Syndet shampoo bar recipe help needed

[daisychain]

Thanks for your replies

She does recommend popping them into the freezer to harden, help with mold release, and dehydrate them a bit. I’ve tried both ways, and the frozen and non-frozen bars are identical after a few days. But the freezer really does give them a head start and dry them out a bit faster.

Yes, I've found the same - gives them a "head start", as you put it, but isn't crucial. Also helps with my impatience to see the end result . But if a formula depends on freezing the bars, I think it's too finicky. I'm also skeptical it's the reason some recipes don't work for people, hence why I was curious if others had used the freezer or not with these recipes.

AliOop, how do you find the lather with the hot pour recipe? I tried a hot pour formula which had a large amount of stearic acid, and found it made the lather non-existent.

 

[Misschief]

Thanks for your replies



Yes, I've found the same - gives them a "head start", as you put it, but isn't crucial. Also helps with my impatience to see the end result . But if a formula depends on freezing the bars, I think it's too finicky. I'm also skeptical it's the reason some recipes don't work for people, hence why I was curious if others had used the freezer or not with these recipes.

AliOop, how do you find the lather with the hot pour recipe? I tried a hot pour formula which had a large amount of stearic acid, and found it made the lather non-existent.

I use the Hot Pour recipe as well and LOVE it. It has plenty of lather and my hair feels amazing using it; I don't even need conditioner when I use it.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I guess my recipe is classed as what you would call a 'hot pour'. It's set and ready for unmolding within an hour or two. No fridge/freezer required. Lather is fantastic!

 

[AliOop]

I use the Hot Pour recipe as well and LOVE it. It has plenty of lather and my hair feels amazing using it; I don't even need conditioner when I use it.

I agree, plenty of lather in those bars. With my super dry hair, I do need conditioner (and I use her solid conditioner bar recipe for that). My daughter's hair is slightly oily; she only has to condition the ends when she uses these bars. We both love how soft and manageable our hair feels after washing with these. Her husband recently joined the bandwagon, so I brought them 10 shampoo bars when we visited them recently.

My daughter's hairdresser asked her what products she was using, because her hair was so healthy. When my daughter replied that it was her mom's "homemade" shampoo bar, the hairdresser asked to see the ingredients. I sent them the link to the recipe listing on Etsy, which discloses all required ingredients. The response was, "Yup, that's what's in real shampoo." I think she was afraid we were using lye soap on our hair.

 

[JasmineTea]

I now use the Hot Pour Shampoo Bar recipe from DIY Bath and Body on Etsy. Melt everything together in the microwave, stir well, add preservative when cooled a bit, then put into molds. Easy, fast, and nice hard bars. Most importantly, they get rave reviews from family who have tried them. Hair is soft and clean, scalp isn’t itchy or irritated, and there is zero product build-up or color stripping.

She does recommend popping them into the freezer to harden, help with mold release, and dehydrate them a bit. I’ve tried both ways, and the frozen and non-frozen bars are identical after a few days. But the freezer really does give them a head start and dry them out a bit faster.

@AliOop Which of the Hot Pour formulas do you use? I just bought that set of recipes.

 

[AliOop]

Hi @JasmineTea This is the recipe: Hot Pour Shampoo Bars

 

[JasmineTea]

Hi @JasmineTea This is the recipe: Hot Pour Shampoo Bars

Thank you, @AliOop ! Within that publication there are several different recipes. I was wondering which of the recipes you make and like so well.

 

[AliOop]

Ah, gotcha. I've only used the first recipe with hydrolized silk as my additive, and subbing in FCO instead of babassu.

I intend to try the baobab recipe next, since it is recommended for dry, curly hair. I recently acquired some baobab powder and oil, but I don't have bamboo extract or baobab extract... so I'll probably use another extract that I have on hand

 

[JasmineTea]

Ah, gotcha. I've only used the first recipe with hydrolized silk as my additive, and subbing in FCO instead of babassu.

I intend to try the baobab recipe next, since it is recommended for dry, curly hair. I recently acquired some baobab powder and oil, but I don't have bamboo extract or baobab extract... so I'll probably use another extract that I have on hand

Alrighty, thank you. I look forward to trying it. I'm happy with my current recipe, but streamlining and making the process easier are really good things.

I admired your shampoo bars in another thread and wondered how you were able to use such pretty molds. Now I know =).

 

[AliOop]

Yes, and I microwave everything, too. No double-boiler and so much faster!

