Trying to make shampoo - but I have to start with soap... I think

riffwraith · Feb 7, 2018

Hi all.

I have been buying this shampoo from a company called funky soap, which is in the UK, across the pond from me. It works really well, and the thing I like about it is that it doesn't have any of the typical chemicals you find in commercial shampoos, esp the likes of sodium lauryl (laureth) sulfate as a surfactant.

The ingredients are:

SAPONIFIED OILS OF COCONUT, CASTOR, OLIVE, ALMOND, NEEM & WHEATGERM, TEA OF NETTLE, MARSHMALLOW ROOT, ROSEMARY, LEMONGRASS, HORSETAIL HERB & LAVENDER FLOWERS, TEA TREE, LEMON, LAVENDER, LEMONGRASS & ROSEMARY ESSENTIAL OILS, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN

Sorry for the all-caps; it was easier to c&p rather than type all of that!

I am not trying to mimic this shampoo exactly, but I need a starting point to make my own. So, I emailed the co., asking what gives it the "soapiness". The response I received was:

Our solid and liquid soaps are made after the cold or hot process method. Thats means we use lye (Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide) to make them. All natural soaps are initially made with lye. It is impossible to make a soap without lye to saponify the oils. When the process is done correctly, nearly 90% of the lye is eliminated on the first moments of the saponifying reaction, the rest goes along with the curing and in the end NO lye is left in the finished bar or liquid. In the finished product there is only saponified oils. All soaps are PH tested to insure that.

Ok, fine. But that still doesn't help me! :lol:

So, I am wondering if someone can get me started here by pointing me in the right direction. Bear in mind, I am doing this in my home; as this is for personal use, I have no commercial facility nor equip. In that list of ingredients, is there something I can buy, that I can either use out of the box, or turn into something useable? Do I buy lye, and do something with it, that will turn it into one of hose aforementioned ingredients, that can be used as a starting point?

Thanks in advance.

Primrose · Feb 7, 2018

Oh dear. OK firstly I think you need to thoroughly research the soap making process. It sounds like the shampoo you are using is a hair-friendly soap, rather than a synthetic detergent, so yes you need to research soap making. Read through previous posts on this forum in both the beginner and lye-based forum. I also found the soap queen TV four part series on YouTube excellent. Once you've done some research, it might be a good idea to make a few batches of a simpler soap to get a feel for the process, then move on once you are ready to a more complicated "shampoo" bar

riffwraith · Feb 7, 2018

Primrose said:
Oh dear.

Sorry - what did I say wrong?

Millie · Feb 7, 2018

Just that lye is a little bit dangerous so it is good to know how to work with it responsibly, as a starting point

Hehe, couldn't resist.
You'll be fine though, once you read up a little and watch a few videos. Soaping101 on youtube is another good place to start.

BattleGnome · Feb 8, 2018

riffwraith said:
Sorry - what did I say wrong?

Shampoos are a bit of a polarizing topic here. Due to the PH of soap vs the PH of hair there are many who feel that you shouldn’t ever use a lye based soap on hair (and there are a few people who have had to get impromptu haircuts because of it). It sounds like you have your system and know what you’re getting into - it just may be a longer journey than you’d like to get the right product you expect.

The sticky threads in the beginner forum are a good place to start and get your basics down, as well as the you tube channels mentioned. Once you have a familiarity with the basics figure out what ingredients you have easily available by you and let us know what you’re having trouble finding. If you let us know your country/state we can help direct you to suppliers close by so you don’t have to worry as much about shipping (it can get stupid high with certain suppliers). It sounds tedious but it will help in the long run. Soaping is a very easy rabbit hole to fall into

Zany_in_CO · Feb 8, 2018

riffwraith said:
SAPONIFIED OILS OF COCONUT, CASTOR, OLIVE, ALMOND, NEEM & WHEATGERM, TEA OF NETTLE, MARSHMALLOW ROOT, ROSEMARY, LEMONGRASS, HORSETAIL HERB & LAVENDER FLOWERS, TEA TREE, LEMON, LAVENDER, LEMONGRASS & ROSEMARY ESSENTIAL OILS, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN

This is an "all natural" liquid soap made with the 6 oils as listed; water infused with nettle, and other herbs, etc. to make a "tea" which is then used to make the lye solution; a blend of 5 essential oils known to be beneficial to hair and scalp and for fragrance; glycerin is considered a clarifier and humectant.

riffwraith said:

Our solid and liquid soaps are made after the cold or hot process method. Thats means we use lye (Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide) to make them. All natural soaps are initially made with lye....

Click to expand...

You need sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to make hard soap; potassium hydroxide (KOH) to make liquid soap like this shampoo. Both types can be made using either the cold or hot process, altho hard bars are typically "cold process" and liquid soaps are typically "hot process". It's a matter of preference.

riffwraith said:
So, I am wondering if someone can get me started here by pointing me in the right direction. ... In that list of ingredients, is there something I can buy, that I can either use out of the box, or turn into something useable?

You need water, KOH and the oils listed to make this all natural liquid shampoo. The herbs, essential oils and glycerin are optional.

There's a Sticky in the Beginner's forum that explains how to use SoapCalc.net to find the amount of KOH (lye) needed to saponify the ingredients, i.e., turn water + lye + fats aka "fatty acids" into soap.