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A bottle of shampoo in a pump bottle next to a wooden comb and a sprig of mint.

Natural DIY Clarifying Shampoo

Last Modified: September 30, 2018 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // September 30, 2018 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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Cleanse your hair gently with this DIY clarifying shampoo that uses natural surfactants to remove dirt and leave your hair clean and soft. #shampoo #diyshampoo #naturalsurfactants #naturalshampoo

Cleanse your hair gently with this DIY clarifying shampoo that uses natural surfactants to remove dirt and leave your hair clean and soft.

A homemade peppermint clarifying shampoo in a pump bottle next to peppermint sprigs and a wooden comb
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Because many of you have found me through my soap recipes (like my liquid Castile soap or my easy beginner soap), I often get requests for a soap-based shampoo. While I love making soap, I never use soap for my hair because it leaves my hair dry and unmanageable. Some people are able to cleanse their hair with Castile soap and are quite happy with it, but I’m not one of those people.

Why not use liquid Castile soap?

I’m not alone, though. Castile soap isn’t an ideal shampoo for hair because the pH of soap is high yet our hair and scalp have a more acidic pH. Not only can an alkaline shampoo increase the negative charge in the hair making the hair more prone to friction and damage, but it can also be irritating to your scalp.

In an attempt to remedy this issue, most people who wash their hair with soap or soap-based “shampoos” will follow it up with a vinegar rinse to lower the pH again. Not everybody reacts well to vinegar rinses either. I, again, am one of those people and I don’t like the feel of my hair after a vinegar rinse.

Choose natural surfactants

You want a “natural” alternative, but soap may not be the best option. So what’s left?

Natural surfactants, of course!

Surfactants have a bit of a bad rap. It’s partly because harsher surfactants like SLS Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate can be found in just about every conventional product at the supermarket. It can be found in everything from household cleaners to shampoos, shower gels, and even toothpaste! (You can make your own toothpaste sans SLS, too!)

I’m actually not even an SLS hater, to be honest. (Shocked?) I use it in my homemade version of Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds just like they do (I’ll share my recipe soon!), but I reserve it for general cleaning around the house. For my skin and hair, I choose milder, more natural surfactants instead!

With time, more natural surfactants are being developed to meet consumer demands! I wrote more about them and shared a list of some of my favorites in my post about working with natural surfactants! (If you aren’t familiar with natural surfactants, I recommend reading that post as a great starting point for making your own homemade products!)

Who is this shampoo best for?

Because this is a fairly gentle shampoo, it should work well with most, if not all, hair types.

Those who follow the curly girl method for developing waves or curls and keeping their hair hydrated can use this shampoo as a “low poo” alternative. (No, I didn’t come up with that term.) It makes a good starting point for beginning the process and for occasional washings when normally using co-wash.

You can use it as often as works best for your hair. I have been developing my natural waviness over the last few years by rarely using shampoos and sticking to very gentle ones when I do. I usually use this shampoo around once a week and for my other “washing,” I either co-wash with my homemade conditioner or I use a DIY conditioning shampoo. (Yet another recipe that I’ll be sharing with you shortly!)

Why make your own clarifying shampoo?

It’s very difficult these days to find shampoos free of harsher surfactants like SLS. When you make your own shampoo, you can control which surfactants you use.

Many shampoos also have other ingredients that may not be right for your hair. They may contain non-water soluble silicones, harsh preservatives, and artificial fragrances.

Photo of homemade peppermint clarifying shampoo in a pump bottle.

Customizing your DIY clarifying shampoo

What it comes down to, though, is that when you make a product, you can control the ingredients and customize the recipe to suit your needs. While most of us aren’t that in tune to our hair and will use just about any shampoo that doesn’t have harmful ingredients, those that are doing processes like the curly girl method to maintain perfectly hydrated curls and waves are often very in tune to what their hair needs in terms of vitamins and proteins. Your hair may show more need for protein, for example, so you can adjust the amount you add to your hair care products. Looking for a shampoo without protein, you can make it without too! Making your own shampoo allows you to fine tune it to perfectly suit your hair from batch to batch.

