Question about shampoo and water content

TJ · Jun 30, 2011

When making my own shampoo I need water to dissolve some surfectants and what not. Does it matter how much water I use? The water is just to dissolve the stuff and make the shampoo more or less liquid-y right? It's not like CP soap where you HAVE to have the right amount of water or your product won't be safe is it?
Thanks!

ToniD · Jul 1, 2011

Yes, it matters. The surfactants can be irritating if used at to high a concentration. A lot of the places that sell ingredients have a formulations available , or you can find recipes on swiftcraftymonkey blog.

You will get your shampoo more or less viscous with thickeners as well as your surfactant type.

TJ · Jul 1, 2011

Hmmm...
Well when making a solid shampoo, you do not use any water at all. You just melt down everything. Which is why I'm confused about liquid shampoo's water content. I'm probably not making much sense... lol. I feel pretty overwhelmed with the shampoo stuff, but I want to take on the challenge.

Earthchild · Jul 2, 2011

The solid shampoo is very concentrated so you are only using a little bit. It is emulsifying with the water from your shower to create a liquid shampoo from the solid bar. With a liquid shampoo your water/surfactant ratio will determine the mildness and viscosity of the product. I second checking out Swift's blog - it is an invaluable resource.

ToniD · Jul 2, 2011

Or consider purchasing Swifts hair care products book. I think all the info is online by paging through different posts, but I have been soooo glad that I purchased the book. So much fantastic information on the different ingredients, with lots of tweaks on the recipes so you can really chose what will work for you.