making your own shampoo bars...

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
This is just one recipe I found, but I am curious about the lye used to make it, is it needed to make a bar soap? I guess I equate lye with relaxers:perplexed...Has anyone ever considered making their own batch?

From The Soap Kitchen

"A solid shampoo is simply a soap bar made from a base of oils chosen specifically for their hair and scalp care properties. The majority ingredient that differs from most soap bars in Castor oil. Also it is helpful to include oils such as Sweet Almond and Jojoba. This makes them more expensive to make than a simple soap. Our advice is to familiarise yourself with the techniques of soap making before moving into more complex recipes such as for shampoos.

YOU'LL NEED.....
1) Two good sized stainless steel or enamelled saucepans
2) One heat-proof glass measuring jug
3) Accurate kitchen scales
4) Utensils for stirring etc. i.e. Wooden or stainless steel spoons, a balloon whisk or rubber/wooden spatular, or similar
5) Two (preferably) cooking/brewing thermometers (although 1 can be used fairly successfully)
6) A mould to pour the liquid soap into whilst it sets. A wooden or cardboard tray or box lined with grease-proof paper is great
7) Eye and hand protection (safety glasses and rubber gloves)
8) A blanket or large towel

INGREDIENTS
12 oz (340g) of cold, clean water
125g of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) beads or pearls
8oz (227g) olive oil (preferably pomace grade but virgin or extra virgin will do)
8oz (227g) coconut oil (hard variety)
6oz (170g) palm oil (hard variety)
6oz (170g) castor oil (B.P. grade)
3oz (85g) sweet almond oil
1oz (28g) jojoba oil



HOW TO.....
Measure out 12 oz (340g) of cold clean water into the jug

Weigh (accurately) 125g of sodium hydroxide beads (or pearls)

Carefully add the sodium hydroxide to the water, pouring slowly and stirring with a spoon or spatular. Be careful not to breathe the vapour that is initially given off, so hold your breath and stir until all the sodium hydroxide has dossolved and there are no lumps stuck to the bottom of the jug. The solution will heat up to nearly 200oF and will need to be left to cool. Place one of the thermometers into the solution and leave to one-side. If you want to speed the cooling, place the jug in a large bowl of cold water, being careful not to 'float' it.

Meanwhile, measure out exactly 8oz (227g) of coconut oil and 6oz (170g) of palm oil into one of the saucepans (the smaller if there is one) and gently melt it on the stove. Don't overheat it, just melt it. When there are tiny pieces of solid oil still left to melt, turn off the heat and leave until completely liquid.

Whilst the solid oils are melting, measure out the remaining oils (8oz (227g) olive oil (pomace grade is best): 6oz (170g) castor (B.P. grade): 3oz (85g) sweet almond: 1oz (28g) jojoba.) into the other saucepan (this will be the soap-making pan).

Once melted, pour the combined coconut and palm oils into the olive oil and place the other thermometer in the pan.

NOTE: What you now need to do is keep watch on the temperatures of both the oils and the sodium hydroxide solution (lye). If you haven't two thermometers you'll need to move one between pans ensuring it is washed between each pan. Depending how fast you are working it may well be beneficial to make use of the hint above about placing the jug of lye in a large bowl of cold water. This is because it starts off hotter than the oils and has more cooling to do. Once both oils and lye are at near similar temperatures they can be combined. Don't let everything get too cool. As a guide a minimum of around 80oF and a maximum of around 130oF are ideal limits of temperature. As long as oils and lye are both at similar temperatures between these limits your soap should turn out just fine.

When at the correct temperatures, slowly and carefully pour the lye into the oils, stirring (preferably with a hand (balloon) whisk) all the time. Once all the lye is poured, put the jug aside and concentrate on stirring your solution. You should stir throughout the mixture fairly briskly. You will notice the solution start to turn more opaque and as the minutes pass it will start to thicken. The stage in the process you have to wait for is known as the 'Trace'. This is when you can drizzle the mixture from the whisk (or spoon/spatular) onto the surface of the solution and it leaves a trace before sinking back into the rest. To pour the soap too early will probably end up in the mixture separating, which will ruin your efforts. Once the mixture traces simply pour it into your lined mould. To reach a trace may take just 5 minutes or as much as 50 minutes depending mainly on the grade of oils you use.

