Main ingredients in  a natural shampoo

Have you ever wondered what a shampoo is made of ? When we demand a shampoo to be 100% natural, is this possible ? Certainly is not as easy as to find natural skincare . It is possible to find high standard of natural skincare that will 100% natural and 0% preservatives and synthetics.

But what happens in the case of shampoos and hair conditioners and hair styling products ? This way more difficult as for example shampoo -liquid shampoo- is a water-based product which requires  to follow certain guidelines and ingredients.

I don’t want to get very technical and sound boring but a shampoo is basically a mixture of surfactants, water a preservative but this will a VERY basic shampoo. If we want to add natural goodness  and enhance the benefits to this shampoo then we must to add wonderful oils , essential oils, botanical extracts ,, phytocosmetics ingredients and vitamins to make a really nice shampoo , that smells beautiful , leave our hair clean, soft and shiny  and if it tackles any specific hair problem i.e dandruff, frizzy hair, psoriasis scalp, that would be even better …every person’s dream , isn’t it ? We want to get away from the popular and bad reputation of SLS (sodium laureth sulfate) which is in 99% of all shampoos , shower gels , facial washes , and even this very trendy micellar water and many more products. SLS is a cheap surfactant that lathers and makes a lot of bubbles …so cheap and cheerful. The good news are there are many other surfactants (plant derivatives ) that can be used to make a lovely shampoo without being skin aggressive and still does the job.

Making a SLS free shampoo and hair conditioner

Here is a selection of best plant oils for haircare, but the bad news if you love oils the same crazy way I do, you must add very little percentage in a shampoo as it will compromise the foam .

Meadowfoam seed oil

Jojoba oil

Moringa oil

Broccoli seed oil (you never knew that oil could be extract from this food plant, did you ?)

Poppy seed oil

Argan oil

Hempseed oil

Camellia seed oil

Best essential oils for haircare

Lemon, Camphor, Cedarwood, Petitgrain, Sage, Rosemary, Rosewood, Ylang-ylang, Blue Chamomile, ginger, juniper, white birch, yarrow , peppermint, cade, cinnamon, eucalyptus, lavender, Bergamot.

Some essential oils can have a significant effect on surfactants and especially citrus (my favourite ) essential oils will thin the shampoo.

I will talk about shampoo bars in another blogpost. They are very cool and the formula allows to include beautiful nourishing butters and clays, and many more which are so so good for your hair.

Red clay , Lavender and Rosewood shampoo bar

Read more information about my  next natural haircare workshop on the 17th of June in Dublin here