# what am i doing wrong???



## jayjay23 (Feb 9, 2013)

I'm so close to giving up on making shampoo bars!! I just can't stand this anymore, I spent so much money to buy the oils and materials and the bar comes out awful!!

the first time I made my bar I used 250 gr olive oil, 100 gr coconut oil and 50 gr castor oil, and 100 gr sunflower oil, and I superfatted 5%.. my hair was all oily and stringy from it!

The other day I made another batch:
100 gr castor oil
250 gr coconut oil
150 gr olive oil
superfatted at 3% 
and I washed my hair todays with it...it's the same thing!! My hair feel stringy, and waxy and oily, and feels so heavy and dry!
what am I doing wrong?? people, please help me, I  really wanna make it right but how??
please help, please!!


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## melstan775 (Feb 9, 2013)

What is your natural hair type like? If you're fine or normal you probably need a drier bar- a super fatted one with all those oils will weigh you down. Also if you use hair products you might need a good wash towing a good shampoo to break the residue before the shampoo bar can work its magic.


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## jayjay23 (Feb 9, 2013)

my hair pretty thin/fine, and color trated, but I do not use any hair products what so ever, not even hair spray, nothing!
I am so dissapointed 
my hair feels like I poured oil all over it, it's stringy and heavy and dry 
I don't get it (


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## Pears (Feb 13, 2013)

Jayjay, I'm not particularly experienced so don't take my word for it but it sounds as though the sodium cocoate was too aggressive and stripped your hair of any natural oil. Sodium cocoate is more aggressive than other soaps. The superfatting may have also left behind too much oil on the surface. Giving both a dry and oily effect. Perhaps you could decrease the amount of coconut oil next time and also superfat at 1%. If that doesn't work, then you can try reducing the coconut oil while increasing the superfatting. Good luck.


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## la-rene (Feb 15, 2013)

It could be that most soap has a ph of around 10 and hair's ph is 5 or 6 so, when you wash your hair with soap, you are effectively drying it out.  I found out this info from here:  http://killerstrands.blogspot.com/2008/09/understanding-shampoo-through-ph-scale.html

"pH and Shampoo
Understanding pH levels will help you select the proper shampoo for yourself . Remember, the amount of hydrogen in a solution, determines whether it is more alkaline or acid, is measured on a pH scale that has a range from 0 to 14. 
a shampoo that is more acid can have a pH rating from 0 to 6.9 
a shampoo that is more alkaline can have a pH rating from 7.1 to 14.
The higher the pH rating ( more alkaline), the stronger and harsher the shampoo is to the hair. A high pH shampoo can leave the hair dry and brittle.
Now why shampoo's don't have pH ratings printed on them instead of all the other words and BS I will never know, this is one of the key measures  of knowing if the shampoo is going to work correctly (of course there are others).
Ultimate pH for a shampoo you purchase?  5.0 - 6.0"

Though, they say that your hair might just need a period of adjustment to using the shampoo bar.

Luck!


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## deirdreanne (Feb 15, 2013)

I have naturally oily hair. It was so bad with regular shampoo that I would sometimes wash my hair twice a day to feel clean. I thought that in making my own shampoo bar, that I would need a bar with a high amount of coconut oil for it to work. However, I've discovered that works best for me is actually a conditioning bar (high olive oil) with no coconut oil. Now I wash my hair every 2 or three days and it's lovely and shiny. I wonder if something similar would work for you?


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## melstan775 (Feb 15, 2013)

I get it jayjay, you're color treated and fine.  Your hair is fragile and it's sucking up oil.  As a color treated person, I'm not sure a shampoo bar is right for you.  I don't know a lot about soap formulation, but I am a hairdresser, so my advice is to formulate something gentle with low grease factor. Perhaps consider making a liquid shampoo for yourself, one with a castile base, and add a colorant for color protection. For example, if you're blonde, calendula, or red add madder root. coffee and/or alkenet, if you are brunette.


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## VanessaP (Feb 15, 2013)

I know a lot of people who use CP/HP shampoo bars also do an apple cider vinegar rinse after shampooing.  Have you tried doing that afterwards, jayjay? 

For awhile, I did use my regular CP bars on my hair. Honestly, I liked it, but I have very coarse hair to begin with so I generally need a little bit of conditioning afterwards anyway or I can't brush/comb it. There was a period of adjustment for me, like 3-4 weeks.


