Ever thought of trying a bar of shampoo to clean your beautiful locks? Sounds a bit awkward, right? But trust me, it is far better to treat your hair with a homemade natural solid shampoo bar than the chemical-filled liquid shampoos easily available in the market. Here is a DIY recipe for you to try out:
DIY Homemade Shampoo Bar / Solid Shampoo Recipe
Ingredients Needed:
- Organic coconut oil – 10 oz. (up to 30%)
- Extra-virgin olive oil – 10 oz. (up to 50%)
- Organic castor oil – 6 oz. (up to 10%)
- Tallow or palm oil – 10 oz. (up to 50%)
- Lye (sodium hydroxide) – 5 oz.
- Distilled water -12 oz.
- Essential oils – 1.5 oz. (2 to 3 types as per your choice)
Also Read – Dry Shampoo 101 – How to Pick and Use Dry Shampoo Here
Supplies Required:
- A glass / plastic (must be of high-quality) mixing bowl (you cannot use this bowl for keeping foods any more after making your solid shampoo as the recipe includes lye)
- A wooden spoon (keep it separate too)
- A crockpot (or any other kind of non-reactive pot)
- Two cooking thermometers (for the lye mixture and the oils)
- A silicone soap mold
- A digital scale (for precise measurement)
- An immersion blender
- A pair of rubber gloves
- A protective eye-wear
- White Vinegar (optional – in case the lye mixture spills on your skin, it will be handy for neutralization)
- A medium-sized cardboard box
- A towel
- A large knife
Also Read – 5 DIY Homemade Dry Shampoo Here
How-To Guide:
- Before starting the procedure, make sure that you are taking all sorts of precautions. Wear the protective eye-wear and put on the pair of rubber gloves.
- Now, find a well-ventilated place and start the procedure of making your homemade shampoo bar. Take the glass or plastic mixing bowl and pour distilled water into it.
- Add lye or sodium hydroxide to water very slowly until all the lye is used up and keep stirring the mixture with the wooden spoon. Be extremely careful during this step as the mixture of lye and water becomes very hot and can cause harm if spills out. Stirring it continuously will allow to reaction to take place and the concoction will also cool back down gradually. Make use of the cooking thermometer at this stage to keep track of the rising temperature and avoid danger. The ideal temperature should be anywhere between 100 degrees and 120 degrees.
- Measure organic coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, organic castor oil and tallow precisely with the help of the digital scale and pour them into the non-reactive pot or crockpot one by one.
- Put the pot over heat and start warming up the oil blend slowly. The objective is to bring the temperature of both the oil blend and the water-lye mixture between 100 degrees and 120 degrees. For convenience, make use of the other cooking thermometer at this stage.
- Once the oil blend reaches the right temperature, start adding the water-lye mixture to it very slowly. Put the immersion blender in use for combining both of the mixtures and come up with the trace. To find out whether you have reached trace or not, simply turn the blender off and pull it up to let some of the mixture drizzle off. If it is still has a consistency like fluid but does not fall back easily within a seconds, you are done with your trace.
- Now, add all the essential oils of your choice to this trace one after another. Stir again to mix up everything. In case you are not an essential oil person, just skip this step.
- Your mixture for solid shampoo is now ready. Pour it carefully into the silicone soap mold.
- Keep the soap mold aside on a flat surface and cover it fully by placing the cardboard box over it in an upside down position. Spread the towel over the cardboard box and wait for 24 hours. This will ensure that the saponification goes on in a warm environment.
- Utilize this waiting time by cleaning and washing all the supplies that have been used during the whole process. Always use hot soapy water for this purpose. In order to neutralize as well as get rid of the lye, add white vinegar to the water.
- Once the saponification is complete after 24 hours, remove the solidified shampoo from the silicone soap mold and place it on a flat wooden surface.
- Slice the large solid shampoo bar into smaller bars of around 1-inch thickness.
- Keep these shampoo bars separately in a well-ventilated area for 4 to 6 consecutive weeks.
- Voila! Your homemade shampoo bars are ready to use.
Also Read – 5 Best Dry Shampoo Reviews Here
Method of Use / Application:
The usage of shampoo bar is more or less same like any bar soap. Start with getting your hair completely wet. Rub it with the shampoo bar gently until lather is formed. Massage your hair and scalp with both of your hands for a few minutes and then, rinse well with plain water. You might need to wash your hair for multiple times and follow it up with a final acidic rinse.
Have you ever tried making shampoo bar at home? If not, give it a try today and I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it!
Image Credit – Featured, 1, 2, 3
