DIY shampoo bars

[oktobergoud]

Hello!

I've searched the forum but couldn't find it (however, I do have trouble with that search machine :P), but was wondering if anyone here has ever tried to make their own soap/shampoo bar?
Someone told me about it (she makes soap herself) and I got all enthusiastic and immediately wondered if anyone here has tried it. I mean, it does sound ideal (and difficult, of course) so I figured at least one person on this forum must have tried it!

If so, do you have any tips, favourite ingredients? Did you like it all or was it a big fail? I want to know everything :D (I do think I'm going to try it so I'll make sure to post the results, although it will take about 6 weeks for the soap to 'ripe', so it will take a while :P)

I hope this is in the correct category (not sure if it belonged here on in the 'off-topic' forum)

:)

[MinderMutsig]

I've been thinking of trying this myself but decided I wanted to experiment with bought shampoo bars first to see what kind of ingredients my hair likes or not.

One thing I know from a Dutch soap makers forum is that you can use Kruidvat or Trekpleister store brand "gootsteenontstopper" for lye and that Diamant "frituurvet" is a great palm oil for basic soaps. With those two you can experiment with making soap before you start on more complicated stuff like shampoo bars.

[Enigma]

Interesting thread! I have yet to make a shampoo bar, but I do make my own soaps. I may even be starting an apprenticeship soon with a successful soap-maker who's been in the business for years.

For anybody wanting to make their own shampoo bar or solid soap, here's a quick introduction:

There's safety concerns you need to be clear about before making your own soap bar so that you don't harm yourself.

Here's the first part to a great YouTube beginners guide for cold-pressed soap-making and good lye safety tips:
http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv#p/u/17/yR6ttCSrLJI

After that, time to move on to what ingredients you want to use! Different saponified oils will have different properties. Check this out:
http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm

Also, please note if you are environmentally-conscientious that many palm oils are not sustainable.

Once you've got that figured out, you need to decide what superfat percentage you want your soap to have. Superfatting means there's part of the oils left that didn't react with the lye. 3% is a good starting area for shampoo bars. Never go to 0%, as that is reserved for laundry bars and there is room for error potentially resulting in having lye that never reacted.

Then you need to use a lye calculator to determine what amount of ingredients you need. There are two different lyes: NaOH (sodium hydroxide) and KOH (potassium hydroxide). If you are using NaOH (and most soap-makers do), this is a good calculator for determining the weight of your ingredients:
http://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx

You can add all sort of essential oils when the soap has reached trace, such as neem oil. You can also substitute any tea mixture or goat's milk for the water in the lye-water mixture. Please read up extensively before you use goat's milk! There's a trick with freezing it beforehand.

oktobergoud, excited to see and hear about your results!

[oktobergoud]

Thanks for the links & tips Enigma, I'm going to check it out :D

I've already got NaOH & all kinds of oils and fats, and I've read about the things that can go wrong, ouch! I haven't got any essential oils yet, because someone told me the ones you buy at the store are too harsh for the skin. Instead she told me about a webshop that sells a lot of perfume oils for soap.

So I think I'm going to make a basic, simple soap without any color or scent first, just to try it out :)

Do you have any pictures of your soaps, Enigma? Would love to see them :D

[oktobergoud]

Okay, I've just made one! :D It's without any added colours and fragrances (very simple) but I hope it worked. It was easier than I thought!
However, when some came on my hands (of the soap mixture) it did sting on a little wound on my finger... that made me worry, would it be too aggressive? I did use one of those calculators and used exactly what I needed to! :o

(Oh and if I'm correct, my soap had 5% of superfat! :o)

[Enigma]

I do not have any pictures of my soap and can't take any until I either fix my cam or get a new one :( But I'll take some when I do!

The reason why it stung on your hands is because you have to wait a few days to a couple of weeks for the soap to fully saponify to make sure there's no lye left. The end result of the soap will not sting like that. I hope you washed your hands!!!

What kind of oils did you put in yours?

[krissykins]

This thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=427) was very helpful to me when I first began making hair soap/shampoo bars. :flower:

[Gulbahar]

Okay, I've just made one! :D It's without any added colours and fragrances (very simple) but I hope it worked. It was easier than I thought!
However, when some came on my hands (of the soap mixture) it did sting on a little wound on my finger... that made me worry, would it be too aggressive? I did use one of those calculators and used exactly what I needed to! :o

(Oh and if I'm correct, my soap had 5% of superfat! :o)
What method did you use? Cold or hot?
Stinging is a bad sign but fresh soap is very harsh even on intact skin. When using the cold method, please don't use the shampoo bar right away!!! It's much too harsh. Letting it cure for at least 6 weeks (I normally do 3 months or more!) is absolutely necessary. It's always possible though that you have some free lye parts in your soap, like bubbles. In this case I would just trash the soap - it can be dangerous.
With the hot process you can use the soap immediately as far as I know. But I've never tried it.