Vitamins and Proteins

In this shampoo, I chose to use d-panthenol (provitamin B5) to help nourish the hair, but you could also add some hydrolyzed wheat protein or silk protein to give your hair extra nutrients. (Just use the suggested range for each particular ingredients, as suggested by the supplier, and exchange any water-soluble additions for part of the water in the recipe.)

Distilled water or floral waters

In the shampoo in the photos, I actually used an infusion of peppermint leaves in distilled water as the water component of the recipe. I like mint for shampoos because it leaves your scalp feeling nice and refreshed, and just feels clean to me. That refreshing feeling is said to help stimulate the circulation in the scalp and may help stimulate hair growth.

A photo of a brown shampoo made with a peppermint tea next to a beaker with the same shampoo made with distilled water instead, the latter being a white color.
In this photo, you can see the difference in color between making the recipe as-is with distilled water vs. making it with an infusion.

Prefer to use a floral water or some other infusion? Go for it. It’s your shampoo. Nettle tea would also make a good base as nettle is also said to be great to help fight hair loss. You could have the best of both worlds by using a nettle infusion and some peppermint essential oils.

The surfactants

You can experiment by changing up some of the surfactants in this shampoo. I used a mix of non-ionic surfactants (coco glucoside and decyl glucoside) as well as an amphoteric surfactant (coco betaine) to help boost the foaming. Because my husband likes a lot of lather to his shampoo, and I’m not using any of the harsher anionic surfactants like SLS, I’m using a relatively high percentage of surfactants in this recipe. You can reduce the percentage of surfactants added to make for an even gentler shampoo, but you will probably find that it will also lather a bit less.

Homemade clarifying shampoo that is made with distilled water and lighter in color.
This shampoo was made with distilled water so it’s lighter in color.

Natural DIY Clarifying Shampoo

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Cleanse your hair gently with this DIY clarifying shampoo that uses natural surfactants to remove dirt and leave your hair clean and soft. #shampoo #diyshampoo #naturalsurfactants #naturalshampoo

DIY Clarifying Shampoo

Cleanse your hair gently with this DIY clarifying shampoo that uses natural surfactants to remove dirt and leave your hair clean and soft.
4.94 from 45 votes
Print Rate
Total time: 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 200 g
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Materials

  • 88 g distilled water (or infusion, or floral water)
  • 40 g coco betaine
  • 25 g coco glucoside
  • 25 g decyl glucoside
  • 10 g glycerin
  • 4 g xanthan gum
  • 4 g d-panthenol
  • 2 g peppermint essential oil or other essential oils of choice
  • 2 g sharomix or other natural preservative in percentage necessary for your chosen preservative

Instructions

  • Mix together the glycerin and xanthan gum until the xanthan gum is fully incorporated into the glycerin. Pre-mixing the xanthan gum into the glycerin will help ensure that you don’t get lumps in your shampoo as xanthan gum can be tricky to mix into water.
    mixing xanthan gum into glycerin in a beaker
  • Once you’ve incorporated the xanthan gum into the glycerin, you can begin to add the other ingredients. Slowly stir in each ingredient keeping in mind that vigorous stirring can cause foam production, making it more difficult to work with the shampoo.
    Adding the xanthan gum and glycerin mixture to the rest of the surfactants.
  • Once you’ve finished mixing together all of the ingredients, check the pH of the shampoo with a pH test strip. You want your shampoo to fall in a slightly acidic range. (A pH of 4-5.5 is an ideal range to aim for.) You also want to make sure that the pH is suitable for the preservative that you are using. 
  • If you need to adjust the pH, you can bring it down with the addition of a few drops of lactic acid or can raise the pH with either baking soda or sodium hydroxide (aka. lye). Otherwise, you are ready to bottle and use your natural homemade clarifying shampoo.
    Final homemade shampoo, made with distilled water, in a beaker, ready to be bottled.
Tried making this? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!
Category: Hair, Surfactants

