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Shampoo Bars


ladysj

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I've found several recipes on the net for shampoo bars but am undecided which one to try. In your opinion's what makes a great shampoo bar? I would like to make one that cleans good, conditions and rinses clean.

One of them I found has:

Coconut 40%

OO 40%

Castor 4%

Wheat Germ 4%

Hardness 40

Cleansing 27

Condition 55

Bubbly 36

Creamy 22

Then I have another one that calls for Coconut, Palm, Olive & Castor

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the "rinses clean" part is what you will have trouble with. After a while you will get some oil build up if you don't use a vinegar rinse. I only use my shampoo bars about once a week, and I don't use the rinse, but if it's something you will be using everyday you should consider the rinse.

I don't have my recipe readily available (I'd have to go to the basement into the shop to get it and I'm too lazy to do that~LOL) but I use coconut oil and jojoba oil in my shampoo bar.

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I made a shampoo bar batch using:

Castor 28%

coconut 28%

Olive 44%

4% superfat

It's been my favorite of 3 different recipes. Cleaned nice without leaving my hair limp. I did HP, and it traced super fast.

I think shampoo bars are a "love 'em or hate 'em" thing for people. I gave my hair a week to adjust (couple bad hair days) to the bar.

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Some shampoos (detergents) and conditioners leave a buildup on your hair that takes a while to remove when switching to a soap bar. I've found that my regular bars are too high in excess fats for a nice shampoo, so I cut down the % of superfat for a shampoo bar. They don't seem to work for all kinds of hair ~ mine is low maintence so have been lucky, but it's really a personal thing when it comes to "soaping" your hair, I believe. Took some experimenting to find a formula I liked~I almost threw in the towel on Shampoo Bars.

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I use for shampoo what ever extra soap I have around. I'm in the country and can tell when the water softener needs more salt.. my hair gets a bit gummy feeling. One wash with a regular shampoo straightens that out. For the most part I find my hair is softer feeling with my soap ithan the store bought shampoo. I also like the soaps that are not as conditioning for use on my hair.. that extra conditioning that is nice for the skin is a bit much for the hair. My hair is naturally fine and straight and for the most part I wear it that way. I do use them every day. Keep thinking I want to design a soap just for the hair but I'm finding using the end pieces of batches that are a bit rough to sell work just fine.

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i only use my shapmpoo bars now...just made some this morning, in fact! that icky feeling you get from using a shampoo bar is not "soap scum" it is simply your hair shafts "wigging out" from the high pH of soap. that is why it is essential to use an acid rinse after using a shampoo bar. this returns the hair shaft to a much more contented pH. i couldn't hack the vinegar rinse( stinky and difficult to apply) so i now make a conditioner and use citric acid in it rather than vinegar. my hair has never been in better shape! my sister has instructed me that can never evernever ever stop making 'poo bars and conditioner! lol!

high castor makes a very nice bar....i only sf at 1%...i added enough powdered GM after the cook to make it a 100% GM shampoo bar.

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  • 1 month later...

I forgot that I asked this question. Baking soda is an EXCELLENT clarifier. Has anyone ever used it?

African American hair thrives on moisture, and sometimes there's so much build-up. The most natural thing that works for many (especially if you're using natural/ detergent-less soaps) is a baking soda paste. Baking soda w/ a little warm water or baking soda added to your shampoo... nice creamy/fluffy bubbles w/ squeaky clean hair. This will work for any hair type.

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