Farm-made shampoo

I was inspired by this Grist.org video to make my own shampoo using only baking soda, water and some herbs that I'm growing in the backyard.

As with many other cleansers we use on our bodies, shampoo can become addictive for your hair: the more you use it, the more your hair comes to rely on it to stay healthy. Plus, whatever you use to wash your hair is being absorbed into your hair and skin on a regular basis, and that could be scary if you can't trust your shampoo ingredients. You can check the health of your beauty products on the Cosmetics Database safety review... you'd be surprised at how unsafe some greenwashed "all-natural" brands of body products are!

Aside from all that health stuff, making my own shampoo is cheaper than buying it. That's good enough for me!

Here's a simple recipe for home made shampoo that actually works:

• 1 T baking soda
• 1 C water
• clippings of mint and lavender from the garden for fragrance
• an old shampoo bottle to mix and store it in

Shake up the baking soda, water, and herbs together in the bottle... and that's it! I added the mint and lavender for a nice scented shower experience, but they're not necessary. I'd also like to try rosemary or lemon rinds.

Because the bubbling of the baking soda is part of the cleaning power, some people recommend making one-time-use servings while you're heating up the water before your shower. I made about 3 servings at one time and so far it seems to be working fine. This is also a good idea for travel shampoo to take in your carry-on bag during this airplane liquids ban: Just pack a container of baking soda and mix it with water when you get to your hotel!

As a complementary home made conditioner, you can just use diluted apple cider vinegar. The vinegar works off of the baking soda to shine and detangle hair, and it actually leaves no smell after it's washed out.

Lavender photo by LpstkLibrarian // Used under Creative Commons License

Comments

[Melissa]

I love this idea! Wish I had some lavender in my "garden." Hmm... project for later.

[Karell]

But would the vinegar actually condition your hair and make it feel soft? I want to try it but my hair feels like straw if it doesn't get conditioner in it.

Also, does this homemade shampoo make your hair feel "clean" enough? I have really thick hair and sometimes natural shampoos still leave it feeling slick.

Other than those two questions, I think this is an awesome idea! I want to know about more things you can make out of farm ingredients.

[Sarah Kiernan]

you know how seriously I take my hair....I'm going to have to try this and get back to you!

[Martina Fugazzotto]

Don't fret, girls! The vinegar will indeed make your hair soft. And baking soda is different from cleaning with natural shampoo because it is really just one ingredient. Some natural shampoos add lots of stuff to try to mimic the scent and texture of chemical shampoos. They're still adding all-natural ingredients, but it's just muddling up the basic need: the cleaning!

Karell, the reason your hair feels like straw if you don't condition it is because your hair is addicted to chemical conditioners. You'll definitely have a transitional period as you ween your hair off of chemicals. Think of it like drinking coffee: you feel tired if you don't drink it every day, but if you can handle the transition to get away from it, you don't need it any more and you feel better than ever.

Melissa, you could add anything you want for scent! Someone I spoke to recently suggested tea tree oil.

[Amy]

i've been meaning to try apple cider vinegar, i heard it makes your hair super-shiny, which i likes.

[Kupido]

Nizoral is a great shampoo for dadrunff. Early studies have shown that it helps re-grow hair as well. Head and Shoulders and Selsun have actually shown to increase hair loss! Nizoral is available at most drug stores and even grocery stores. It is about $10 a bottle.

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