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Make Homemade Natural Shampoo In 2 EASY STEPS ONLY

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What if I told you that you could make your own homemade natural shampoo from ingredients you already have at home? No one wants to pay an arm and a leg for products designed to clean out your hair, especially when the said products contain nasty ingredients that do more harm than anything to your overall health, not just your hair. 

What? You did not know that the shampoo you are using may be causing your scalp to either get oily, itchy, dry or insert any other hair problem you may have here? 

Head on over to this link about shampoos and hair loss where I break down almost all the hard-to-pronounce and hazardous ingredients that make up your favorite store-bought shampoo.

Now that you know just how bad these shampoos are for you, what other options do you have? You still need to wash your hair and clean out all the grease from your scalp -so if not with your regular shampoo, what should you be using? What is the solution?

Homemade shampoos made with natural ingredients you most likely already have in your home is your best bet to getting a properly clean scalp. Healthy scalp and hair is literally at your fingertips!

Without a further ado, let us get right into the process for this easy DIY natural shampoo.

Homemade Natural Shampoo Recipe

When you search the world wide web for ways to make your own shampoo at home, you will be bombarded with the endless options available to you. Fear not, I will teach you the most basic method first and then once you have mastered this, you can essentially add in any other ingredient to the mix (as long as it has hair-healthy benefits).

You may choose to not add in anything else and just use the recipe as is- and guess what? That is absolutely fine; you can totally do so!

Basic Method

To make a basic shampoo, all you really need are three simple ingredients: water, glycerin or some kind of oil, and castile soap. Since I want no compromises on quality, I am going to go with the healthier, plant-based versions of these ingredients. You can too- just follow my lead!

I will also add in essential oils to give the shampoo the scent that I desire. There is a huge variety of these oils you can use and I have a list of very effective essential oils that repair the health of your hair here, if you would like to check it out. Otherwise, you can also add in some citrus essential oils for a refreshing and fruity scent that will linger on in your hair. Mmm mmm, goodness!

What You Will Need

INGREDIENTS EQUIPMENT
½ cup distilled water 16 oz Squeeze Bottle or
½ cup Liquid Castile Soap Foaming Soap Dispenser
1 tsp Vegetable Glycerin 1 Funnel
15 to 20 drops of organic essential oils Stir Stick

Tips:

Replace water for coconut milk if you want a creamier mixture.

Replace glycerin if you have oily hair with a light oil like Argan or JoJoba.

Method

  • Use the funnel to add in the ingredients one by one, starting with water, soap, and then glycerin.

  • Take the funnel out of the squeeze bottle and continue to add essential oils. Use the stir stick and mix everything together until well combined (Keep in the fridge to prevent microbial growth).

That’s it ladies! Two easy steps and your all-natural homemade shampoo is ready for you to use! How simple was that? Wasn’t it Easy Peasy?

Directions To Use

Shake well before each use. Pour out a little over your head, if you are using a squeeze bottle, and massage the shampoo into your scalp gently for 2-3 minutes. Use more shampoo if you would like more lather. However, keep in mind that this will not lather as much as your traditional shampoo. And this is fine, because more suds do not equate to a better clean!

Hair Detox Phase

All-Natural Shampoo Can Revive Hair After Detox Phase

Ideally, you should use this natural goodness in place of your regular shampoo. However, it will take your hair some time getting used to. This is because your scalp first needs to go through a “detox” process where all that gunk that is still stuck on your hair from your favorite shampoo that you have been using for years to wash your hair must first be fully removed.

Yeah, I am not kidding when I say that there is chemical residue on your hair, including your scalp, that has accumulated after every wash. Yuck!

Give it Time

During this detox phase, your hair really won’t look its best as you introduce it to an all-natural alternative. It will be stiff, sticky, greasy, and or dry.

So please be patient before you give up and go back to your old ways of washing thinking this remedy sucks! But if you are persistent, you will see that your scalp is gradually adjusting by producing the right amount of natural oils.

