Shampoo Bar - Thanks Lindy!!

[neeners]

been wanting to do this for a LONG time, finally read through the whole thread and watched the Soaping101 video. currently formulating my 'poo bar recipe with everyone's feedback (I have fine straight Asian hair, that doesn't look great when greasy). I'm going to stick to the original Genny/Lindy bar, but up the castor a bit while down the shea a bit (2%), and instead of soybean oil, I want to use 5%CO and maybe up the OO by 5%.

so this is the recipe that I'm thinking of doing:
OO 45%
avocado 30% (mine has vit E in it)
castor 12%
shea 8%
CO 5%

SF 3% b/c i don't want to bog down my fine hair with too much extra oils.....

I want to infuse the OO with rosemary and holy basil (tulsi). liquids to include kefir and aloe juice, possibly some milk. and I'm going to add a bit of clay for detox (maybe red clay to bring out the red in my hair?). lastly, rosemary, lavender and tea tree EOs.

what do you experienced soapers think? (yes...I've been thinking about this for a while.....)

 

[InNae]

Ivory's list of ingredients include: Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palmate, Water, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, Coconut Acid, Palm Kernel Acid, Tallow Acid, Palm Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA.

It is the EDTA that is included to reduce lime scale in your shower. It is considered mostly biodegradable except in conditions of high pH (Ivory's pH is 9.5). It has also been shown to have cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on lab animals.

OK... So I'm reading through all of this thread and the statement about EDTA just didn't add up for me. I'm a chemist and use it as a preservative for some of the stuff that I do (not food related), but there are no precautions required when using EDTA. So a bit of research later I found this article on pubmed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396676

What pertains most to this thread is the line that states:

Clinical tests reported no absorption of an EDTA salt through the skin.

Now, EDTA does have some of the effects stated when inhaled in high dosages when it is ingested in high amounts, which they state was unlikely.

So... If you're using EDTA in your soap you should be OK unless you get hungry and eat it (I know that they sometimes look good enough to eat) and even then you should be OK unless you eat a couple hundred bars a day for an extended duration.

I can appreciate the desire to avoid unwanted chemicals. I too am making soap to get away from those chemicals because I have allergic reactions to many things in soaps and lotions. I spent a couple of months on steroids trying to figure out what was making my face break out in hives. Finally figured out it was a cream that my wife was using on her face that according to a dermatologist shouldn't have anything that would cause a reaction. roblem:

I think we should all be proud of what we make and shout about the benefits of our soaps and not go the way of political campaigns with the smear tactics for other products.

InNae

 

[Obsidian]

so this is the recipe that I'm thinking of doing:
OO 45%
avocado 30% (mine has vit E in it)
castor 12%
shea 8%
CO 5%

SF 3% b/c i don't want to bog down my fine hair with too much extra oils.....

what do you experienced soapers think? (yes...I've been thinking about this for a while.....)

I didn't run it through lyecalc but I think it will be a nice bar. I've done a few different variations and they all are pretty nice.
Let use know how the low SF does, I think I'll do the same with my next batch. I usually do 5% SF but it seems to be a bit much at times.

 

[neeners]

yea, I usually do 6% SF for every soap, but I figure b/c my hair is fine, a higher SF would make it too heavy.... i'll let you know when I actually get around to making it. I clipped the herbs from the garden and they're drying now. yay!

 

[Nikkor]

I haven't been able to fall asleep for some reason tonight so I read through this entire thread.

One thing I did notice is that with all the substituting of oils from the original recipe, not one person has tried palm oil. Is there a reason for this aside from the personal feelings over environmental impact?

 

[Relle]

I used palm instead of shea because it's too expensive, have made two logs now and love how they turned out.

