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SweetBubbleTreat

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At these recipes and tell me honestly if it would make a great shampoo bar??

I don't want it overly drying and need it to condition well but still want it to clean my hair.
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Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to help me.
 
Wolfie, I am glad you linked to this post. It seems to be the one out there in the universe that everyone agrees comes closest to making the best shampoo bar. It is one my ever growing to-do list.
 
I think I'm having troubles with the numbers on conditioning, cleansing, hardness and what not....I'm trying to keep it with in the ranges specified but am starting to think that it isn't that way with shampoo bars but really a good starting point for soap...

Am I thinking this correctly or overthinking the whole range thing??
 
If you are relying on soapcalc, that is kind of hit or miss. I always check the number just b/c I use it (and double check w/the sage) but they definitely do not tell the whole story. So much depends on your own skin/hair, the way you are soaping, lots of other stuff. I know it is long, but if it something that you really want to do well, would really recommend you read at least the first 10-15 pages of that thread to get a sense of how people discussed the whole shampoo bar conundrum.
 
I agree with cmzaha, soap does not work so good on our hair. I used it for a year and somehow my hair loss stopped. I have no idea why. I made a syndet bar two weeks ago, and I am in love with it. It is very conditioning and the hair is very shiny and easy to style:))
 
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I'm the weirdo whose hair likes salt bars, but I don't use them all the time.

I have heard of no soap bar made as shampoo that everyone agrees is a good shampoo bar.
 
I use my soaps on my hair. I also use a bit of btms 50 in water as a leave in conditioner. Works great, but then I keep my hair really short
 
I just got a haircut(the first in a year), and in spite of shampoo bars not being good for hair, she said that my hair was MUCH thicker than before. And my ponytail holders agree. I have LOTS less breakage than before. I may be the outlier here, but my hair and scalp are better now than they have ever been. I am, however, now using citric acid rinses after shampooing, and before conditioning.

OP-I would not use beeswax or butters in the shampoo bar, either. For the same reason mentioned above. My favorite recipe thus far is this:

Coconut Oil 10%
Olive Oil 22.5%
Castor Oil 17.5%
Lard 45%
Jojoba Oil 5%

I have a very dry scalp and hair. This may not be the recipe for you if you don't also have very dry scalp and hair. I do use LIBERAL amounts of conditioner.
 
I'm another one who can't use a shampoo bar. Makes my haircolor fade twice as fast and doesn't feel good. My husband on the other hand just uses my regular soap to wash everything including his hair. Some guys are lazy that way. At least my husband and brothers in law.
 
I'm another one who can't use a shampoo bar. Makes my haircolor fade twice as fast and doesn't feel good. My husband on the other hand just uses my regular soap to wash everything including his hair. Some guys are lazy that way. At least my husband and brothers in law.

I prefer to say we are efficent. No wasted time swapping bars and opening bottles!
 
I just got a haircut(the first in a year), and in spite of shampoo bars not being good for hair, she said that my hair was MUCH thicker than before. And my ponytail holders agree. I have LOTS less breakage than before. I may be the outlier here, but my hair and scalp are better now than they have ever been. I am, however, now using citric acid rinses after shampooing, and before conditioning.

I've heard the above echoed a lot in many of the shampoo bar threads/posts I've read, not only here at SMF, but on other forums as well. Methinks I might just give shampoo bars a trial go to see how things fare.

Susie- I like your idea of using a citric acid rinse as opposed to a vinegar rinse. I've used vinegar rinses before and I don't care what anyone else says- they stink..... at least on me, they do. My hair, for whatever reason, latches on to the scent like glue and I can smell it in my hair all day long in spite of being rinsed out well (hubby can smell it in my hair, too)- and I only used the conservative amount that I have heard others mention- 1 tbsp. vinegar to a liter of water instead of 1/4 cup vinegar to a liter.

Is there a proper citric acid:water ratio to start with that you would recommend?

By the way- thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us. :) The dryness level of my hair sounds very similar to yours, so I'm going to give your recipe a try.


IrishLass :)
 
I saved a note from somewhere on here to use 1/4 tsp/8oz H2O. That's what I use, and it really does help my hair not feel quite so much like straw before I condition. But I use LOTS of conditioner, and let it soak in about 3-4 minutes.
 
I've heard the above echoed a lot in many of the shampoo bar threads/posts I've read, not only here at SMF, but on other forums as well. Methinks I might just give shampoo bars a trial go to see how things fare.

Susie- I like your idea of using a citric acid rinse as opposed to a vinegar rinse. I've used vinegar rinses before and I don't care what anyone else says- they stink..... at least on me, they do. My hair, for whatever reason, latches on to the scent like glue and I can smell it in my hair all day long in spite of being rinsed out well (hubby can smell it in my hair, too)- and I only used the conservative amount that I have heard others mention- 1 tbsp. vinegar to a liter of water instead of 1/4 cup vinegar to a liter.

Is there a proper citric acid:water ratio to start with that you would recommend?

By the way- thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us. :) The dryness level of my hair sounds very similar to yours, so I'm going to give your recipe a try.


IrishLass :)

I just recently made a citric acid rinse too. I have really hard water, so I used a gallon of distilled water and several handfuls of rosemary from my garden I let that simmer a while then added 1 tsp citric acid. I loved this at first but then went to get my hair cut after a year and the ends were a bit sticky. So I added another gallon of distilled water and simmered it some more. I added rosemary eo and peppermint eo. Smells nice and I like it on my hair.
 
IrishLass have you tried the citric acid rinse yet? I tried a new method with it last night. Previously I was spraying it on then would rinse it out. And I liked it but I did think my hair could be softer. And it kept lingering in my mind, that I was putting a nice smelling soft water on my hair, why would I rinse it out with hard water? Since I use a spray bottle I can control how much I put on. And I just left it on and squeezed out any excess. Now my hair is really really soft! It's slightly on the heavy feeling side, I could probably use a little less next time.
 
I use a citric acid rinse on my hair. I make it up in a Karo syrup bottle (cleaned! The pint size), and then after I shampoo my hair, I rinse it out with the hard shower water, squeeze out what I can (no twisting!), then just dump the rinse over my hair, then squeeze that out.
 

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