It is our mission to help you make more of your own products. Years ago we took matters into our hands and are dedicated to helping you do the same. It is often easy and beneficial on many levels, as you already know.
Today we will teach you how to make homemade natural shampoo that works, is inexpensive, and is so easy you won’t believe it.
Why make homemade shampoo?
Do shampoo manufacturers have your best interest at heart? Perhaps you believe they do, but since you’re here reading this article we’ll assume you think otherwise.
The long and short of it is simple. No one cares more about your pocket book or your hair than you. That’s why you’re here. That’s why you want to make your own shampoo. And that’s why you want to make more of your own products. So do we!
How to make shampoo
You will only need 2 ingredients and one of them is free. Never mistake simplicity for ineffectiveness. I double dog dare you to make, use, and compare this shampoo. After you’re convinced I want you to share the information with every one you know. That is what diyNatural.com is all about!
- 1 Tbsp baking soda – We buy baking soda in bulk because we use a ton and it saves even more money.
- 1 cup water – Like I said, one of the ingredients is free. Use whatever kind of water you wish – we use tap which is English for “out of the sink.”
We mix ours in double batches into an old shampoo bottle. Feel free to use whatever container you like doubling up on ingredients until it’s full.
How to use
Simply shake the bottle before each use and gently massage into the hair and scalp for a minute or two and rinse.
How much does it cost?
I’m glad you asked it’s one of my favorite parts.
- Cost = approximately $0.06/ounce depending on how much you pay for your baking soda.
If an average bottle of shampoo is a 16 ounce bottle this shampoo will cost you less than a dollar. Not too shabby.
Safe for all hair types
This shampoo is completely safe for all hair types and will not strip your hair of it’s natural oils, unlike most commercial shampoo. But if you color your hair it may strip the dyes out.
Be sure to question the safety of store-bought shampoos, along with any other products you buy – and always understand the ingredients of the products you use.
If you have questions read the comments below or ask anew… and share this recipe with everyone you know!
Tips for controlling static
- Be sure you’re trimming your ends every 6-8 weeks, less split ends = less static.
- Try shampooing less often (maybe 3x/week).
- Use less heating elements (blow dryers, flat/curling irons, etc.).
- Try massaging in a Tbsp of olive oil once/week then rinsing.
- Another treatment to try is Avocado w/lemon juice – mix, smash into hair, let sit 30 mins and rinse.
Tips for controlling oily hair
- Do occasionally – mix 2 egg yolks with 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar. Work it into hair and let set a few minutes while showering. The egg binds with the hair oil. Rinse with lukewarm water.
- Be sure to shake the mixture vigorously to ensure the baking soda is completely dissolved into the water.
- Massage baking soda shampoo into your scalp for at least 2 minutes.
- Give your hair a few weeks to adjust to the change (like 2-3 weeks or more).
Tips for thickening shampoo
- Blend up some whole oats in a GOOD blender (Vitamix) then mix with baking soda and water. Different people like different consistencies so add oat flour slowly until desired thickness is reached.
- Mix corn starch with the baking soda and water (add enough for desired thickness).
- Use both oats and corn starch, try this mixture: 1 c. warm water, 1 Tbsp. baking soda, and equal parts cornstarch & oatmeal flour to thicken (approx. 3/4 Tbsp each).
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I have used this method. One thing people should know is that if you are doing this to save money is that it will strip hairdye right out. So say you are using henna to hide grays or have colored your hair, It will take it right out. I found that out and am thankful my horrible blonde streaks I had been covering up were not so bright. Apple cider vinegar is mixed with water as a conditioner.. Keep me posted if you find a better one please! Long hair needs something more
.
We’ll work on something for dyed hair.
I can’t wait to try this! I just have to tell you I am a single mom who just made the decision to quit my job and stay home with my 2yr old son and you have made a HUGE differance in my life. I have always wanted to be selfsufficiant and you are helping me make that possible! It as gone as far as my bussy friends are paying me to make the products for them. So i am eagerly waiting for more receipes to try =) Do you have a place to suggest receipes? Thanks for all you do, this is fastly becoming my favorite website!
Awesome Sara, we are so glad to be a help to you. We are releasing an ebook soon with loads of recipes for household cleaners, so be sure to subscribe to the updates.
Sara, you are so lucky (and brave)! It is a huge decision to stay home and not work. Good luck!