[Enigma]

What method did you use? Cold or hot?
Stinging is a bad sign but fresh soap is very harsh even on intact skin. When using the cold method, please don't use the shampoo bar right away!!! It's much too harsh. Letting it cure for at least 6 weeks (I normally do 3 months or more!) is absolutely necessary. It's always possible though that you have some free lye parts in your soap, like bubbles. In this case I would just trash the soap - it can be dangerous.
With the hot process you can use the soap immediately as far as I know. But I've never tried it.

In cold process, the lye will not have fully reacted until a few days to a couple of weeks. She should check the soap then. From then on, the soap is completely safe and the curing process is just to take out the leftover water content.

[Gulbahar]

In cold process, the lye will not have fully reacted until a few days to a couple of weeks. She should check the soap then. From then on, the soap is completely safe and the curing process is just to take out the leftover water content.
I don't know the theory but in my experience - and that of many others I know - it really makes a difference how long you leave the soap to cure. My olive oil soaps of three years are much gentler than the batch I made one year ago. Same recipe too and this is only one of many examples. It's weird, I know, but there you are.

[Enigma]

I don't know the theory but in my experience - and that of many others I know - it really makes a difference how long you leave the soap to cure. My olive oil soaps of three years are much gentler than the batch I made one year ago. Same recipe too and this is only one of many examples. It's weird, I know, but there you are.

Oh yes, they definitely do get more gentle! Not disagreeing with you. I'm just strictly talking about the lye content ;)

[Gulbahar]

Oh yes, they definitely do get more gentle! Not disagreeing with you. I'm just strictly talking about the lye content ;)
Ah, of course. You are right. ;)

[oktobergoud]

What method did you use? Cold or hot?
Stinging is a bad sign but fresh soap is very harsh even on intact skin. When using the cold method, please don't use the shampoo bar right away!!! It's much too harsh. Letting it cure for at least 6 weeks (I normally do 3 months or more!) is absolutely necessary. It's always possible though that you have some free lye parts in your soap, like bubbles. In this case I would just trash the soap - it can be dangerous.
With the hot process you can use the soap immediately as far as I know. But I've never tried it.

I used cold! I do not have an oven that I can control exactly so I decided to do it the easy (and long ;)) way!

I don't see any bubbles in my soap (it's hard already! I made a tiny one :P) so I think it's okay? It might be because the soap still needs to 'settle', I'll just wait it out! :)


I do not have any pictures of my soap and can't take any until I either fix my cam or get a new one :( But I'll take some when I do!

The reason why it stung on your hands is because you have to wait a few days to a couple of weeks for the soap to fully saponify to make sure there's no lye left. The end result of the soap will not sting like that. I hope you washed your hands!!!

What kind of oils did you put in yours?


And I used uhm 50% palm oil (grease?) and 25% olive oil and 25% coconut oil (with the calculated amount of water and NaOH with 5% superfatting)! I found the recipe at the website I used for instructions, thought it would be an easy one to start with :) I'm not sure yet what will be better for shampoo (I read that coconut oil is good for foaming/lathering?), what kind of ingredients etc., but I just wanted to start with a really plain simple soap. (And yes I did wash my hands immediately after!)

I like how all those weird ingredients started to smell really soapy after it came together ! My soap is hard now but it's still a bit slippery, so I'll leave it in it's 'case' for a while longer, I guess. I'll just wait 6 weeks and see how it reacts to my skin then!

I really wish I had a good oven so I could try the hot process, I know it's tricky but I'm not really the most patient person! :P

I also bought special perfume oils (for cosmetics and soaps) & dyes so my next soap will be a bit more fancy I hope :D

& Thanks, KrissyKins, going to check out that thread tonight! :)

[krissykins]

You're very welcome! :flowers:

[Tapioca]

And be *very* careful with lye! I'm a soapmaker, and I dripped once. A tiny drop felt like a lit match!

[oktobergoud]

And be *very* careful with lye! I'm a soapmaker, and I dripped once. A tiny drop felt like a lit match!

