Eco-friendly and good for your hair, learn how to make a non-soap shampoo bar, why to make one, and how to use it.
What is a Shampoo Bar?
A shampoo bar is a solid cleanser that is meant for cleaning the hair. Shampoo bars have been gaining popularity lately because they have no need for plastic packaging, allowing them to be a zero waste type cosmetic product.
Why Use a Shampoo Bar?
There are several benefits to choosing a shampoo bar over a liquid type shampoo.
Sustainability
Because they are a solid-type product, no plastic bottle is needed for storing shampoo bars. When you make them yourself, there is absolutely no need for any sort of packaging whatsoever. Choosing to use a shampoo bar means that you can help reduce waste and eliminate the need for single-use plastics.
Travel-Friendly
With new restrictions on traveling with liquids, shampoo bars are a great TSA friendly alternative for those who want to fly with cosmetics in their carry on luggage.
Can you use a shampoo bar on your body?
Because the surfactants used are nice and gentle and the pH is also skin-friendly, you can use the shampoo bar on your body too. That makes it especially travel-friendly because you really only need to pack one bar for all over cleansing.
Preservative phobia?
While I think you should use a preservative when making this, as a precaution, shampoo bars are really the only type of surfactant based shampoo that you could get away with making without a preservative.
Because it doesn’t have any water-based ingredients in it, it technically doesn’t need a preservative. On the other hand, because you are contaminating the outside with water constantly, it still is a good idea to use one to keep microbes from growing on the surface of your bar.
If you are completely set against using a preservative, though, this is the only type of product where I’d say you could give it a try. If you do go that route, I’d suggest being careful about drying the bar immediately between uses and storing in a very dry environment.
Soap-Based Shampoo Bars vs. Surfactant Based (SYNDET) Shampoo Bars
There are several types of shampoo bars that are available for selling or for making yourself.
Soap-Based shampoo bars
While considered the most “natural,” soap based shampoo bars aren’t the best choice for most of us because of their high pH. Soap based shampoo bars are just that, soaps made with lye and oils just like the other soaps that I have shown you how to make on the blog.
Often times, people try to make soap bars slightly less harsh for hair by slightly lowering pH. That is done in an effort to make them better for hair. The problem is that the pH of soap can only be lowered slightly or you end up ruining it. Soap’s high pH is also what makes it self-preserving, meaning that it doesn’t need a preservative.
While most people’s skin can easily recover from using soap with its high pH, our hair is much more delicate. Most of our hair (other than the part in the follicle) is dead. For that reason, it can’t as easily recover from harsh conditions as our skin can. While you can condition your hair and smooth out the outer portion (the cuticle), making it look shinier and healthier, prolonged use of soap will normally damage hair.
When using a soap-based shampoo bar, you are normally told to do a final rinse with vinegar. The high pH of soap lift up the cuticle of your hair, making it look dry and dull. Because vinegar is acidic, that is meant to help close the cuticle and make your hair look healthier and shinier again.
Why make/choose a surfactant based (SYNDET) shampoo bar?
A synthetic detergent shampoo bar may sound like it would be harsher on your hair, but that isn’t really the case.
Many of us have been told that soap is good and natural and that “detergents” (other non-soap surfactants) are harsh and bad for us.
That misconception probably stems from the fact that most shampoos for sale use sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a popular (yet harsher) anionic surfactant. SLS is often used because it cleans very well and is quite inexpensive, but it also can irritate skin and strip skin and hair of their natural oils. (Yes, it may be cleaning too well, in a sense.) Fortunately for us, there are many types of milder surfactants available. As the demand rises for more natural, safer alternatives, the variety of available surfactants is increasing.
The advantage of using these more natural surfactants is that the pH can be adjusted to better suit our hair and keep it looking healthy. Soap, at the lower pH’s that we’re aiming for in hair care products (between pH=4-6) just isn’t soap anymore. Trying to lower the pH of soap that much would break it down. It’s impossible to make a soap-based shampoo bar in the ideal pH range for our hair.