What a good idea! I have tried just scrubbing baking soda into my roots, but I found that it didn’t cover very well and I would have spots that were greasy. I will have to try this, as I imagine it would work better.
I have tried this, too. I ended up adding some castile soap and essential oils to the mixture because my hair is so thick that I couldn’t get it on my scalp without something extra. I used regular vinegar as a conditioning rinse and added essential oils to that as well. Good stuff.
@ 4 Nina Nelson, how much castile soap did you add? I’m thinking that is what I need to do, but don’t want to over do it ya know?!!
I think it’s 1-2 tbsp. I had a video but I can’t find it anywhere. I just add it to the baking soda and stir.
Borax also can be used to wash hair ! Mix it with water .
We put our water/baking soda mix in a squeeze bottle made for ketchup and mustard. You know, the red and yellow ones with the long, thin tip, except I found clear ones at Walmart for around $1 each. That way we can apply the shampoo directly to our scalps.
This is what I use to apply as well. It works very well!
So,can you add essential oils to add a scent? I’m thinking 4 Nina Nelson,above,answered my question already. I am definitely going to give this a try.
Any recipes for those of us who use hair dye?
Not yet Molly but stay tuned.
How long have you been no poo?
I have been especially interested in going no poo as of late but am scared of the oily transition state.
I used this poo for the first time yesterday. Before that I hadn’t used “poo” in over 2 years. I like these shampoo & conditioner recipes because they clean, don’t leave your hair oily, yet your hair still has natural body and volume. Try it Sarah and let us know what you think.
I had no transition state at all, but my hair is super-short. I’ve read that it could take up to 2 weeks or so.
You can thicken it with xanathan gum, if you want it to be less runny. I learned that here: http://stepintohealth.blogspot.com/2011/03/baking-soda-deodorant-revisited.html
Or with cornstarch or oat flour.
Matt,
how much oat flour would or cornstarch do you think?
It depends on the consistency you’re going for. Just keep adding more until you reach desired thickness.
how often do you use the shampoo? I use it about every 2 days and just water wash the other days. I have been using it for a week and my hair is a little greasier than I like, but I know that will change sooner than later
Also, I have been noticing that I am having my hair fall out so to speak which usually means I need my hair trimmed, but it’s a lot more than normal. I’m not sure if it’s related or not, but it started when I started using the baking soda shampoo and vinegar conditioner. I’m actually a little bummed that it didn’t strip out the old hair dye in my hair as I can’t even remember what my natural hair color looks like 
Betsy uses it daily. I use it only after sweating or doing something where I get dirty, like shaking out the indoor-outdoor camping carpet yesterday. I encourage you to stay with it for at least 30 days. After that you can make your judgement with confidence. It didn’t take the dye out eh? Other kept telling me it would so I mentioned it… I have no idea personally since I haven’t died my hair since a bad college decision nearly decades ago.
I used baking soda and water for a few weeks (since I started deadlocking my hair) but realized it wasn’t doing it’s job of cleaning my hair. Left tons of residue. I found out it was because I have hard water. This isn’t an ideal hair cleaner for those who have hard water. I had to use a clarifying shampoo to get all the grim out of my hair
Try this – blend up some oats and mix it with baking soda, corn starch, and water to make a paste (however thick you wish.) If you don’t have a Vitamix or other blender that is able to blend oats into flour, just buy some oat flour.
How much cornstarch or oats per batch?
I would add enough to make the mixture the consistency of shampoo.
Hmm. I will give it a try but in what way do you think that will help?
The product is thicker allowing you to work it in better. The cleansing may not work as well because the liquid is running out before you can thoroughly cleanse a dreadlock.
I first started using the baking soda/water “shampoo” more than 8 years ago when I found out how hard SLS is on curly hair and began doing the “no poo” routine. It works as well as (better, actually!) any clarifying shampoo I’ve ever used and you cannot beat the savings!
What is “SLS” and “no poo” mean? I have curly hair as well (also thick and I dye it) thanks!
Sodium layrl sulfate – sls… Google it. Bad stuff.
No poo- using no shampoo
what a great idea! Back in the 60′s I used cornmeal rubbed in to my scalp and then brushed out. It took the oil buildup out. I used it in between shampoos so I only shampooed 1-2 times a week
RE shampoo using soda and water. Is this regular baking soda or laundry soda. ? I made the dishwashing compound and ready to give it a good try.