 

[glendam]

Hi @JasmineTea This is the recipe: Hot Pour Shampoo Bars

Have you by chance taken the ph of the bars? Or does it say on the recipe? Today I as watching a video and got curious about it, the youtuber was saying how curly hair needs a really low ph (I think 3.5 to 4 ish if I remember correctly) to avoid opening the cuticle so it made me curious for my next diy shampoo bar

 

[AliOop]

@glendam mine are usually between 5 and 6, depending on what additives I use.

My curly hair is dry but super resilient, and not as easily affected by high pH at all. I never even had problems using lye soap on it, although I don't recommend that.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Can anyone give me feedback on DIY's two downloads for Shampoo Bars -- her original Solid Shampoo Bars vs Hot Pour Shampoo Bars? I'm leaning toward getting the original only because I've already got the ingredients for it, but if the Hot Pour is substantially better I'd like to know.

And have any of you tried her Conditioner Bars?

DIY Solid Shampoo Bars SCI Version 2 Recipes | Etsy
DIY Shampoo Bars Hot Pour | Etsy

 

[AliOop]

I have all three of those: the conditioner bar, the solid shampoo bar recipe, and the hot pour recipe. I love the conditioner bars! My dry hair is made a lot more manageable, without suffering from the allergies and skin reactions I tend to get from store-bought conditioners.

Both shampoo bars leave my scalp clean, and my hair relatively soft and manageable. I say "relatively" because my hair is very dry, curly, and thick. Even though the hot pour recipe required me to buy another ingredient (decyl glucoside), I prefer it over the other recipe for two reasons:

1. I prefer poured bars over pressed bars. The best comparison is CP bars v. not-fluid HP bars. One is smooth and homogenous, while the other is "rustic." The rustic ones tend to lose bits here and there that break off due to the uneven texture, which I find wasteful.

2. Unless she has reformulated, the solid shampoo bar recipe is very high in SCI - over the recommended max usage. While it never bothered my scalp or hair, a lot of folks were concerned about this. Since I do share my shampoo bars with family, I felt it best to stick with the hot pour recipe that stays within recommended usage rates.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

@AliOop Thank you so much for your detailed feedback. I also have very dry curly hair so your notes are especially helpful.

I wonder how her original recipe would be if I substituted SLSa for the "overage" of her SCI? I've ground my SCI into a powder, so it's pretty workable.

I've been finding most solid conditioners not up to managing my strong-willed mind-of-its-own hair. Sounds like this one may be a winner. It does have a few ingredients I'd have to track down because I don't have them and can't get them locally (Olivem 300, Dimethicone).

I had no idea what a windy rabbit hole I was heading down when I started down this path!

 

[AliOop]

@JoyfulSudz the conditioner bar recipe that I have from DIY Bath & Body doesn't call for Olivem 300. But I just looked it up on Etsy, and Olivem300 (or polysorbate 80 as an alternative) is listed in the description as one of the required ingredients. Perhaps she has reformulated since I purchased this recipe.

Regarding the non-hot-pour shampoo bars, the recipe does include SLSa, and other sources (like this recipe on Humblebee & Me) use more SLSa and less SCI. As long as you are pH-testing your final product, it seems like a safe adjustment to lower SCI and up the SLSa. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

@AliOop Interesting that her Conditioner Bar recipe has changed since she doesn't talk about "new formulation" or anything.

Sure wish there was a Shampoo Calculator that worked like a Lye Calculator. It could quantify the qualities of each ingredient and as a combination, giving an idea of what you get increasing or decreasing of each component. This seems like so much more guesswork than creating a soap recipe!

Thanks again for your input!

 

[KiwiMoose]

@JoyfulSudz i initially started out with circa 10% SLSa but found I got an itchy scalp from it. Since reducing it to 5% I’ve had no problems.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

i initially started out with circa 10% SLSa but found I got an itchy scalp from it. Since reducing it to 5% I’ve had no problems.

If that's all the SLSa you use, do you use SCI at higher than the recommended amount of 50-53%? (maybe around 60% or so?) What, if any, other solid surfactants do you use?

I've been using SLSa at 20-27% so far in my test bars with no problem, but one of my testers did report her scalp felt too dry after using it.

 

[KiwiMoose]

If that's all the SLSa you use, do you use SCI at higher than the recommended amount of 50-53%? (maybe around 60% or so?) What, if any, other solid surfactants do you use?

I've been using SLSa at 20-27% so far in my test bars with no problem, but one of my testers did report her scalp felt too dry after using it.

I use 55% SCI and the SLSa, but also foaming apple . And a titch of decyl glucoside. My bars are pourable so may have more liquid than pressed bars?