I’ve been wanting to try making my own shampoo for a while now: finally the monster pump bottle we had been using for what seems like the past year ran out! As much as I like to try to make everything from scratch, with an increasingly mobile almost-one-year-old wobbling every which way around the house, I was definitely not going to be messing around with lye. That’s just me though, if you want to mess around with the hard stuff, I commend you, and here’s a link to get you started. So, I guess you could say this is the cheater’s version of homemade shampoo….
Cheater’s version or not, making shampoo this way is not only better for you (no chemicals), and better for the environment, but it’s fun too! Plus, you can customize your shampoo to make your very own scent — at the end of this post I’ll include some information on aromatherapy, but you can use anything from cooking extracts, to tea bags, to citrus peels and slices of fruit, to dried herbs and spices. Or, you can get creative combining essential oils — health food stores usually have a wide variety to choose from. I made one bottle of peppermint shampoo for daytime use, and one bottle of calming, nighttime shampoo with lavender, chamomile, and rose oil. (Both are baby-friendly too!)
As far as cost goes, you’re probably not saving that much money in all honesty, depending on which shampoo you usually buy. I mean, you can’t really beat a bottle of VO5 for $0.99 price-wise….But I’m going to assume that you’re reading this page because, like me, you don’t want to be lathering your hair with chemicals, and maybe also enjoy the process of making things yourself and breaking dependence on large corporations…. In that case, here’s the cost breakdown: I purchased one 32 ounce bottle of unscented liquid castile soap (this can also be used for making laundry detergent, by the way…) for $10, which seems to be about average price-wise.
If I use this castile soap exclusively to make shampoo, using this recipe, I will be able to make eight 8oz bottles of shampoo. So, that’s $1.25 per bottle of organic, custom-made shampoo. As a point of reference, one 8oz. bottle of Rainforest Shine Shampoo from The Body Shop costs $4.00 (but The Body Shop’s Ginger Shampoo costs $10.00 per 8oz), an 8oz. bottle of Organics Shampoos cost $5.50 on average (as do the confusingly similar Organix shampoos), and Burt’s Bees averages about $8.00. And 80z of homemade shampoo can easily be found for upwards of $15.00 on etsy.com and from other smaller purveyors. So, yeah, if you want the organic, good-for-you, good-for-the-planet stuff, you will definitely save money making your own…And it’s super easy!
What You Will Need:
Yields one 8oz bottle, but recipe can be multiplied for larger batches
– 4 ounces of unscented liquid castile soap, such as Dr. Bronner’s, Desert Essence, or Dr. Woods
– 4 ounces distilled water
– 1 teaspoon of coconut, jojoba, avocado, grapeseed, or other light natural oil
– essential oil, herbs, tea bags, extract, or whatever you want to scent your shampoo with!
Directions for Shampoo Using Essential Oils or Extracts Only:
1. Mix together castile soap, water, and oil
2. Funnel mixture into an 8oz plastic container
3. Add 15-20 drops of extract or oil into bottle
4. Shake well
Yup, it’s that easy. Homemade shampoo is a thinner consistency than store-bought however. You need to tilt the bottle directly over your head, but it lathers nicely, cleans well, and will leave your hair light and shiny. I used peppermint extract when I made shampoo with the above recipe. It is a great energizing scent, perfect if you prefer to bathe in the morning. My husband loves this one…
Directions for Shampoo Using Herbs:
Though slightly more complicated than the above recipe, this one’s still pretty foolproof…
1. Boil water
2. Add herbs, flowers, tea bags, leaves, or spices. I used about 1/3 lavender per 1/2 c. water plus two bags of chamomile tea here, but you can use whichever herbs you like. See section below for some notes on aromatherapy and suggested scent combinations
3. Turn heat to low and let just barely simmer for 20 minutes
4. Strain
5. Allow to cool completely
6. Combine herb water with castile soap and oil. Add additional essential oil if desired (I added about 10 drops of rose oil to mine).
7. Funnel into a plastic container and shake well.
As you can see, the lavender imparted a very dark hue to the shampoo — not to worry — it will not effect your hair color. I have very light blond hair, and have seen absolutely no change in my hair color since I started using this shampoo. Your shampoo may come out green, purple, yellow, or brown, depending on which herbs you choose. While chamomile does have a very slight bleaching quality, and hibiscus may augment reds, most herbs will not alter your hair color at all.
Different scents effect us in different ways. Below I have categorized some common scents into some basic categories that I thought may be helpful in determining which ingredients to select for your shampoo:
If you want an energizing shampoo select:
– Peppermint, Ginger, Citrus, Pine, Thyme, Sweet Basil, Eucalyptus, Nutmeg, Rosemary, Tea Tree, Green Tea or Thyme
If you prefer a relaxing scent, to help reduce anxiety and promote sleep select:
– Cedarwood, Chamomile, Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Sage, Bergamot, Rose, Neroli, Myrhh, or Marjoram
If you something mood-lifting try:
– Geranium, Ginger, Juniper, Citrus, Mandarin, Nutmeg, Oregano, Rose, Tangerine, Sage
Something comforting:
– Vanilla, Allspice, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Fennel, Marjoram
Or for something sensual try:
– Ylang-ylang, Jasmine, Sage, Neroli, Patchouli, Rose, Sweet Orange, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Gardenia
Some awesome scent combinations:
Sensual/Exotic: Vanilla + Rose + Cardamom
Relaxing/Comforting: Lavender + Coriander + Rose + Patchouli
Stress banishing: Lavender + Juniper + Orange
Relaxing: Lavender + Rose + Cedarwood
Sensual/Comforting: Rose + Patchouli + Jasmine
Sexytime: Ylang-ylang + Sandalwood + Vanilla
Anti-depression: Lemon + Sweet Orange + Ylang-ylang
Energizing: Rosemary + Peppermint + Holy Basil
Calming/Exotic: Vanilla + Cinnamon + Clove + Cardamom
Make your own shampoo for healthy, chemical-free, shiny, scent-sational hair! If I do say so myself….
theindiehomemaker 