Once poured, the mould needs to be covered and insulated to keep in the heat. Towels or a blanket work perfectly well. Don't let the towel or blanket touch the surface of the soap, put something over it first. Then leave aside for around 24 hours for it to set solid.

After around 24 hours, remove the soap slab or block from the mould. It should be hard enough to cut into whatever shapes you have in mind, although it still has some hardening to do. Whether you choose to cut it now or later, it needs to continue 'curing' for somewhere between 2 and 4 weeks to be absolutely ready. During this time it gets progressively harder and looses some of the water that was put into it in the making.

If you're using this recipe as a base for a shampoo you're adding your own fragrances to, take a note that in your early attempts at natural soap-making it is far easier to fragrance a soap using pure essential oil/s. Avoid most fragrance oils as they are almost all alcohol based (something like dipropylene glycol) and virtually all forms of alcohol will cause 'siezing' in a soap mixture. This is when the mixture starts to set solid very rapidly, before you have a chance to pour it, ruining all your efforts.

For a slightly improved recipe, substitute 1oz of the sweet almond oil for 1 oz of kukui nut oil, leaving the remaining oils as they are above..."
 
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MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
Here's another recipe...

"
CPHP Emu Oil Soap (Kathy Barnett)
This soap is "ingredient heavy," but worth it. This recipe is for 100 oz. of
oils.
The batch I made was 1/4 this size, so just divide everything by 4 for a
smaller batch.
This bar is pretty hard after unmolding, but gets even harder after a few
days.
30 oz. Olive Oil (30%)
20 oz. Coconut Oil (20%)
15 oz. Palm Oil (15%)
12 oz. Emu Oil (12%)
6 oz. Castor Oil (6%)
5 oz. Avocado Oil (5%)
4 oz. Cocoa Butter (4%)
4 oz. Shea Butter (4%)
2 oz. Jojoba Oil (2%)
2 oz. Sweet Almond Oil (2%)
38 oz. Water
13.4 oz. Lye (7% excess fat)
No scents (FO or EO) or colorants.
1. Weigh lye and water. Mix and set aside.
2. Weigh and melt hard oils in microwave. Add to pre-warmed crock.
3. Weigh and add liquid oils to crock.
4. Add lye/water to crock oils while stirring gently.
5. Bring to trace alternating between whisk and stick blender.
6. Cover and cook until done. Glop into mold.
7. Unmold and cut when cool.
If doing CP, I can't tell you temps because I made mine in the crock pot."
 

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]From http://www.sudsandscents.com/june2003news.htm[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Super Suds Shampoo Bar[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Q: What makes a shampoo bar different from ordinary soap?[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]A: If there is a higher proportion of castor oil in the recipe - it will offer a more conditioning and moisturizing element to your hair and scalp.[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Makes 1-lb of shampoo (or 10-12 bars)[/FONT]​
Imperial
Ingredients
Metric
5ozCoconut180 gms1ozCocoabutter30 gms4ozCastor Oil120 gms3ozPalm90 gms1ozJojoba Oil30 gms2ozSunflower60gms2.21ozLye
(includes 5% discount)
66.30gm6ozDistilled Water
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Optional: Add 1-2 teaspoons of desired essential oils.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana] A nice, mild, lathering bar.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana] Combine oils and heat gently. Use temperatures between 100 - 125 deg. F (38 deg. C) [/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Combine lye following good safety procedures. Once lye and oil are at desired temperatures, combine by adding lye/water solution to oils. Not the other way around.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Stir for the first 15 minutes, then stir for 5 minutes at 10-15 minute intervals.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Check to see if thickened. If it looks like a thin milkshake or thin custard it is ready to pour into mold(s).[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Add optional ingredients (herbs, essential oils, etc.) and pour into mold.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Cover, insulate and allow molding time between 24 - 48 hours. If the soap is still soft - allow to cure for a few more days to firm.[/FONT]​
  • [FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Slice as desired and allow to cure 3 weeks.[/FONT]​
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]Mold time: 24 - 48 hours
Cure time: 3 -4 weeks
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, Arial, Verdana]
Not responsible for outcome of product/recipe.
[/FONT]​
 