I think it’s regular baking soda…That’s what I have been using
I’m liking it so far..I have been using it for three weeks.
Awesome Melissa, glad you like it… be sure to spread the love by sharing the recipe w/others.
Well, I took the leap of faith and been no ‘poo for 2 weeks now. It’s amazing how this works. Before when I used shampoo I always had to use conditioner to get the tangles out. I have baby fine hair. But now I don’t have to use conditioner and my hair is tangle free and has more body! Makes one think, do the makers of these products make them so they are dependent on one another? If you use shampoo then you have to use conditioner and then you have to use another product to add volume etc.
My sentiments exactly Kathie. I have been challenging Betsy for years with the notion that makers of these products do NOT want us to have beautiful hair, they want us to buy their product and get hooked on it.
My experience has been just as yours, I now use only these homemade recipes for my hair, or I use none at all and have also been able to completely cut gel/mousse/hair spray out because I too have more volume rendering these products unnecessary. Isn’t it awesome?!
totally!
has anyone gone through a greasy stage? I am still trying to get over that…my husband won’t touch my hair because of the oil in it…I was just wondering if I was the only one going through this problem
How long has it been? Try using a bit more shampoo and keep waiting it out, shouldn’t take more than a few weeks at most.
It’s been about three and a half weeks…I used my homemade body wash this morning as shampoo and that took quite a bit of the grease out…I love the body wash and it works well as a shampoo also it seems
Bodywash:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Castile Soap (i used Dr. Bronner’s Lavendar Scented)
1/2 tsp Grapeseed oil
Oh yeah, castile soap makes a great shampoo. Try using that as shampoo once/week using the baking soda/water on the days in between and see how that works.
i think I have finally figured out the problem…I have hard water and because of that, I need to boil the water for 10 minutes before adding the baking soda.
For those with hard water, boil the water for 10 minutes, pour into measuring cup being careful not to pour in the white minerals that are at the bottom of the pan now…I add 2 tbsp per cup of water 
hope this helps those with hard water!!!
Great tip Melissa, thanks for sharing with everyone.
This sounds great !! Did you have to order your Bronner’s on line. I will try this too, in addition to baking soda, and I will try borax (not all together) I will white vinegar, although organic apple cider would be best, my hair pick up some of the yellow color from it. I am going to try it again and make sure that is what it was.
never went through that stage but that might be because I started out with fairly dirty hair
I will definitely try this out when my current bottle is gone! Can anyone tell me if it helps frizzy hair? I live near the KY/TN border, so it is HUMID all spring and summer!
Lauren,
I have fine, thin, curly hair, and I know some friends with thick curly hair. Since frizz is usually talked about by curly-haired people, I’m going to assume yours is curly… or at least somewhat. (Some people with frizzy hair that’s only wave do what I’m about to describe and discover their hair is much more curly than they ever knew, once it was left to its own devices.)
Frizz is caused by the hair shafts drying out too much, which makes each strand microscopically rough instead of smooth…so instead of the hair strands laying together, they “fight” each other. Picture the difference between laying smooth ropes together and laying bristle brushes together.
Curly hair is usually drier than natural hair anyway. Using sulfates on your hair (which 95% of commercial shampoos have) strips every bit of natural oil that might have ever been there and leaves you with frizz.
So in most cases, the solution to getting rid of frizz is to STOP using shampoos with sulfates…along with the products that require sulfates to get out of your hair (ie: hair spray, gel, mouse, conditioners with silicone in them, etc.). I stopped well over a year ago, and my hair is gorgeous and so much more manageable than it ever was before… I don’t need hair spray or mousse or any of it to keep it looking good. It just plain DOES, naturally, as long as I keep it trimmed and cut in a way that flatters those curls, and as long as I don’t brush it when it’s dry.
I hope that helps. Google “no poo” and “naturally curly” to find other people with hair like yours (however it is) and see what they’ve discovered.
I would so love to try this but I think my hair is too high maintinence. I have hard well water and I need something a little bit more cleansing to demineralize it otherwise getting a comb or brush through it….forget it! I have very thick, waist length, wavy red hair and a little touch of eczema in places on my scalp. Anyone else have either of these problems (well water or eczema) and found something homemade to help?? Thanks!
You never know until you try Elaine.
