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How to Make Hair Care Products
General Instructions, Suggestions and Tips
©2004 Rebecca Midkiff, Aromatics & More Ltd. & DIY Cosmetics LLC
This information is supplied for you to use and can only be reprinted of published with permission of the author.
Maintaining a head of healthy, attractive hair has been a priority of all cultures worldwide. Beautiful healthy hair promotes an image of health, beauty, and vitality. Whether your hair is curly, straight, thick, or thin it needs to be gently cared for and protected from factors that will cause it to loose its vitality and luster. Chlorine, pollution, hard water and mechanical stress all can cause damage. Historically a shampoo was formulated solely for cleansing of the hair. Now a good shampoo is expected not only to cleanse the hair, but also condition the hair and scalp.
Many expensive shampoos contain additives that do not add value to the product and are there merely for look and feel and to cover up unpleasant odors. By making your own shampoo you may use many of the valuable ingredients used in good shampoos and leave out harsh surfactants, synthetic fragrances, preservatives, and conditioning or coloring agents that are irritating and potentially dangerous.
HAIR FACTS
Hair is actually dead material when it leaves its root. A normal scalp holds between 100-150 hairs fibers. Blond heads usually have more hair fibers than red or dark hair heads. This thickness of the hair can range from 0.02-0.04 mm of thickness. It is interesting to note that a single healthy hair fiber is as strong as a wire of iron. It rips only after applying a force equivalent of 60kg after it is stretched 70%. Healthy hair fibers have an average lifetime of 2-6 years. The lifetime of the hair varies in each individual. To have waist length hair your average hair fiber must have a lifetime of six years. If you hair has a life cycle of only two years you will never have waist length hair.
MAINTAINING HEALTHY HAIR
There are several simple steps that you can take to maintain a healthy, soft, shiny head of hair. Maintaining an acidic pH if very important. Hair Fibers that are of an acid nature are soft, easy to untangle, shiny, and do not break easily. Hair Fibers that are alkaline are dry, brittle, tangled, break and split. Hair products such as dyes, bleaches, and permanent waves are highly alkaline and should always be followed with a very low pH conditioner to keep the hair from being permanently damaged. When making your own shampoo it is important that you know what the electric charge of the surfactant you are using is as well as the pH. Your final products pH should always be checked and adjusted so that it is either neutral (7) or even as low as 4.
If you like to use a soap bar shampoo which is alkaline try using a vinegar rinse to offset this. You will find that the smell of the vinegar quickly dissipates and it will help soften your hair and rinse out excess soap. If this doesn't appeal to you alternately try a teaspoon of citric acid in a quart of water or a low pH detangler.
Washing your hair with cool or lukewarm water will also help keep your hair healthy. The irritancy factor of surfactants also increases with the temperature of your water which is important to keep in mind. If you blow dry your hair, use a cool setting. This actually "sets" your hair longer than using a hot setting.
Invest in a detangling comb which will help keep your hair from breaking when wet combing. Consider adding a sunscreen to your shampoo such as methoxycinnamic acid. This will help keep your hair from being damaged from the sun and light. Add Honey, Glycerin, or Lactic Acid to your shampoos. These help keep the hair moisturized.
There are many conditions of the hair and scalp that may be improved with the use of natural botanical extracts. Poor diet, scalp problems, greasy hair, smog, pollution and UV rays contribute to hair and scalp problems. Here are a few useful botanicals that may be added to cleanser to help combat these issues.
Our pre-blended botanical bases may be used in your shampoo at a rate of 1-3%. Simply add to the water. The following are some botanicals that are known to be of value for healthy hair and scalp. Most all of these we have incorporated into our blends.
HORSETAIL
| contains silica which adds strength and shine
| NETTLE
| stimulates circulation and is useful for dry flaking scalps
| ROSEMARY
| anti-septic, stimulating and helps combat hair loss and dandruff
| AMLA
| nourishes, thickens and darkens hair, stimulates re-growth
| BHRINGRAJ
| rejuvenates hair and helps combat hair loss
| BURDOCK ROOT
| anti-bacterial and ant-fungal, good for scalp treatments
| WHITE WILLOW BARK
| reduces flaky scalp
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Plant extracts in the form of essential oils may also be used to add strength, luster, vitality and wonderful fragrance to your shampoos and cleaning products. Try one of our pre-blended essential oils at 1-3% in our shampoo. Our hair growth blend contains essentials oils that have been tested and shown to increase hair growth. Many of the oils below have been incorporated.
Essential Oils for Healthy Hair
CEDARWOOD
| useful for oily scalps, stimulates growth
| LEMON
| adds highlights and is useful for oily scalps and greasy hair
| LEMONGRASS
| anti-septic, anti-bacterial
| EUCALYPTUS
| anti-septic, anti-bacterial, refreshing
| JUNIPERBERRY
| good for oily hair, stimulating and balancing
| LAVENDER
| antiseptic, balancing, good for damaged hair
| TEA TREE
| anti-septic, anti-bacterial
| PALMAROSA
| brings out color, shine and softness, good for dry hair
| PATCHOULI
| balances oily scalp
| GERANIUM
| balancing, good for dry hair, stimulates growth
| ROSEMARY
| stimulates hair growth, natural conditioner
| SAGE
| stimulating, good for treating dandruff
| VETIVER
| good for treating oily scalps and healing sores
| GINGER
| stimulates circulation
| BASIL
| stimulates growth
| PETITGRAIN
| balances oily scalp
| BERGAMOT
| balances oily scalp
| SANDALWOOD
| treats dry scalp and hair
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There are many ways to add harmless highlights to various hair colors. Either use and extract or infuse the natural dry herb to your purified water before making your shampoo. I suggest a fully fresh but dried herb. Herbs that have not been fully dried will add moisture to the shampoo that will increase the risk of bacteria and fungal growth in your product. Our tea bags filled with botanicals may be infused in got distilled water to use as a base for your shampoo.
