How to Make Your Solid Shampoo?

Solid shampoo is all the rage these days, and drug store shelves are filled with tons of variations. But you can also easily make the environmentally conscious cosmetic product yourself.

We’ll show you how you can make your own solid shampoo with essential oils to suit your hair type.

Hair soap vs. solid shampoo: that’s the difference

It is environmentally conscious and incredibly economical: Solid shampoo is becoming increasingly popular and countless major cosmetic brands are now producing the plastic-free alternative to classic hair shampoo. The cosmetic product should not be confused with a hair soap. In contrast to the soap, solid shampoo is not as moisturizing and therefore incredibly suitable for thin and quickly greasy hair. If you also add the right oils, you can use the product for all possible hair types.

That’s how it works:

Make solid shampoo yourself

Solid shampoo is already offered by many different cosmetic brands. But if you prefer to do it yourself, you can easily do it at home. You don’t need much for that either.

Here is the basic recipe:

• 50 g cocoa butter or shea butter.
• 100 g of the plant-based surfactant SLSA (Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate) or surfactant SCI (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate). You can get this in the pharmacy or in natural cosmetics stores.
• 100 g cornstarch.
• A dust cover (for example a large cloth).
• matching molds (silicone molds for muffins are particularly suitable here).

How to do it:

1. Put on dust protection: The surfactant is mild and approved for use in natural cosmetic products. However, the powder is quite dusty and shouldn’t necessarily get into the airways. So better be on the safe side!
2. Mix the surfactant and cornstarch in a bowl.
3. Melt cocoa or shea butter in a water bath and then add to the other ingredients.
4. Knead: Knead everything until the ingredients are well mixed together.
5. Essential Oils: Add essential oils if desired. Here you can use different oils depending on your hair type (see below).
6. Food coloring: You can also add some food coloring to make the solid shampoo look better.
7. Press the mixture into the mold and let it harden for at least 24 hours. And your homemade solid shampoo is ready!

Essential oils for more care

Depending on your hair type, you should also add essential oils to the basic recipe for more protection and care. For the solid shampoo, you can add between 10 and 20 drops of the fragrances and also combine several oils with one another.

Each essential oil has a different power and effect on hair:

• Cedar: This essential oil works wonders for hair loss but also supports oily hair.
• Lavender: Lavender helps especially with dry hair and gives it new strength. This oil is also highly recommended for split ends.
• Chamomile: This oil has a calming effect and is therefore particularly helpful for itchy scalp.
• Rosemary: Rosemary also calms and strengthens. You should use this essential oil especially on quickly greasy scalps and irritated areas.
• Lemon: Lemon oil is perfect for blonde hair. Because it gives new strength and makes the color shine again.
• Eucalyptus: This plant stimulates the scalp. If you have particularly thin hair and want to stimulate hair growth, you should use this oil.
• Tea tree oil: The effect of tea tree oil has long been known in cosmetics and is therefore often used in anti-dandruff shampoos. But the oil also helps against oily hair.