 

[neeners]

so I made my shampoo bar yesterday! I was going to stick pretty close to the original recipe, until I remember how expensive avocado oil is down here (over $3/oz). I had some leftover, so I just used what I had. I've also been using my new years castile the last 2 washes, and my hair has been feeling great! which made me want to try a high OO bastille recipe for my 'poo bar. and, this is the result!

avocado 8.8%
castor 7.1%
CO 5%
OO 72%
SB 7.1%

SF 3% - I have fine-ish straight Asian hair, so I didn't want too much extra oils and make my hair heavy

used soured raw goat milk (so like yogurt) and aloe, added 1/2 tsp French red clay, and OO infused with holy basil and rosemary. scented with lavender, rosemary and tea tree.

pretty in pink 'poo bar! now the true test.....waiting at least 2 weeks before giving it a try! waiting is so darn hard!!!!!

 

[shunt2011]

I made original recipe many months (6+mos) ago and tried it once cured and did not have any luck with it. However, I found it buried in a container and decided to revist it. Well, it's wonderful now. I've used it twice and my hair feels so good. I have relatively sort thick, heavy wavy color-processed mixed with a lot of grey hair. I just might have to make some more and let it cure a long time. Thank you for sharing all this wonderful information. I think I'll tweak it a bit and see what happens.

 

[Robert B]

I am going to add my name to the list who love the shampoo bar. Thanks for sharing!

It lathers up so well! I made it by trying out the Hot Process method for the first time. I gave some away to people I work with. 2 of the guys want more in the future. 2 of the woman have not used it yet.

 

[LunaSkye]

I'll have to try this recipe next month... or maybe the original recipe. In any case, I'm glad you made this thread as I eventually want to try my had at shampoo bars. :grin:

 

[Susie]

Now that everyone has helped me use up a great deal of my previous 'poo bars, here is the new recipe I just started using. I think I like it better, but I need to do a side-by-side comparison. I got it from a Good Earth Spa YouTube video.(I may have tweaked it, but that is what I have as the name, and my search ability is limited by sleep deprivation at the moment.)

Coconut Oil(76 degree)-4oz
Castor Oil-4oz
Almond Oil-4oz
Olive Oil, pomace-4oz
Jojoba Oil-0.5oz

 

[kmarvel]

Lindy,

I want to try and make some shampoo bars. I see people "infusing" herbs in their oils. How exactly do you do that?? And how long is the cure time for these bars??

Kathie

 

[kmarvel]

Genny,
I am going to try your shampoo recipe as soon as I get avocado oil. I would like to infuse some rosemary into some oils but I don't know the process of infusion of herbs in oils. Can you help me out??
Thank you

Kathie

 

[Dahila]

Dry rosemary into jar, cover with the oil close the jar, and let it stand for 2-4 weeks in warm place , shake daily. Then strain it and use the oil)
Then another way:
topic on subject on this forum

 

[Hazel]

There is a good tutorial on about.com http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldprocesssoapmaking/ht/htoilinfusion.htm

 

[Genny]

Genny,
I am going to try your shampoo recipe as soon as I get avocado oil. I would like to infuse some rosemary into some oils but I don't know the process of infusion of herbs in oils. Can you help me out??
Thank you

Kathie

Kathie, when I do an infusion that I need soon. I take my herbs, put them in a clean sterile jar and pour just enough oil over them to make sure my herbs are fully covered. I put water in my double boiler and then put the jar in it. On low to medium heat I warm the oils/herbs for 20-40 minutes. Then afterwards I let it cool a little and then I strain out the herbs.

 

[kmarvel]

Dahila,

Thank you!!!!

 

[kmarvel]

Genny,

I have a wonderful Rosemary plant I would like to infuse. Does it matter which oil it is you use?? And then, I am assuming I calculate this oil into the weight of the oil for the recipe. If that makes sense. haha
Thank you.

I have learned a lot about shampoo bars, recipes that people use, how to infuse herbs into oils and that soybean oil is actually vegetable oil. All within 3 cups of coffee here in the morning!! haha

Kathie

 

[Obsidian]

Kathie, its best to use dried herbs for infusing, fresh can mold relatively quickly. It doesn't matter which oil you use to infuse but I generally use OO and yes, you calculate that oil into the weight of the oil for the recipe.

 

[kmarvel]

Genny, when I run this thru the soap calc it looks weird to me. The hardness is at 20. The bubbly is only 9 and the INS is 99. With your recipe, is this the way it is supposed to look like?? I am just curious.

Kathie