DIY Shampoo!

I posted on Facebook yesterday about how amazed I was with how great my homemade shampoo worked!

Some people asked how I made it, so here we go:

First, I used some of the soap I've been making. It came out too soft to use as bar soap (too much oil!), so I melted it down, mixed it with water and let it sit over night. After a good stir I had liquid soap! This variety was made with olive oil and veggie shortening and is lemon scented, infused with green tea leaves.

You will need:

Homemade liquid soap (keep in mind a store-bought soap doesn't have the awesome naturalness of homemade kind, nor does it contain the glycerin you need for this to work)

Olive Oil

Coconut Milk
Honey
Guar Gum
Any Essential Oils for smelliness :)
Container

I took about 100 mL of the liquid soap and mixed it in with 1/4 cup of coconut milk, a bit more than 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of honey that my sister's boyfriend sent us from Kentucky (I'm sure any honey will work).

I added guar gum (you can buy it on Amazon) to thicken, but keep in mind this won't be as thick as your store-bought shampoo.

I took my immersion blender (bought it at Walmart for $20) and blended it all and put it into an empty fizzy water bottle. You could use a cute container of some sort if you'd rather, but I figured this worked great for me.

Because this is more liquidy, I used more of it than I would my Head and Shoulders (aren't I fancy?). It doesn't bubble and lather as much, but it is getting your hair clean.

One of the biggest tips is storage: you can't keep this in the shower or it will go bad! It needs cool, dark conditions, so either under the sink or in the fridge for the longest keep. I wouldn't suggest making more than you would use in about two weeks. I heard adding Vitamin E can help it stay longer, so you could try that too.

I used my regular conditioner (Herbal Essences Coconut and Orchid) afterward and my hair kept great for 3 days! I am working on homemade conditioner, so stay tuned.

Just a note on hair type: I have shoulder-length, thick, wavy, darkish hair. I am convincing my sister Emily to try the recipe too (she won't let me test on the cat - just kidding! I wouldn't do that).  I can't say how this will work if you have curly, straight, thin, lighter, etc. hair. Regardless, if you'd like to test some I can provide you with a little bit and you can see if you like it!