Shampoo is a liquid soap with added colorants, fragrant, nutrients and essential oils.
First make the liquid soap. It may be Castile or natural. Add the colorants and nutrients. Choose non-reactive utensils such as stainless steel, glass, or plastic. These are the different shampoo recipes:
- Castile Herbal Shampoo Recipe
- Shikakai Herbal Shampoo Recipe
Herbal Shampoo Ingredients
Soap
In the western world, fats and lye have been mixed together for centuries to make soap. Animal fats (lard) were common to make cheap soaps. Soap with Olive oil and lye is called Castile. One should be careful making soap at home. Lye can cause severe burns if not handled properly. Castile soaps (as a solid bar, or liquid, scented or unscented) are available at health food stores in United States.
In early 1950s, ‘Sunlight’ was a common commercial soap sold in India. At the same time, Desi soap was made with cotton seed oil and caustic soda. Desi soap was harsh and normally used to launder clothes.
Shikakai, and Reetha contain Saponin, a natural soap. Reetha has been used over centuries to launder woollen clothes and silk clothes. Shikakai has been used to wash hair. Reetha produces more lather than Shikakai. For Shampoo, a combination of Reetha and Shikakai is used.
Sulfur
You will notice sulfur as one of the ingredients in most of the commercial shampoos in United States. It makes the shampoo anti-bacterial and it also helps in cleaning scalp.
In India, Neem oil and Mustard oil are commonly used.
Colorant and Fragrant
Colorant and fragrance should match. The basic purpose of colorant is not to dye your hair. It is just the color of the shampoo itself. For example, you may add yellow color and lemon oil to make a lemon shampoo.
Colorants can be made to give fragrance, and add many antioxidants at the same time. For herbal shampoo, you may make a colorant out of one or more of these products: Amla powder, Broken Cinnamon sticks, Broken Cloves, Black tea leaves, Gotu Kola powder, henna powder.
Henna lets you retain some of the color as a dye. Gotu Kola is also called Brahmi, a popular ingredient to promote blood circulation in the scalp. Gotu Kola also has a small amount of Saponin. Gotu Kola powder may not be readily available in Indian Stores in United States; you may be able to buy Gotu Kola extract.
Nutrients
Amla and Gotu Kola are common nutrients added to make Herbal shampoos in India. Amla adds a large amount of Vitamin C, and Gotu Kola is believed to increase the scalp blood circulation. Nutrients are added as Basic oils, essential oils, extracts, or derived at home from powders or leaves. Common nutrients in general are:
Amla powder………………………….. Vitamin C
Black tea leaves………………………. Antioxidant you may substitute with Green tea
Gotu Kola Extract (Brahmi)……… Antibiotic, promotes blood circulation.
Neem Oil……………………………….. Antibacterial agent to create so called ‘medicated shampoo’
Wheat-germ oil………………………. Vitamin E softens hair
Sweet Almond oil…………………… Vitamin E softens hair
Grape seed oil………………………… Omega 3 fatty acids
Fractionated coconut oil…………… Softens hair
Glycerine…………………………………. Moisturizer
Honey……………………………………. Moisturizer
Jaggery………………………………….. Moisturizer
Essential Oils
The essential oils are added to seek a specific therapeutic value, or just for fragrance. You can add 10 drops of essential oil to a cup of liquid Castile soap or Natural Shikakai soap to make a quick herbal or floral shampoo. After adding the essential oil, let the shampoo age for about two days so that essential oil is well absorbed.
One of my favourites is to add 5 drops of Chameli (Jasmine) essential oil to half a cup of Baby Shampoo.
Herbal essential oils
- Ajwain
- Cardamom
- Chamomile
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Coriander
- Eucalypts
- Fennel
- Peppermint
- Tulsi (Holy Basil)
In United States, common herbal essential oils used for shampoo include: Rosemary, Sage, Nettles.
Floral essential oils
- Chameli (Jasmine)
- Champa
- Lavender
- Rose hips
- Rose petals
- Sandalwood
In United States, Lavender is common floral essential oils used for shampoo.
Castile Herbal shampoo Recipe
Use Castile soap bar or Liquid Castile Soap. Other ingredients are Neem oil, Almond oil, Gotu Kola Extract, and colorant
Ingredients
- Liquid Castile unscented soap: ¾ Cup
Or Grated Solid unscented Castile Soap bar: 2 Tablespoons - Colorant: 1 Cup
- Neem oil: 1 teaspoon
- Sweet Almond oil: 1 teaspoon
- Gotu Kola Extract: ¼ teaspoon
Method
- Put all ingredients in a food processor. Process in ‘pulse mode’ till mixed. Dry soap will take longer to make a smooth paste.
- Transfer contents to a shampoo plastic bottle. Let the shampoo age for about 24 hours.
Making Colorant
- Water: 2 Cups
- Amla powder: 2 teaspoon
- Black tea leaves: 1 teaspoon
- Cinnamon sticks 3″ long: 2, broken into ¼” pieces
- Cloves: 12
Add all ingredients, bring them to a boil then steep and cover over low heat for 20 to 40 minutes then strain.
