Where To Find The Science

[Gryphonisle]

A friend has requested I try making shampoo bars (for dry hair, like hers). Ok. Why not? I went looking on the internet, and once again (although even more so than with CP soap itself) I found myself wondering “where is the science”? Lots of claims about this or that ingredient, but no sense that it has any foundation in fact. Many times I feel like I’m in a polite Trump rally, where there are claims being made of the most preposterous nature, and widespread belief, and faith, in what amounts to nothing more than opinion. When science is even mentioned, as on one shampoo bar making website, the suggestion was that the author didn’t know what the science was but ”you can judge the results for yourself”. Of course I can, highly subjectively, but is my assessment accurate? Is there no place in the CP soap making realm where we can turn to science for more accurate answers as to what will pass the lye barrier, or the effects a given carrier or essential oil will actually have? I know there’s a science based book but it’s not a reference, it’s a tutorial for science minded soap makers about how to set up their own experiments. I don’t have to buy a science text book to bake so why is it so difficult to get the science behind soap making?

 

[AliOop]

When you say "shampoo bar," do you mean CP soap that is used to wash your hair? Or do you mean an actual shampoo by definition, which is made with synthetic detergent (syndet) ingredients so it has a lower pH? There is a lot less science about the former, and much more science about the latter.

The anecdotal reports are that the significant majority of people cannot use CP soap on their hair, no matter how it is formulated. The pH is just too high. Rinsing with vinegar or citric acid doesn't lower it, contrary to the un-science you will read out there. For most folks who try it, their hair ends up extremely dry and ruined, not only breaking but often falling out. I am one of the lucky few who can wash her hair with CP soap, but I'm definitely in the minority. My own husband can't even use it on his hair.

There are some good threads on this forum regarding true shampoo (syndet) bars. You can also read the blog at HumbleBee and Me, or join Swifty Crafty Monkey for $1/month to get some recipes and basic explanations of ingredients.

 

[Gryphonisle]

See? You hit the nail right through the board, without even bending it! I’m referring to CP soap formulated for shampoo function. None of the sites I found indicated that much of a difference existed “just add more castor! Higher super fat! Essential oils!”. Nowhere among all the sites I’ve read has anyone suggested CP soap can’t be used on the hair as the Ph is too high, although, one website suggested adding citric acid to lower the Ph without saying why that would be necessary. Lots of sites suggest a rinse, usually some vinegar/mint combination which seems silly, why would you need to rinse out what you just used to clean with? And of course while I can argue my own results (as one website suggested): If I’ve lost any hair I wouldn’t be able to tell on which part of my bald spot it fell out, but my mustache and goatee is as coarse as it ever was, which would not seem much of a positive result.

Thanks for the recommendations and I’ll check them out. It sure would be nice though to be able to google the proper phrase and get more scientific answers rather than the rainbow and unicorn wuzzy fuzzys that has accompanied my shampoo queries and too many of my CP searches as well.

 

[GemstonePony]

Link to swiftcraftymonkey blog here
I bought the e-book Hair Products: Shampoos and Conditioners, and that contained detailed explanations for the science of hair, and what the words and numbers in your hair products mean. I don't make my own, but I do find it helpful to know what exactly what I'm looking at when purchasing. There's also one for bar formulation, but I'm still working my way through that. It contains less chemistry per se, and more layman terms.

 

[cmzaha]

Simple fact. Soap is Not shampoo it is Soap and the PH is too high for hair. Cosmetologists know this, so look up the science of hair and cosmetology.