Shampoo bar question

[sandyvern]

I just made my first shampoo bars...made a recipe from The Natural Soap book by Susan Cavitch which seem to have turned out well. My question is more about using them. I figured I should try them out before I try giving them to other people. So do you use conditioner with them? I have used a shampoo bar to wash my hair for the last two days...but haven't used conditioner with it. Just wondering what other people do. I have sort of long hair (middle of my back) and it is not quite curly and not quite straight (kind of a pain in the butt really)...and tends to get frizzy/curly in this wonderful humid weather we have been having...so normally I would use conditioner otherwise it turns into a big ole' mess.

So just wondering what other people do? Or what you tell your customers to do.
Thanks,
Sandy

 

[Guest]

I use my soap as shampoo , I have made shampoo bars too . I don't use conditioner with the soap , my hair feels great without it . I think conditioner is a personal preference , some people use it , some don't . From my experience with the shampoo and soap . I lather once , rinse and repeat , I get way more bubbles the second time , I have long hair , not sure that makes any difference .

HTH

Kitn

 

[Milla]

No matter what I shampoo with I have to use conditioner or I would NEVER be able to comb my hair. Maybe it's just my hair but it likes to tangle. My absolute favorite conditioner right now is Herbal Essence for color treated hair. I also can't use castor oil in my shampoo bar. It makes my hair way too poofy. I use a rebatched soap that gives me pretty good lather. It's not a shampoo bar. I rebatched my shampoo bars and scented some with cool water and some with lime (colored blue and green) for my husband. I'm glad he can use them. I wish I didn't need to use conditioner!

 

[Guest]

You can make your own conditioner Milla . I haven't tried it yet but it is on my long to do list .

Kitn

 

[Milla]

You can make your own conditioner Milla . I haven't tried it yet but it is on my long to do list .

Kitn

My to do list is HUGE! I bought some homemade conditioner on Esty, but it's just a tad too greasy for me. I'll save it for winter. Eventually I'll get to making my own conditioners! Tomorrow I'm starting lotions and doing some rebatches on some ugly soaps.

 

[kittywings]

I made my own conditioner (missing one ingredient :shock: ), sometimes I love it sometimes, not so much.

If I use a shampoo bar I use citric acid as a rinse. It instantly makes my hair turn to silk... it's a really crazy phenomenon.

So far the only soaps that I like are my beer soap and my salt bar, though I find it hard to work up a good lather from the salt bar.... because they last so long I can't seem to get enough off to get through my nearly waist length hair.

 

[soapbubble]

How do you use the soap for shampoo? do you rub the bar on your scalp or do you let it foam up in your hands? I've got long hair too and would love to try it - just haven't a clue on how to use it..

 

[Guest]

Some people say soap leaves residue on hair, but I don't believe that's the reason hair feels the way it does when shampooed with soap. I believe the reason is that the hair cuticle is "opened/raised."

15 years ago, I used handcrafted soap as shampoo (any soap). I used capsules of Cyclomethicone as a conditioner. A very tiny amount on my hands and ran my hands through my hair. I just ordered some Cyclomethicone last week from BitterCreek. It comes in a 16 oz. bottle and can also be used as a spray (tiny amounts -- best to spray hands, then run hands through wet hair)-. It adds dry shine, silkiness/smoothness to hair. That 16 oz will last the rest of my life!

I also wondered about putting some in soap.

 

[BlueSky]

Great thread!

I have been using my soaps as shampoo and I find that they do leave a residue on my hair. I think that is because I SF at 8-10%. So I am going to make a shampoo bar with 3% SF and see how I like it.

I have tried no conditioner, but I'm not able to get a comb through my hair without ripping some of it out, plus it made my hair feel very dry. But, I like using my soaps to shampoo and then using a conditioner (Herbal Essence). It feels like the conditioner actually soaks into my hair instead of just coating it.

Along these same lines--I bought a small amount of Jojoba oil because I wanted to try something that sounded a little exotic. I was going to try it in a shampoo, but I read somewhere on the forum that it is actually a wax. Any opinions on whether or not to put it in a shampoo?

 

[Guest]

I just used my cp bar this am as shampoo for the first time. I loved it, it made my hair squeeky clean, I dont feel any residue on my hair either. I did not use conditioner. I have thick shoulder length hair and was able to comb my hair as usual. My hair smells yummy too. It was a good feeling using all natural soap on my body and on my hair this am.
By the way, I told my boyfriend he could use the soap for shampoo and he is excited about that, he said that will save us alot of money in the long run.

 

[JenniferSews]

I use my shampoo bar and do think it leaves a residue. But I prefer it that way because then I don't have to condition. I do rinse with ACV for myself which removes some of the excess. But for my daughter I don't use a rinse. I find it keeps her curly hair conditioned and not as frizzy.

