Hi there,
does anyone know how to make a natural shampoo at home??

thank u!!
silvia

[Changed the title from shampoo to make what the post is about clearer.]

Hi Sylvia

I would recommend you invest in one of Rosemary Gladstar's book on natural cosmetics. The Works are also selling books on herbs very cheaply every so often - the ancient ones often include recipes for making shampoo etc.

You can also google for home made herbal shampoos.

Best wishes

Sarah

There's been a discussion about natural soaps for laundry on the Herbwifery Index and Henriette has two blog entries about soap nuts Dried Berries from Chinese Soapberry Tree - Sapindusmukorossi Gaertn also called "Wu Huan Zi"

http://www.maggiespureland.com/ or http://www.soapberry.org/

Apparently yukka root can also be powdered and used as a shampoo and doesn't need to be infused first, but both soap nuts and soapwort do. (Thanks for the recipe Debs, I've been wanting one for ages as I have lots of soapwort in the garden). The decoction can be used in a washing machine.

If you don't want to use a fabric softener in the rinse water you can you a vinegar instead. When I run out of fabric softener, I go through my oldest infused cider vinegars and use those. You can use a white vinegar too.

Jim MacDonald commented that when he used a soapwort decoction as a shampoo, it was better to put your head into the bucket of decoction than trying to pour it over your hair as it all runs off. (He has very long hair!).

Hi Sarah

I have heard about soap nuts before, but haven't got round to trying them, after reading your post I've ordered a trial size pack. It actually made me think about the days when I was a little eco worrier (yes I did spell it right lol!) I worried about all the toxic chemicals in everything (still do), I did use ecover and other green products, but in this busy life we all lead, I confess I lapsed and used the named brand cleaners that supposedly make your house wonderfully clean, with little effort! But that takes the soul out of cleaning and I'm re-discovering the joys of cleaning using the methods our grand mothers and great grand mothers would have used. Chiefly elbow grease, hot water, herbs, a pinny and a mission to clean. Although I add essential oils and a couple of other ingredients like bicarbonate of soda. So if soap nuts work, then I'll be able to substitute them for the washing powder, I wonder if they'll work on for cleaning the floor as well? Simon isn't convinced they'll work, but then I showed him the joys of soapwort and he was impressed. So I'll try them when they arrive and let everyone know what results I get.

I haven't tried vinegar in the final rinse of the washer yet, although I have heard about it, it would be a wonderful use of the lavender vinegar I made, and also for the orange and lemon peel vinegar! So when the soapnuts arrive, I'll do a wash with eco friendly washing assistants. This summer I'll be making some rose petal vinegar as well (never tried that before) and I think that will be good for the washing to!

I do agree with Jim Macdonald though, having long hair myself, it is harder to get the soap wort on your hair, I came up with a solution, I put the decoction in a spray bottle whilst warm and spray it on my hair and massage it in. As an aside, whilst I was looking for soapnuts for the washer, I found a site were they sell it in a powdered form to make shampoo with, first time I've seen it being used in a cosmetic way?

Another recipe that I use for shampoo that I omitted to post is for a dry shampoo it's easy to make, herbal and works! It's just 25g Orris Root Powder (Iris germanica florentina), 25g Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) and a few drops of essential oil, lavender and rosemary work well, but just about any essential oil will do, you can make larger quantities, but I would always advocate making a small amount and trying it before you make a huge batch.
The dry shampoo is really easy to make, you just mix the two powders together with the oil, mix them either in a pestle and mortar until you have a dry scented mix. Or in a bowl with the back of a spoon. Store in an airtight container and use as you would any other dry shampoo, ensuring you brush it out well.

Debs