If you do choose to use a soap-based shampoo bar, remember that it is important to follow it up with an acidic rinse. That can be achieved by rinsing your hair with diluted apple cider vinegar, for example.
How to use a Shampoo bar
Shampoo bars are actually quite simple to use. Using one is just like using a bar of soap. In fact, you can begin the process by lathering up the shampoo bar in your hands just as if you were washing them. Once you’ve worked up a lather, you can then rub your foamy hands over your hair and scalp, rubbing it in to work up a lather.
The other possibility is to take the shampoo bar and rub it over your wet hair until you’ve worked up the desired amount of lather. The only inconvenience to that method is that you are more likely to cover your shampoo bar with stray hairs.
Where to Store a Shampoo Bar
Once you’ve finished lathering up with the shampoo bar, you should rinse it and store it in a place where it can fully dry. Make sure that you don’t store it in a puddle of water or your shampoo bar could easily disintegrate.
I normally stand my shampoo bar up so that it is resting on one of the smaller edges, this allows for the maximum amount of air circulation around it. (It’s also why I prefer making a rectangular bar to a round one like the ones made by Lush.)
If you do plan on storing in a travel tin, make sure that the bar has completely dried before you store your bar or it could melt into a mushy mess.
Watch How Easy it is to Make a Shampoo Bar
How to Make a Shampoo Bar?
Shampoo Bar
Materials
- 45 g SCI
- 20 g SLSA
- 18 g coco glucoside
- 8 g coco betaine
- 3 g shea butter
- 2 g BTMS (I used BTMS-25)
- 2 g b-panthenol
- 1 g preservative
- 1 g essential oils
- .5 g vitamin e
Instructions
- Weigh out the surfactants (the SCI, SLSA, coco glucoside, and coco betaine), the shea butter, and the BTMS in a double boiler insert, or in a bowl that can be heated over a pan of boiling water.
- Begin to slowly heat and melt the ingredients over a double boiler, stirring until the ingredients have fully melted.
- This mixture is very thick and difficult to work with, so it’s really impossible to let it cool before mixing in the other ingredients. You’ll want to remove the mixture from your heat source and add in the other ingredients, working quickly.
- Do your best to fully incorporate the preservative, vitamins, and essential oils. Immediately press the mixture into a bar mold. I use silicone molds meant for bars of soap.
- You can help smooth the top of your bar by placing a sheet of parchment or wax paper over the mixture in the mold. Carefully rub over the top of the bar to smooth it.
- Optionally test the pH of your shampoo bar by running some water over the finished bar and testing the lather with a pH test strip. Because this is a solid product, it’s impossible to otherwise test the pH.
We’re looking for the pH of the lather obtained using your shampoo bar in your water (with whatever preservative you chose to use, and whatever optional ingredients you may have added).
This will help us determine if it would be best to adjust the pH of our next batch. The pH can be lowered by adding a few drops of lactic acid. (It’s unlikely that you’d want to raise the pH, but that can be done with some NaOH carefully dissolved in water.) - Once your shampoo bar has cooled, you can remove it from the mold and allow it to dry further. Unlike homemade soap, this shampoo bar can be used immediately. If it’s too soft, though, you can let in harden up slightly by leaving it to dry for a few days. (This can occur in regions with high humidity.)
Customizing your homemade shampoo bar
This shampoo bar uses a mixture of liquid and solid surfactants. Depending on the humidity of your region, you may want to adjust the ratio of solid to liquid surfactants in order to obtain a harder or softer shampoo bar.
The solid surfactants
SCI is short for Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate. It’s the first of the solid surfactants used and is also sometimes called “baby foam” because it is a gentle surfactant, mild enough for use in baby products. It’s derived from coconuts. SCI can be tricky to work with, but worth it because it’s such a great surfactant that works well in both soft and hard water. It’s normally sold as a powder or fine granule.
SLSA is short for Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. It’s an ECOCERT certified surfactant that gives off a lot of foam. Because it can be derived from both coconut and palm oils, it’s a good idea to look for providers that either derive it only from coconut oil, or use sustainably obtained palm oil.