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
From Skincare Naturals

Crock Pot Shampoo Bar Recipe(light hair version)

  • 3oz Canola Oil
  • 12oz Castor Oil
  • 14oz Coconut Oil
  • 2oz Hempseed Oil
  • 2oz Jojoba Oil
  • 11oz Olive Oil
  • 16oz liquid (chamomile tea is a good choice for light hair)
  • 6oz lye
  • .8oz eo (I used lemongrass, lavandin, a touch of neroli and lemon myrtle and some eucalyptus)
I used 8oz water to mix with the lye, then juice 1 lemon, topped and topped it up to 1/3 cup with cider vinegar, then added chamomile tea to equal another 8 oz of liquid to be added after the soap cooked in the crock pot.

Mix the lye into the water and let sit in a safe place. Melt the oils in
the crockpot (hold back the hemp until after it's cooked).


Mix the lye water with the oils. Cover and cook for about an hour. Stir as needed.

I add the hemp near the end of the cook. Shortly after I do a tongue test and when the zing is gone, remove from heat. (note: don't do this until you are reasonably sure that the soap is cooked. Walking around the house with your burnt tongue hanging out of your mouth isn't very appealing no matter how beautiful your skin is. (well, maybe to Fido) :0)

Slop into whatever mold you are using. You can use this right away but if you let it sit a few days to a week it will become quite hard and last well.

Dry Hair: Replace a percentage of the jojoba or hemp with a bit of shea butter or other butter. You could also try a little less coconut and a little more olive.

Oily Hair: Lemon juice (blonde hair) or cider vinegar (dark hair) can be
used in place of some of the water as well as chamomile tea (blonde hair) or rosemary tea (dark hair) and peppermint tea could be nice for either.


You can also up the coconut and decrease the hemp or jojoba, but you'd have to recalculate the lye.

General: Olive oil could be infused with any herb that you'd like to use.

Floral Waters can also be added at the end of the cook.

Essential Oils: I use rosemary eo along with peppermint and/or lavandin. Lemongrass and peppermint could be nice also. (Did you know that rosemary tea apparently will cover grey with regular
use?)

Comments: I couldn't wait to try a shampoo bar and I haven't been at all dissapointed, I would never buy shampoo again. Now how do you make a natural conditioner? I have been putting a bit jojoba with rosemary on my hair at night sometimes and washing it out in the morning with no residue but it is noticably softer.

I also like to spray my hair with rosemary hydrosol while it's wet after I wash it, it also seems to give me softness and shine.

UPDATE 2006: I've been using all of my basic bars for shampoo for quite awhile now. Since I've started designing my own, as a rule I only use 1oz of palm. I heard somewhere that palm is what causes the problem of residue and film, I don't know if it's true, but I am quite happy using all of my bars with low palm for shampoo (as a rule I don't use it much in any recipes and have no soap scum on the tub.)

I have short hair, but I haven't used conditioner for a long time and it's perfectly healthy.

I use the coconut recipe (link below) for shampoo as well, it is excellent for oily hair (both my kids commented that it makes their hair squeak :0).

UPDATE 2007: I ran out of my shampoo bar and haven't made more, boy do I miss it! Far too many shampoo bottles lying around, too expensive and I always need conditioner. First thing on my soapmaking list is to dig out the crockpot shampoo bar recipe!
 

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
Health & Shine Shampoo Bar by Marina Tadiello

Ingredients
[*]


Method
[*]


This oil combination makes for a fast tracing soap mix! The recipe is rich in conditioning-nourishing oils, and is fantastic for those who would like to "revitalise" their hair.
 

