by Katherine Born

Created on: August 07, 2009

In times of economic uncertainty, many people are looking to DIY cosmetics and cleaners to save that extra nickel. Homemade shampoo can be made as easily as pie, all you need are the ingredients and things you will probably have in your kitchen.

Many homemade recipes use either soap (or soapwort) flakes or castile soap. The only problem with these shampoos is that soap bonds chemically with the minerals in hard water, so if you want shiny clean hair and you have hard water, you really have no choice except to use detergents. Detergents are what most commercial brands of shampoo use. One that many people avoid because of its harshness is SLS (Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulphate), another is ALS (Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate). These are potent surfactants (oil removers) and can be used to degrease a garage floor in sufficient concentration. That is why commercial shampoos add milder surfactants to tone down the harshness of SLS/ALS. Baby shampoos often leave out the Sulphates altogether and just use the milder surfactants. The following recipe is for a shampoo that you could use on your baby, it's so mild, and because it's not soap based you could use it yourself and not worry about sticky buildup on your scalp. Also, the surfactants used are derived from coconuts and are completely natural.

One note on ingredients: Both cocobetaine and (decyl) polyglucose can be found at any number of online or local beauty supply stores. You can make a small or large batch of shampoo, simply scale the numbers below; just try to use approximately the same ratios (40% surfactant, 40% water, 10% other).

Homemade Shampoo

8 T. (1/2 c.) Cocobetaine

8 T. (1/2 c.) Decyl Polyglucose

9 T. (1/2 c. plus 1T) distilled water

4 T. (1/4 c.) aloe vera

2 T. honey

4 T. (1/4 c.) polysorbate 20

4 T.(1/4 c.) vinegar (apple cider or normal)

1 T. oil of your choice

essential oils (up to 2% only - 12 mL here) - optional

preservative - optional

Directions:

Mix the surfactants together in a bowl. Mix the water, aloe vera, honey, vinegar and polysorbate 20 in another bowl. Add the essential oils to the 1 T. of oil, mixing well. Mix the water and the surfactants together, then add the oil mixture. Stir together well. Voila! Shampoo. Pour into any available clean bottle and enjoy.

Some notes:

You may notice that this shampoo is runny compared to commercial brands. That's because commercial brands use thickeners and clarifiers to get that goopy, clear product. You can add thickeners to this recipe as well. There are several available, just check at the same place you get the surfactants. Also, the aloe vera and honey are nice but you can just use water. If you'd like to use some herbs, simply make a very strong tea with the dried or fresh herbs and substitute for the distilled water. Chamomile and calendula are said to lighten hair, while rosemary is said to strengthen it. Some essential oils that are good for shampoo are rosemary, lavender, and geranium bourbon. Only use lavender for baby shampoo because you don't want to irritate infant's sensitive skin. Some preservatives are available, like Germall, but unless you're planning to store large amounts of shampoo for a long period of time, I haven't found them necessary.

Ounce per ounce, this recipe will generally come out cheaper or equivalent to buying the same amount of commercial shampoo, and you know exactly what's in it.

Learn more about this author, Katherine Born.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.