Shampoo Bar - Thanks Lindy!!

[Kelley]

My face soap recipe is similar to this. I going to try it tonight on my hair. What is your superfat %? Mine is 10% so maybe it's too oily for hair?

 

[JillGat]

specific recipe?

Hi, I am a newbie to this.. just started making CP soap and so far have always followed recipes that are listed in actual grams per ingredient. Would you possibly share this recipe with me in a form that would make about 2 lbs. of soap (a 10 inch loaf mold)? Thanks!!
Jill

 

[shunt2011]

Hi, I am a newbie to this.. just started making CP soap and so far have always followed recipes that are listed in actual grams per ingredient. Would you possibly share this recipe with me in a form that would make about 2 lbs. of soap (a 10 inch loaf mold)? Thanks!!

Jill

You should enter the recipe into a soap calculator for your preferred batch size. You can use either soapcalc.net or soaper.com. All recipes should be run through a calculator as errors can happen. Welcome!

 

[catche]

have been making shampoo bars for about 3 years now love them you might want to look into neem oil in your recipe and less superfat pls let me know how your recipe turns out

 

[kmarvel]

Genny I am so thrilled that you tried it again and like it! It's one of those "ah hah' moments isn't it. Especially once you've used it for awhile. I sold out of all my shampoo bars a week and a half or so before Christmas and Save-On Foods has sold out of the beer shampoo bars already too.

Congrats on your new recipe!

I was very skeptical making and using a HP shampoo bar. My recipe is very similar to yours Lindy and I am very pleasantly surprised how soft it make my hair feel. I usually use the apple cidar vinegar rinse but I don't see too much difference. I love these bars.
Thanks.
Kathie

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Kaye, This is so helpful for those of us who make and use lye-based shampoo and shampoo bars. It would be great if you could copy & paste and start a new thread.

I am brand new to soapmaking, but have some experience herbal and acid rinses.

I noticed several people had a hard time, getting oily results when starting out. If you have hard water it seems to be a common struggle. Several people have recommended the FAQ on how to deal with hard water from J.R. Liggett: https://jrliggett.com/faq#best-results.

In regards to herbal rinses and acid rinses, different people have different results. I don't use acid rinses often, maybe once a week or so. I will leave them on for a minute or so after gently combing through with a wide tooth combination. For an acid you can use:

• 1.5 tsp lemon juice in 8 oz. warm water
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar in 8 oz. warm water
• 1 tsp citric acid in 8 oz warm water

For the herbal acid rinses, there are a few ways to go about it. Infusing vinegar is certainly the most "straight up". Add the herbs of choice to the vinegar (some people use kombucha vinegar, wine vinegar, most common is apple cider vinegar), warm it in a double boiler until it warm but not hot. You don't want to boil it. Then pour the herb and vinegar mixture into a clean, glass jar and let it steep for 4-6 weeks, shaking it regularly. Then you can strain out the herbs through a cheesecloth or fine mesh, and simply use the vinegar as above.

If you are using the lemon juice or citric acid, it takes a little more effort ongoing, but less time up front. If you are infusing water, you basically make an overnight tea. Bring the water up to heat, add the herbs, put in a clean jar, close and let steep for 24 hours. You can then store the tea in the fridge to preserve it for a week or two. You can dilute the tea with warm water and the acid to keep it from being an intensely refreshing rinse - 2 oz tea, to 6 oz water - and acid of your choice depending on your preferences.

I tend to leave a weeks worth in a condiment bottle in the fridge, and the rest of the herb mix can stays in the fridge.

As far as what kind of herbs to use? It really depends on what you are looking for. If you want to use essential oils, add those after everything is done infusing and you're making your mix for the week. Then 5-7 drops in the bottle, and make sure you shake well before rinsing, to distribute the oils through the water.

Some good herbs for the "normal" range of hair and skin are:

• Lavender
• Camomile
• Nettle
• Horsetail
• Mint
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Green tea
• Fenugreek
• Borage
• Burdock

If you are using essential oils, don't use Rosemary essential oil if you are pregnant or have epilepsy.

Essential oils can be the same as the herbs above of course, additional ones might be carrot seed, Clary Sage, Patchouli, Geranium, Cedarwood, Peppermint, Lemongrass, Neroli.

For oily skin/hair: Rosemary, Lemongrass, Tea Tree, Sage, Eucalyptus, Neem, Clove, Bay, Oregano, Mint, and Basil.

Just be careful of Peppermint - too much and you will feel very minty fresh.

I generally use a mix of Lavender, Sage, Chamomile, Clove, Fenugreek, Rosemary, Nettle, and Mint herbs. I then use essential oils of Clary Sage and Cedarwood.

For blondes, I don't recommend herbal infusing Rosemary, Sage, Borage or Clove. Instead use Calendula, Chamomile, Lemon, and/or Sunflower petals.

Brunettes consider Black Tea, Black Walnut hulls (crushed or chopped), Comfrey root, Nettle, Rosemary, Sage.

Red heads consider Calendula, Henna, Hibiscus flowers, Red Clover flowers, Rose hips, and Red Rose petals.

You can use these herb combinations minus the acids, just as a nice treat for hair and scalp - especially the horsetail and fenugreek. I hope this helps give some inspiration and food for thought, whether you use shampoo bars or not!


