Homemade Shampoo

Your ultimate guide to homemade shampoo! Here are ten easy recipes you can use to find the perfect formula for your hair.

The benefits are that you can use all natural ingredients, avoid all of the fillers and irritants commercial makers use, scent it any way you want, and customize it to suit your hair's needs.
What more do I need to say?

I love my homemade shampoo. It smells great and leaves my hair feeling light and soft.

Step 1: BASIC

For normal hair, or as a base to add your own scents, use

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite
• ¹/₂ teaspoon jojoba, grapeseed, or other light vegetable oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix together all the ingredients. Store in a bottle. Shake before use.
This mixture isn't as thick as commercial shampoos - you'll need to just tilt the bottle over your head.
I am really impressed with how much lather I get from it though!

Step 2: STIMULATE

To wake up your scalp and your senses, try tea tree and peppermint oil!
This one's my personal favorite, and the one I use daily. It's so refreshing!

Combine

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite
• 2 tsp jojoba oil
• ¹/₈ tsp peppermint essential oil
• ¹/₈ tsp tea tree essential oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix all ingredients, then add ¹/₄ cup distilled water
Store in a bottle. Use as you would any shampoo, rinse well.

Step 3: QUENCH

For dry hair, try this:

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - your favorite scent
• ¹/₄ cup aloe vera gel
• 1 teaspoon glycerin
• ¹/₄ teaspoon avocado oil or jojoba oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix together all the ingredients. Store in a bottle and always shake well before using.

Apply to hair and allow to sit for a few minutes. Rinse well with cool water.

Step 4: SOOTHE

Chamomile makes this 'poo a calming treat. Chamomile also has natural lightening properties, so combine this with lemon juice if you want to lighten your hair!

• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 cup castille soap - try Lavender!
• 6 chamomile tea bags
• 1 ¹/₂ tablespoons glycerin
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Steep the teabags in 1 cup of boiled water for 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add castille soap to the tea. Stir in glycerin until well blended. Keep in a dark, cool place in a sealed bottle.

Step 5: DE-FLAKE

Dandruff can affect many different people in every age group. Dandruff can manifest as either very dry and flaky scalp or very oily scalp with flakes. Contrary to popular belief, dandruff is not caused by a dry scalp or from improper hair care. It can be caused by increased oil production, hormonal fluctuations, stress, and illness.

To banish a flaky scalp, try this simple recipe:

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap
• ¹/₂ teaspoon jojoba, grapeseed, or other light vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons apple juice
• 6 finely ground cloves
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

In a small grinder or blender, mix all ingredients on low for 30 seconds.

Wet the hair with warm water and shampoo the mixture into the hair well. Rinse with warm water.

Cover and refrigerate leftovers. Discard after 3 days!

Step 6: SHINE

Fragrant and lively, try this recipe to add shine to your hair
.

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - try Lemon!
• 2 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 2 Tbps sweet almond oil
• ¹/₄ t lemon essential oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Boil distilled water, add rosemary and steep until fragrant.
Strain leaves and let cool. Mix all ingredients and add to water and stir well.
Store in a bottle. Use as you would any shampoo, rinse well.

Step 7: REJUVENATE

This is a great shampoo for any hair type.

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite
• ¹/₂ teaspoon jojoba, grapeseed, or other light vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp lemongrass
• 2 tsp tea tree oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essential oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Boil distilled water, add rosemary and and lemongrass (in tea strainer if you have it) and steep until fragrant (about 20-30 minutes)..
Strain leaves and let cool. Mix all ingredients and add to water and stir well.

Mix the tea tree oil and vanilla into the water. Add soap.

Store in a bottle. Use as you would any shampoo, rinse well.

Let the shampoo cool, and then place the top on tightly.

Step 8: YUMMY

I can't resist the alluring smell of this luxurious shampoo.

• ¹/₄ cup distilled water
• ¹/₄ cup liquid Castile Soap - I use unscented, but you can choose your favorite
• 2 tsp jojoba oil
• 10 drops vanilla essential oil
• 10 drops coconut fragrance oil
• Flip Cap Bottles or Foaming Bottles to dispense

Mix together all the ingredients. Store in a bottle. Use as you would any shampoo, rinse well.
Dry not to drink this one. It smells tooooo good. . .

