Comments on: Natural Hair Care: Shampoo Recipe

By: Trish

Trish — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:33:26 +0000

according to Wikipedia ( Borax )

” Simple exposure can cause respiratory and skin irritation. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal distress including nausea, persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Effects on the vascular system and brain include headaches and lethargy,”

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:49:55 +0000

Hi Lindsay,
I know you offered warnings about using borax, but please bare this in mind. The Borax is used in a very minute amount and it should be dissolved in warm water before being added to mixture. Second, think of it like this, if your detergents and even your bath soap (commerical bought) contains sulfates, Parabens, dyes and Sodium Hydroxide which are more harmful than a natural mineral that is reoccuring; such as Borax. But yet, we get out of the tube and dry ourselves off with a towel and even tye it on our heads. So, when it comes to safety, consider Borax, God made, all natural mineral and slightly more alkaline than table salt, which we ingest.
Baking soda can be used as a substitue, once again Sodium Bicarbonate (salt) just slightly more alkaline. But once again, be sure to dissolve it in hot water first before adding to the other ingredients.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:39:05 +0000

Hi Jen,
I wanted to comment to you that that the grimy feel of your hair afterwards using Dr. Bronners is because this is a very soapy soap that is used for deep cleansing. It’s important that you use only a little. Because we are use to using commerical soaps that grant a great deal of lather, we expect the same from Dr. Bronners, but don’t. Using natural shampoos do not yeild big lather, but more slip so to speak, the less you use the better the effect. In light, “A little goes a long way” for real. Vinegar rinses are always great for the hair, not only resetting the PH balance, but moisturizing while being a astringent too. So, using vinegar is always a great thing with or without the use of a natural shampoo. I would recommend using 2 tbsp Dr. Bronners soap/shampoo, 1 tbsp Aloe Vera and 6 oz water.
For extra moisurizing, volume, conditioning and sunscreen for shine; weather color treated hair or not, add 1 tsp Avocado to the recipe. Avocado offers up to SPF-15, especially if you go swimming in a pool that has clorine.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:30:38 +0000

Hi Andrea,
You are acurate that the soap will clump up when you add the vinegar. You have to condition the water with Boraz (pure mineral-also know as a water softener) to prevent this reaction. You first want to add a 1/4 to 1/2 tsp 20 team mule borax (found in all grocery stores in the detergent aile) to hot water and stir to dissolve, the add the vinegar and soap. Excellent natural cleanser and the borax aids the cutting of grease and killing of bateria too.
If you want really clean clothes and use 1/2 the amount of washing detergent, just add a scoop of borax to your wash. Your mom, aunt or grandmother will know Borax, it use to be the superb and still is, the best household aid for all cleaning needs and its all natural too.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:33:01 +0000

And now I just found it for even cheaper at vitacost.com!! $31.97 for a gallon! I hope I like this stuff, because I’m going to have a lot of it pretty soon Hope this helps someone else get a good deal!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:25:52 +0000

I’m about to buy Dr. Bronner’s castile soap from luckyvitamin.com and there was some more information on how the Bronner family viewed Dr. Bronner’s strange philosophy (that they thought it was strange too!), which makes me (a Bible believing Christian) feel less conflicted with supporting the company. They say:

“Dr. Bronner’s essential vision and philosophy were born out of the fate of his family and the Holocaust, and are emphatic that we are all children of the same divine source: people must realize that we are All-One!, and that the prophets and spiritual giants of the world’s various faith traditions all realized and said this. Dr. Bronner was also grounded in a powerful ecological consciousness, and the soaps were an extension of this simple, natural and 100% environment-friendly.

Dr. Bronner passed away peacefully on March 7, 1997, amidst family and friends. While we disagree with Dr. Bronner on some idiosyncrasies in his philosophy, we revere him for his efforts to unite humanity and his exhortations to lead a more responsible life in respect to our environment and :” “: with care and integrity the fine ecological soaps our customers have loved and lathered with for 50 years, anied under the USDA’s National Organic Program. We share our time, profits and energy with our workers and worthwhile causes worldwide.

Love in All-One, The Bronner Family”

That website sells the castile soap in 1 gallon jugs for $39.89, so less than $10 per quart (32oz.)! A great deal, and free shipping if over $100… they have good prices on other great products too, like ecover dishwashing soap, giovanni 50/50 shampoo (by the gallon too!), etc. Hope others find some good deals on there!

By: Sherry

Sherry — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:02:43 +0000

I’ve been using a variation on this recipe since last June. I’m still trying to find the right amount of oil in it, for my hair. Currently I’m using five to eight drops peppermint oil, the peppermint Dr. Bonner’s, and a couple tablespoons of safflower oil with vitamin E. It leaves my hair a little dry if used every day. So once every couple of weeks (I really could do this more often) I put a warm olive oil rinse on my hair prior to shampooing with this recipe. That works. I then have really greased up hair for about two days, then about a week of really soft, not so tangley hair.

My husband buys head N shoulders, my daughter needs a conditioner built in, with long thick hair and the inability to comprehend how to use more than one product in her hair. So I used to buy the prell dandruff shampoo and conditioner in one… now I buy it once a quarter and dilute it with this recipe. I kept the pump bottle. If I am desperate for detangler and no time to put olive oil in my hair, I will use hers- it smells funny but is okay.

The residue on my hairbrush is the only problem I have; both me and my daughter have fast buildup of what looks like dryer lint in the brushes, it takes as little as four days. That’s cleanable. I have some static but I always had static. I wet my hairbrush if need be. The thing to know about the grease is, though, I have long hair and I put it up almost every time I go out, especially for work. The grease is less noticeable because of this; also I time conditioning so the less greasy days will be when I’m not working.

By: LW

LW — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:55:57 +0000

I want to make sure no one misreads my previous post. I add one-half CAPful of vinegar, NOT cupful. A little vinegar goes a very long way. Too much can have a stripping effect on one’s scalp and hair. Good luck!

By: LW

LW — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:50:42 +0000

I have a successful recipe for liquid castile shampoo with the vinegar added. In an 8-ounce spray bottle, I add A LITTLE LESS THAN ONE OUNCE of liquid castle soap (dr. bronner citrus is what we currently use); I add water almost to the top, replace the nozzle and shake to create a well-blended soap dilution. Then I remove the nozzle and add A HALF-CAP of apple cider vinegar. The dilution will turn cloudy, but won’t clump because the soap is thoroughly incorporated into the water (i think it’s when the vinegar comes in contact with concentrated liquid castile soap that you get the curdles). Next, I replace the nozzle and shake again to make sure the vinegar is well-blended with the soap shampoo. What i end up with is a slightly acidic (pH balanced) natual shampoo that doesn’t require a subsequent vinegar rinse, because the vinegar is properly integrated in to the shampoo. I never get curdles and I always get a burst of lather that properly cleans my scalp and hair. I buy a large bottle that my family of four shares and that it would take us over a year to empty because i don’t use large amounts of it in my recipes. Personally, I think that one cup of liquid castile soap to one-quarter cup of water is not a good dilution for me. Even if I added oils, with that much castile soap, my scalp and hair would be like straw.

By: andrea

andrea — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:26:14 +0000

I find if you use dr. bronners(2tbsp/1 cup water)only on hair and not scalp, I use 1tbsp baking soda/350ml water (1/3 of bottle-lasts 3 washes,same for the dr bronners solution)for my scalp,you don’t get greasy head, but not dry hair!be patient you have to experiment, I have been doing this for 2yrs, I would never go back. also, different water yields different results, as does the time of year.