Botanicals for Special Hair Types
DULL HAIR
| Ginseng, Horsetail, Nettle, Rosemary and Sage, Cherry Bark
| DARK HAIR
| Nettle, Rosemary, Thyme, Walnut Husks, Purple Sage, Amla
| FAIR HAIR
| Chamomile, Mullein Flowers, Hibiscus Petal
| GRAY HAIR
| Sage, Rosemary, Amla, Bhringraj, Hibiscus Petal
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Specialty ingredients may significantly increase thickness, shine, and add highlights but a normal head of healthy hair needs only a simple, mild and safe cleanser. Some other more specialized ingredients you may use could include:
- Panthenol or Vitamin B5 will add thickness to the hair
- Proteins such as the Hydrolyzed Jojoba Protein with combat static and add shine
- Jojoba Aqua™ adds all the benefits of Jojoba oil such as moisture and gloss in a water soluble form.
- Lipsoft™ a refatting agent that contains a non-ionic surfactant blended with a fatty acid from Sunflower oil helps replace the oils that are stripped from skin and hair by washing. It’s meant to mimic the white fatty film found on a baby’s skin when they are born and is great for baby cleansing agents.
ABOUT SURFACTANTS
The term surfactant is a shortened word for "surface active agent". They are also known as detergents. There are several types of surfacants, which can be classified by their electrical charges. These charges also effect how mild they are and how they should be used. Our Purefactant™ Blend is a ready to use combination of non-ionic and amphoretic surfactants. It’s very mild with excellent foaming capabilities.
Amphoteric Surfactants have active molecules that bear both a positive and negative charge. Whether they hold a positive or negative charge is dependant on the pH of the system. They may behave like anionic surfactants (an agent in which the active molecule bears a negative electric charge) or a cationics (an agent which possesses a positive electrical charge). Amphoterics are used in shampoo systems formulated for dry or chemically treated hair due to their mildness and light conditioning properties. An example of a amphoretic surfactant is Cocobetaine.
Anionic Surfactants have active molecules with a negative electric charge. They are primarily used as high-foaming cleansing agents in shampoos and shower gels. Sodium Lauryl and Laureth Sulphage, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Laureth Sulphate are examples of anionic surfactants.
Nonionic Surfactants have active molecules that have no electrical charge and are usually mild cleansers with good conditioning properties. Examples of Nonionic Surfacts are the glucosides such as Polyglucose of Coco Glucoside.
Cationic Surfactants have active molecules with a positive charge. These surfactants usually have strong conditioning properties and are used in conditioners, moisturizing treatments and packs to reduce static electricity.
Combining Surfactants with different electric charges can render some rather harsh surfactants much less irritating. One example is the combination of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Coco Betaine.
MIXING INSTRUCTIONS
Shampoos and shower gels are easy to make. Many bases may be made up with no heating and are quick and simple. Most of our formulas may be made up in less than 10 minutes!
Usually the basic ingredient for your shampoo is distilled water or boiled rain- water. Distillation is necessary to remove sodium and other minerals that can alter the beneficial effects of natural substances.
Some surfactant mixes will be runny and you may want to use a thickener. There are many thickeners that may be used including simple table salt,t hickening options are gums such as guar gum and xanthan gum. They are a bit trickier to use and results will vary. If you choose to go this route mix them into your water base first to dissolve. Our AMAZE XT is extremely simple to use and makes a nice clear gel.
DIRECTIONS
Here are some pointers regarding how to measure out your ingredients. I always work in weight versus volume as it is more exact. For the most part when making shampoos and other body cleansing items you may measure out your surfactants and other liquid ingredients by volume (ounces or mls). The exceptions to this rule are the honey or glycerin as they are heavier than water. Additionally preservatives should always be measured exactly in order not to over preserve the product. These should be measured by weight (grams). When you view our formulas you will notice that they are in weights and always add up to 100%. This means that if you are making 1 liter of shampoo and it calls for 40% of a particular ingredient you will add 400mls. If you are making only 100mls and you add 40% then that will be 40mls. Once you get the hang of this method you will find it will be far easier to come up with your own special formulas. When adding ingredients that are not in the original formula delete the amount you are adding from the water portion. The percentage of surfactant should remain the same.
For example, here is a simple shampoo formula:
Surfactant 40% + Water 60% = 100%
You decide you want to add 5% Honey to it, your formula is now:
Water 55% + Honey 5% + Surfactant 50% = 100%
If you are working in weights and have a good scale that measures down to 1 gram you may use just one vessel to measure and mix all your ingredients. Add your ingredients 1 at a time into the single vessel that sits on the scale till you reach 100%. Alternately you may measure all the ingredients out ahead of time and then mix them in 1 at a time.
- Measure out your purified water. If you want to infuse your water with herbs heat your water slightly and then add the herbs. If you don't want to have to strain the water put your herbs into a tea ball or tea bags. Take note that you might want to use a bit more water as you will lose some when you strain the herbs out. You may add it now or add it at the end.
- If you are using moisturizers such as honey or glycerin or lactic acid mix them into your water next.
- Add your preservative and mix in well
- Measure out your surfactants and mix them in slowly by hand. Do not use a hand mixer unless the beater is completely submerged or you will have a layer of foam on top.
- If you are adding any oil based ingredients such as essential oils or vegetable oils mix them with equal amounts of Polysorbate 20 and then mix it into the mixture well.
- Next add any other water soluble ingredients that you may be using such as Vitamin B, or Botanical Extracts
- Pour them into your container. Your product is now ready for use!
View Our Shampoo Recipe Chart for explicit instructions:
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