Try borax and water ! It is an antifugal ! Use the vinegar rinse.
I gotta tell ya–
I always thought it was my hair having issues, because of the well water. Then I started really looking inwardly at myself. I colored my hair from the time I was 19, until 6 months ago. I switched from any brand of major store shampoo to a higher priced all-natural shampoo from the health food store.
my hair has never been healthier. It wasn’t the well water that was turning my hair funky. Because we know that God makes the water that comes from the ground (for the most part, bear with me). So, here we are, man ‘who knows all’ adding chemicals to our heads, whether it be color or shampoo. and these chemicals are reacting with the naturals that God has given us. I mean really… what did they do all these years before filters and softeners? they didn’t gasp and say oh my I can’t go out of the house looking like this!
And TODAY! I made and used my first bottle of shampoo, tap water, baking soda, and sliver of handmade soap that I just can’t throw away.
Next week, I’m buying the necessaries to make the calendula ointment for my eczema! THANK YOU MATT & BETSY!
Way to go Michelle, so glad you found us!
Michelle 1tbsp oats and 2tsp dried chamomile, place in the centre of a small muslim square tie with string drop into your bath for 10 mins then softly rub over the affected areas, use 3 times a week if needed works a treat great for kids too, costs next to nothing
A couple years ago I developed a rash under my hair that nothing would cure, not even a shampoo prescribed by a doctor(it actually made it worse). Out of desperation I turned to the internet looking for natural shampoos and stumbled upon this recipe and the one for vinegar conditioner. It worked when nothing else did. I won’t use anything else.
Awesome testimonial Charli, thanks for sharing and God bless.
I leave my vinegar in a jar to infuse on the windowsill for 2 weeks with chamomile flowers submerged fully for dandruff, shake gently every couple of days, then pour into a clean jar through a fine sieve and water it down just before i use it. I do it like this to have a bigger batch available at my fingertips and my hair is very long, just started to grow my own chamomile so i do not have to pay for that too as i use it in nearly every remedy great also in a tea bag with peppermint for upset tummies.
Hi, I would like to know if I can add any other ingredients to the baking soda shampoo? I have oily and dandruff scalp, and my hair is quite thin, so what to add in in order to solve my hair problem? Thank you.
To help with the dandruff try adding honey and olive oil. To thicken the mixture I would add oat flour (just grind up rolled oats.)
I put mine in a squirt bottle (not a spray bottle) instead of an old shampoo bottle. I reused an agave nectar bottle, but a honey bear or other plastic bottle with a poited top helps in controlling the application.
Great idea Angela.
Love, love, love, love, love this! I added oat flour for thickening as I have very thick hair…makes it ‘stick’ better. I also added a few drops of essential oil for scent. Hair feels clean but not dry. I have a bottle of fancy-shmancy salon purchased lavender mint shampoo and, when it runs out, I’m going to use it for ‘my’ shampoo which will use the dregs of the expensive stuff and should give that batch a nice smell. Did I mention that I love this?
So do you love this Vicki?
I’m glad we could help inspire you and we love the oat flour idea too, in fact I’m going to add this to the recipe in the post because I think it’s a great idea. First I need to go home and mix up a batch to come up with the right amount for texture.
Ok…Im on day 3…been using baking soda paste and massaging into the scalp every other day and rinsing well. My hair is long, fine, and naturally curly so I have been using apple cider vinegar mixed with water as a conditioner and using coconut oil in my dry ends. I have been rinsing well in cool water. I see my hair is healthier even after 3 days!!!!! My big problem is that my hubby says my hair smells dirty. I think it smells plain…no fragrances like shampoo has (which is fine with me because I am sure that damages my hair anyway) but it is a turn-off for him. My hubby cannot stand the smell of vinegar (I say get over it but ya know). Any suggestions? Can I or would it hurt to use essential oils in water and mist my hair to brush it out? I realize I am still in transition stage so maybe all the extra oils are making it “stinky” or maybe my natural body oils “stink”. Please help! I dont want to give up on this.
Jenny
Hi Jenny, congrats on the switch, glad to hear it’s going well. Yes, add essential oils to some water and spritz/comb it into your hair to add fragrance. I’m sure you’re correct that your husband is simply used to the strong chemical fragrances. Make sure you rinse the vinegar out well, it shouldn’t leave any after-smell.
