more shampoo bar questions

[Bex1982]

> didn’t think about SF :/

 

[Obsidian]

If I use any products with silicone, I have to lather my hair 2-3 times to get it all out. I try and not use hair products anymore, opting for a little body butter instead of silicone smoothers.

 

[CanaDawn]

yet another thought: Are you piling your hair up on top of your head to wash/scrub it? Could the matting be sort of like "felting" from the raised cuticle in the akaline soap, before it gets laid back down with the acid rinse?

 

[soapysarah]

soapnuts - shampoo bar

Hi Bex, I make a liquid with the soap nuts. Boil about 15-20 soap nuts with 6 cups water for 20 mins., add 1 cup water, boil further 10 mins., add 2 cups water and boil for another 10 mins.. Cool and store in fridge. I add a few drops of tea-tree and lavender. I use a bare cup in the washing machine. I find the liquid brilliant for cleaning the glass hob and granite worktops. (I have found that there is still life in the soap nuts after this and boil them up again for general cleaning. When they are all used up they look grey.)

This liquid is substituted for some of the liquid in the soap. Not added when the lye mixture is very hot. There is a lot of information on the web about soap nuts.

I hope that this helps.

 

[Susie]

Are my eyes bleeding? I think they're bleeding.... I've done SOOO MUCH reading on shampoo bars over the last several days, my head is filled to the brim and spilling over, lol. roblem: After reading through this thread (thanks Bex!), Genny's thread (all 63 pages), plus may other sites, I think I'm ready to create one. I have fine hair but normal amount. It's color treated (yep, there's gray under there, shhh) but healthy. I usually shampoo every 2nd day and can go every 3rd day in winter, so not oily. I'd like my DH to use this bar too, he has normal "man" hair (very short, not oily or dry, etc.) So based on Genny's original recipe I subbed the 10% soybean with 5% each CO and sunflower (sunflower because of it's non-comedogenic properties). I'll probably need to experiment a while to find out what works best for me, DH, our water quality, etc. but here's a start. What are your thoughts?

40% OO
30% Avocado
10% Castor
10% Shea
5% CO
5% Sunflower

3% SF
35% H2O to oils

Soap Calc puts this at 3 for cleansing and 74 conditioning.

I think that is a lot of soft oils.

 

[beckster51]

Before I made shampoo bars, I ordered samples, lots of samples, and I noted the ingredients in the bars I liked and used them in my own recipe. I have only made shampoo bars twice, and this one is my favorite of the two. One of my goals was to come up with a bar that I liked for body soap and shampoo, an all-in-one bar. It is a rather soft bar, and I know it will be too cleansing and not conditioning enough in the winter months, so I am trying to come up with another recipe that works for cold weather. In the future, I will tweak it, but for now (summer in the south) it works well. I have short (pixie cut)very fine, very thin hair that is not processed in any way. It can be very fly away, but it is not with this bar. In my limited experience, your recipe should be based on the oils and SF ratio that work best for your hair. You can only find this out via trial and error. And you have to use the same methods to compare different recipes, that is use the same kind of rinse with each bar. I have soft water, and I use an ACV rinse with rosemary and sage infused in it about once a week. I am happy to share it as a jumping off point for others.
Apricot kernel oil 10%
Avocado oil 10%
coconut oil 30%
castor oil 15%
palm kernel oil 15%
sunflower oil 20%
I am sure this bar would be a nightmare for some folks. My hair performs best with a bar that is cleansing and has a high SF. This bar's SF if 10%. It has a great lather due to all the palm kernel and castor. Next I want to try a bar that has babassu oil or jojoba oil in it for greater conditioning.

 

[Bex1982]

Your formula is not too much different than mine.
I just tested it again (I think it's been about 3 weeks curing now? ) and I like it much better. It does seem to make my hair frizzy. I'll have to figure something out. My other hair products like leave in conditioner and oils are not helping and then too much looks greasy.

 

[sososo]

Is clay ok in shampoo bars?

 

[beckster51]

Bex, I just made a recipe of Sherry's Fantastic Soap Shaving Soap/Shampoo Bar version from Miller's Soap pages. It is certainly a different recipe! It includes Palmer's Cocoa Butter, which contains a crystalline wax and some dimethicone, I believe. Anyway, Sherry says it is the only shampoo bar that holds the style the next morning after she blow dries her hair. Maybe the wax? I look like Woody Woodpecker when I get up in the morning, so if it worked that way for me, I would be delighted! I made it for my husband for shaving soap, but I am certainly going to try it for shampoo after it cures. I know that jojoba is great for some people in shampoo bars, but I fear the dimethicone will make my hair floppy and greasy. I will report back after I have tried it.

