Shampoo Formula

As promised, the first in my series for the month of October in celebration of 5 years of Skinflint.

Shampoo isn't hard to make, though a lot of research was required into how it cleans the hair, what is needed to keep hair from drying out or from being frizzy, wet combability, the structure of hair and the needs of the scalp.

I spent many hours studying how surfactants work and how different types of surfactants work on their own and how they work together. Surfactant simply means surface active agent. Surfactants break the bond of water, or the surface tension, as we call it. Remember that science experiment with the paper clip floating on the water? Adding dishwashing liquid broke the bonds on the water and allowed the paperclip to sink.

A surfactant has an oil loving molecule and a water loving molecule.  This is why it can 'dissolve' oil and help it wash away. Without going into the chemistry of surfactants, suffice to say that different surfactants do different things. Some work as a water soluble emollient, some disperse oil in water while others simply emulsify oil in water, others act as mildness agents, and yet others thicken shampoo.

It is for this reason that a variety of different surfactants are used in shampoo formulations.  One type of surfactant you will never see in my formulations are the sulphates. Ammonium Lauryl or Laureth Sulphate, Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulphate. These are very cheap surfactants which are incredibly harsh, even if they are made from coconut oil as some companies claim. They act as degreasers and will strip hair of all of it's oil, leaving the scalp unprotected and liable to such conditions as dandruff or psoriasis.
Added to that, they are very bad for the environment.

You will battle to find shampoos without the sulphates on shelves today due to the great bubbles they produce. Bubbles are good, right? Wrong!!! Great in the sink when washing the dishes, but not so great when washing the hair. Bubbles mean that all the surfactant has been used in dissolving oil and it's now just having fun in the water.

Surfactants can be anionic, ionic, amphoteric and cationic. It's all to do with the charge they have. A mix of these is required to make a good shampoo. Anionics have a positive charge and the highest cleansing ability, but can be harsh on their own. Ionics have a no charge are very gentle, stabilising foam and acting as mildness agents, but don't have a lot of foaming ability.
Amphoterics can have both positive and negative charge as well as no charge! They are very mild and are secondary surfactants as they are lower foamers.

So, now that your eyes are totally glazed over, I'll leave it there and get on with the formula. All formula are measure by percentage. The total must be 100%. Convert to grams simply by multiplying by 10 to make 1 litre, or by 5 to make 500g. It's best to use very good scales. I use Wedderburn scales and  a jewellers scale for the smaller amounts.

Use glass jugs, stainless steel spoons and a stainless steel stick blender. Sterilise everything with either boiling water or alcohol and lay butchers paper or silicone paper on the work surface. I use Optiphen as my preservative in all surfactant formulae.
The following formula is for oily hair with a tendency to have oily dandruff build up. Most of the ingredients can be purchased from Aussie Soap Supplies in Perth, WA.

Natural Balance Shampoo
Phase 1
10          Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate - mild, anionic, imparts lubricity for a soft, silky feel.   Often used in toothpastes and mouth wash formulations.
 6           Lauryl glucoside - gentle, biodegrades quickly
14          Cocamidopropryl betaine - mild, secondary cleanser
  4          Decyl glucoside - non ionic and very gentle made from sugar
5.5         Sodium lauryl sulphoacetate (SLSa) - excellent foalming, wetting and emulsifying agent producing loads of bubbles.
 3           Shampoo Ultra Thick Liquid - thickener and foam stabiliser
 1           Hydrolised Oat Protein - humectant , coating and protecting hair shaft.
 1           Liquid Pearls (optional) - thickener, pearliser and humectant
 1           Glyceryl Cocoate - emollient, anti irritant
 2           Polyqaternium-7 - conditioning agent helping with wet combing. Silicone substitute
60          Distilled water

Boil distilled water and add to remaining ingredients. Stick blend to dissolve and mix together. Spritz with pure alcohol to reduce bubbles. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to cool to 50C.
Stick blend the following additives into the mixture, spritzing with alcohol to reduce bubbles:

Phase 2
0.5        d-Panthenol
0.5        Optiphen
0.5        White Willow Bark Extract
0.25      Rosemary Extract
0.25      Neem Leaf Extract

Add the following:

Phase 3
0.5        Essential Oil Blend (lemon myrtle, rosemary, cedarwood, sweet birch, birch tar)

Pour into new containers and cover with paper towel. Seal when completely cool.

Can add food colouring if desired. I add a few drops of yellow to this one. Experiment with the EO blend. I use about 3 times as much lemon myrtle as the remaining oils.

If you do make this, please let me know by commenting below or on my Facebook page. I'd love to hear how you go.

Megan