 

[Milla]

I just made a shampoo bar the other day with 5% jojoba and the soap feels waxy. I haven't tried it on my hair so I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I rebatched it so I will actually be able to try it sooner than 4 weeks. I just washed my hair yesterday so I'll try it tomorrow. There's no zap so I'm not worried.

 

[Milla]

Great thread!I have tried no conditioner, but I'm not able to get a comb through my hair without ripping some of it out, plus it made my hair feel very dry. But, I like using my soaps to shampoo and then using a conditioner (Herbal Essence). It feels like the conditioner actually soaks into my hair instead of just coating it.

I agree!

As for my previous comment about my soap feeling waxy from the jojoba...it's only slightly waxy, but in a good way. Not sticky and I just washed my hands with it and it's pretty slick. I also put silk in my soaps though. I think a little should be a good thing to try. Maybe 4% jojoba? I also try to keep my SF down. I was doing 6% but I may go to 5%.

ETA: the waxiness might also be from rebatching.

 

[Guest]

How do you use the soap for shampoo? do you rub the bar on your scalp or do you let it foam up in your hands? I've got long hair too and would love to try it - just haven't a clue on how to use it..

I just rub the bar on my scalp and then down through my hair .

Kitn

 

[Guest]

What have I done?
All this talk about shampoo bars made me go nuts in the tub tonight.

I thought....why not....so I chose one of the 7 bars
and shampooed my hair and then followed with my regular conditioner.
So far, so good.
My hair is very long, so I combed it out.
So far, so good.
It seems to be taking forever to dry.
Hummmmm
What's up? My hair isn't WET, it's OILY! LOL
Jeeeshhhhhhhhhh....................talk about conditioned?!?!?!? LOL

Oh well, the shaving soap I used was wonderful!

 

[Milla]

What have I done?
All this talk about shampoo bars made me go nuts in the tub tonight.

I thought....why not....so I chose one of the 7 bars
and shampooed my hair and then followed with my regular conditioner.
So far, so good.
My hair is very long, so I combed it out.
So far, so good.
It seems to be taking forever to dry.
Hummmmm
What's up? My hair isn't WET, it's OILY! LOL
Jeeeshhhhhhhhhh....................talk about conditioned?!?!?!? LOL

Oh well, the shaving soap I used was wonderful!

I've had this happen! I usually have to wash my hair twice to get the oil out!

 

[sandyvern]

Just as an update on my little experiment...

So I have used my shampoo bar for 4 days...and today I decided to use some conditioner because yesterday my hair felt a little dry. I do like the way the shampoo bar makes my hair feel squeaky clean. I don't feel like it leaves any residue (granted only have used it for a few days). And today I only used 3 squirts (my conditioner is in a pump type bottle) and it was great...could have probably used less. And normally when I use shampoo I use 5 squirts. So maybe between not using conditioner for 3 days plus then using less today...might at the very least save some money that way.

Someone mentioned making your own conditioner...does anyone have a recipe that they have used that has worked well for them?

I really like the idea of using homemade soap for my body and hair. Has been a good feeling to use all natural stuff. I actually had a friend comment on my skin the other day...she has been gone most of the summer and when I saw her when she got back she said my face looks great...and it was kind of cool to be able to say it was thanks to my soap I have always had some acne (not horrible but enough to bug me...and was usually worse once a month) and I have for at least most of the summer been using my soap cause I ran out of the neutrogena face stuff I had...and I actually think that my face has been much clearer without the "acne wash" than it has ever been with it. And that is just with a basic soap with oatmeal...no fancy additives or anything...

Sandy

 

[BlueSky]

I understand that hazelnut oil has a slight astringent value so it is often used on acne prone or oily skin types.

 

[Milla]

My face has also behaved this summer with my soap. It's so nice to just use your own soap!

I have not made my own conditioner, but found this light conditioner recipe online. All I would need to buy is the BTMS. I have preservative already (Germaben II) and I would just add that at the end. Super easy to use.
http://www.thesoapdish.com/hair-conditioner-formula.htm

I just made some lotions yesterday and that's another wonderful thing for my skin! Eventually I will post some pictures. I think the funnest part is putting my own fragrance in it. I fell absolutely in love with Spa Fusion from MMS. LOVE it!

 

[rubyslippers]

How do you use the soap for shampoo? do you rub the bar on your scalp or do you let it foam up in your hands? I've got long hair too and would love to try it - just haven't a clue on how to use it..

I just rub the bar across the top of my head and then lather the bubbles through the rest which is no big deal since I have short hair. I only condition about once a month. I thought I would make a shampoo bar and had found several recipes but couldn't decide which to try. Now, every time I make a new bar, I'm anxious to try shampooing with it and am finding they perform just as well or better than commercial shampoo so I've put my quest for a shampoo bar on hold. Why bother when 1 bar takes care of everything from head to toe!