shampoo/conditioner
Posted by hespedal on Sep 05, 2007 · Member since Mar 2006 · 5259 posts
ok sooo i would really like to make my own (or use a very eco-friendly and non-expensive) shampoo and conditioner.
problem is, all the things on this site are 'once a month' kind of deals and i want something i can use daily... and preferably something that i can store so i don't need to make it everyday. anyone make/know of something like this?
(and yes, i need both shampoo and conditioner... my hair gets oily w/o shampoo and way too dry w/o conditioner.)
Sorry I don't have a recipe but I tried looking it up and found this tid-bit of info:
When possible, leave your hair without washing an extra day. Try not to wash your hair every day. Your hair will become less oily over time.
My mother in law used this and swore by it:
Shave a bar of Castile, Sunlight or other oil-based soap (olive oil is best) into a quart or half-gallon jar (depending on the size of the bar) with a tight lid. Fill jar with hot water and allow soap to dissolve. Shake or stir to blend. You may want to transfer some of the mixture to a smaller, plastic container to use in the shower.
Wash hair as normal. The mixture is unscented, so you can add a few drops of your favourite essential oil.
You may choose to put a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in the last rinse.
MIL died at 92 and never used anything else. You can also use this soap to do delicate laundry, wash your skin, dishes and floors. I don't use it all the time but when my allergies are giving me hell it does seem soothing to the skin.
Try the 4 Herb Shampoo. I use this everyday and it lasts for a long time.
Can't help with the homemade conditioners, but I buy Avalon Organics and that lasts a long time too.
Sorry I don't have a recipe but I tried looking it up and found this tid-bit of info:
When possible, leave your hair without washing an extra day. Try not to wash your hair every day. Your hair will become less oily over time.
sometimes i don't wash my hair everyday (lately, actually), but the reason i generally do is because i usually work out daily and my hair is gross when i shower and don't wash it... but i do avoid it if i don't need to (kinda gross, i know)
Wash hair as normal. The mixture is unscented, so you can add a few drops of your favourite essential oil.
You may choose to put a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in the last rinse
is this something that both cleans and moisturizes? it seems like you are saying do it twice but put lemon juice or vinegar in when you rinse i second time?
i'll have to try the 4 herb shampoo sometime, too. it seems like it would smell nice.
Ok, this is what I use. Now, this does have honey in it ... so if you don't eat honey ... I'm not sure what you can do. Omit it? Honey is a moisturizer, so I'm not sure how well this works without honey. But, I know people who use plain old baking soda, so obviously it must be OK.
I get honey, water, baking soda, and an essential oil I like (lavender, rose, tea tree, whatever). I mix it up so that there is just enough moisture to make the mixture into small balls. I add only one drop of oil for the whole mixture. And the mixture makes about 20 balls - again, depends how much of it you want. I roll them, and store them in a jar in my shower (water tight lid). Then, I get 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (it MUST be apple cider - not the regular kind) and 3/4 cup of water. You can double or triple that recipe too. I put that in one of those spray containers.
I wet my hair, use on ball. There will be no lather - don't worry about it, it's still cleaning. Then I rinse (or spray) with the water/ACV mixture. Then just shower it all off.
This works well because 1. honey moisturizes, 2. ACV is about the same PH as your scalp, 3. baking soda is mild, but cleans well. So, you have shiny, moisturized hair AND your scalp doesn't need to over produce oil in order to over compensate for all the chemicals in regular shampoos.
It takes a few weeks for your scalp to get back into natural production mode. And you might want to play around with the quanitities of water and ACV - some people need more, some less.
Ok, this is what I use. Now, this does have honey in it ... so if you don't eat honey ... I'm not sure what you can do. Omit it? Honey is a moisturizer, so I'm not sure how well this works without honey. But, I know people who use plain old baking soda, so obviously it must be OK.
I get honey, water, baking soda, and an essential oil I like (lavender, rose, tea tree, whatever). I mix it up so that there is just enough moisture to make the mixture into small balls. I add only one drop of oil for the whole mixture. And the mixture makes about 20 balls - again, depends how much of it you want. I roll them, and store them in a jar in my shower (water tight lid). Then, I get 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (it MUST be apple cider - not the regular kind) and 3/4 cup of water. You can double or triple that recipe too. I put that in one of those spray containers.
I wet my hair, use on ball. There will be no lather - don't worry about it, it's still cleaning. Then I rinse (or spray) with the water/ACV mixture. Then just shower it all off.
This works well because 1. honey moisturizes, 2. ACV is about the same PH as your scalp, 3. baking soda is mild, but cleans well. So, you have shiny, moisturized hair AND your scalp doesn't need to over produce oil in order to over compensate for all the chemicals in regular shampoos.
It takes a few weeks for your scalp to get back into natural production mode. And you might want to play around with the quanitities of water and ACV - some people need more, some less.
Hmm. Interesting. Gonna have to try that.
I've been using the 4 herb shampoo from this site, but alone, it makes my hair greasy, so after I rinse the shampoo, I wash with baking soda, then use Earth Essentials (i think that's the name) conditioner.
Sometimes I use ACV, but I have to play around a little more, sometimes it makes my hair greasy too.
Ecstatic, I'm assuming you don't use conditioner after the ACV.
Oh! Also, I made a conditioning treatment a while back that works well (it also has honey, but you could omit), you just have to make sure to wash it out well...
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup coconut oil (or omit and just use 1/2 c olive oil)
Aloe from one med leaf
Honey (didn't really measure...a couple tablespoons)
About 1/4 cup (maybe less) water
Cornstarch (just enough to thicken it a bit...again, a couple tablespoons)
I have left this on for 30 minutes and it works great. I have also slept with it on. Just make sure you use a shower cap or cover your pillow with a towel :D
It's also great as a nail treatment or spot treatment for dry skin patches.
No, no conditioner after ACV. I consider that my "conditioner" lol.
I'm going to have to try out your conditioning treatment when its winter. So versatile! And my skin always needs extra moisture during winter.
well, i checked the price on avalon organics at trader joe's and it was close to $5 so i kinda doubt i will buy it (i think i would probably go w/o before buying something that expensive but lately i have been a little more carefree w/ my money so who knows)
yeah, i don't use honey so maybe i can try to sub it... agave nectar? kk, i doubt that will work and would probably be really expensive as well... i'm going to figure something out. most likely a combo of everything :P
Wash hair as normal. The mixture is unscented, so you can add a few drops of your favourite essential oil.
You may choose to put a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in the last rinse
is this something that both cleans and moisturizes? it seems like you are saying do it twice but put lemon juice or vinegar in when you rinse i second time?
I just always wash my hair twice. If you only soap it once, rinse out all the soap and then toss on the vinegar/water mixture and wash again. If you want to--it's not required.