The liquid surfactants
Coco glucoside is one of my favorite mild and natural surfactants. It’s a gentle non-ionic surfactant and I’ve used it already in several recipes, including my DIY micellar water and the liquid clarifying shampoo.
Coco betaine is another coconut oil-derived natural surfactant that is often combined with coco glucoside because they work together well to form a nice foam and together have better cleansing properties.
Conditioning agents
Even though the surfactants that I have chosen are mild, it’s still a good idea to add some emollients or other conditioning agents. In my bar, I’ve chosen to use shea butter and BTMS. BTMS-25 is the cationic emulsifier that I use in my favorite homemade conditioner. (Soon I’ll be showing you how to make a solid conditioner bar too!) While these are optional ingredients, I think it’s a good idea to use them to help protect your hair.
Vitamins
I chose to use both vitamin E and b-panthenol in my shampoo bar. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that when used at .5-1% of the recipe helps keep other oils from going rancid. B-panthenol is also known as provitamin B5, and it can act as a humectant, helping to attract moisture into our hair, as well as to help nourish it. While these are also optional ingredients, they are a very welcome addition to your shampoo bar. I use both of these vitamins in most of my homemade skin and hair care products.
Preservative
I’d suggest using a preservative in your shampoo bar because it will be used in a humid environment, and you’ll likely be getting it wet quite often. You’ll want to make sure the pH of your bar is in an effective range for whatever preservative you choose (and you’ll need to use it at the recommended percentage). I’ve been using Sharomix 705, an ECOCERT certified natural preservative which can be used at around 1% of the recipe by weight. For it to be effective, the product needs to have a pH below 5.5.
If you are dead set against using a preservative, do so at your own risk. You’ll need to be very careful about keeping the bar in a very dry environment and making sure you can dry it out fully as quickly as possible.
Marcella Lemos
Thank you some much for this recipe and for detailing it for us.
I am wondering if I could use only SCI instead of SLS +SCI. I have all the other ingredients, expect the SLS.
Love you website! Big hug from Brazil 🙂
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Marcella,
You can definitely give it a try. I should do some further experimentation and find easier combinations that also work. I usually mix a variety of types of surfactants to get the beneficial properties of each of them. (Some add lather, some stabilize it, some add mildness, etc.)
In the end, though, if you’re making it yourself for yourself, and you aren’t picky with your bar having a perfect amount of lather (or type), you can definitely try with just a couple of them. (You may have to experiment a bit to get the right consistency- and sub solid surfactants for another solid one, etc.)
Natalie
I was asking if you have suggestions for different surfactants in this recipe. I have a coconut allergy.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Natalie,
I’ve asked experts about this, and I’m afraid I don’t really have a good answer from you. Most surfactants do have coconut. For most people with coconut sensitivities, it isn’t enough o cause issues, but obviously, that’s not true for everybody. Even the same surfactant can vary in the way it was made from supplier to supplier. You’d have to try to find a supplier that has non-coconut surfactants, but I’m not sure what those would be.
Holly Galea
Hi Tracy,
Where do you buy your surfactants? I’m also based in the EU, have browsed online in a number of places but not finding them readily available. Ex: SCI.
Btw, love your page! Informative and well-thought out. thank you!!
Holly
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Holly,
I generally buy from cremas-caseras.es, jabonarium, and Gran velada.
Brianna
Hello! For the conditioning agents in the bar, would it be ok to substitute the shea butter and btms for things such as fresh aloe vera gel, liquid oils such as sunflower, and herbal moisturizing teas such as hibiscus? I have locks so conditioning agents such as btms and thick butters like shea don’t always easily wash out of my hair. And if I’m able to use more water-based teas and liquid oils, would I use the same amount of grams that you used for the btms and shea butter? Thank you for your reply in advance!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
You can sub out those ingredients for other, but…
The problem would be reaching a solid consistency. If you take out the solid ingredients and exchange them for liquid ingredients, you won’t end up with a bar anymore.