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Previous Post:Pouring laundry detergent from a beaker into a bottle.A Beginner’s Guide to Working with Natural Surfactants
Next Post:How to Make Soy Sauce (Homemade Shoyu)Impress your friends and save money by making your own soy sauce from scratch. Today we'll learn how to make a homemade shoyu, a fermented Japanese soy sauce made from soybeans and wheat berries. #shoyu #soysauce

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth

    October 14, 2024 at 6:57 PM

    5 stars
    I just made this recipe. I noticed it’s not very bubbly. It was mostly like a cream. Is this correct or did I do something wrong? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      October 16, 2024 at 4:05 PM

      Hi Beth,
      It won’t be as sudsy as a shampoo with SLS, but it is gentler. If you prefer foam, I’d suggest trying the shampoo bar recipe as that gives a lot more suds. I’m considering testing a liquid shampoo with the natural solid surfactants I used in that recipe. They are anionic surfactants like SLS and, while gentler and “more natural,” they provide a lot of foam.

      Reply
  2. Naomi

    June 24, 2024 at 9:51 AM

    Hi. My shampoo turned out white, yet your picture is more orangey. Any ideas why that is?

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      June 24, 2024 at 6:51 PM

      Hi Naomi,
      I had used an infusion for that batch as an experiment for the water portion. I can’t remember which herb I used- I probably wrote about it within the post text.
      If you just use distilled water, it will be white. I actually prefer the white color, but you can definitely steep herbs in the water if you prefer a natural amber or darker color. If you do use an infusion, filter it well to keep as much “organic matter” out of the liquid as possible so your shampoo preserves better.

      Reply
      • Shanmugam Sundaram

        December 7, 2024 at 2:38 PM

        5 stars
        Hi, Tracy
        I have followed the exact receipe, but it was separated into two layers upper milky and lower oily after few hours.Any ideas why my shampoo is separating,
        Thank you..

        Reply
        • Tracy Ariza, DDS

          December 20, 2024 at 11:55 AM

          Hello!
          There are a lot of types of xanthan gum. I thought they would all be the same, but over the years I’ve seen a lot of variation! Some incorporate better than others- Others separate quite quickly.
          If you have one that is separating, you can try incorporating it better by blending it with an electric mixer. It’s not ideal for a shampoo because it will make some froth as you do that, and your shampoo will look opaque for quite a while until the air bubbles eventually go away. If that doesn’t bother you, though, it’s the best way to deal with the situation. I generally always blend mine these days as I prefer to make sure I have a stable product and don’t really care about the opaqueness.

          Reply
  3. beth

    June 17, 2024 at 10:10 PM

    Hi, would there be a substitute for coco glucoside? I have all the ingredients except this and I really want to try this recipe now, lol!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      June 24, 2024 at 7:33 PM

      Hi Beth,
      Do you have access to any of the other glucosides (Lauryl or decyl)? (Or other mild, non-ionic surfactants.) They’d be great alternatives.
      Non-ionic surfactants are good at emulsifying and can help cleanse better in harder water.
      You could also try it without- just subbing water for the CG. I prefer using combinations of different types of surfactants because the different surfactant types complement each other. (Some, like anionic surfactants, are harsher, but may cleanse some oils better, some boost foam, some help stabilize the foam, some make the mixture milder, etc.)
      In any case, it would still work as a shampoo, it would just be a bit different, but in a pinch you could at least give it a try.

      Reply
  4. Taruna

    May 23, 2023 at 10:34 AM

    thanks ,I was searching for ur recipe.just a question can we make hibiscus shampoo. or MLA bhringraj shampoo with this recipe.For preservatives can v add iscaguard pehg . thanks

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      August 26, 2023 at 6:46 PM

      Hello,
      You could add a hibiscus extract to your shampoo! As for the preservative, I’m not familiar with it, but I do have a guide to some natural preservatives that you can use!

      Reply
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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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