I have to admit, I haven’t tried the homemade shampoo, but I am a licensed cosmetologist. Hair and skin are in the acid range of pH, between 4.5 and 5.5. I have to say that I’d be concerned using the baking soda shampoo on a regular basis without using the vinegar rinse. The baking soda is a very strong alkaline pH. It strips the hair and opens up the hair follicle (should lay down like fish scales). That’s why it makes it seem fuller…poof! If you use the shampoo, I would definately recommend using the acid ranged vinegar rinse to follow (to smooth down the cuticle and make it shiny) If not, over time you may find unwanted results such as dull, dry hair that goes poof!
Thanks for the info Leslie, we appreciate the professional input! God bless.
Hello! I’ve been reading you guys a bit, sort of just stalking until now. I’ve been no ‘poo a little over 2 months, and I’ve had the worst greasy hair since about day 4. I know about the transition period, but mine is definitely outstaying the welcome, lol. Any tips? I’ve tried so many different things, but the baking soda and vinegar rinse just don’t seem to do the trick.
Hi Kate, thanks for stalking!
Are you also using the homemade conditioner, because that will help. Also, try this mixture: 1 c. warm water, 2 Tbsp. baking soda, and equal parts cornstarch & oatmeal flour to thicken it (approx. 3/4 Tbsp). Let us know, God bless.
I saw someone mention henna. Where can I get it? Also I havent tried the soda and wonder how it works in well water. Also I have very fragile hair because of thyroid issues and it is very curly when humid. Any help in improving my jair would be appreaciated.
No idea where to get henna Peggy, never used it. On the other questions, try the recipe and see how it works.
I just wanted to give a shout out for this method, along with the ac vinegar rinse. I’ve been doing it now for a few months with great results. I have long, thick hair and have never had a ‘transition period’ that others mention. My hair looks and behaves the same as it did with commercial stuff, without all the icky stuff. There is no vinegar smell at all after rinsing. Just shiny, soft, clean hair. I typically wash 3 times a week. A couple of times a month I do an oil treatment, just massaging some coconut oil in, leaving for an hour or so, then washing it out. Love this effective, frugal all natural hair system.
Thanks for the feedback Stephanie, you rock!
I have been using the baking soda/water wash and have been shampoo free for 3 weeks. I love it! The natural waves in my hair have come back and my hair and scalp feel so clean for days on end. I have super oily hair and I have discovered that I need to really work the wash into my scalp for 1-3 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. No greasiness! I can’t even get that with regular shampoo! Also I combine the water and baking soda (in an old plastic water bottle) and shake it until the BS has dissolved. This has worked out so well that it’s convinced my product-dependent husband to make the switch.
Thanks Izabe, I added your scalp massaging tip into the article above. God bless.
I just made the switch to no poo…and I’m loving it!! Thicker fuller hair with no greasiness!! The one thing tho is I’m already having alot of static in my hair…and its not even winter yet!! Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this and if anyone has any tips!! Thanks
Hi Nicole, congrats on the switch. To control static be sure you’re trimming your ends every 6-8 weeks, less split ends = less static. Try shampooing less often (maybe 3x/week). Using less heating elements (blow dryers, flat/curling irons, etc.). Also try massaging in a Tbsp of olive oil once/week then rinsing. Another treatment to try is Avocado w/lemon juice – mix, smash into hair, let sit 30 mins and rinse. Let us know how it goes.
Hi, first, let me say that I love your site! I’ve already made several things from it! I have been using the baking soda shampoo and ac vin conditioner for about 3 weeks now. I wash about 3x a week. My hair is def going through an oily stage…yuck! I don’t know why but it feels waxy after I get out of shower and have blow dried it. It also is still greasy looking even after all that! I have tried using lemon juice as a conditioner and then it doesn’t feel waxy so I know it’s the apple cider that is making it feel that way. I use 1 T per 1 C with both ac vin and bak soda like you said. I’ve even tried making a paste and boiling my water. I am about to give up….so tired of my hair feeling dirty and greasy! any help?
Hi Julie, thanks for your kind words. You could try white vinegar instead of ACV and let us know how it goes. Never give up!
I have been using these for a week now and have had some issues. When using the baking soda shampoo followed by the vinegar rinse, my fine hair is oily and full of static. So I tried just using the baking soda shampoo without any conditioner and it wasn’t oily but was so tangled I couldn’t brush it and felt like straw when it dried. Any suggestions?
