# Shampoo Bar Questions for the Soap Experts!



## Horsehair Braider

OK, you soap makers - I've got some questions for you about shampoo bars. I've read some of the past threads here about shampoo bars... there don't seem to be many. Here goes: 

How many of you actually make and sell shampoo bars?
How long have you been making them?
What do you, or your clients, think of them? 
One person was using more "shampoo" type stuff - the ingredients typically seen in regular shampoo - will it work without these ingredients? 
Anyone making a shampoo bar that includes henna as a conditioner? 
If you are using henna - what has been your results?
Is coconut oil something that is used in a shampoo bar? 

I'll confess here for the very first time: I am a long-hair. Because of this I am concerned about how I handle my hair. I have tried goat milk soaps for my skin and won't go back to regular "store" soap, although water-based soaps work for me too - just have to be hand-made. So I'm curious about shampoo bars. Some of my fellow long-hairs swear by them. If there is a DGI person making a nice shampoo bar, particularly if it has certain ingredients such as henna, I would like to send at least my business their way, but right now I feel like I have a lot to learn about shampoo bars. Please, educate me! And thanks!


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## todog

i make a round shampoo/shave bar. i use it all the time. before i fell, i had long hair below my shoulder blades. i use vinegar for a rinse after i shampoo. i sell alot of the shampoo bars for women and men buy it for shaveing. my ingredients are goats milk, coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil and essential oil with jojoba. oh ya and lye. lol i get raves and always sell out. i make one with rosemary for dark haired people.
the definition of expert is: ex =is a has been spert= a drip under pressure


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## hsmomof4

I make a shampoo bar, too. I have a number of customers who just love it. (I have also used it on my dogs...awesome!) It is more olive oil than anything else, but plenty of coconut and castor for nice bubbles and jojoba because it's so good for your skin and hair. Plus GM and aloe vera juice, and essential oils for fragrance, if it's a scented one. That said, it is CP soap. Some people will love it and some will not have it agree with their hair. Everyone is different. A vinegar rinse is very helpful when using any kind of soap on your hair...think of the soap scum you get on your tub or in your shower and imagine that, microscopically, of course, in your hair...vinegar helps with that a LOT. I am going to be trying out making a syndet (synthetic detergent, ie, more like regular shampoo) bar here soon. I have the ingredients and a recipe, I just have to do it. A syndet bar is more likely to work with more people's hair than soap is, which I think is too bad, but based on my research, that's the way it goes. I was curious about the henna, but based on what I found, I don't know how many small scale producers you'll find using it in products. It does not appear to be easy to get. There was a reasonably priced powder, but available only through some alibaba-type website, imported from China, and to me, that's a lot of risk to take when you don't know what you'll get. Alternatively, there was a gallon jug of henna extract that seemed to be from a reputable US-based company, but it cost $250. Plus shipping, I'm sure.


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## Horsehair Braider

Whoa! I had no idea henna could cost so much... I know people who use it as a dye for their hair. You have to like red, though... however some henna will not dye the hair, and from what I understand it's a good conditioner. It is used to strengthen the hair shaft. 

A "syndet" bar sounds interesting. I am not much on the stuff in shampoos, but I do know that most use a detergent similar to what is used to wash dishes. That would be some form of sulfate. There are sulfate free shampoos, but those are not real common. I have found them though. Conditioners typically use silicones to coat the hair, which makes it slippery and less prone to tangle. Words that end in "cone" - dimethicone etc. - are an example of that. The coating can build up, which is not always good for your hair... although some like cones... and actually dimethicone is one of the better ones. A lot of people with long hair will try and go sulfate and cone free which can be a little tough. 

Agree about the vinegar wash (although you can also use other acidic things like lemon juice or citric acid). I've never used shampoo bars before but people say that hard water makes them feel kind of yucky on the hair, and a vinegar rinse can help with that situation. 

This is great! And I love the definition of the expert!  I have never heard that one before.


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## hsmomof4

Yeah, you could get the henna for dying pretty easily, but I don't think that's what you want in your shampoo. 

There are a LOT of different surfactants that can be used in shampoo bars. Some contain sulfur and some don't and they are not all created equal. SLS is very harsh, but many other sulfates are not. I use silicones (cyclomethicone and dimethicone, to be specific) in the lotion that I make. They are definitely nice in lotion. 

I have long hair, too. Long and curly and GRAY. So I am going to be enjoying experimenting. I have a bunch of kids to be guinea pigs, too, though since most of them are teenagers, they have entirely different hair issues than I do. Anyhow, once I get going on the syndet shampoo bars (I am currently working on a HUGE wholesale order), you can be a guinea pig, too, if you'd like. And I'm happy to send you a CP shampoo bar to try in the meanwhile.


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## H Diamond Farms

I made a specific shampoo bar and hated it. When I was back visiting my parents, I tried one of my regular bars on my hair and it was ok. So I tried it again at my house and it left my hair stringy and gross. The only thing I can think of s that they have a water softner and we don't. I don't know what else it could be. It does the same to my husband so I know it's not just me.


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## Horsehair Braider

Rachel, try an acid rinse. Put up to two tablespoons of white vinegar in a cup of water, and after you finish your wash, pour it over your hair. In my case I dip my length into the cup (I use a 2 cup container) and pour the rest over your head. I think you'll find this makes a big difference. And don't worry, once it dries you will not smell like vinegar. 

Stacey, I am always happy to try new things, and experiment. Perhaps a very small section of your regular bar? I am happy to pay for it - I know this stuff is not free. I appreciate and admire the abilities of the forum soap makers.


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## hsmomof4

Rachel, the water softener would make a huge difference. The minerals in hard water react with the soap to form soap scum. You get that, on a smaller scale, in your hair. The vinegar (or other acid) rinse does help a lot.


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## LynninTX

My dd & I and several customers use my regular bars for shampoo. We are happy with it. It is on my list to make a shampoo bar... just never got it done.


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## todog

before we got a water softener i put borax powder in my soaps, even the shampoo bars.


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## Horsehair Braider

Borax? How does that help, is it acidic or something? I'm afraid I know very little about chemistry... Always willing to learn though.


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## Greylady

Borax: how do you add it: dissolve in water? oil? what purpose does it have? do?


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## hsmomof4

Borax is a water softener. You would have to dissolve it in water in order to effectively add it to soap.


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## todog

yes its a water softener and it will help the soap suds up in hard water. i always mixed it with a little water then added it to the soap. that may help you with the shampoo problem.


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