Natural 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.
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.
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.
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.
Natural DIY Clarifying Shampoo
DIY Clarifying Shampoo
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
- 2 g xanthan gum
- 4 g d-panthenol
- 2 g peppermint essential oil or other essential oils of choice
- 2 g preservative (use the recommended amount for your preservative)
Instructions
- Mix the xanthan gum into the glycerin until fully incorporated. This helps prevent clumping later on when it’s added to the rest of the shampoo.
- Once the xanthan gum is fully incorporated, begin adding the remaining ingredients, stirring gently as you go. Avoid mixing too vigorously, as this can create excess foam and make the shampoo harder to work with.
- Once everything is fully mixed, check the pH using a test strip. You want it to fall within a slightly acidic range, ideally around pH 4–5.5, and to be compatible with the preservative you’re using.
- If needed, adjust the pH with a few drops of lactic acid to lower it, or a small amount of baking soda or sodium hydroxide (lye) to raise it. Once it’s where you want it, the shampoo is ready to bottle and use.
Hi. My shampoo turned out white, yet your picture is more orangey. Any ideas why that is?
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.
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..
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.
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!
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.
Hi, thank you so much for a lovely site. My hole family now uses this shampoo, and it leaves the hair clean, shiny and eliminates the need for conditioner for my youngest (2 5 y.o). I have serious problems dissolving the xantham gum/glycerine mix with the other ingredients. The xanthan gum/glycerine mix is more like a disc of gum rather than a liquid. I’ve had no other choice than to mix it all with an immersion blender. Then it gets foamy and more like a mousse. Still works great though. I use germall as a preservative, and add a little bit of lactic acid (half a teaspoon for double recipe) to adjust pH to around 6. Any advice how I should proceed to dissolve the xanthan gum/glycerine mixture with the other ingredients? (Btw I’m using a glycerine-extraction of mint leaves from my garden as I prefer this over adding the essential oil).
Hi Marius,
It sounds like the xanthan gum may be hydrating before it fully disperses, which can form that “disc” you described.
Try sprinkling the xanthan gum very slowly into the glycerin while stirring so it disperses evenly. Once it’s fully incorporated, add the rest of the ingredients gradually.
Using a blender does work, but as you noticed it tends to introduce a lot of foam.
Perhaps I’ve missed it but where do you source the ingredients please?
Hi Jas,
I live in Spain, so I get my supplies locally. (Most of my readers are from the US, so I rarely talk about my sources.)
Most of these ingredients can be found from suppliers that sell soapmaking or cosmetic ingredients. Online cosmetic ingredient shops usually carry surfactants like coco glucoside and decyl glucoside.
The exact stores depend on where you live, but searching for “cosmetic ingredient suppliers” or “DIY cosmetic ingredients” usually brings up good options.
I’m no poo and make home made leave in conditioner from aloe Vera gel. I’m lucky enough to have lots of aloe Vera plants in my garden. And it moisturizes my very dry hair really well. Only one ingredient – the gel from inside the leaves, after rinsing out the yellow latex I give the gel a whizz in the blender then slather it on my hair and air dry, or dry with a diffuser. No frizz and beautiful well defined shines waves/curls 😊
Hi Edith,
That’s great that it’s working so well for you. Fresh aloe gel can be really nice for hair, especially for defining curls and helping with frizz.
Thanks for sharing what you’re doing!
What is the shelf-life of this shampoo? Should it be kept in the fridge? Thanks for this!
Hi Esin,
If you add a preservative and keep the pH in the appropriate range for that preservative, it should keep for several months at room temperature.
Without a preservative, it should be kept in the fridge and used within about a week.
What does “clarifying” mean in this case? Thank you
Hi Ana,
In this case, “clarifying” just means that it helps remove buildup from the hair. I formulated this shampoo with a slightly higher percentage of surfactants so it cleans well and removes oils, styling products, and other residue.
The surfactants used are pretty gentle, though. I personally use this type of shampoo once or twice a week rather than every day. If you wanted something for daily use, you could lower the surfactant percentage a bit.
I’m actually planning to share a gentler daily shampoo version in the future.
Hi there
Can I make shampoo with the same measurements except decyl glucoside since I cannot find id in my country. Or what surfctant can I use instead decyl? Thank you soo muchh❤️❤️❤️
Hi Zlata,
You can usually replace decyl glucoside with another mild liquid surfactant. Coco glucoside is often the easiest substitute if you can find it.
If you use another surfactant, the thickness and lather may change slightly, but it should still work well.
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
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!
Hello and thanks for your great recipe.
I am very happy that this recipe dosent contain SCI because its not easy to obtain it where I live. one question: Can I formulate these recipe to make a shampoo bar?
Hi Razieh,
This particular formula is designed as a liquid shampoo. Shampoo bars usually use different surfactants (like SCI or SLSa) that work better in solid form.
So it wouldn’t work well to turn this exact recipe into a bar, but I do have a shampoo bar recipe on the blog you could try.
Searching your site for the moisturizing shampoo. Am I missing it somehow, or you have not posted it yet?
Hi Christina,
I probably never got around to posting it. I wasn’t feeling very well for quite a long time and realized it was my high oxalate diet that was really making it so that I couldn’t focus or get anything done. I’m now feeling much better and getting more published, but I have a lot to catch up on. I do plan on getting out a lot more DIY posts in the near future. (This week my focus is on overhauling the toothpaste and oral care section!)
Thank you! I really love your site. Can’t wait to make the shampoo and conditioner.
Thanks! Wishing you the best of luck with it! I hope you enjoy it!
I keep trying to sign up for your newsletter, but having difficulty. Could you please add me?
Hi Christina,
Sorry about that. I actually switched email providers for a while and wasn’t sending newsletters during that period, which may have been part of the issue.
I’m getting things going again now and the signup forms are working on the site. If you’re still interested, you can subscribe here:
https://thethingswellmake.com/subscribe/
Thanks for your patience!