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
High Castor Shampoo Bar (aka Diane's Poo Bar) by Mary Anne G

Ingredients
[*]


  • olive
  • coconut
  • castor
  • jojoba
  • lye at 6% discount
  • goats milk powder
  • essential oils of lavender, rosemary and peppermint
Procedure

I did it CPHP. [...] It was easily "dentable" for a couple of weeks, gradually hardening. I did start using the first bar while it was still dentable (about 1 month), but by the time it was finished, the rest were quite a bit harder. The lather is rich and creamy, its rinses well, but I still use an acidic rinse... habit from the hemp bars, haven't tried it without
 

Je Ne Sais Quoi

Well-Known Member
Yes, you do need lye to make soap :yep: I have made soap before, i used to make batches here and there. The professionals on the board include radianthealth and tmichelle :)
 

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
Yes, you do need lye to make soap :yep: I have made soap before, i used to make batches here and there. The professionals on the board include radianthealth and tmichelle :)


Ok. I was looking online for shampoo bars, and visiting a couple of sites, but the one that had all natural bars were mostly sold out on the ones i'd be interested in, that's what led me to see what it would take to make my own:grin:.
 

hurricane

New Member
WOW!!! Thanks. I use to make soap bars but stopped. But thanks to this thread I have some new ideas. Do you think castille soap would be good to use and do you really need the lye? Just wondering.
 

Platinum

Well-Known Member
Wow. This is great info! My grandmother used to make her own soap a long time ago. Thanks for sharing!
 

VelvetRain

Well-Known Member
WOW!!! Thanks. I use to make soap bars but stopped. But thanks to this thread I have some new ideas. Do you think castille soap would be good to use and do you really need the lye? Just wondering.


Sorry but you can't make soap without lye. It's a necessary component to make soap. All you will end up with is a mold full of oils that have not turned to soap without using lye. I suggest those interested in learning how to make soap head over to www.millersoap.com Any and every recipe you find on the net needs to be run throught a lye calculator to ensure you are using the correct amount of lye to properly saponify all the oils. Plus I would read up on the safety precautions on how to properly deal with lye because it's a very caustic substance and if you don't know what your doing with it you can hurt.

You can also do a search on the board. I did a tutorial on how to make soap a year ago.

Just wanted to clarify you need a digital kitchen scale that measure down to 0.01 grams of accuracy. Spring kitchen scales will not work as your weights will be way off in accuracy and you more than likely will end up with a lye heavy batch that will burn you.
 
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MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
WOW!!! Thanks. I use to make soap bars but stopped. But thanks to this thread I have some new ideas. Do you think castille soap would be good to use and do you really need the lye? Just wondering.


I was told that you do nd it to make the soap, but it seems like a small amount in comparision to the other oils added. I think castille soap would make an excellent shampoo bar, because of the olive oil. It's usd on babies, so we should be able to "baby" our hair with it, IMO.
 

MyAngelEyez~C~U

Well-Known Member
Sorry but you can't make soap without lye. It's a necessary component to make soap. All you will end up with is a mold full of oils that have not turned to soap without using lye. I suggest those interested in learning how to make soap head over to www.millersoap.com Any and every recipe you find on the net needs to be run throught a lye calculator to ensure you are using the correct amount of lye to properly saponify all the oils. Plus I would read up on the safety precautions on how to properly deal with lye because it's a very caustic substance and if you don't know what your doing with it you can hurt.

You can also do a search on the board. I did a tutorial on how to make soap a year ago.

Just wanted to clarify you need a digital kitchen scale that measure down to 0.01 grams of accuracy. Spring kitchen scales will not work as your weights will be way off in accuracy and you more than likely will end up with a lye heavy batch that will burn you.


Thank you!!!
 

natieya

Active Member
This is a great thread OP! I have been wondering about making my own soaps and shampoo bars someday. I will copy those recipes for future reference when I'm ready to try these out.

Thanks everyone! :)
 
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