Hi everyone! Today I’d like to share a shampoo recipe that I received in a newsletter from Mountain Rose Herbs by Rosalee de la Foret.
First I want to share with you my shampoo search journey that lasted ten years! For ten years, I tried different shampoos that were not so chemical laden and that would be more natural and healthy for my hair, including so-called organic shampoos that were nothing but FAKE organic shampoos! They ended up being worse for my hair as my hair felt like straw, was dry and I hated the way it felt and looked.
When I started reading up on how commercial shampoos contained sodium lauryl sulfate (which is an ingredient used as a car degreaser, and who wants that on their hair?), and then parabens which are used as preservatives and very dangerous for our health, often causing cancer, I went on a journey to find THE PERFECT shampoo! Needless to say, after many brands and feeling very unfulfilled in finding THAT shampoo, I decided to go back to regular shampoo as I felt I was wasting my money.
I am very excited to present to you a homemade shampoo that has all natural ingredients with no preservatives and that is healthy and scrumptious for your hair!
Ingredients:
- 8 oz distilled water
- 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoons of dried rose petals
- 3 ounces liquid castile soap
- 3 Tablespoon aloe vera gel
- ¼ teaspoon of jojoba oil
- 30 drops of pure rosemary essential oil
To make it easier, you can find all the ingredients HERE.
Place the rosemary and the rose petals into a jar.
Fill the jar with boiling water and immediately place a lid over the jar.
Let this mixture steep for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can also just let the mixture stand until cool.
Strain the herbs. Let the remaining liquid cool to room temperature.
Place the liquid into a shampoo bottle. (You can buy a new shampoo-like bottle or simply store it in an old shampoo bottle that has been washed out.)
Add the castile soap to the container.
Then add the jojoba oil and essential oil.
And finally add the aloe vera gel.
Shake well and voila! You have your own handmade herbal shampoo. You’ll want to shake this mixture each time before you use it.
This shampoo should last for several weeks. If you think it will take you longer than that to use the entire contents of your bottle, you may consider keeping a portion of it in the fridge to prolong the shelf life.
If you don’t have distilled water (you can buy it at any grocery store), you can use regular water – but this may lead to a shorter shelf life. The distilled water ensures that you aren’t adding any bacteria to the mix.
Variations:
(Feel free to mix and match herbs. This recipe uses about 3 teaspoons of dried herbal material.)
If you have blonde or lightly colored hair you might want to use chamomile and calendula in your herbal mix.
For a dark blend you can mix nettle, sage, and black walnut hulls.
For dry hair, try violet leaf and marshmallow root and possibly add more oil to your recipe.
To strengthen your hair, simmer horsetail, oatstraw, and nettle for twenty minutes. Strain and cool. Use this as your herbal base.
Besides rosemary essential oil you might also enjoy chamomile, lavender, and sage essential oils. If you have an itchy scalp and/or dandruff you might try adding tea tree oil to the mix.
Besides jojoba oil, you can try almond oil, sesame oil, or even olive oil. Note: olive oil will leave more of a greasy feeling than jojoba or sesame oil. If you have really dry hair you can add a bit more oil to your recipe. If you have really oily hair, stick to the jojoba oil and possibly add less to your recipe.
All the pictures in this article are from Mountain Rose Herbs.
