Moisturizing Shampoo Bars

To be honest, I have never used a shampoo bar nor tried to make my own.  But it does make sense because they are an environmentally friendly way to cleanse your hair.  Plus it is friendly to all hair and scalp types.  Since traditional shampoo packaging fills landfills and the ocean with plastic which negatively impacts the environment.  If you would like to try this recipe from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Moisturizing Shampoo Bars, I would encourage you to do so.  If there is anyone out there that has their own favorite shampoo bar recipe that you would like to share, please let us know.

Sudsy Shampoo Bars

Have you ever tried washing your hair with a bar of soap?  I have heard of it but I really never tried.  Of course I am the type who does not like my bars of soap sitting a dish collecting the soap gunk.  But if you want to try making a shampoo bar here is a Sudsy Shampoo Bars recipe from The Soap Queen. If you have made a shampoo bar before and would like to share their experience of how well it work, please chime in.

Wicked Ganja Shampoo Bar Recipe

Do you use a shampoo bar to wash your hair?  Or would like to get rid of your shampoo and try a shampoo bar instead?  Here is a recipe from Soapalooza  called Wicked Ganja Shampoo Bar that you may just want to try.  

Super Conditioning Herbal Shampoo Bar

Loving using shampoo bars? Here is a a recipe for a Super Conditioning Herbal Shampoo Bar from Wholesale Supplies Plus.  This cold process soap process recipe was a contribution from Marla Bosworth that does not contain palm oil. So if you are concerned about how palm oil is harvested and want to make and use products without palm oil this is the recipe for you.

How to Make Solid Shampoo Bars

Solid shampoo bars are becoming very popular in upscale soap boutiques. They are great to use when traveling, easy to store and are a natural alternative to liquid shampoos. The best part of making your own is you can scent them with any of your favorite fragrances or use essential oils to make your own hair and scalp treatment shampoo.

How would you like to learn more about making a shampoo bar?  Well, if you have made a cold process soap before you are practically there.  In this article by ehow contributor, Cindy M titled, How to Make Solid Shampoo Bars you will learn step by step on how to make your very own solid shampoo bar and choosing the right essential oils for this easy recipe.

Invigorating Shampoo Bars

Have you heard of a shampoo bar?  Well according to Best Soap Ever, "A Shampoo Bar resembles a bar of vegetable based soap, but it is formulated especially for hair. One of the many advantages of using Shampoo Bars is that they can be formulated using all natural ingredients including vegetable oils, vegetable butters, essential oils and other nutritives."

Would you like to know why you should become a fan shampoo bars? There are many reasons. According to Anne-Marie (aka The Soap Queen) the lather is incredible, the bar is long lasting, you have shinier hair with zero buildup, and it’s all natural!

Anne-Marie recently posted a recipe for her Invigorating Shampoo Bars on her site. Her recipe contains a lot of castor oil, which creates a rich and foamy lather. Coconut oil and palm oil also provide a fluffy lather and add to the hardness of the bar. Tea tree essential oil is an antiseptic and is known to help treat scalp conditions such as dandruff and head lice. Plus, it stimulates new hair growth by removing dead skin cells from hair follicles. It also smells minty, earthy and fresh, leaving you energized and revitalized for the day.

I never have used a shampoo bar before but what you need to do is rub the bar in a couple small circles right on your head and work the lather up with your fingers. After seeing this recipe, I am interested in trying to back a batch since it is making by the cold process method.

Crockpot Shampoo Bar Recipe

I bet you have heard of making soap by the hot process method in a slow cooker (not going to use the other term since it is trademark by the Rival Company). Did you know that you can create a special bar of soap especially made to wash your hair?  If you do not like all the chemicals in the commercial shampoos then why not learn to make your own shampoo bar?   Then you should check out this recipe for Crockpot Shampoo Bar from Skin Care Naturals.

What is really great about making your own shampoo bar by the slower cooker method is that you do not have to wait as long for the bar to cure as you would in the traditional cold process method.  If you have dry or oily hair, the author has kindly put tips on how to deal with those problems.  And if you have grey hair, you may want to pay special attention to the special ingredient that will help cover that grey.

Shampoo Bar with Panthenol & Invigorating EO blend

Shampoo bars are solid soap bars that have a little extra something that makes them hair friendly. Some of the ingredients you may find in shampoo bars are panthenol, oils such as castor oil and wheatgerm oil, antifungal and antibacterial ingredients and even silk. Shampoo bars can be made using melt and pour soap base or any other kind of soapmaking process such as hot or cold process method.

Here is a brief description of these ingredients:

Castor oil - Commonly used humectant in soaps and cosmetics. Too much castor oil produces a soap that is too soft. However, that can be counteracted by adding only 2-3% in soap or using palm oil and sodium lactate to harden the bar.

Panthenol - The provitamin of vitamin B5. It is used as a Humectant, moisturizer and emollient; readily binds to hair shaft, sealing in moisture and giving the appearance of shine.

Silk - produces a bar of soap with a wonderful silky feel. To find out more about using silk in soap see article Add Silk to Soap.

Antifungal and Antibaterial ingredients - some ingredients purported to have antibacterial properties are neem oil, pine tar, and certain essential oils. To find out more about neem and its wonderful properties in soap read Using Neem oil to Make Soap and to check out the wonderful properties in pine tar, read Pine Tar soap for Psoriasis.

This recipe is a simple one with a base of coconut oil and a generous amount of castor oil for its humectant properties. The cocoa butter makes this a hard bar of soap and brings a sugary sweetness to the refreshing spicy peppermint strong notes.