 

[beckster51]

Sososo, I know some people put clay in shampoo bars, but I have not tried it. Maybe someone else will pipe up.

 

[Crombie]

Shampoo Bars

I use kaolin clay in my shampoo bars but only at 1/2 tsp ppo.

I also infuse some of my oils (avocado) and beer/water with marshmallow root and calendula overnight. The marshmallow root gives the soap some detangling properties.

 

[soapysarah]

I'm really pleased with my shampoo bar

I made a shampoo bar for my husband who has an itchy scalp. He uses Nizoral which is both expensive and strong. He is really pleased with the soap and so I passed it to my sister-in-law, who has bleached hair - she likes it too. My husband says that his scalp no longer itches and his hair feels soft and shiny.

This is the only shampoo I use now. I have shoulder-length coloured hair and the shampoo soap seems to give it a lot of body and it holds any style I blow dry it into. As my hair is quite thick but fine this is a great result. If only it didn't cost so much to get a soap to market!

(I always condition after washing and every couple of weeks use a vinegar rinse.)

Playing around with soap is great fun. I'v been making body lotions ever since I qualified as an aromatherapist and am now trialling deodorant. My soap for dogs is working as a fly repellant and I leave a bar out wherever the flies congregate.

 

[Nyknits]

Bex, I just made a recipe of Sherry's Fantastic Soap Shaving Soap/Shampoo Bar version from Miller's Soap pages. It is certainly a different recipe! It includes Palmer's Cocoa Butter, which contains a crystalline wax and some dimethicone, I believe. Anyway, Sherry says it is the only shampoo bar that holds the style the next morning after she blow dries her hair. Maybe the wax? I look like Woody Woodpecker when I get up in the morning, so if it worked that way for me, I would be delighted! I made it for my husband for shaving soap, but I am certainly going to try it for shampoo after it cures. I know that jojoba is great for some people in shampoo bars, but I fear the dimethicone will make my hair floppy and greasy. I will report back after I have tried it.

This is stab in the dark. I’m interested in trying Sherry’s shave/shampoo bar. As a new soap maker, I know to run everything through a soap calculator. When adding the Palmer’s, am I adding it after emulsification? TIA.

 

[beckster51]

This is a really old thread, but since I was the one who was posting, I will share my experience with this recipe. I didn't like it. It is not a good shave soap recipe or a shampoo bar recipe. I just added the Palmer's in with all the other oils with no problem. It's an OK soap, but after 6 years of experience, I can tell you there are much better recipes than this one. I also found I absolutely cannot use shampoo bars. Like many other people, it really turns my hair into straw, even with a vinegar rinse. If you want shampoo bars, try Lindy's shampoo bar, there is thread for that on here. If you want a good shave soap, there are threads for that as well. I hope this helps.

 

[Nyknits]

This is a really old thread, but since I was the one who was posting, I will share my experience with this recipe. I didn't like it. It is not a good shave soap recipe or a shampoo bar recipe. I just added the Palmer's in with all the other oils with no problem. It's an OK soap, but after 6 years of experience, I can tell you there are much better recipes than this one. I also found I absolutely cannot use shampoo bars. Like many other people, it really turns my hair into straw, even with a vinegar rinse. If you want shampoo bars, try Lindy's shampoo bar, there is thread for that on here. If you want a good shave soap, there are threads for that as well. I hope this helps.

Thank you for replying. I will search for Lindy’s and see how that goes. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with this recipe. Enjoy your weekend.
Lisa

 

[MarinaB]

I only can say that I gave up trying to create a shampoo bar.
Today I ordered a shampoo bar from one lady, she is in California. I really interested. 15$ a bar.

 

[Krashdragon]

I haven't made any shampoo bars, just a few soaps. But. I tried Katie's ( Royalty Soaps ) shampoo bars, I especially like the honey one. Also the conditioner bar. Then I use a tiny dab of leave-on conditioner. My hair stylists suggested that.
My hair has gotten finer with age (I'm officially ancient... over 70), it feels softer and I'm not losing nearly as much. My hair is a bit below shoulder length.
Why does one long hair just seems so much more... hair... than a bunch of short ones?
Also read where commercial shampoos can increase hair loss. We don't need that!