4 Herb Shampoo

[ungreen]

I wanted to make this last night but didn't have almost any of the ingredients.  I didn't have any fresh herbs, which is what the recipe calls for, and I didn't even have dry sage.  I also didn't have any plain castile soap. 

So, I made a makeshift version of this following the directions but using 3/4 cup boiling water, 1/4 cup dried Herbes de Provence, and 3/4 cup peppermint Dr. Bronner's.

I was worried it might strip my hair, but it worked great!  It even seemed kind of creamy when I was lathering it in my hair.  My hair was a little squeaky feeling afterwards, if you know what I mean, but once I conditioned as usual, it was great!  How nice to know that you can make homemade shampoo!

[feelinsoreal]

I made this with Dr. Bronner's tea tree castile, 4 tbsp sage, and 4 tbsp of chai green tea leaves. It's still sitting and I'll update tomorrow after I've used it, but I can say that it smells great!

[feelinsoreal]

Just wanted to add that it works great! I was surprised at how much lather I got from so little an amount--I have really short hair but I think only a little would be required even for shoulder-length hair. You have to be careful pouring it though because it's very liquidy and easily falls out of your hand! But once you rub it in it works like a charm. I have been looking for a shampoo that is nice to the Earth, my hair, and my budget, and usually I only get two out of three, so this recipe is wonderful. I'm looking forward to experimenting with different herbs and soaps, and maybe some dried flowers as well (like lavender or rose petals) . This will also make for some fun and easy Christmas presents for my family. Thanks for sharing!

[cellochick]

This smells sooooooo good.  I can't wait to try it tomorrow morning!       I never realized how much I love the smell of fresh rosemary until I made this recipe!

[cellochick]

I was deeply disappointed with this.  I have oily hair so maybe this would be good for dry hair.  It made my hair extremely oily and gross.  It smells good though.

[TinTexas]

I was just reading this recipe (the pic showed up on the Q&A page) to my DH and he informed me that castile soap is made from animal fat.     Is Dr. Broner's different from other castile soaps?   I hope so.  I was going to buy some at Whole Foods last time we went there but forgot.  I used to use it a long time ago, 1983?, and I remember really liking it. 

[vonnegite]

I was just reading this recipe (the pic showed up on the Q&A page) to my DH and he informed me that castile soap is made from animal fat.     Is Dr. Broner's different from other castile soaps?   I hope so.  I was going to buy some at Whole Foods last time we went there but forgot.  I used to use it a long time ago, 1983?, and I remember really liking it. 

Castile is the name for vegetable oil soaps - usually olive based - with coconut and other oils. Read the labels before you buy.
Dr. Bronners is  vegan, usually organic and Fair Trade.
I do not know if they make a plain castile soap though.

[yabbitgirl]

Castile soap--the name comes from Castilla, which is northern Spain. Trust me, real Castile soap is made of olive oil...nowadays the cheap stuff is made from other vegetable oils, nowadays they have recycling points for restaurants to bring their fryer oil to. Real Castile soap is usually pale brown or sometimes dark green and has a particular fragrance--odd but pleasant. Also known as Marseilles soap.

[TinTexas]

Thanks for the real facts That's redundant, isn't it?!  My DH has gone fond of telling me this or that isn't vegan.  This time I'm glad he's wrong. 

[ungreen]

I use Dr. Bronner's Organic Baby-Mild Unscented Pure Castile Soap for this recipe.  It's definitely vegan (made from coconut and olive oils) in every sense.

Also, after having used this shampoo for a while (recipe and instructions were given to me by a friend and I posted it before trying it), I have to add that it's not actually "appropriate for all hair types."   People with oily hair won't like it much, I think, because it leaves a healthy amount of your hair's natural oil behind.  I have "normal to dry hair" and it works great for me, but I can definitely see that someone witl oil hair would not find this shampoo recipe useful.

[feelinsoreal]

Just wanted to share another variation - try making this with 4 Tbsp herb of choice and the peel of one orange. It smells great! I made it this way, using 4 Tbsp of jasmine green tea, as a Mother's Day gift for Mom. Although I have to say that even the "unscented" Dr. Bronner's kind of overpowers the scent (I threw a couple of the orange peel slices into the bottle so hopefully that'll help add some more orange scent, although all you can really smell now is the remains of the conditioner that used to be in the bottle I chose). But it still smells nice and hopefully Mom will like this shampoo as much as I do. I'm still using my first batch but when I finish it up I'm gonna make this with yerba mate and white tea (and maybe an orange peel).

Oh, just a quick note that the one downside to using tea is that the leaves expand in the water and therefore soak some of it up when you strain. However, pressing and squeezing the leaves helps get most of the water out.

[lindserina]

love this. so easy, and so yummy smelling! i used dr. bronner's hemp lavender castille, so i only added rosemary and sage. i really like how it lathered up, and it didn't even make my hair tangly. yay! does anyone know if you can get castille in larger quantities? (i am a fan of all things bulk. hehe.) 

[i_h8meat]

ahhh, I luhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhv this stuff! I used Dessert Essence castile soap with tea tree oil and it smelled AMAZING. it lasts quite awhile too. I have really really dry hair and it makes my hair a little greasy, but only on the ends really(when I do my hair I just brush it and "scrunch" it, if you want to call it that, without any gel or hairspray[ick] and it dries wavy-ish so this shampoo is really good for that) the only thing is that I have to switch off using shampoos every other day or my hair will get too greasy, but I have always done that regardless of this shampoo. nonetheless, it is good stuff.

[sharway]

Ooooh, I can't wait to try this! We use castile soap for everything, and I read a trick that I wanted to share here. If you don't like the liquidy consistency, you can dissolve some baking soda in the boiling water before adding the castile soap-- it thickens it up a little.