Making Your Own Herbal Hair Shampoo
In 1990 I decided not to use the commercially made shampoos
after reading Aubrey Hampton's book, "Natural Organic Hair and Skin
Care." In this book Aubrey tells you how to read the label on any product
that you put on your skin or hair.
Manufacturers are constantly using toxic chemicals in their
skin and hair products and disregard their toxic effects on your body. This is
easily seen in the list of chemicals that they use. Here are a few of these
chemicals found in many product labels:
* propylene glycol or glycol- a petrochemical used because
it is cheap
* cetearyl alcohol - emulsifier that can be synthetic or
natural
* methylparaben or propylparaben - typical synthetic
preservatives
* distearate - this is polyethylene glycol or polypropylene
glycol which are petrochemicals
* isopropyl alcohol - used as a cheap solvent to carry
synthetic oils.
Here is a natural shampoo that you can make. This
formulation is something that I have been using for many years. First collect
the following items:
4 oz of castile soap with any scent is that available -
plain, peppermint, eucalyptus.
½ oz of rosemary - stimulates the hair follicles and helps
to prevent premature baldness
½ oz of sage - has antioxidants and keeps things from
spoiling and is antibacterial
½ oz of nettles - acts as a blood purifier, blood
stimulator, contains a large source of nutrients for hair growth
½ of lavender - controls the production of sebaceous gland
oil and reduces itchy and flaky scalp conditions
2000 mg of MSM - provides organic sulfur to your scalp,
which improves the health and strength of your hair. It also helps to drive
herbal nutrient into the skin and follicles where they can do the most good.
One empty 8 oz plastic bottle, or any other empty shampoo or
soap bottle.
Mix the herbs in a mason jar, which has a lid. Boil 2 cups
of distilled water. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of the mixed herbs into the
boiling water. Pull the boiling water and herbs off the stove. Let the herb
mixture sit for 30 - 40 minutes. Put the 2000mg of MSM into the herb mixture
after 30 minutes of cooling. After 40 minutes and the MSM is melted, strain the
herbal mixture into a bowl.
Pour 2 to 2 1/2 oz of strained herbal tea into the 8 oz
plastic bottle. Now, pour the 4 oz of castile soap into the 8 oz plastic
bottle. Cap the bottle and shake to mix the ingredients.
The shampoo is now finished and ready for use. Use this as a
base for all of the shampoos you make. You can add different herbs as you learn
what these herbs do and how they help your hair. You can vary the ingredients
according to your taste. But now you have a shampoo that has no additives that
can harm you.