Step 9: DRY

This is a great in-between treatment for hair, if you're helping someone who can't wash their hair on their own, or for removing dirt and oil from the hair when fresh water in unavailable

• ¹/₄ cup oatmeal
• 1 tsp crushed lavender or other fragrant herb
• 1 tsp baking soda

Grind these together with mortar and pestle, small grinder, or place in a baggie and crush with a rolling pin.

Sprinkle enough of the mixture to cover all hair, and massage for five minutes before it it brushed out

This could be made in bulk and stored in a cool, dry environment.

Step 10: NO 'POO

Though there are already plenty of instructables that cover this topic, I thought my list wouldn't be complete without including the simplest way to get clean, healthy hair.

• 1 tsp Baking soda
• Apple cider vinegar
• 4 oz Water

Put 1 tsp baking soda in a cup or mug to take into the shower with you.
In another cup, pour about 1 oz (~¹/₈ cup) apple cider vinegar.

When you get into the shower, fill the baking soda cup with about ¹/₄ c water.
Apply this to your roots only; work it in and let it sit for a minute.

Then begin to gently scrub your scalp, stimulating blood flow and cleaning out your pores.
This will actually stimulate hair growth.

Lastly, scrub the back of your skull and your temples/sideburns. This will result in less grease and more growth.

Rinse!

Follow by adding about ¹/₄ c water to your vinegar cup.
Pour the apple cider vinegar over the ends of your hair, let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out.

No 'Poo Troubleshooting

There may be a transition period from two weeks to two months depending on the person. Here are a few tips:

" If your hair becomes frizzy, try using less baking soda or leaving it on for a shorter period of time. Adding honey may also help.
" If your hair becomes greasy, try using less apple cider vinegar, switching to lemon or lime juice, leaving out the honey, and/or using a comb instead of a brush. Also, make sure youre applying the apple cider vinegar just to the ends of your hair.
" If your scalp itches, try the following essential oils; tea tree, lavender, rosemary. If your hair becomes dry, try a tiny bit of oil (any oil, I use olive) smoothed on bottom of hair.

Have fun and enjoy!




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Comments

[rocketboyroger]

Firstly, thanks for this instructable scoochmaroo, it's been very eye-opening for me :) Secondly, I have a question about the water...do you know if it's OK to use deionised water instead of distilled? I bought a big container of deionised after a shop assistant assured me they were the same, only to get home and google it to find that actually, they are slightly different. Do you have any idea if it will do the job? Cheers R

[scoochmaroo]

De-ionized water is great. Go for it!

[rocketboyroger]

Excellent! Thanks for letting me know :D

[rocketboyroger]

...also, do you think this is suitable for using as hand wash...after all, it's got the tea tree oil's antiseptic qualities :)

[scoochmaroo]

I use this as my everything wash. Tea tree oil is great for my acne-prone skin!

[rocketboyroger]

That's brilliant! I am planning to use it the same way (I've just refilled all my hand wash dispensers and shower gel bottle with a batch) It just smells so damn nice :D Thanks again

[thekinkyrivet]

I do not know if someone else has made this comment but if you would like to thicken up the shampoo so it is not quite so runny you can add 1/4 tsp. of xanthum gum powder that you can get from a local health food store to every cup of the shampoo. It will thicken up quite nicely the direction on the package normally say 1/2 tsp per cup but that makes it really thick start out at 1/4 and go up from there if you feel the need. I've been using it for years to double bottles of commercial body soaps and it does not leave a film or residue. Hope it helps

[espohranderson]

I've tried homemade shampoos before (worked alright but smelled awful --I am excited about these ones!) and what I found effective was to store it in a spray bottle rather than a jar. I would mist it over my head and then massage it into a lather. Pouring it on always ended up with using too much!

[scoochmaroo]

That is a brilliant suggestion!

[dcarver2003]

This is so great and glad more people are doing it. I make my own castile soap and love the coconut oil in it. My hair feels great and because its light and frizzy the extra weight of the coconut helps out! So glad this is available to more people now!

[Air_Assassin]

kool

[donedirtcheap]

Nice. Thorough! Pretty, too.

