looking for Shampoo Bar Recipes for beginners

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I cannot recommend these two recipes enough - both are fantastic and easy to make.

https://www.humblebeeandme.com/french-green-clay-sulphate-free-shampoo-bar/Notes for this: not safe for color treated hair (I think it's the clay, but it faded my professional color treated hair in the first wash). I do not use carrageenan. I sub CAPB for Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside and use a butter instead of Abyssinian oil. pH is a very nice 5.3 with my substitutions. This is my hubs favorite, he does not use conditioner (he also has oily hair) and he says it has made his hair more manageable and doesn't feel greasy by the end of day. He's been using it for roughly 3 months.

https://www.humblebeeandme.com/more-mango-sulfate-free-shampoo-bar/Notes: works well for color treated hair. I subbed SLSa for Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate (Bio-Terge AS90) - I tried the C14-16 and noticed no difference in performance, just a slight difference of .1 in pH. I also use Honeyquat in place of Polyquaternium 7. pH was around 5.5 (if I remember correctly) with my substitutions. One thing to note regarding subbing the mango butter, it is better to replace with another butter rather than a liquid oil. My liquid oil substitution attempts were too dry, but as soon as I switched to butters, all of my bars have turned out perfectly. If you do find that the mix is too dry and not mixing together well, I have found that it is better to zap it in the microwave for about 15 seconds rather than adding water. I've been using this bar since May. It's my favorite.

I like these two recipes with substitutions noted above because they require very easy to source and basic ingredients. They mix well together without melting, and can be hand molded to shape. They dry hard and are durable in shower drop tests (my husband is a bit of a butter fingers). I make my bars 100g, and we're both still on our first bars since I made them the end of May. Judging from how much we have left, hubs will last until Octoberish, mine will probably last another month or so. [note: my husband has short hair on the sides and longer on top, I have long mid-back length hair and thick, I wash my hair every other day unless I'm super sweaty, etc.]
 
I cannot recommend these two recipes enough - both are fantastic and easy to make.

https://www.humblebeeandme.com/french-green-clay-sulphate-free-shampoo-bar/Notes for this: not safe for color treated hair (I think it's the clay, but it faded my professional color treated hair in the first wash). I do not use carrageenan. I sub CAPB for Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside and use a butter instead of Abyssinian oil. pH is a very nice 5.3 with my substitutions. This is my hubs favorite, he does not use conditioner (he also has oily hair) and he says it has made his hair more manageable and doesn't feel greasy by the end of day. He's been using it for roughly 3 months.

https://www.humblebeeandme.com/more-mango-sulfate-free-shampoo-bar/Notes: works well for color treated hair. I subbed SLSa for Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate (Bio-Terge AS90) - I tried the C14-16 and noticed no difference in performance, just a slight difference of .1 in pH. I also use Honeyquat in place of Polyquaternium 7. pH was around 5.5 (if I remember correctly) with my substitutions. One thing to note regarding subbing the mango butter, it is better to replace with another butter rather than a liquid oil. My liquid oil substitution attempts were too dry, but as soon as I switched to butters, all of my bars have turned out perfectly. If you do find that the mix is too dry and not mixing together well, I have found that it is better to zap it in the microwave for about 15 seconds rather than adding water. I've been using this bar since May. It's my favorite.

I like these two recipes with substitutions noted above because they require very easy to source and basic ingredients. They mix well together without melting, and can be hand molded to shape. They dry hard and are durable in shower drop tests (my husband is a bit of a butter fingers). I make my bars 100g, and we're both still on our first bars since I made them the end of May. Judging from how much we have left, hubs will last until Octoberish, mine will probably last another month or so. [note: my husband has short hair on the sides and longer on top, I have long mid-back length hair and thick, I wash my hair every other day unless I'm super sweaty, etc.]
Hello, Thank you so much for sharing this. :) I'll try the Mango.
How long does it take for a shampoo bar to cure?
 
2-3 days or up to a week. Although I have been impatient with the More Mango recipe and used it the next day. The French Clay bar though, because it has water in it, I give a good week before using.
This is what I needed to see. I made some last night for the first time and am itching to use it. It has no water so I will be trying it in a few. I will also be looking at the recipes you shared. Thanks for sharing them.
 
I also tried the Mango with the SLSa and Polyquaternium 7. I was searching for a recipe that did not affect the skin around my daughter's BAHA implant (bone anchored hearing aid). I had other recipes that were too high in SCI and/or used sulfates, even tried a shampoo bar as she was shampooing with regular soap prior to her surgery. Nothing worked until I tried the Mango recipe. It is now our only one. So far I have only used Cocoa butter in the recipe since it was what I had on hand when I first tried it. It works with the Cocoa Butter so am almost afraid to try the Shea. Thanks for posting this.
I have also been surprised at how long it has lasted compared to the other ones that I have made. I used a moon press to make the little bars and find they last forever. It might be that they are being used more evenly since the surface is smaller....rather than an oblong bar which seems to get used up in the middle, then breaks in two pieces and has to go in soap saver sack. I am still using the first one which I made shortly after AMD posted this. I wash my hair 3-4 times a week. It is impressive.
 
I also tried the Mango with the SLSa and Polyquaternium 7. ...So far I have only used Cocoa butter in the recipe since it was what I had on hand when I first tried it. It works with the Cocoa Butter so am almost afraid to try the Shea.
Thanks for reporting back, as I have the More Mango on my list to try, and your post is motivating me to give it a go. Just to clarify... did you use the More Mango recipe with cocoa butter instead of mango butter? I didn't see any shea listed in the recipe so want to be sure which recipe of the two was the one you love so much. :)
 
Yes, I meant to say Mango rather than Shea Butter. I just subbed the Cocoa butter. I want to try the other recipe she listed too, but since this works it's sort of , "Why bother".
Exactly! Thanks for the info. Now I really need to give this recipe a try since my current bars are ok, but I'm not in love with them.
 
Back
Top