I can imagine! I put it into a cup with water and it went HOT :eek: But I was really careful, when I tried to mix it I just didn't dare do it because I was afraid it would explode, lol :P

[Gulbahar]

And I used uhm 50% palm oil (grease?) and 25% olive oil and 25% coconut oil (with the calculated amount of water and NaOH with 5% superfatting)! I found the recipe at the website I used for instructions, thought it would be an easy one to start with :) I'm not sure yet what will be better for shampoo (I read that coconut oil is good for foaming/lathering?), what kind of ingredients etc., but I just wanted to start with a really plain simple soap. (And yes I did wash my hands immediately after!)
I wouldn't recommend this kind of recipe, to be honest. Coconut oil and palm oil in a high percentage are very drying in soap. I never use more than 20% of them in a recipe, actually most of the time a lot less. You have 75% of those drying oils in your soap - be aware that you may find it not very gentle even when it's cured for a couple of months.
I always find that a simple olive oil soap with some coconut oil is a good start and will give you wonderful results. It also keeps for years without going rancid. Try like 80% olive, 20% coconut or even less of the coconut oil.
5% superfat is a good start. Some hair soaps have less, but I once made on for me that had even 10% and my hair loved it. You have to find out what works for you.

[oktobergoud]

I wouldn't recommend this kind of recipe, to be honest. Coconut oil and palm oil in a high percentage are very drying in soap. I never use more than 20% of them in a recipe, actually most of the time a lot less. You have 75% of those drying oils in your soap - be aware that you may find it not very gentle even when it's cured for a couple of months.
I always find that a simple olive oil soap with some coconut oil is a good start and will give you wonderful results. It also keeps for years without going rancid. Try like 80% olive, 20% coconut or even less of the coconut oil.
5% superfat is a good start. Some hair soaps have less, but I once made on for me that had even 10% and my hair loved it. You have to find out what works for you.

Ah okay, thanks for the advice :) I honestly just picked some simple recipe from the internet, I just tried this one because I had all the products! But someone else on the forum said that her favourite shampoo bar was made of almost 100% of coconut oil :o But I guess that would be a really harsh shampoo then?

I found another recipe that I want to try.. (from a different topic on this board!)

5% jojoba
5% hemp
40% coconut
5% castor
25% olive
20% palm

But I want to replace the hemp with olive, so that would make 30% olive. The poster said she really loved it, but if you say coconut oil will get harsh, than this bar might be really harsh? Coconut oil does make it lather more, doesn't it? I thought I read something like that.. I do want a shampoo that lathers well!

[Gulbahar]

Ah okay, thanks for the advice :) I honestly just picked some simple recipe from the internet, I just tried this one because I had all the products! But someone else on the forum said that her favourite shampoo bar was made of almost 100% of coconut oil :o But I guess that would be a really harsh shampoo then?

I found another recipe that I want to try.. (from a different topic on this board!)

5% jojoba
5% hemp
40% coconut
5% castor
25% olive
20% palm

But I want to replace the hemp with olive, so that would make 30% olive. The poster said she really loved it, but if you say coconut oil will get harsh, than this bar might be really harsh? Coconut oil does make it lather more, doesn't it? I thought I read something like that.. I do want a shampoo that lathers well!
I suppose it depends on your skin. But I've been writing a lot on discussion boards specialised on soapmaking and cosmetics and the general consent was that a high percentage of palm or coconut oil makes very drying soaps. This has also been my personal experience.
It won't hurt to try if you like it though. If you find it too harsh you can always change your recipes. The important thing about coconut (and palm) oil is that they make the soap hard and give lots and lots of bubbles. I repeatedly made a salt soap with 100% coconut oil - but it is three parts sea salt so that's different. It's the most gentle soap I have.

[Aliped]

Very interesting thread! Thanks for posting - definitely giving me something to thnk about :)

[Kyaatje]

Oktobergoud : where did you get your lye ?
I'm wanting to try soapmaking for a very long time but I can't find the lye. I read that the "gootsteenontstopper" is no longer pure but contains all kinds of other stuff which makes it unsuitable for making soap ?

[amberpotamus]

Great information! I've wanted to try soap/shampoo bar making for a long time--I bought this really beautiful arabesque soap mold several months ago but I haven't gotten around to getting the rest of the supplies/ingredients I'll need and trying it out. I'm feeling encouraged now though!

[oktobergoud]

Oktobergoud : where did you get your lye ?
I'm wanting to try soapmaking for a very long time but I can't find the lye. I read that the "gootsteenontstopper" is no longer pure but contains all kinds of other stuff which makes it unsuitable for making soap ?

No I do use the gootsteenontstopper from Kruidvat, it's pure NaOH and many people use it :) So I guess you can still use it!

[Kyaatje]

No I do use the gootsteenontstopper from Kruidvat, it's pure NaOH and many people use it :) So I guess you can still use it!

ahaa !!! great, going to check my Kruidvat then ! I know there are differences between the shops in our countries, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed :cheese: