Truly Homemade Shampoo Shampoo is just liquid soap, usually made with vegetable oils rather than animal fat, and with glycerin and alcohol added during the soapmaking process. The basic ingredients for regular soap are lye (potash leached from ashes), fat (animal tallow) or oil, and water. Depending on how basic you want to get, you could even make your own lye and render your own fat, but that's VERY time consuming. Try the following recipe for a gentle homemade shampoo: 2 lb. 10 oz. olive oil 1 lb. 7 oz. of solid-type vegetable shortening 1 lb. coconut oil 10-1/4 oz. lye 2 pints water 1-1/2 oz. glycerin 1/2 oz. alcohol 1-1/2 oz. caster oil NOTE: You will need a candy thermometer to test temperatures Mix oils together. Place in a container and set the container in a large pan. Mix the lye solution - pour the lye into an enamel coated container of 2 pints of cold water and stir steadily. When cooled, pour lye solution into a glass container and set in another large pan. Bring both to between 95 and 98 degrees F - this will mean pouring either cold or hot water into the pans, depending on the original temperature of the ingredients. Add the lye solution to the oils, pouring in a steady stream while continuing to stir. The mixture will turn opaque and brownish, then will lighten. It's ready when its surface can support a drop of mixture for a moment. The consistency should be like sour cream. Stir in 1-1/2 oz. glycerin, 1/2 oz. alcohol and 1-1/2 oz. castor oil. Add any colorants or scents if you desire. Now, you can pour the mixture into molds and allow to harden, then make the shampoo as you need it by shaving off flakes and boiling in water until they dissolve - about 1 pound of shavings per gallon of water. Or, you can add more water to mixture, boil, and allow to cool, then place in bottles for use.