[stepdad23]

Can someone private message me pls to let me know this is working lol

[mjacobs9]

Great tips! Natural products are the best for hair, though I must admit that I'’ve been cheating a bit ,haha, I use a Pro Naturals Moroccan Argan oil system, it has EVERYTHING you need to get dry and brittle hair back to health. My hair used to look terrible but it's been improving a lot thanks to this stuff. I use the argan oil, the shampoo and the hair mask. It's really good! (it's online at beyas.ca).

[stepdad23]

How do i know if i get a responce lol

[stepdad23]

Im helping my step son his class has to make homade shampoo using household products can anyone help it must lather

[mholgate1]

I was just wondering…
If I added de-ironised water (or whatever its called)would it work as an ordinary shampoo or would it just turn into one big fat sloppy mess???

[Lucygreen76]

Hi all, Thank you for the shampoo recipe :) Iv been trying to go all natural for my hair and skin care, and after days online looking at lots of wesites and blogs I thought your recipe looked the best. From the first wash I loved it! I was worried Id be one of the people who went through a few weeks of greasiness but nope - it left light, soft ringlets. However, the more Iv been using it its no longer perfect and Im left with a sticky residue at the ends of my hair :( Has anyone had this problem or have any suggestions? Many thanks :)

[amuscat1]

Why isn't there one for oily hair?

[shale9]

How would you make this in bulk? And could I use it for my newborn(1 month) and toddler( almost 4 years)?

[Butterbean65]

Do you have a recipe for someone who has very oily hair as well dandruff to make their own shampoo and also what about a something to make for detangling your hair. I love your recipes so far and have found them to be very easy adaptable and informative.

[reachnana]

you can make natural hairspray w/ herbs, sugar, etc. i'm sure there's lots of recipes that work. and if u keep using the commercial after products, at least ur no 'pooing them out regularly! and most people like starting w/ the smaller recipe sizes till they get the right concoction for their head, so it's' mo easy to start small & adjust from there. have fun!!

[reachnana]

I was wondering why coconut oil is not recommended in any recipes? it seems like it might make things thicker & it's got a great ph & is so nourishing. i'm probably just gonna try swapping it in & see, but thought i'd ask & see what experience w/ it others have had.

[scoochmaroo]

Coconut oil is amazing for hair, but it can be heavier and greasier than others. I have a deep conditioning Instructable in the works that features coconut oil!

[mbrodhagen]

Could less water be used or none at all?

[boss_lady]

Yeah right, a DIY dry-shampoo!? This begs to be tried by me, the queen of the greasies. Any idea which of the others would be best for baby-fine hair that gets stringy and dirty in under twelve hours?

[freebird884]

I had that problem for a long time and still do on that favourite week of the month from time to time. I've been doing a lot of research and have been playing with homemade recipes for months because I learned that store bought shampoos strip our hair of the natural chemicals and cause our scalp to over-produce oils. It's a pretty viscous cycle because I would constantly be washing my hair. I went through a pretty rough detox period trying to use bakingsoda/water and a vinegar rinse but could never get the mixture right for my hair so it got really dry but waxy weird for a month. I later learned that it went through a detox and that it was essentially just riding the chemical buildup from shampoos from my hair. I found I was able to go almost three days without it going greasy after the first two weeks! I've since been washing my hair with about 1/2cup plain yogurt and half a fresh squeeze lemon. I normally put it into a squeeze bottle and massage it onto my scalp and throughout my hair and leave it in for about 20-30minutes before my shower. I've also done it in the shower on a day when I had no time and it works pretty well. I leaves my hair feeling almost super squeaky, I find reducing the lemon can help with that. I can still go a few days now without having greasy hair, I just make sure I massage my scalp in the morning before my shower to loosen up any built up dirt or oils from the day before and rinse my hair with luke warm water and it's good to go.

[Drielle]

My hair is squeaky clean now too!...and I've been getting compliments on it almost daily it seems!!!  It's super soft & bouncy with lots of shine  =)

[dmcunningham]

Try the De-Flake one, and be sure to concentrate on the hair and not your scalp, because too much of it on your scalp with encourage your scalp to produce more oil. It's a good idea to use two shampoos (or cleansers). One for a gentle cleansing of your scalp, and one for a good washing of your hair.