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## judymoody (Feb 15, 2013)

You're not doing anything wrong - it may be that your hair and CP soap don't work well together.

I formulated a few different CP shampoo bars and my hair felt like dirty matted straw afterwards.  The high pH of CP soap roughens the hair cuticle unless you follow with an acidic rinse.

I make solid shampoo with detergent-based surfactants and my hair looks great. Completely different set of ingredients and process.  If you want more information try: swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com


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## hoegarden (Feb 16, 2013)

Hi Jayjay, don't give up. My purpose of soap making is also to create a shampoo soap that will address my scalp needs. I am also still in the process of trial and error to get the most suitable soap.

If you are upset about oil wastage, I would suggest that you reduce your oil when making. I know perhaps you may think that it is not time efficient, but to me, it's better than doing more and wasting resources especially when you are still in the testing phase. You are using a total of 500gm of oil, perhaps you can reduce to 250gm or 300gm.


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## Saponified (Aug 5, 2019)

My daughters and I have been using shampoo bars for a year now with excellent results! My recipe is based on lizard lady shampoo bar which you can find at: http://lizardladysoapinfo.blogspot.com/2014/06/so-you-want-to-make-bar-of-shampoo.html

We all have different types of hair.....super thick coarse and oily, medium coarse normal, and fine,dry highlighted. We have found that 3% sf works for normal and dry hair and 0% is better for oily. In both cases, a vinegar rinse is essential to achieve both softness and tangle free shiny hair. We mix around a Tablespoon of ACV in a pint of warm water and pour on rinsed hair. We then rinse again with warm water to remove the vinegar. I find that after this second rinse very little vinegar scent remains and none upon drying.

We all took several washings to remove deposits left on our hair from commercial shampoo.....up to 10 for one of us. We also notice that it takes a couple of washings to return our hair to "normal" after having our hair washed and blow dried at a salon.

I can't say enough nice things about the lizard lady recipe. The lather is phenomenal! I make the shampoo bar with 0% sf and add the oils at trace for my superfat. I have not changed her recipe but do change up the superfat oils and I sometimes add natural colorants to distinguish sf amts.

I've only been making soap (sporadically) for a year so I am no expert but this shampoo bar has been wonderful for all of us!


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## Kiti Williams (Aug 6, 2019)

jayjay23 said:


> I'm so close to giving up on making shampoo bars!! I just can't stand this anymore, I spent so much money to buy the oils and materials and the bar comes out awful!!
> 
> the first time I made my bar I used 250 gr olive oil, 100 gr coconut oil and 50 gr castor oil, and 100 gr sunflower oil, and I superfatted 5%.. my hair was all oily and stringy from it!
> 
> ...




  Hey Jayjay!  One or 2 washings will not acclimatize you head/hair to the new shampoo Bar.  It can take up to 3 weeks for your hair and scalp to get over being super dried out from the commercial shampoo.


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## Obsidian (Aug 6, 2019)

Guys, this thread is 6 yrs old


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## IrishLass (Aug 6, 2019)

Ditto what Obsidian said.......also-JayJay unfortunately has not been on the forum in six years and will not see your answers. 

Here's some helpful posting advice for those who are new to the forum and might not yet know our forum etiquette in regards to resurrecting much older threads : Before deciding to post an answer to a question that you may have found in the further back pages of the forum, please take a moment to look at the thread's date, and also last time the member who originally posted the question was actually on the forum. You can do that by clicking on the member's name.

Also very helpful is to read the section on necroposting in our forum sticky in the Rules section titled SMF Culture & Tone in regards to posting to older, long dead threads: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/smf-culture-and-tone.56833/#post-574424 


IrishLass


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## meepocow (Oct 21, 2022)

Saponified said:


> My daughters and I have been using shampoo bars for a year now with excellent results! My recipe is based on lizard lady shampoo bar which you can find at: So, you want to make a Bar of Shampoo!
> 
> We all have different types of hair.....super thick coarse and oily, medium coarse normal, and fine,dry highlighted. We have found that 3% sf works for normal and dry hair and 0% is better for oily. In both cases, a vinegar rinse is essential to achieve both softness and tangle free shiny hair. We mix around a Tablespoon of ACV in a pint of warm water and pour on rinsed hair. We then rinse again with warm water to remove the vinegar. I find that after this second rinse very little vinegar scent remains and none upon drying.
> 
> ...


Taking a flyer on a response here, but I just made these bars and am wondering how long you cure yours for? Thanks!!


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