Maybe this has been addressed in one of the previous soap making topics and I missed it, but I'll ask anyway.

Does/has anyone here made their own shampoo and conditioner?

Today as I was showering I got to thinking that shampoo and conditioner account for a big chunk of the plastic containers brought into this house. They're also quite expensive. I have lots and lots of long hair that takes lots of conditioner. I was just hoping and wondering if there is a homemade alternative.

It all depends on how you like your hair to feel after you wash it. As consumers, we've become used to the slick feel, which can only be delivered with petro-chemical formulas in shampoo and conditioner formats. Conditioners came into use because of the damage the shampoos do to the hair.

If you are open to change, and willing to try, your hair can be washed with regular homemade bar (sodium hydroxide) or liquid (potassium hydroxide) soap. To be successful, most adherents condition their hair first, with a good oil that meets their hairs' needs. Then soap up and rinse really well. Then follow with a vinegar (apple cider is nice) rinse to restore the pH.

Hair washed with natural soap feels tackier when wet, very different from shampoo. However, some people with hair on the oily side skip the pre-wash oil part. It's a bit of an experiment to see what your hair needs and what it does not. Once dry, the hair is lovely to touch. Natural soap doesn't strip the hair or the scalp, but it does take time to get used to, and if you use alot of styling products on your hair, the results may vary. There is a fella that uses my soap from head to toe, including his hair, and swears it's the only thing that keeps him from the dry itch in the winter. My DH, on the other hand, hates the feeling of bar soap cleansed hair and will not switch.

Thanks Loamy. I will have to give it a try. I don't use any styling product at all so there's no issue there. I've done vinegar rinses before, and I know I should more often because it makes my hair like silk. Just hard to make a new habit I guess.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

As a hairdresser I'm pretty much against the tacky feel of hair shampooed with bar soap, it tends to leave a residue that counteracts with chemical services. However, I do agree that the plastic takes up a good share of our landfills. Have you tried community co-ops where you can refill your own containers with shampoo and conditioners? Alot of salons are also offering this service usually at a discount.

Sorry to disappoint you Maggie, but I haven't set foot in a salon for 2 years. It's likely to be at least that much longer before I do again. And I live in the middle of nowhere, there are no community co-ops unfortunatley.

I did say it wasn't for everybody, using natural soap on one's hair. The residue, the same that a natural soap leaves on your skin is made of fatty acids, which would be on your hair and skin naturally if you didn't use petro-chemicals on it. People used such soap on themselves before there wasn't much around to fuss with their do's except rag rollers.

I too, haven't been to a salon in years, and I cut my family's hair. It's a matter of time, I just don't have the time to spare in a salon. I do appreciate what Maggie is saying, though. Maybe it would be an idea to use the natural soap most of the time, then use the store boughten shampoo before a visit to the hairdresser.

I think that's great that you are doing your families hair! I can also appreciate the time that it takes to get an entire family into the salon. I have heard of some people using teatree oil or milk as a shampoo, although i'm not sure what they are using for a sudsing agent. I understand the bubbles aren't that important any way.

One more thing! Real Mayonaise works as a good conditioner. Use 1 tsp to 1 tbls depending on the length of hair. You can either leave it for a few minutes or for deep conditioning wrap it in a towel or bag and leave it for an hour or more. I like to lightly shampoo it out so I don't smell like a sandwich

HAHAHAHA! RE mayonnaise conditioner: Loamy, I can just see Charlie right now: "MOOOOOM! COOKIE'S EATING MY HAIR AGAIN!"

Cookie is Loamy's dog.

If you can stand coconut oil on your hair overnight, you may love the switch. Personally, I am a strict chemical-on-the-hair-natural-in-the-garden girl. But I am trying to change. I really want to. I am just way too young for all this gray! Or maybe I am not accepting the 40 that is fast approaching. Anyway, coconut oil is absolutely wonderful to condition and then wash out the next day.
Good luck and please pray for me to let go. I would like to care more about more important things.

Elfie - Charlie would be mad at the idea of wasting his precious mayo. I'm not sure if he ever demanded a "Charlie's Special" when you were here, but that's a toasted cheddar cheese (5 thick slices) sandwich, with about 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise on it. No butter, because that "has fat in it".

tigermama - I'm leaning heavy on the 50 side of 40, and I refused to go gray yet. There's hope for all of us Miss Clairols.

I'm a purple. From a can, I admit it.

Sometimes we require indulgences. It's what we do overall that matters.

I suppose it's a bit silly of me to be worried about plastic shampoo bottles and nasty chemicals in my shampoo when I'm willing to put hideous chemicals on my hair to make it a purty color. But who ever said we women have to be logical.

Has anyone ever tried the coconut oil in the hair over night? When I was a teenager a friend told me to put olive oil in my hair. I have very wavy coarse hair. OMG I washed it 7 times in a row with shampoo, and still flat stuck to my head. lol then I had to rinse it 3 times with vinager and finally most of it washed out. So ever since then I have been affraid to try the mayo or any other kind of oil. I look back and think its funny now but I didn't think so then.

I haven't tried coconut oil but I do sometimes do an egg and olive oil mixture. I'm not sure but I think the egg, while it conditions, also works as an emulsifier and helps the oil wash out more easily than just plain oil would.

Last night I decided I guess I'll stick with what I've been doing with my hair. Someone at work grabbed my braid and gave it a tug and commented how soft my hair is. I got to thinking that there are several people who almost every tme they see me have to reach out and touch my ponytail. Guess I'm doing something right?