If you are interested in making your own shampoo, but don't want the hassle of starting absolutely from scratch, there is an easy recipe that you can try. The difference is, you use soap as an ingredient rather than making your own. This is safer, quicker, and easier.
Easy Homemade Shampoo Ingredients
- 1/4 cup grated soap (castile soap is a common choice)
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tablespoons glycerine
- ~5 drops essential oil (optional, for fragrance or therapeutic properties)
- Dissolve the soap in the hot water.
- Stir in the olive oil. You can substitute another vegetable oil if you like, but olive oil is generally accepted as healthy for skin and hair.
- Add the glycerine and any essential oils you might want. Typical essential oils would include lavender, peppermint, or citrus.
Comments
A low cost, green eco friendly, healthy natural way to deal with washing hair is to make a homemade liquid shampoo from soapberries which grow on the Chinaberry tree and have been used for thousands of years. They work very effectively.
Hi, I heard that you shouldn’t mix grated soap in an aluminum pan because the two can react.
How much shampoo are you supposed to use per wash, esp compared to shampoo you buy in the store?
What is the glycerin for? Can you do without it?
The glycerine is a natural lotion. In fact, you can actually use it as a natural sweetener. I was hesitant at first too, but seems to be just fine and since it’s natural, I feel pretty good about it too.
If the recipe calls for 1/4 cup grated soap and 1/4 cup of water, what would be the amount used if I only used liquid castile soap?
In your “from scratch” recipe, did you realize you are telling people to put raw, caustic soap on their heads? You said nothing about letting it sit a few weeks, or cooking it to neutrality. You have a picture of a baby on this recipe’s page, can you imagine what would happen to an infant if mom or dad put lye on his sensitive scalp?!? He would have serious chemical burns…which I’m sure you must know since you’re a PhD. I’m sure it’s just an oversight, so PLEASE correct this quickly before anyone causes serious damage to themselves or their families.
How can you have a recipe for shampoo that calls for an unspecified “soap”? The pH of soaps varies all over the place. Even the lowest pH soap would probably be too basic to make a good shampoo. The skin of an adult human is around 5. You could add vinegar, but how much? And what’s the point? Shampoo that’s formulated by chemists and biologists who actually know what they are doing is very inexpensive.
One more thing. Good shampoo for an adult is not good shampoo for a baby, and vice versa. A baby’s skin has a pH around 7. Adults can be as low as 4.5.
I don’t see lye in this receipe anywhere.
I have used this shampoo recipe for about two months. I found this to be great for my hair and low cost too. I use Dr. Bonners soap. I do not use any over the counter products now. Many of the chemicals included in them I have looked up. I rinse with a diluted apple cider vinegar. Lye is used in home made castile soap which I do not use. I use Dr. Bonner and vinegar for almost everything now. I love reading the labels! Some funny things on the wrapper.
Kate should get her facts right before jumping to conclusions. The sodium hydroxide is not going to be put on any ones head just like that. There has to be a chemical reaction when the oils and diluted lye is mixed to form a soap. So, now there is no more corrosive lye in the product but is part of the soap which formed in the reaction.
Is the solid castile soap in the ingredients good for your hair? Other comments i read said it made their hair dry and feel ’stiff’. It’s for a project so i’m worried about my grade. how much of liquid castile soap, if i choose to, should i use???
Thanks!!!
Is the solid castile soap really good for your hair?? Comments of castile soap on other sites say that it made their hair feel thick and stiff like ’straw’. I’m using this recipe as a project so it’s my grade. if i use liquid castile soap, how much??
thanks soo much
ohh,… correction
how much liquid castile soap should i use to replace the 1/4 cup of grated castile soap??
yah please please help!! i’m planning to make it on Saturday!!!
thank u !!!
Glycerine is about $2.00 for a small bottle and is found at old timmey grocery stores. The Piggly Wiggly and old pharmacy type stores usually have it.
HI, I WANT TO TRY MY HAND AT MAKING HOME MADE SHAMPOO BUT I CANNOT FIND ANY SITE THAT TELLS YOU HOW MUCH ESSCENTIAL OIL TO USE WHEN USING SEVERAL DIFFERENT ONES HOW MUCH OF EACH SHOULD U USE OR SHOULD YOU USE SAME AMOUNT OF EACH ONE THANK YOU
THis looks like a great recipe – when test it out, I’ll link back to you in my review!
Glycerin can be bought at any pharmacy also. Another place you may be able to buy it is at a nearby Ethanol plant. it is a byproduct produced in large quantity during the manufacture of Ethanol.
Castile can make the hair dry. This is why glycerin is added- to make it softer.
merci beaucoup pour ce partage
bon week end
Glycerine while great for your skin gives the hair a waxy texture. I would use glycerine for a body wash but skip it for a shampoo. I know, because I’ve tried the recipe! I wonder if the author has…..
Hi there!! Going to try to make myself, although I did not see anything callig for lye (which scares me w 3small kids) anyways, I saw a comment on using Dr bonners products, its very expensive in my oppinion which is y i make my own liquid form from grating a dr bonners bar soap. Way cheaper!!! hope this helps