Shampoo bar hardness

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purely soaps

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I ve been a silent reader for the most part ,but a very thankful silent reader. This forum is wonderful! I have learned so much from you all and feel humbled by the few times I have been able to reply with help to someone else's question.
On a different note... I have been working on a shampoo bar recipe for years and finally can say it works for me. My problem is the hardness. How could I increase that value without compromising my ingredients? Have tried stearic acid but don t find that a good ingredient to add as it instantly turns thick. Was thinking of salt . Has anyone ever tried salt in a shampoo bar? Is it good for the scalp? I m kind of lost in this ...
 
You posted this in the lye-based soap forum, so I'm going to assume that by "shampoo bar," you are referring to bar soap used to wash hair (as opposed to actual shampoo in solid bar form, aka syndet bars).

Assuming that's correct, you could try adding a bit of beeswax to harden the bar - even 1-2% can make a big difference.
 
How about vinegar?? Is it just the hardness you’re after or hardness paired with a longer lasting bar?
I failed to mention that for my water I use apple cider vinegar so that does help some but not enough. The highest percentage in my recipe is canola oil which doesn't have any hardness.
 
You posted this in the lye-based soap forum, so I'm going to assume that by "shampoo bar," you are referring to bar soap used to wash hair (as opposed to actual shampoo in solid bar form, aka syndet bars).

Assuming that's correct, you could try adding a bit of beeswax to harden the bar - even 1-2% can make a big difference.
Yes it is a cold process bar. Sorry I should have mentioned that. The bees wax would be a solution I think.
 
Beeswax would likely leave a film on the hair, I wouldn't use it.
You can add salt at 1 tsp ppo, dissolve it in your water before adding the lye.
When I was making shampoo bars, they had a low hardness but still lasted a long time and stayed plenty hard as long as they were on a good draining dish.
 
Beeswax would likely leave a film on the hair, I wouldn't use it.
You can add salt at 1 tsp ppo, dissolve it in your water before adding the lye.
When I was making shampoo bars, they had a low hardness but still lasted a long time and stayed plenty hard as long as they were on a good draining dish.
I was questioning my mind what effect salt has on hair or scalp ...or maybe I m overthinking 😕 I know salt would help with the hardness.
 
Please don't take offense, but in order for us to better help troubleshoot issues like this in the future it's best to start a thread in the RECIPE FEEDBACK FORUM.
Include a printout of your recipe and details of the method you used. :thumbs:;)
 
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