not meant to be a scientifically proven shampoo, it’s just telling people about something I read in a book that works for us and it might or might not work for them. For now, I’m happy with it (for our personal use) but I’d love to find a better alternative – if one even exists outside of a professional laboratory.
Thanks for the information. I’ll try to order some kits soon and I’ll let you know what turns up! I’m quite interested to see!!
I love this! I’ve included it in a Mother’s Day round up today on FamilyCorner.com. Thanks so much for sharing! http://www.familycorner.com/justforyou/timeforyou/12-diy-ideas-for-pampering-mom.html
Hi Amanda! Thanks for sharing the post with your readers!
I make my own castile bar soap… want to try to make my own shampoo.
I added oregano oil to my husband’s daily use. Combined with my homemade ginger oil, he rubs it on his head every day. His hair is growing in and filling in his bald spot and his hair is turning darker again!
Wow Linda, that’s a great discovery you made! Very cool to know!
Great recipe! I made both the shampoo (lemon/lavender/tea tree w/ chamomile infusion) and the vinegar rinse (tulsi rose tea infusion) the other night. They smell terrific and work pretty well on the hair. I do have a question, though… What hair products work best with the shampoo/rinse? The first time I used the combo, I didn’t use any product, but my hair felt a little dry, so I used a curl cream (my hair is thick, coarse, and wavy; not chemically treated). Instead of acting like it normally does, the curl cream seems to have made my hair a bit greasy. I have the Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair book on order, so maybe I’ll find a recipe for product in there… Thanks!
Hi Annie, I’m glad you liked the recipe! I don’t normally use hair products except when I use hot rollers on my hair (very rare) & then I just use a tiny dab of mouse and a spritz of hair spray. (Both happen to be Paul Mitchell products that I’ve had for ages and ages, but still seem to work ok!) I guess it would depend on hair type. Mine is thin, fine and straight so I’ve never used a curl cream so unfortunately, can’t be very helpful in comparing. The book is wonderful though! I believe she has some hot oil treatments in there you might like. She’s a fan of less shampooing overall, from what I can tell.
Thanks, Jan! Mousse and gel both seem to work better than the curl cream. Also, I’ve tried alternating with the baking soda/water rinses, a la My Merry Messy Life and previous comments on this post, and that has reduced the dryness of my hair. (And as an aside with that, if you add 3 drops each of bergamot, lavender, and sweet orange essential oils and rose absolute to 2 c. of the water/baking soda solution, it smells like Froot Loops.) Also, there are some lovely-looking rinse recipes here: http://mountainroseblog.com/diy-herbal-hair-rinses/