I'm still relatively new to soaping, I've wanted to make shampoo bars as well but ones I've bought leave my hair dry or a film on it. I work with weights not percentage (I'm horrible at math) so when I figure this out I'm going to try it.I've never been a fan of CP shampoo bars because immediately they'd leave my hair all dried out & straw-like. So I only used Syndet bars and never looked back.
But a post Lindy made here http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f19/how-basic-shampoo-bar-recipe-30757/ helped me see the error of my ways.
So, I just want to thank Lindy for giving me that "duh" moment so I could create a shampoo bar that I've only used once, but I love it already. I imagine that after some cure time, it's going to feel so much more lovely.
I used it this morning and there was absolutely no "stripping" feel to it & it felt so conditioning that I used it on the rest of my body as well
I'm feeling so good about it, I'm going to share the recipe I created:
Water as percent of oil weight: 35%
Superfat: 6%
Avocado Oil: 30%
Castor Oil: 10%
Olive Oil: 40%
Shea Butter: 10%
Soybean Oil: 10%
I infused chamomile in all my oils, not in the shea though. Plus I use a TBSP of sugar in my water for added bubbles.
For scent, I used Tea Tree EO, Peppermint EO & Lavender EO at a 1:1:1 ratio.
If anyone decides to try it, please let me know how you feel about it.
Many thanks your answer was very helpful !Hi Alex- if you don't want to make an oil infusion, you can always make a 'tea infusion' instead, which you can then use as part or all of your water amount for your batch of soap. The tea infusion takes only 8 hours of steeping (instead of 3 weeks for an oil infusion). I found the steeping directions for it over on the WSP site in their Q/A section regarding their powdered chamomile extract. Their directions say to use a ratio of 2 cups of boiling water per 3 tablespoons of the powdered chamomile extract, cover, and let steep for 8 hours.
If you're going to use it as your lye water, I would strain it after steeping and refrigerate it to get it cold before adding the lye.
Or you can mix your lye with an equal amount of water in weight, and then to your batter add the tea infusion as your remaining amount of water that's needed.
Here are some other sites I found with instructions of how to add powdered chamomile extract to soap:
https://botaniesoap.com/soapmaking-supplies/herbs-dry/herbs-chamomile-powder.html
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2015/07/chamomile-yarrow-herb-soap/
IrishLass
I just went in and fixed the broken link (it works now), but for what it's worth, Lindy's post in the linked thread that Genny referred to in her opening post does not contain Lindy's shampoo bar recipe.....it only includes Lindy's advice to not use coconut oil in a shampoo bar. Lindy has actually never posted her shampoo bar recipe on the forum, and whenever she was asked, she was always very adamant about not doing so since its a best-selling item in her line of handmade products. She was, however always generous with giving advice/tips on what types of oils to use or to avoid when formulating a good shampoo bar, and also what kinds of additives are good to include.
Many soapers make and use lye-based shampoo bars and lye-based liquid shampoo. Myself included. It's important to rinse thoroughly after shampooing, with increasingly cool water until it's as cold as you can stand it. Follow up with a vinegar rinse to restore the acid mantle of the scalp. When I first tried a shampoo bar in 2004 it took about a year for my hair to get used to it. I even went back to OTC shampoo a few times during that year. This is typical of other soapers' experience as well. Once my hair adjusted, I've used whatever bar that we happened to be test driving in the shower without any negative effects. I now make and use my own Flaxseed Shampoo and just love the results. I don't even need conditioner.