Hi Kari, I would give it more time. Keep using the products and give your hair a few more weeks to adjust.
I’m in the same boat as Julie! I’m about 3 1/2 weeks in to using BS and water as shampoo and the ACV and water as conditioner and my hair is disgusting. It’s greasy, thick, heavy, and waxy. A couple of times I’ve tried adding castile soap to get some type of a lather in an attempt to get the grease out of my hair, but that seemed to make it worse. I feel like I’ve gone so long like this and I don’t want to give up, but this transitional phase is terrible. I have to slick it back in a pony tail or use a hair clip however, you can still tell that It’s extremely greasy. I have read all of the comments above and will welcome any additional advice on this topic. I’m trying not to give up although my friends and coworkers just think I’m turning into a dirty hippie and that’s not what I’m going for. Ha ha!
My daughter and I have found that we have less problems with our hair getting greasy if we let the baking soda/water mixture sit on our hair for several minutes before rinsing. We wet our hair, put the baking soda/water mixture on our scalps and let it sit while we wash our bodies and shave, then we rinse thoroughly. Sometimes I will even wash my hair a second time, if it was really dirty.
The apple cider vinegar rinse makes my daughter’s hair greasy, so she skips this step most of the time. Those times when she needs it, she tries to just apply it to the ends of her hair and avoids the scalp.
Thanks for the advice. I did try white vin. I realized it wasn’t the vin that was making my hair waxy. It was just the oils remaining in my hair and not being washed out. I went six weeks and even washed with castile soap but as said above, it made my hair worse! Last night, I washed with shampoo….ah my hair is so soft again! It’s back to baking soda and vinegar again though. I just wanted to get a fresh start over to see what would happen. I cannot wait until this greasy stage is over! ugg….
Thanks for the update Julie.
Tried the Shampoo and Conditioner yesterday and I LOVE the results. I no longer have the thick hair used to but thought it might be efficient to apply the shampoo to my scalp before I wet my hair. This worked great for me and allowed my scalp to be thoroughly degreased! Thanks for all your helpful hints!
Have been using the baking soda(no aluminum) and water shampoo for 2 weeks now. I have naturally oily hair with a dry scalp. This has been wonderful. I use 1 tbs in a cup of water. Microwave it for 30 secs and let cool. Then do a apple cider vinegar and water rinse. If I wash my medium length hair this way everyday I do not have a problem with the oily hair or itchy scalp. A few times I waited and washed on the 2nd day and hair was oily. This works for me and am hoping that over time I will be able to wash less frequently.
update: I figured out that I have hard water so I googled “no poo” in hard water and it said to boil 1 qt water and then add 1/3 cup bak soda. Did that and washed my hair with it and WOW! My hair is clean! The baking soda mixt was much easier to get into my hair! I am so much happier with this method now! The only problem I’m having is my hair feels dry.
Julie, that’s awesome that it’s working for you! I’m having the same problem with greasy/waxy hair. However, the grease is occuring at my ends where I use the vinegar rinse. I’ve also learned that I have hard water, but rather than boiling water, I collect rain water and then run it through a coffee filter. Then I take the rain water and add Dr. Bronner’s to it with a few drops of tea tree oil, and my roots come out clean without any grease. But then I add apple cider vinegar to rain water as a rinse, and my ends come out greasy. I’ve tried skipping the ACV rinse a few times, but my ends have still been greasy, so I’m not sure if my hair is just letting go of all the build-up, or if I’m just using too much ACV. Or do I maybe need to keep my hair from touching the hard water?
Hi, I make natural skin care and this is is very interesting
Good point Leslie about pH very important for skin and hair health
The reason for conditioner is because regular shampoo strips the hair and opens up the hair follicle. Foaming shampoos and any body care products that foam and bubble are not necessary and are a mass marketing con.
Aside from the Bicarb, there are a couple of plant cleansers available from Indian Grocers and that have naturally occuring saponins or foaming characteristics but of course not to the same extent as the synthetic products. One is well fairly well known & called soap nuts or Reetha and the other is called Shikaki. To make a natural shampoo the first two ingredients plus Amla are mixed together and boiled. Each herb is nourishing for the scalp and hair.