Ingredients:

Coconut Oil --------------16 oz.
Castor Oil----------------8 oz.
Cocoa Butter--------------8 oz.
Lye ----------------------4.81 oz.
Water---------------------10 oz.
Panthenol-----------------0.64 oz (1-2%)
Sodium Lactate------------0.64 oz.
-----------------------------------
Total Batch size = 32 oz.

Essential oil blend

Peppermint---------------- 1 part
Rosemary------------------ 1 part
Cloves-------------------- 2 part

Directions:

1. Open windows to allow fresh air to come into room.

2. Put on chemical mask. Use the mask when weighing the lye and while combining the lye with the water. Don gloves and protective goggles.

3. Get the two pitchers, one to weigh the lye and the other to weigh the water. Weigh water in one pitcher and weigh lye in the next. Add lye to the water and stir. Note: Never add the water to the lye or it may erupt into a volcano-like mass that spills everywhere.

3. Mix lye and water gently but thoroughly to dissolve the lye particles in the liquid. A whisk makes dispersing the lye in the water easy. Dissolve all the lye particles which sometimes stubbornly refuses to break up and may clump. It is important to stir gently enough so it does not splash everywhere.

4. After mixing lye and water, you will notice that the container is very hot; this is because the lye and water are involved in a chemical process that produces heat. The temperature is too hot to immediately combine the lye with the oils, so remove it from your primary soap making area and leave it somewhere to cool down a bit (100 - 120 degrees Fahrenheit)- in an area that is inaccessible to children or pets.

5. Heat oils and melt any solid fats. The pot used should be large enough so that after adding the lye and water mixture, there is enough room to mix so that it does not easily splash out of the container.

6. Leave oils to cool to the same temperature as the lye 100 - 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Check temperature with thermometer, wiping off to check the next liquid or use two different thermometers. After both liquids have reached the desired temperature, add lye/water liquid to the cooled oils.

7. Stir with the wire whisk briskly, or use a stick blender, which speeds up the whole process immensely. We are mixing to reach trace. Trace is the point when the mixture thickens, appears opaque and shiny and when the whisk or stick blender leaves an impression after it is stirred. This will look similar to a gravy or sauce of medium to thick consistency. It usually takes anywhere from 15 – 40 minutes of stirring to reach trace. If using the wire whisk, after mixing for 5 minutes or so, take a break of a couple minutes and continue stirring. I usually stir in between doing other things. After making soap several times, one learns to gauge how much time is actually needed to reach trace in a certain recipe. However, for the first time making soap, it is important to be vigilant and watch for discrete changes that occur in the mixture.

8. If using the stick blender, keep the blender blades immersed near the bottom of the pot stirring in a circular and figure eights. What we need is to make sure all of the mixture is stirred. It is especially important to have a pot that is deep enough with ample headroom when using the stick blender. The stick blender causes more turbulence in the mixture, therefore increasing the risk for accidental spillage. Turn the blender on after immersing it in the lye/oil mixture, so it does not splash out of the pot. Trace occurs quicker using the stick blender than mixing by hand with the wire whisk

9. After soap reaches trace combine additives - panthenol, colorants and essential oils to traced soap and mix thoroughly, dispersing them throughout the mixture. Add the essential oils last as some essential oils cause the soap to seize or become very thick and unmanageable.

9. Pour mixture into prepared lined mold. I usually use thick utility type plastic that is cut into manageable pieces, to line the mold. Alternatively, freezer paper maybe used as well as a kitchen garbage bag with the sides cut open so that it is flat. Cover mold with a lid (if it has one) or a piece of cardboard or a flat piece of lumber. Then insulate this with a blanket, by covering the top and sides with the blanket.

10. Leave covered soap in a safe place away from children or pets for 12-18 hours to saponify and set. After 18 hours, uncover and allow to sit in mold a couple more hours. If firm enough, unmold onto plastic, utility paper or a clean dishcloth. Don neoprene gloves and cut bars with a sturdy chef's knife or a soap cutter. Store soap on a platter or open box lined with absorbent paper and allow to cure for two to three weeks.

Alternatively, this recipe may be executed in the hot process method. First combine the oils and lye/water and at trace follow the instructions for hot process in the oven or on top of the stove soap.


Source: Permission to reprint by Winsome Tapper, Soapmaking Editor, www.Bellaonline.com/site/soapmaking.

Citrus Blast M&P Shampoo Bar

Source: Printed from the FREE Recipe Database offered by From Nature With Love www.fromnaturewithlove.com/recipe

Submitted By: Jenn of Bechtelsville, PA

Ingredients:

1lb opaque M&P base
1t almond oil
4t shea butter
1 1/2t castor oil
1oz beeswax
1 1/2oz cocoa butter
2-3 drops orange fo/eo
2-3 drops lemon fo/eo
2-3 drops grapefruit fo/eo
colorant (optional)


Instructions:

While soap base is melting, combine oils, beeswax and butters and melt separate from soap base. Combine soap base and oil/butter mixture and stir constantly until cooled. Add fragrance and color. Pour into molds and allow to cool. Package as desired.

Please Note: Most of the recipes included in the Nature with Love Recipe Database have been generously submitted by their customers. We are not able to test each recipe, and we cannot guarantee the results that you may obtain. The recipes are meant to be used as a guideline and source of inspiration, so please experiment in small batches. For soap recipes that include lye, please be sure to check lye calculations prior to trying the recipes. If you find that a recipe has not been calculated properly, please let us know.

If you are looking for other recipes, check out some of the links in the side bar or check in my archive. There are alot of recipes in both places. I am always looking for new recipes to post on my blog, so please return in the future.