I add the BTMS to give a bit of conditioning to the bar to compensate for the more stripping action of the surfactants. You don’t really need it, but you’d have to experiment with a mix of ingredients that would give a solid bar.
Amanda
Hi, I was wondering if you have tried coloring your shampoo bars and if so what did you use? Thank you so much. 🙂
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Amanda,
I actually haven’t. I’d maybe try with a mica powder if I were going to do it, but I’m not really sure.
Bernadit Seman
Hi Tracy,
I am new in soap making. My goal is make a shampoo bar for my thinning, dry, brittle damaged hair. I couldn’t understand those ingredients abbreviations. Can you spell the full name for all , so I can buy them & start my shampoo bars. Thank you
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Bernadit,
I was just looking over the post, and see that I didn’t spell out the full name of the surfactants until after the recipe card. (It’s in the customization section.)
I’ll make sure to clear that up when I update this post. (I’m constantly updating posts on the blog to make them clearer and to add new information and tips, when possible.)
Anyway, for now, I can say that SCI is short for Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate. SLSA is short for Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate. BTMS is pretty much always sold as such, but it is Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol. It’s an emulsifier that is really conditioning for the hair because it is cationic.
I hope that helps. If you have more questions about any ingredients, let me know!
Catherine
Hello, where can I buy SCI? I have searched and cannot find it. Thank you!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Catherine,
It will really depend on where you live. I buy locally here in Spain from a place called cremas-caseras.es.
Cynthia
Hello Tracy,
Can I substitute the SLS with Sodium Coco Sulfate?
If not can you tell me where can I get the SLS please.
Thank you for your time.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Cynthia,
That’s probably fine.
Just make sure to sub out solid ones for other solid ones and ideally, try to stay with the same class of surfactant.
(In this case, they are both anionic and both solid.)
You may need to make adjustments for hardness of the bar, etc., but that should be simple enough with a bit of experimentation.
Poet
Can I use liquid germall plus or would liquid germall plus be a better choice?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hello,
Yes, it should be fine to use.
Kathy
Tracy, Thanks so much for sharing. I calculated the ASM (subbed Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside for the Coco Betaine) and came up with over 50%. Is that normal for a syndet soap bar? Seems quite high as liquid shampoos are typically in the AVERAGE range of 15% (some higher, some lower). I’ve checked the ASM in all my surfactants and the SCI is the highest @ 81% even though it is supposed to be a very mild. Is there a concern for the higher ASM?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Kathy,
Yes, that’s normal.
Liquid shampoos are mostly water, so they are going to have a lot less active matter than a solid shampoo.
In the case of a bar, it’s combining with the water from the shower. So little is getting used each time, that you may actually be using less surfactant than you would be with a liquid one. (I’d almost guess that you are using less.)
I still have the same bars I made a long time ago. I made several and we’ve used them at home and have traveled with them. As they’ve gotten smaller, I’ve pressed them together, when wet, to make one bar out of two, etc. My point is, though, that they last a long time because you really aren’t using much at once. With liquid shampoo, people tend to pour or pump out quite a bit to rub all over their scalp and hair. It’s a bit different.
When using the bar, I usually create a lather in my hands and use that on my hair. What’s actually getting put into my hair has already been diluted in my hands, if that makes sense. Even if you rub the bar directly on your hair, though, it needs water to work. I can’t imagine having issues with it. My hair is pretty fine and I love these. 😉
Kathy
Tracy, thanks so much for explaining. I had looked at other websites but just couldn’t find the answer to my query. Makes perfect sense now–so I’ll just quit trying to calculate ASM for the bars.
Cheers,
raphaelle
Hello,
I am wondering if it’s possible to substitute the SLSA for SCS (Sodium Coco Sulphate)?
Thanks!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Raphaelle,
You can definitely give it a try.
Just make sure to sub out solid ones for other solid ones and ideally, try to stay with the same class of surfactant.
(In this case, they are both anionic and both solid.)
You may need to make adjustments for hardness of the bar, etc., but that should be simple enough with a bit of experimentation.