Liquid shampoo experiment

[ilove2soap]

A while ago there was a thread about making liquid shampoo from grated bar soap, water and pectin. This method worked great for me and I have been making all kinds of liquid shampoo with great success. When using soap as shampoo, I have to do a vinegar rinse afterward to help with soap residue and remove the "greasy" feeling from my hair. Anyhoo, after making the last batch of liquid shampoo, I experimented by adding about 1/4 cup of vinegar to the liquid shampoo itself. I have used the shampoo several times on my hair and daughter without having to use a separate vinegar rinse. The vinegar also helps keep the shampoo more liquid as it used to get stuck in a clump in the bottom of the bottle and I would have to add water and shake, shake shake to make it pourable again. Adding the vinegar has saved me a step in the shower and leaves my hair shiny and soft. Just wanted to share in case any of y'all liked to experiment too. :wink:

 

[cwarren]

I remember that post - I couldn't get it to work so congrats

 

[SilverFox]

Do you happen to have that link saved? I would love to try that! I do the vinegar rinse too (but I use borax for my "shampoo" and it makes me have crazy flyaways!)

 

[judymoody]

Three words. Swift Crafty Monkey.

Check out her blog. You will never go back. Everything you ever wanted to know about shampoo, lotions, etc.

swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/

 

[SilverFox]

Yay! Thank you!

 

[ilove2soap]

I don't know how to make a link, but original title was "liquid castille" posted by Maggiadellaluna on 10-04-09 if you wanted to search. The method was fairly straighforward. Grate 5 oz bar of soap, add 1/2 tsp fruit pectin, and 30 oz of distilled water. Over LOW heat *a rapid boil will created a lot of unwanted bubbles* melt the soap/pectin into distilled water and simmer (I simmer for about 45 minutes) until the liquid is reduced by 1/4-1/2 and then pour into a bowl to cool. The mixture should thicken up into a glob within a few hours. Then I take the stick blender and whip until liquid/creamy in texture (you can add more water to make it more pourable) and decant into old shampoo bottles or tupperware bottles.
The only difference was I added vinegar to the shampoo mixture before stick blending, then poured into shampoo bottles. It saved me from having to do a separate vinegar rinse after shampooing my hair.

 

[SilverFox]

I don't know how to make a link, but original title was "liquid castille" posted by Maggiadellaluna on 10-04-09 if you wanted to search. The method was fairly straighforward. Grate 5 oz bar of soap, add 1/2 tsp fruit pectin, and 30 oz of distilled water. Over LOW heat *a rapid boil will created a lot of unwanted bubbles* melt the soap/pectin into distilled water and simmer (I simmer for about 45 minutes) until the liquid is reduced by 1/4-1/2 and then pour into a bowl to cool. The mixture should thicken up into a glob within a few hours. Then I take the stick blender and whip until liquid/creamy in texture (you can add more water to make it more pourable) and decant into old shampoo bottles or tupperware bottles.
The only difference was I added vinegar to the shampoo mixture before stick blending, then poured into shampoo bottles. It saved me from having to do a separate vinegar rinse after shampooing my hair.

I am absolutely going to try that! Thank you for explaining the process

 

[SudsyKat]

Wow - sounds totally intriguing. I'd love to see if it works for others as well - I tried a similar recipe (may even have been the same post), but I did find that the snotty soap clogged up the pump too often to be practical. We'll see if that vinegar helps!

 

[ToniD]

I don't know if this falls into quite the same category when SudsyKat asked if it worked for others. I was trying something from the liquid castile post for quite a while and kept working on my "poo goo" but never could get it right. I tried something like the vinegar addition, but I used citric acid and in a week or so ended up with unusable ick. Then for a long while I used just a cold process bar with hair conditioner made from info I got at swift crafty monkey. Now I have switched over to using shampoo that I make from a recipe from her site. My hair was not bad using cp bars, but I think it is in better shape now. Definitely not as uncontrollable. I have just enough curl to be messy and it is more manageable now.

I think in the end everyone has to play around until they find what works for them.

 

[sugah]

wow I'm so glad you shared your experiment. It sounds awesome. I will definitely try out your method.