I would say to test this out for at least 4 weeks. Use your old shampoo only once a week, if you really feel like you need a proper, deeper clean. But when you do, give at least a 2 day-break before you wash again, and this time wash your hair out with the homemade shampoo.

The goal is to eventually stick to washing your hair with the homemade natural shampoo only.

“Thin” Shampoo

Another fact you must know before you make the switch is that this shampoo will be quite “runny” in comparison to what you are used to. This is because there are no artificial thickening agents. A point to remember: a thin solution does not mean a poor clean, just like suds have little to do with scalp-cleaning!

Vegetable glycerin is the only ingredient that gives the shampoo its thickness (somewhat), but at the cost of making thin hair looking and feeling more oily. Because the shampoo recipe is super customizable, you can easily sub glycerin out for a lighter oil.

All-Natural Hair Shampoo

Now, you can even take this recipe one step further and go for a zero waste or reduced-waste version. How? Instead of using a liquid castile soap that you get in a plastic bottle, you can sub that for a castile bar soap.

Just chop 1/6 of the soap bar (cut ⅓ and then chop that in half, it’s easier) and chop into smaller shavings and then melt them before you add it to your other natural ingredients.

To get shavings: use the chopping method instead of using a grater as a lot of soap will be wasted due to being stuck to the grater.

To melt shavings: boil water in a saucepan or use an electric kettle. Add this boiled water to a big bowl. Place the soap shavings in a glass mason jar and put it into the bowl with the water and watch all the soap melt – it is so cool to see all that steam!

You can also repurpose an empty glass bottle or even an old shampoo bottle to contain your all-natural concoction in.

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What is Castile Soap?

You are going to find castile soap in almost every homemade shampoo recipe. Perhaps you have never heard of what this all-purpose soap is; perhaps this is all you have ever used for anything you can think of that needed cleaning. Whatever the case is, I am going to explain why this is a better alternative to any of the sulfates and parabens that are famously added to the shampoos available in stores.

Castile soap is an environmentally friendly, vegetable-based soap (free of animal fats and synthetic ingredients) that you can safely use for a multitude of different purposes like cleaning your body, your house, or even your pets. The beauty about using it for hair is that it preserves the natural oils of the scalp, while removing the excess dirt and grime and also promotes hair growth.

Proceed With Caution

1. This surfactant is quite potent (high pH) on its own so it must always be diluted before using, otherwise it will make your hair feeling like straw! A little castile soap goes a long way. You may have to test out the dilution variations for your own personal preference or until you find one that works for your hair.

2. It is also not exactly color-safe. So if you have color-treated hair, please know that due to its high pH nature, it will open up the hair cuticle, stripping the hair dye from the hair faster.

3. Because it is alkaline (a base), mixing castile soap with any kind of acidic substance (i.e vinegar or lemon juice) is going to really mess up your hair, BIG TIME. So, please don’t add vinegar into your shampoo! Use it as a rinse instead.

ACV Conditioner For Hair

ACV Rinse Can Lower pH Levels of Scalp

You have your all-natural shampoo ready and you cannot wait to try it out but before you do so there is just one last, very important step you must know.

Using this shampoo can leave your scalp with a very high pH value (over 7) and that is not a good thing. Castile soap, like every other surfactant, is alkaline and using it over your head will definitely disbalance the pH levels of your scalp. 

In order to bring these levels down, you must use an Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Rinse after you have rinsed out all the natural shampoo from your hair. This truly helps in lowering the pH levels closer to that of your scalp (pH of 5) and seals in the hair cuticle, retaining moisture and giving the hair its much-needed shine. 

Don’t worry about the ACV smell on the hair- I promise, it will fade after your hair fully dries!

How To Make ACV Rinse For Hair

  • Take 2 tbsp of ACV and mix it with 1 cup of water.
  • Take this mixture to your shower.
  • After rinsing out the shampoo from the hair, pour the ACV mixture over the head and massage the scalp for a few seconds.
  • Leave mixture in for 2-3 minutes before you thoroughly rinse your hair one more time with water.

