Shampoo Drag

[lady-of-4]

So, out of all the LS I can make, I have 2 recipes that escape me. Goat milk and shampoo. My issue here is shampoo, and the drag it causes in my hair, leaving it feeling stiff and stripped. I have thick curly hair, so this also creates more tangles I need to get out when I condition. I've tried a little super fat, and I've tried glycerin method, hoping all the glycerin would help.

So my question is, what advice can you all give that will help resolve this issue? Do you have special additives, preferably natural, that you use that help provide slip? I say preferably natural, but honestly I'm willing to branch out a bit. Not looking for recipes, I can do that myself. Just wondering what I can add. or tweek. I even thought of using silk in the shampoo, either liquid, or tussah. But that's an expensive additive that I'd hate to have wasted it if didn't work..especially for a quick wash and rinse off.

 

[lsg]

I don't use liquid soap for shampoo. I make my own shampoo with eco friendly surfactans. The following blog is a great place for information.

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=shampoo

 

[lady-of-4]

Yup. Reading through that blog now for ideas.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Are you using coconut oil in your shampoo? There's a big thread over in the CP forum about shampoo bars that don't use any coconut oil at all, just all soft oils. It might be worth considering, seeing if a soap made with all soft oils might help.

I've also been using acidic rinses and those have helped with some of my tangle issues (not all, so I'm planning on making a leave-in conditioner to hopefully get me over that last hurdle). Also, having the rinse be colder than the shower water helps. I've found that I can't do colder than room temp without my skin flushing, but in those trials I noticed that an acidic rinse straight from the fridge left me tangle-free.

The leave-in conditioner that I'm going to be making once I get my emulsifier and preservative is based on a marshmallow root tea, and the mucus that you get from marshmallow root is supposed to be detangling, as well as off of hair-friendly nutrients.

Hope this gives you something to think about!

 

[lady-of-4]

Yeah, my coconut oil, as well as castor, are each at 35.9%,

 

[Obsidian]

Thats likely the cause of your bad tangles. Shampoo should be low cleansing like 5 or under. I prefer bars over LS, just seems to lather better in the hair.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I tried both a storebought true soap and my pure coconut oil soap in my hair once each, and they both left my hair feeling straw-like. I'd drop the coconut entirely and change the castor to 10%, and make up the rest with hair-friendly oils.

 

[FGOriold]

There are additives you can add, but not sure you would consider them natural but they are geared towards exactly what you want. I add panthenol and either wheat or silk protein to my shampoos. While they don't help with tangles, they do help with some volumizing (I have fine hair that tangles easily no matter what shampoo I use) These are some you could try if you want to go that route:

http://www.theherbarie.com/GuarSilk.html ETA - I have just gotten more information from the vendor on this particular product and in order to work in formulations with a high ph (>7) you need to add sorbital.
http://www.theherbarie.com/Polyquaternium-7.html

Another thing to consider is to add glycerin or water soluble shea butter after dilution too.