[At Liberty]

I'd say the De-Flake one.

[enticement]

I've seen people using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) as a shampoo. As a hairstylist, this worries me because we were taught that hair is made of keratin, which is made from amino acids. Hair should be around 4.5 on the acid scale. Water is 7, so when hair is wet, it is, on average 5.5 on the acid scale. Sodium bicarbonate can be anywhere from 6.3 to 8, given my research, so that would make the hair more alkaline instead of acidic. Over time, could this alkaline change damage disulfide bonds in the hair?

Also, I have seen people using sodium hydroxide in shampoos. Not only is it poisonous, but it is also the same chemical used in permanent straightening, usually on African American hair.

What do you think about this? Are these diluted enough that they wouldn't provide a problem over time or is it better to go with a store-bought shampoo which has a lower ph to prevent hair breakage?

[Drielle]

That is why they recommend doing an acidic rinse after the shampoo with the castile soap, to bring the ph closer to normal again. You'll find using diluted vinegar or lemon juice will do the trick & it helps to smooth the hair cuticle making it less tangled also!

[lekuhn]

I love the idea of being able to make my own shampoo and conditioner, Thank You!!!
I made the basic shampoo and my daughter used it and it left her hair greasy. What went wrong? I used Dr. Bronner's unscented castile soap, which already has oil in it. (then followed the rest of the directions) Is there another kind of castile oil I should be using?

PLEASE HELP!!
Thank You
Lori

[Drielle]

Personally speaking, I found that the 'transition phase' can be avoided completely. I did my 1st 'no-poo' wash a couple days ago with horrible results... hair felt heavy & stiff with a waxy residue, that I felt when rubbing my fingers together. GROSS! Today I added a couple drops of dishwashing detergent to my mixture of: Dr B's, water, grapeseed oil & baking soda, now my hair feels OMG fantastic! I think all my hair needed was a degreaser (once or twice only) to get rid of the residual coating shampoo & conditioner had left behind. Hope this helps.

[maegeer]

ahhh. so this mixture is leaving an almost waxing coating on my hair. what shoud i do to get rid of this.

[Drielle]

Personally speaking, I found that the 'transition phase' can be avoided completely. I did my 1st 'no-poo' wash a couple days ago with horrible results... hair felt heavy & stiff with a waxy residue, that I felt when rubbing my fingers together. GROSS! Today I added a couple drops of dishwashing detergent to my mixture of: Dr B's, water, grapeseed oil & baking soda and now my hair feels OMG fantastic! I think all my hair needed was a degreaser (once or twice only) to get rid of the residual coating shampoo & conditioner had left behind. Hope this helps.

[Hairflare]

Use baking soda in your wash. As a hairdresser, I have used baking soda in shampoo for years to strip impurities from hair. A little bit will go a long way. Some people are now even using the "no poo" method of just washing with baking soda and water. I've tried this but my hair is too long and my scalp to oily for just baking soda, but if your hair is short it works well.- I used it on my son. If you are going to stick with the traditional shampoo method, tweek it until you get it right. You may need to use less oil in the mix, use a different castile soap, or simply mix baking soda into each batch. Here is a link for a castile recipe that I like http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soaprecipes/a/castrecipe_5.htm.

Lastly, rinse with vinegar water. It removes grease and soap buildup along with balancing pH (super important for hair health!) and smoothing the hair cuticle.

[med-way]

Just wondered if this shampoo would be OK for my girlfriend who's just had a Brazilian hair straightening keratin treatment. Instructions are that she uses salt-free shampoos/conditioners. Cheers!

[swithnell]

I just tried the basic recipe this morning and I definitely like it. You don't need to use very much to get a good lather.
I previously tried a recipe that used coconut milk instead of an oil, but I found I had lots of coconut milk left over and nothing to do with it, and it stopped lathering after about two weeks. I already had some jojoba oil around, so I'm glad I found this recipe.
Also to anybody else trying this, make sure you rinse with a baking soda and water mixture or your hair will probably turn out oily. If it's your first time using a natural shampoo you could be oily for a week or two anyway, because your scalp has been producing more oil to compensate for the oil-stripping of commercial shampoos.

[jac2848]

I am interested in trying some of these shampoo recipes, but are they safe to use on a daily basis?