Making Your Own Herbal Hair Shampoo

In 1990 I decided not to use the commercially made shampoos after reading Aubrey Hampton’s book, “Natural Organic Hair and Skin Care.” In this book Aubrey tells you how to read the label on any product that you put on your skin or hair.

Manufacturers are constantly using toxic chemicals in their skin and hair products and disregard their toxic effects on your body. This is easily seen in the list of chemicals that they use. Here are a few of these chemicals found in many product labels:

1 propylene glycol or glycol– a petrochemical used because it is cheap
2 cetearyl alcohol – emulsifier that can be synthetic or natural
3 methylparaben or propylparaben – typical synthetic preservatives
4 distearate – this is polyethylene glycol or polypropylene glycol which are petrochemicals
5 isopropyl alcohol – used as a cheap solvent to carry synthetic oils.

Here is a natural shampoo that you can make. This formulation is something that I have been using for many years. First collect the following items:

4 oz of castile soap with any scent is that available – plain, peppermint, eucalyptus.

½ oz of rosemary - stimulates the hair follicles and helps to prevent premature baldness

½ oz of sage – has antioxidants and keeps things from spoiling and is antibacterial

½ oz of nettles – acts as a blood purifier, blood stimulator, contains a large source of nutrients for hair growth

½ of lavender – controls the production of sebaceous gland oil and reduces itchy and flaky scalp conditions


2000 mg of MSM – provides organic sulfur to your scalp, which improves the health and strength of your hair. It also helps to drive herbal nutrient into the skin and follicles where they can do the most good.

One empty 8 oz plastic bottle, or any other empty shampoo or soap bottle.

Mix the herbs in a mason jar, which has a lid. Boil 2 cups of distilled water. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of the mixed herbs into the boiling water. Pull the boiling water and herbs off the stove. Let the herb mixture sit for 30 – 40 minutes. Put the 2000mg of MSM into the herb mixture after 30 minutes of cooling. After 40 minutes and the MSM is melted, strain the herbal mixture into a bowl.

Pour 2 to 2 1/2 oz of strained herbal tea into the 8 oz plastic bottle. Now, pour the 4 oz of castile soap into the 8 oz plastic bottle. Cap the bottle and shake to mix the ingredients.

The shampoo is now finished and ready for use. Use this as a base for all of the shampoos you make. You can add different herbs as you learn what these herbs do and how they help your hair. You can vary the ingredients according to your taste. But now you have a shampoo that has no additives that can harm you

Home Remedies For Shiny Hair

We all love our hair and would not mind taking that extra step to take care of it. For beautiful, lustrous and shiny hair use these simple home remedies.

• A tea and beer rinse is one of the oldest ways to bring shine to your hair. Boil used tea leaves in enough water, let it cool and then use this liquid as the last rinse.

• In the similar fashion you can use flat beer (i.e. after letting the fizz out). This is a great conditioner to be used for your hair.

• Lemon juice mixed with water can also be used as a last rinse to give your hair a shiny and bouncy look.

• A shiny look is also provided if you use vinegar for your final rinse.

• To bring that shine one can use honey to keep your scalp moisturized. You can make honey lotion for your hair by mixing 3 teaspoons of honey for pint of water.

• The use of henna as a natural conditioner proves to be very beneficial for your hair. It helps to bring back the bounce and flair of your hair which has been lacking for quite a while.

• You can add small amount of baking soda in the shampoo which, removes dirt and grease from your hair to give you the shiny look


To remove the dirt and other matter from your hair you can use one fourth cup of apple cider vinegar in one gallon of condensed water. This can be stored in the refrigerator and can be used every two weeks for clean, smooth, silky and shiny hair. The proper way to use this solution is to wet your hair with warm water, shampoo it later rinse it. Pour two cups of this mixture and leave it in your hair for sometime. The last stage is to rinse your hair with cold-water.

• To get that extra shine for your hair brew one cup of strong espresso, let it cool. Pour the espresso over your dry hair and leave it for 20 minutes. Rinse it to get the extra shine and glow.

• You can also make Egg shampoo at home which requires 1 egg, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon castile soap, 1/2 a cup water or herbal tea and last but not the least 5 drops of essential oils of your choice. Blend all these together to make an Egg shampoo which can bring shine to your hair.

• Many of us who want to clean their hair use shampoos. Try this for a change, massage baking soda into your hair and scalp. This absorbs oil and loosens the dead skin on the scalp. Rinse it thoroughly with water. In the initial stages the hair would be dry but after several weeks you would be dandruff free with smooth and shiny hair.