Do you have to wait for soap to properly cure before grating it for this pectin method?

 

[ilove2soap]

I usually use fully cured "shampoo bar" soaps that I have made, but I have tried random soaps as well like Aubrey Organics and a bar of Dr. Bronner's peppermint castille soap with good results. If you experiment with making your own liquid shampoo and want to try adding vinegar, just be sure to make a batch with it and without the vinegar added to see which you like better. The vinegar does take away from the bubbly lather.

 

[lovethyscent]

I always got snot with that recipe lol. We have hard water here and shampoo bars never seem to work even with a vinegar rinse.

 

[panpaste]

nice post

I like that you shared your experiment! Thank you for this post.
I was wondering (and I'll read more on Swift Craft Monkey I'm sure) do you have to use the pectin? What is it for, is it for gel consistency, lather, etc.?

I've tried making liquid soap from my cold process castile bar and it didn't lather well. So I'm making another liquid soap right now from another CP bar I made but from coconut, palm fruit and olive oils. I think I'll try Dr.Bronner's too and compare. I love that peppermint soap.

 

[Dorty]

Do any of you have a specific recipe of how to make homemade shampoo in a simple 100 procent natural way from granted olive bar soaps or any other good recipe? I am struggling making homemade shampoo. I would like a recipe without castille soap. But all that I have made differs. I am using potassium hydroxid as lye. I really look forward to hear from you all. Thanks for this forum.

 

[Misschief]

Most of the posters in the group haven't been around in years. You'd be better off to start a new thread but I will warn you that soap as shampoo is a hot button; many of us agree that it will, in time, damage your hair. Others love it.

 

[DeeAnna]

If you want to use lye-based soap to wash your hair, then you should certainly try it. Just be aware it can cause serious problems. The high pH of lye based soap can cause damage to the hair and hair is not able to repair that damage.

Like Misschief said, there are LOTS of threads on this forum about the problems people have had with their hair when they used lye-based soap to wash their hair. Some people can do this and not have problems, but many cannot.

There's no need to dissolve NaOH (bar) soap to make a liquid product. Just rub the bar directly on the hair as my husband sometimes does. If you have KOH (liquid) soap, then simply dilute it to the desired consistency and use it on your hair.

There is no special magic to the blend of fats in the soap a person can use to wash hair. Whatever blend of fats you think is "natural" is what you should make -- any mild soap recipe should be fine. The only thing I can offer is people who successfully use lye-based soap to wash their hair tend to not use a lot of coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or other fats that make a strongly cleansing or drying soap.

If you do decide to use a lye-based soap for washing your hair, please do NOT add acids (vinegar or citric acid) directly to the soap. Acids cause soap to decompose and if you add enough acid, the soap breaks down into fatty acids and is not functional soap any more. The 10-year-old comments in this thread show people didn't realize at that time what was really happening.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@Dorly
Please take a moment to go to the Introduction Forum and tell us a little about yourself. Repeat what you said in your post above and anything else you care to share. This will make it easier for us to help you on your Soapy Journey.

Then use the Recipe Feedback Forum to get input for your recipe before giving it another try.

 

[Dorty]

Thanks for your answers. Is it possible to use applejuice (100 percent) to lower the PH in a shampoo? Yesterday I tried to mix fresh pressed applejuice, ginger water (my own grown ginger) tea tree oil and a grated bio soapbar. I had it on low heat for 45 min. And when finished the PH was 7 because of the apple... but the soapification process was not ruined. It had a fine thick shampoo consistency and was bubbling.

 

[DeeAnna]

Lye-based soap cannot have a pH of 7 and still be a functional soap.

If you are using pH strips to test the soap, they are extremely inaccurate. They usually indicate the pH is 2-3 units lower than what it really is. So a pH 7 result is closer to a true pH of 9 or 10.

My article about soap pH -- Soap pH | Soapy Stuff

 

[Dorty]

I have used a PH measure "a PH-meter" to liquids. It is normally pretty stabile, and I recalibrated it in some special liquid befor use. But thanks for your link to your article anyways.