Shampoo Bar - Thanks Lindy!!

FGOriold · Apr 18, 2013

Just wanted to add that I have been making (and using) shampoo bars for about 7 months now and they have become my best sellers along with my solid conditioner bars. Adding argan oil is the key to making it appeal to buyers. It seems that anything with argan oil for hair care is popular right now.

jcatblum · Apr 18, 2013

Lindy said:
Something to keep in mind when you have an oily scalp. You need to be extra gentle with it because if you start stripping the oils and getting too harsh your body reacts by producing more oils and you get a snowball (oil ball *sic*) going....

Thanks
My hair has been this way for about a full yr. I have had lots of time to test products. I have even tried going 2 days without washing when I am able to be at home & no one has to see me. DH & kids all ask why my hair is wet! I don't use lots of products & assume that this is just a stage due to hormones or something. Hopefully I won't keep this oily head for yrs to come.

Anyone put lemon EO in this bar? Lemon is suppose to help with oily hair (take a peak in my shower, I have 3 lemon shampoos).

FGOriold · Apr 18, 2013

I put lemongrass EO in one of my shampoo bars as it is supposed to help balance oily hair and dry scalp.

Birdie Wife · Apr 18, 2013

[quoteFGOriold;326910]Just wanted to add that I have been making (and using) shampoo bars for about 7 months now and they have become my best sellers along with my solid conditioner bars. Adding argan oil is the key to making it appeal to buyers. It seems that anything with argan oil for hair care is popular right now.[/quote]

Great info... What % argan oil do you use? And what oils do you use in your conditioning bars?

FGOriold · Apr 18, 2013

I have 5 different shampoo bars and 2 of them have argan oil at 20 - 25% and those are the ones that sell out fast. I also use a mix of Coconut or Babassu Oil, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Castor Oil and one that has Coconut Milk. I couldn't tell you if Argan Oil offers anything better than any of the other oils, but people look for it. I make sure to use it in the liquid shampoos I am currently formulating.

The solid conditioner bars are made with BTMS and BTMS-50 with Argan Oil, Babassu or Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and a bunch of other conditioning/protein/detangling stuff - these are not cold process soap bars.

~ Faith

Moonshea Botanicals · Apr 18, 2013

lizflowers42 said:
Use the precentages in soapcalc. I made a pound batch because I wasn't sure it would be good for my hair type. A pound of shampoo bars is going to last me a long time! I'm still using my first bar and hubs uses it too.

LOL I woke up this morning and went "DUUUUUH!" when I realized that I could look at the soapcalc for the size.

kdaniels8811 · Apr 18, 2013

DMCC said:
Trying to get the citric acid addition straight. So, did you dissolve the citric acid in water first or just add it dry? I'm assuming adding this will also increase the SF % on its own. Made the original recipe as written and I liked it. Making it again today with modifications. Thanks!

I added the powders at trace and whisked it all in. A little lemon EO makes it smell nice.

For the person with oily hair - mine was like that, too, the more I shampooed the more oily it became. It was hard but I started stretching washes (days between) and it took about 6 weeks for my scalp to stop producing so much oil. I can go 4-5 days now but my hair is up in a bun always - growing it out from chemo, it was waist length.

leniwie · Apr 19, 2013

Kansas Farm Girl said:
Does this one still require the apple cider vinegar rinse? I don't mind using it but DH isn't fond of the smell.
Thanks, Noela

try this:
lemon cut into chunks, also any "used" lemon you have, squeezed, sliced...
put in a jar, add some white vinegar (so that they are covered), let it stay in the fridge for a week or so, then strain, add 50% of water, put into some spray bottle (I kept one from some hair conditioner) - use after you rinse hair, smells citrus

Genny · Apr 19, 2013

leniwie said:
try this:
lemon cut into chunks, also any "used" lemon you have, squeezed, sliced...
put in a jar, add some white vinegar (so that they are covered), let it stay in the fridge for a week or so, then strain, add 50% of water, put into some spray bottle (I kept one from some hair conditioner) - use after you rinse hair, smells citrus

I'd only do this in small amounts, especially if you leave it in your bathroom.
I had an herbal apple cider vinegar spray that I kept in the bathroom and within a month there was mold inside the bottle. :sick:

lizflowers42 · Apr 19, 2013

leniwie said:
try this:
lemon cut into chunks, also any "used" lemon you have, squeezed, sliced...
put in a jar, add some white vinegar (so that they are covered), let it stay in the fridge for a week or so, then strain, add 50% of water, put into some spray bottle (I kept one from some hair conditioner) - use after you rinse hair, smells citrus