You can google to find out more info or here is a site
http://living.oneindia.in/beauty/hair-care/2011/herbal-shampoo-amla-reetha-shikakai-140711-aid0158.html, that gives some instructions. Soap nut can be a little bit harsh so I would use a lot less than the other ingredients. In Australia, I buy these herbs from Indian Grocers and they cost about $2 or 3.00 a box for 100 or 200gms. You can also use some Neem powder or Brahmi. Neem is is superb for dandruff and even treats nits. Brahmi stimulates new hair growth. If you massage your scalp with some cold pressed oils such as coconut or almond, and use the forementioned herb mix to cleanse and condition your hair, over time your hair will start to thicken and for me sigificantly decreased my hair loss. Its a good idea to rinse with ACV and massaging a few drops of Rosemary or Cedarwood Essential Oil is also great (caution if pregnant).
I have tried recipes for shampoo with baking soda and my hair didn’t feel clean so I went back to store bought shampoo while I tried your household cleaners. An earlier post recommends borax so I tried that. With the borax my hair is clean, softer than ever (even softer than the expensive salon shampoos) and I didn’t have to go through the greasy stage. I just keep in my bathroom a small container of borax with an empty tiny creamer cup that you get for your coffee to use as a scoop, and an empty soda bottle to mix it in. Then pour in a scoop of borax, add warm shower water and shake. Beautiful!
Soft, clean, no-shampoo hair!
Added bonus- I use much less styling products with this mixture!
Because of this warning:
Borax should not be ingested. Ingesting large doses may be fatal. Exposure to skin or eyes may cause irritation. Do not inhale. Keep out of the reach of children and pets.
Found here:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5104186_borax-powder.html
I am not comfortable using Borax on my skin.
Do you have a recipe for silver and getting corse shampoo? Don’t want the silver to get yellow-no i don’t smoke-and would like to have it a bit softer than with the shampoos and conditioners i have all ready used.
Thanks, Glenna
Have followed you for quite a while and love your site. I keep trying the the no poo and just didn’t have the success I want. However, determined to go “natural”, I kept checking sites that boasted “no poo”- all with pretty much same recipe.
Then I found one who because of thick hair needed a little more help with the greasy. She decided to “shampoo” occasionally with 2 egg yolks mixed with 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar. (I chose lemon juice.) She worked it into her hair and let it set for a few minutes while showering. She said it gave the egg a chance to bind with the hair oil (kind of like egg and oil in mayonnaise) Then she rinsed it with warm cool water (don’t want to cook the eggs).
This worked wonderfully for me. No longer greasy, I am continuing to use the baking soda /water until I need an egg treatment and then back to the baking soda/ water. My goal had been to get through the greasy part naturally and eliminate the eggs, but I so love the way my hair feels I may do eggs once a week like a rich natural conditioner.
Great info Michelle, I’ll add this to the “tips for oily hair” section in this article. God bless.
Thanks, Mike!
You really need a Pinterest button! I would love to pin this to my board!
Thanks for the recipe, I’ll have to try it out. How long is the batch good till? Can I make this in advance and use it for the entire week, or is it only a one time use/batch.
Thanks!
I make it fresh for each wash. One day I broke the eggs, mixed it up and got delayed by a phone call and the eggs began to dry/thicken around the edges like soft eggs residue on a breakfast plate. It didn’t seem to want remix well, so make it just before you use it.
I suppose if you have short hair you could do it with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar. My hair is longer and I use every bit of the 2 egg mixture.
I am almost through 2 weeks of trying this and my hair is killing me!Sad thing is Idek if it’s oily or if it’s supposed to be this way (I’m an everyday hair washer, my hair had NO oil starting out). I’m going to try the castile soap recipe n see if that helps. I make all my other stuff homemade so I am determined to get this down too. My sons seem to be ok with it but they have short hair. My daughters hair is extremely fine and fly-away. I can brush it and 5 mins later its sticking up in the air everywhere. Any ideas on how to help that?
Hi Beth, try the tips above that cover oily hair and static for you and your daughter. Don’t stop trying! God bless.
Just used the baking soda & water for first time. AWESOME!! i have fine curly hair & have never not used cnditioner. was really skeptical!! feels awesome! looks great with no products!!! thanks so much!
Hello,
i want to start using this because i was looking for a good shampoo anyways hopefully it will work 
thanks guys
I have dry hair and spilt ends
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