Kaye

 

[WeaversPort]

Kaye, This is so helpful for those of us who make and use lye-based shampoo and shampoo bars. It would be great if you could copy & paste and start a new thread.

Happily! I never thought about starting a new thread for it, but if it is helpful I'd be happy to!!

 

[JillGat]

You should enter the recipe into a soap calculator for your preferred batch size. You can use either soapcalc.net or soaper.com. All recipes should be run through a calculator as errors can happen. Welcome!

Thanks! I just went to soapcalc.net and learned how to use it. It opens a whole new dangerous world of saponification experimentation! I just made the shampoo recipe (in the OP) with part of the avocado oil subbed with sweet almond oil (was low on avocado oil), and I subbed rice bran oil for the soybean oil. I added a TB of sugar, a tsp. of sodium lactate and some rosemary EO. I put it in a 2" PVC pipe overnight and it released easily today. It will cure for 4 weeks and then we will see! Thanks again.

(edited size of my PVC pipe to 2". Accidentally had said 1")

danielle--it means that you take however much the oil weighs, multiply it by .35, and use that for the water. It's the default method for calculating water amounts on the SoapCalc lye calculator--default is 38%.

I changed the calculation in soapcalc to 2:1 water to lye, as that's how I make my other soaps. How will this make things different for this shampoo bar? I guess my question is what are the pros and cons of the different water to lye ratios?

 

[Sharryn]

Add me as another fan of this shampoo bar recipe! Honestly, I was very skeptical and didn't think it was possible that a hand made shampoo would be good to wash my hair with.

I've had chronic itching of my scalp for decades, and I do mean decades. I've used this bar only three times and my scalp no longer itches and the dandruff has disappeared. It's a true miracle! My bars aren't completely cured yet, but I poured tiny, quarter-sized molds of little piggy faces and have been using them. I'm so thrilled with this recipe! Thank you Genny for sharing it! I can't wait for the bars to cure and I'm going to shower with it to see if my skin stops itching too. Fingers crossed!

Thank you Genny for posting and sharing your recipe. God bless you!

 

[Spin]

Need help with this please

Water as percent of oil weight: 35%
Superfat: 6%

Avocado Oil: 30%
Castor Oil: 10%
Olive Oil: 40%
Shea Butter: 10%
Soybean Oil: 10%

I infused chamomile in all my oils, not in the shea though. Plus I use a TBSP of sugar in my water for added bubbles.

For scent, I used Tea Tree EO, Peppermint EO & Lavender EO at a 1:1:1 ratio.

Click below image to enlarge. Did I put the right values in? I have NEVER used this before and trying to figure out how much measure it takes to create this recipe from page one in this thread. Sorry, I'm a ROOKIE

 

[penelopejane]

Need help with this please

Looks perfect.

 

[Spin]

I haven't done a vinegar rinse when using this soap & it's been going great.

Hausfrau ~ If you don't have soybean oil, you can just leave it out & up the other oils. I'm thinking for my next batch, I might leave out the soybean & increase the castor.

Hi Genny, thanks for recipe, we love it. Did you try leaving out the soy and increasing the Castor? How did it turn out?

 

[Relle]

Spin, just letting you know that Genny hasn't been in the forum for a long time, about 3 yrs, so probably won't see this question.

 

[Spin]

Thank you

 

[shunt2011]

Hi Genny, thanks for recipe, we love it. Did you try leaving out the soy and increasing the Castor? How did it turn out?

Too much castor will make a sticky bar of soap. I did not use soy increased my avocado.

 

[penelopejane]

Hi Genny, thanks for recipe, we love it. Did you try leaving out the soy and increasing the Castor? How did it turn out?

I agree with shunt. I only use 5% castor oil max. Substitute more OO or Ricebran or sunflower or safflower oil for the soybean oil if Avocado oil is too expensive.

 

[soap1daze]

Would someone share the link to Lindy's original recipe. I can't find my copy and wanted to make more! Thank you.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Would someone share the link to Lindy's original recipe. I can't find my copy and wanted to make more! Thank you.

Did you check the very first post in this thread?

 

[Alex72]

Hello i'm beginner and i have a question about adding chamomile.
can i use chamomile extract powder depends of medical point of view. if yes pls some one to advice me how exactly to use it , and in wich moment.

 

[Kim Pyrros]

I've never been a fan of CP shampoo bars because immediately they'd leave my hair all dried out & straw-like. So I only used Syndet bars and never looked back.
But a post Lindy made here http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f19/how-basic-shampoo-bar-recipe-30757/ helped me see the error of my ways.

So, I just want to thank Lindy for giving me that "duh" moment so I could create a shampoo bar that I've only used once, but I love it already. I imagine that after some cure time, it's going to feel so much more lovely.
I used it this morning and there was absolutely no "stripping" feel to it & it felt so conditioning that I used it on the rest of my body as well My brush went right through my hair and now it feels so silky & smooth.

I'm feeling so good about it, I'm going to share the recipe I created:
Water as percent of oil weight: 35%
Superfat: 6%

Avocado Oil: 30%
Castor Oil: 10%
Olive Oil: 40%
Shea Butter: 10%
Soybean Oil: 10%

I infused chamomile in all my oils, not in the shea though. Plus I use a TBSP of sugar in my water for added bubbles.

For scent, I used Tea Tree EO, Peppermint EO & Lavender EO at a 1:1:1 ratio.

If anyone decides to try it, please let me know how you feel about it.