That’s A Wrap

As you can see, it is pretty easy to make shampoo from natural products at the comfort of your own home. It is also cost-effective, has zero harmful chemicals, and is totally customizable. The best part about it is that you make it YOURSELF.

It will give you a sense of accomplishment when you make something from scratch and know how rewarding the benefits are. You get to know and control what ingredient you want to use. Self-knowledge is the best step you can take towards your health, including your hair!

What did you think of this shampoo recipe?

Do you find it easy to follow?

Are you also tired of using your regular shampoo and want to switch to an all-natural solution?

Please let me know what you think and if you are currently using a shampoo that you have made yourself, I would love to hear your hair-health story!

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Sasha

Sasha

Hair-enthusiast turned blogger helping women achieve their hair goals with natural and sustainable haircare methods.

14 Responses

  1. Thank you for your post! I looked everywhere and finally I found your shampoo recipe that is more organic and natural than others. Because I tried to buy some organic shampoos from stores, it’s expensive and I still felt sensitive on my hair and scalp skin. I think this is awesome so I will definitely try this!

    1. Organic Shampoos also have skin irritants that might be causing your scalp to get irritated. Do give this DIY shampoo a try and see if your hair likes it. Let me know how it goes- Good Luck! 🙂

        1. Glad you enjoyed reading, Jasmine! Feel free to stop again and to share with friends and family. You never know who may be looking for natural solutions to hair wash ! 🙂

  2. Hi, I´ve always wondered about the alternatives to shop-bought shampoo. I´m not keen on putting all those chemicals on my head but at the same time, I do like a good lather-up to make me feel like my hair has been really cleaned well. However, like you say, when I try your homemade method, I will have to get used to less lather. Thank you for all your tips and info. Great post!

    1. Good on you Susan for using natural ingredients! No need to let all the chemicals get anywhere near you!

      I used to love lather too but i guess that is because I knew no better; we are trained as kids to use a shampoo that lathers well in order to remove all the dirt. Little did we know how far that is from the truth. You will definitely get used to less lather and still have clean hair- trust me! 🙂

  3. Hi. Love this article. It was years ago when i DIY my own shampoo. The acv rinse is like the cherry on top. My hair was super soft. But it’s the smell that won’t fade. Maybe I added too much. Would definitely want to try this again.

    1. Use less ACV and more water- that should definitely help in fading out the smell.

      Do try again and let me know how it goes! Good Luck!

  4. Hi there,

    Great post, it’s not often you get all the information you need from one post. I didn’t know that it could be so easy to make homemade natural shampoo!

    I really need to start making it and getting into a routine of using it too.

    Looking forward to seeing what you write next.

    Sharon

    1. Yes, Sharon- it really is THIS easy to make homemade natural shampoo! Do try it and I definitely encourage you to get into the routine of using it too- you will really love it.

  5. what a unique recipe for homemade natural shampoo! I really liked the read and found it to be practical as it has only fewer ingredients which is definitely easier to buy and manage. I will give it a try and let you know how I got on. Since you are a hair guru 🙂 the only thing I was thinking, if you could invent/share a colour depositing shampoo to cover grey hair to a darker colour?

    Many thanks

    1. Simplicity is the way to go 🙂
      I am so glad you found my recipe very practical! I would love to know what your results are so definitely do share once you try.
      @hair guru: you are way tooo kind! However, I have a long way to go..but if I can help a few people with their hair loss struggles, i will feel my job here is done:)
      Regarding your query about darkening hair color, I have a very good recipe coming out soon..so definitely check back again!

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Sasha's Bio
hi, I'm Sasha

Covid-19 changed not just the world but my hair too. Unfortunately, for the worse.

As I struggled to try everything under the sun to tame my mane (while being in lockdown), I noticed that natural remedies were most effective!

Here I am now,  sharing my tried & tested haircare methods to help women who are in the same boat as me.

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