Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap as Shampoo?

[Cattiva]

I tried this once with Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Castile Soap...bad idea for my fine hair. The tangles, even after an ACV rince, were ridiculous. My hair felt disgusting!

[Aspsusa]

This only worked for me when I was at my parent's house and they have very soft water. With the hard water in my place, I had crazy build up and dryness. With the soft water, following it up with an acv rinse went totally ok.

I think this is probably key. If the water is soft enough one might not even need a vinegar rinse.

One reason for developing detergents (like SLS et al) in the first place seems to have been thay soap+hard water => deposits.
If we are blessed with soft water, our choice of effective cleaning agents is much wider.

Haven't tried the Dr Bronner soap, but I looked at it with some interest in the hippy-dippy store recently. They have it in all kind of scents, which made me a bit suspicious, since I don't like strongly scented products.

I do have a curd soap, which is supposed to condition paint brushes (which it does with natural hair brushes, synthetic brushes it leaves too oily), and I'm toying with the idea of trying that on the length of my hair. We have very soft tap water where I live.

[AlexDig]

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I think this is probably key. If the water is soft enough one might not even need a vinegar rinse.

One reason for developing detergents (like SLS et al) in the first place seems to have been thay soap+hard water => deposits.
If we are blessed with soft water, our choice of effective cleaning agents is much wider.

Haven't tried the Dr Bronner soap, but I looked at it with some interest in the hippy-dippy store recently. They have it in all kind of scents, which made me a bit suspicious, since I don't like strongly scented products.

I do have a curd soap, which is supposed to condition paint brushes (which it does with natural hair brushes, synthetic brushes it leaves too oily), and I'm toying with the idea of trying that on the length of my hair. We have very soft tap water where I live.

It's so true, hard water is the bane of my hair DIY-ing experiments! I've had similar problems with shampoo bars as well but with trial and error, I have gotten some to work. Egg shampoos and soapnuts work all the time, which is nice :-)

[Medievalmaniac]

My husband uses Dr. Bronner's soap exclusively, both as soap and as shampoo. I tried it on my hair once but it definitely caused tangles and dryness. Our water is very hard, and that may well have a lot to do with it--even my trusted VO5 seems to cause me problems these days. Which is all to say that I second the idea that soft water may permit you to get away with it, but hard water definitely doesn't.

[lady mechanic]

I use this to make my own body wash heavily diluted with honey and coconut oil plus essential oils. It's a great body wash but it left my hair feeling very weird. I didn't like it for my hair.

[Cinnamonqueen12]

I bought an ebook with a recepie for castile soap shampoo, and it included castile soap, honey, and essential oils. It worked really well the first time, and on the second wash, I noticed a residue on my hands and hair, even with a vinegar rinse afterwards. It was very difficult to get rid of the residue, and very irritating, as it clumped and matted my hair beyond belief, even when dry. Some people swear by castile soap, especially Dr. Bronners, as a shampoo, and others absolutely will not put it anywhere near their hair. I would say give it a try, and if you like it, great! and if you don't, claryfy your hair and put it on the list of things that don't go within a 5 mile radius of your hair. Everyone's hair is different, and you don't know how it will work for you until you try! Good luck!

[vpatt]

I have been using Dr. Bronner's for a couple of months now with good results. I use the Wellness Mama recipe. I have the lavender soap and add canned coconut milk...some people like homemade coconut milk better and I have not tried that yet. I follow with a ACV rinse. The past week or so I have been doing oil massages before I shampoo and I just use the straight soap and follow with vinegar/water I have thought of adding honey at some at some point. I would say my water is not too hard...soap lathers well...but not extreme bubbles like my friend who has a water softening system.

I have not used shampoo in over a year. I have tried mud, soda and honey. I liked them all......but I think the honey concoction left the very top of my head oily after a while of using it. I should have kept notes. But I have to clean my hair twice a week no matter what I use or it gets very oily. I used ACV with all these things....with my last wash I used white vinegar instead of Braggs......I think I read that is better for graying hair.

[vpatt]

I forgot to say I add citric acid to my water too, for shampoo and bath. My county adds the usual two poisons to our water ....I really wish they didn't. I hope the citric acid helps with that, but I'm not certain.

[Illryeth]

I am so thankful for this thread because a few weeks ago while desperately searching for more natural alternatives, I ALMOST ordered Dr.Bronner... I am so happy I didnt do it but sad you had bad experiences with it !