Hi all! I just got the book Naturally Healthy Hair and have been reading through the homemade recipes for shampoo and conditioner. They are kind of confusing to me, so I was wondering if you all could share your recipes for a homemade shampoo or rinse that gets your hair clean. My hair really doesn't like BS though, so please nothing including that.

Thank you!!

What kind of recipes are in the book?

I tried an egg shampoo a few times. Was a couple years ago. I did like the results but it was just impractical to do with kids/babies. I did like 1 egg and brown sugar and I don't remember what else.

That doesn't help much I know...

The one basic shampoo they give lists dried herbs, purified water, castile or glycerin soap, and oils. Those are pretty hard to find by me so I was hoping you all had some advice for me :)

Sounds like they are talking about Shampoo Bars. you could do a search for that and find a bunch of information. You would also be surprised waht you can find a where :)

I'm not really one for shampoo bars, as I tangle very easily :( Right now I am just heavily diluting a small amount of shampoo, but it's not giving me that "deep cleaning" feeling. I also tried a vinegar rinse, which left my hair very shiny, but got greasy rather quickly.

Tonight I did heavily diluted shampoo (dime sized amount of shampoo to hot water shaken in ketchup bottle), protein treatment, quick application of V05 conditioner on ends (put on and rinse really quickly) and the tiniest amount of jojoba oil (smaller than dime size) run through my hair. I have done protein before and my hair was really dry (but strong!) so I wanted to prevent that this time.

Hopefully I am not going overboard :)

For me, SMT is the best home made "shampo" I've ever tried. Well, I haven't tried all that many, and SMT is not really a poo - but it works great as a poo, and gives excellent deep treatment as for moisture as well. Leaving my hair really soft and shiny! :)

SMT hasn't worked all that well for me :(

You know what you should try?!!!! Visit the herbal thread. You can use indian, chinese or western herbs.
I use shikakai, amla, and neem (or another herb, i mix it up with what i feel) and it relaly does clean. Just make sure you add some cornstarch, or arrow root flour,- it makes your hair incredibly soft.
I basically mix up the herbs with previously boiled hot water (from the kettle) and then let it sit 15mins. I strain it twice and then add the fours (about half the volume of water...i like to overdo the flour!) and then wet hair, pour the goo on, try to mix it in a bit (or use an empty ketchup bottle and squeese it onto the scalp in rows) and then leave it for 3 minutes or so and rinse. Condition and what ever as usual. :)

tiny_teesha, how would I find those herbs? We don't have any natural food stores around.

I often use Soapwort as a shampoo and body wash. You won't be able to find it locally though, you'll have to order it online. I like it because I have sensitive skin and it's very gentle and cleansing. Here's my hair right after a soapwort shampoo:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=423&pictureid=9748

I also use it on my face because I have acne-prone skin and it is one of the few cleansers that I can use successfully.

mellie, the book did have a recipe for soapwort shampoo, but I would definitely have to look online for that herb! I even had to order my jojoba oil online :)

I discovered by "accident" that egg yolk and honey cleans my hair :) I was trying an egg yolk/honey treatment, and just rinsed it out after a hour or so, didn't bother to wash afterwards since I wasn't planning on leaving the house. To my surprise my hair started looking clean as it dried, I had pretty dirty hair before the treatment.
At one period of time I only washed my hair with egg yolk and honey for a week, 3 times in a row, my hair turned out just as clean every time, even with leaving the stuff on for only 30 minutes or so.
I have heard that a lot of people are having trouble with egg in treatments, they talk about bits of egg in their hair after rinsing, or smells. Personally I've never had either bits of egg in my hair, and it never smells after the hair has dried :) I think the bits problem might come from rinsing in too hot water...
For my fairly short, fine hair I use 1 egg yolk and a glob of honey about the same size or a little less than the size of the yolk :) Mix, apply to wet hair (I wet my hair and wring out the excess) let it work for as long as you like. Because of the honey and the fats in the egg yolk it's also a good moisture treatment :)

That sounds so easy but I am terrified of bleaching my hair! Is there anything else I could combine with egg yolk to clean? Definitely not olive oil, that takes ages to come out. Maybe combining that with the conditioner would make a more thorough CO?

To be honest I'm not really sure if it's the yolk, the honey or the combination that is responsible for the cleaning action, but since I've heard of a lot of recipes for egg shampoo I'm leaning towards the yolk as the "culprit" :)
Just yolk and conditioner would be an interesting washing experiment!

I will definitely try it the next time I CO! That's either tomorrow or Tuesday, depending on how my hair looks :) I'll try it and report back.

Just an FYI, if you microwave honey between 10 and 60 seconds, it'll kill the enzymes and won't lighten your hair.

You could try corn syrup instead of honey. I don't want to have any lightening effects of my hair either, so I've been using plain corn syrup in my SMTs and find it works pretty well. It should do the same thing that the honey does with no bleaching.

I don't know if corn syrup would really "clean" the hair though :confused:

I don't know that honey actually has anything to do with 'cleaning' the hair. The egg yolks have lecithin and that is what cleans hair. Honey is a humectant and adds a bit of slip and makes you hair feel nice. Corn syrup will do the same thing. Or you could just leave it out and see what you think. :)

I use regular dark syrup in my SMT instead of honey, and it works great.

Are you talking about Hershey's syrup or corn syrup? I'd have to say I'd prefer the former, much better smell :p