homemade shampoos & conditioners!

[azi]

hi all! i'm sure there's already a thread on this, and you can def redirect me to it! but i was wondering if some of you can share your successful homemade shampoo and conditioner recipes? for the past two years, i've been using LUSH's "fairly traded honey" and the "veganese" conditioner (with slight variations of LUSH hair products here and there), but i decided that i didn't want to spend that kind of money anymore. they're great and last long, don't get me wrong, but i'm a 16 yr old who doesn't have a job and mooches off of my parents (as teenagers do) and i've been feeling guilty about it. we have no money problems, but soon enough i'll be going off to college and having to buy/make my own stuff and i want to be frugal while i do that! so please send your recipes my way - i will surely appreciate it

[Robi-Bird]

Lush shampoo and conditioner bars are syndets, made use similar ingredients at conventional shampoo but without water. There is a great formulating blog call swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.ca But be forewarned the materials are expensive, really quiet expensive. Something I've learned is that it is not cheaper to make syndets than it is to buy them, not that I don't enjoy making them when I get around to it but it's definitely not cheap!

[lapushka]

Yes Lush shampoo - might as well buy regular drugstore shampoo and that might even be more gentle on your hair and scalp. Lush is *far* from being "natural" in that department.

And making your own might cost even more, good ingredients cost a fair dime and then there's the risk of it not working out.

If you want to keep it nice and simple I'd just get a Suave or Tresemme shampoo, or even a Pantene, Herbal Essences, or L'Oréal one. But that's me talking. I'm not too good in the DIY dept.

[ReptilianFeline]

I currently work on my own mix using chickpea flour, juniper water (cut juniper twigs in pieces including some with berries, boil for 5 min, simmer for 20, let rest until cool, store in the fridge) and some aritha or shikakai, a little cinnamon or fennugreek or neem powder. Finnish with a lemon tea rinse. I avoid amla because it seemt to create a film/buildup on my hair.

This not a regular shampoo, so no lather, and I work it well into my scalp, using the powders as a gentle exfoliation as well. It's pretty cheap but takes a while to get used to and get the right formula for the particular scalp and hair and water combo you have. I don't use a conditioner anymore, just some coconut oil to detangle.

I'm still trying to find just the right mix for me, but I won't go back to regular shampoo because I'm hardly shedding anymore and my scalp is almost clear of the itchyness now.

So, about half a cup of chickpea flour, a small spoon of aritha or shikakai and neem, a sprinkling of cinnamon and/or fennugreek, and add juniper water untill a sloppy cream. Let sit for a while so the chickpea flour expands, then put in a bottle with a point, shake it and apply to the scalp, working it in properly using the pads of your finger, exfoliating, then add the rest to the rest of your hair and put it up while you do the rest of your showery stuff. Rinse out, apply the tea rinse, then in my case, rinse out the tea rinse and finnish of with cold water.

This is a work in progress, but sinse I stopped using amla, and started using chickpea flour, the buildup on my hair is very small, sometimes non existant, and I won't clarify with shampoo because when I did that, I itched like crazy!

[azi]

I currently work on my own mix using chickpea flour, juniper water (cut juniper twigs in pieces including some with berries, boil for 5 min, simmer for 20, let rest until cool, store in the fridge) and some aritha or shikakai, a little cinnamon or fennugreek or neem powder. Finnish with a lemon tea rinse. I avoid amla because it seemt to create a film/buildup on my hair.

This not a regular shampoo, so no lather, and I work it well into my scalp, using the powders as a gentle exfoliation as well. It's pretty cheap but takes a while to get used to and get the right formula for the particular scalp and hair and water combo you have. I don't use a conditioner anymore, just some coconut oil to detangle.

I'm still trying to find just the right mix for me, but I won't go back to regular shampoo because I'm hardly shedding anymore and my scalp is almost clear of the itchyness now.

So, about half a cup of chickpea flour, a small spoon of aritha or shikakai and neem, a sprinkling of cinnamon and/or fennugreek, and add juniper water untill a sloppy cream. Let sit for a while so the chickpea flour expands, then put in a bottle with a point, shake it and apply to the scalp, working it in properly using the pads of your finger, exfoliating, then add the rest to the rest of your hair and put it up while you do the rest of your showery stuff. Rinse out, apply the tea rinse, then in my case, rinse out the tea rinse and finnish of with cold water.

This is a work in progress, but sinse I stopped using amla, and started using chickpea flour, the buildup on my hair is very small, sometimes non existant, and I won't clarify with shampoo because when I did that, I itched like crazy!

thanks so much! i definitely want to try this!

[azi]

Yes Lush shampoo - might as well buy regular drugstore shampoo and that might even be more gentle on your hair and scalp. Lush is *far* from being "natural" in that department.

And making your own might cost even more, good ingredients cost a fair dime and then there's the risk of it not working out.

If you want to keep it nice and simple I'd just get a Suave or Tresemme shampoo, or even a Pantene, Herbal Essences, or L'Oréal one. But that's me talking. I'm not too good in the DIY dept.

i really didn't know that! im new to all this and i really though LUSH was a more natural route to hair care... but thanks for your insights! i may try herbal essences (for some reason i noticed that suave, pantene, and tresemme lead to a LOT of hair shedding for me...like, it'll come out in clumps!!!), but if that doesn't work out, i'll use some homemade recipes.

[lapushka]

i really didn't know that! im new to all this and i really though LUSH was a more natural route to hair care... but thanks for your insights! i may try herbal essences (for some reason i noticed that suave, pantene, and tresemme lead to a LOT of hair shedding for me...like, it'll come out in clumps!!!), but if that doesn't work out, i'll use some homemade recipes.

Maybe go the sulfate-free route, that might work far better for you. L'Oréal does the Ever-- lines and there's Shea Moisture, and Hask, I think is sulfate-free, as well as OGX. Plenty of choice in the drugstore for those of you in the US!

[patches]

I haven't found a DIY shampoo recipe I really like yet, though I have been pretty lazy about even looking for one. Currently I'm just using Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle for the shampoo side.

As for conditioner, for about a month now I've been using coconut milk as a leave-in conditioner after I wash. I've also, once a week, been doing a fermented rice water soak. Those are the only two conditioner type things I've been using and am quite pleased with the results so far.

For the coconut milk leave-in I mix 1/4 cup distilled water and 1 tablespoon canned coconut milk (I measure out and freeze the extra for later batches) and a couple drops each of tea tree, peppermint, lavender and rosemary essential oils, though they are optional. I then put that mixture in a tiny little spray bottle (which needs to be kept in the fridge) and just lightly spray my hair and gently finger comb it through after I wash it. A little bit goes a long way!

For the rice water I let a tablespoon of rice soak in a cup of distilled water for about 24 hours, strain out the rice, completely cover my hair and scalp with the liquid, throw a shower cap and towel on for around 20-60 minutes, then wash as normal. Depending on hair length it might take a bigger batch. My hair's still super short, the longest bits are barely getting to my shoulders.

[AngleD]

Good quality of shampoo(mild shampoo) do not cause hair loss and every day can be done. Oil is not nassasary for hair because its not pramote the hair growth its like just cotting on hair shaft for condisning.

[AngleD]

Good quality of shampoo(mild shampoo) do not cause hair loss and every day can be done. Oil is not nassasary for hair because it not promotes the hair growth its like just coating on hair shaft for conditioning.