It would probably work better just using the peels. I do this with orange peels and white vinegar to make a disinfectant spray. Leave them in the vinegar for about 2 weeks and then pitch the peels (throw 'em down the garbage disposal!)

kerianne · Apr 20, 2013

I made a CP batch of this two weeks ago, but ended up having to rebatch in the crockpot a few days later. I unmolded and cut the bars to cure, but they are still not hard. A bit spongy. Has this happened to anyone else?

newbie · Apr 24, 2013

At what rate have people used Rosemary EO and/or Tea tree oil? I just made my first batch with those in there but was leery of adding too much. I used 0.2 oz ppo of Rosemary EO and 0.1-0.2 oz ppo of tea tree. I added some peppermint FO at .4 oz ppo to cut some of the medicinal smell. Have people found more benefit at a higher usage rate?

Also, is it possible to have too much alkanet infused OO? My oil was really dark and the bars, just poured, look almost black. What color are the shampoo bars that people have found to be helpful with the salt and pepper look?

Thanks

chicklet · Apr 24, 2013

kerianne - did you add water to the rebatch? Too much water might account for the sponginess.

nwebie - I use Rosemary by itself in my shampoo bars (I'm addicted to the smell of the Rosemary!) and I use 1/2 oz ppo. Hopefully some more experienced EO users will come along and comment on using more than that. I don't know if you can use too much alkanet, but I feel that I definitely used too little in my last batch - they've faded to a beige color.

The bars that seemed to do the best job at camoflauging my gray hair were just a medium purple color. I do like the alkanet and I do feel that it somehow works to hide my gray hair, but I still haven't arrived at the perfect amount to use. I would love to see pics of your really dark bars and it would be cool if you kept track of how much they lightened up over time.

newbie · Apr 24, 2013

Will do, Chicklet. The batch gelled so I'm waiting for it to cool and then I'll unmold and take a picture. Yeah, beige bars wouldn't do it, I'm sure. I haven't used alkanet before so have no idea what to expect for fading so serial photos it is.

Do you notice definite benefit from the rosemary? Have you tried different rates?

chicklet · Apr 24, 2013

I haven't tried different amounts of rosemary. I've said this before, and I'm not making any claims, just sharing my experiences (and those of a few testers) - I think the rosemary has stopped my hair from falling out. Not totally, of course, but I'm seeing way less hair on the vanity and floor these days compared to when I was using commercial shampoo. As long as I'm able to make my rosemary shampoo bars I will never go back to the liquid stuff.

bonnyny · Apr 25, 2013

Experiment #1 with alkanet: Genny's recipe with goatmilk: 29% of the olive oil infused with alkanet, was very dark purple in the pot, turned blue-green in the refrigerator and 3 1/2 weeks later is now a solid gray. Back to the drawing board!

Ruthie · Apr 25, 2013

chicklet said:
kerianne - did you add water to the rebatch? Too much water might account for the sponginess.

nwebie - I use Rosemary by itself in my shampoo bars (I'm addicted to the smell of the Rosemary!) and I use 1/2 oz ppo. Hopefully some more experienced EO users will come along and comment on using more than that. I don't know if you can use too much alkanet, but I feel that I definitely used too little in my last batch - they've faded to a beige color. The bars that seemed to do the best job at camoflauging my gray hair were just a medium purple color. I do like the alkanet and I do feel that it somehow works to hide my gray hair, but I still haven't arrived at the perfect amount to use. I would love to see pics of your really dark bars and it would be cool if you kept track of how much they lightened up over time.

It is my understanding that rosemary tea as your liquid for your lye will help cover gray in hair. Now that I think about it, that is why I quit using it in shampoo bars. It was turning my white hair to a blonde look. Hubby didn't care for it.

newbie · Apr 25, 2013

Okay, here are my alkanet bars, well one of them anyway. Two different lighting situations. The towel is a light beige color. All my OO was alkanet infused. Is this too dark?

Kansas Farm Girl · Apr 25, 2013

chicklet said:
I think the rosemary has stopped my hair from falling out. Not totally, of course, but I'm seeing way less hair on the vanity and floor these days compared to when I was using commercial shampoo.

I have noticed far less hair fall out with this recipe also as compared to commercial shampoo. Mine does not contain any additives, just the original recipe as closely as I could create it with the oils I had on hand. I love my hair now.

Yill · Apr 26, 2013

Was thinking about making a shampoo bar but till now I hesitated because of all the people who had no luck creating a good bar. As a beginner in soaping I thought it was probably to early for me to make an attempt at a shampoo bar. But now I have been given hope, thanks Genny!

Shampoo Bar - Thanks Lindy!!

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