Most shop-bought products are loaded with chemicals and harsh ingredients, which, over time damage the hair and the scalp.
Unfortunately, the damaging effects of these chemical-laden products are hidden from us over the short term. Mostly because we are distracted by the synthetic smells and texture that these chemicals leave in our hair.
Over time though, the true damage begins to show from all of these chemicals (such as selenium sulfide). This leaves our hair vulnerable to hair loss, with an itchy and irritated scalp, dry, brittle hair, and damaged hair follicles.
Much like making a home-cooked meal, with your homemade shampoos, you will know exactly what ingredients have gone into it.
You can tailor the ingredients to suit your needs specifically. And you can save on the cost, just like eating at home rather than eating out.
Most of all, you don’t have to worry about the smell and texture of your shampoo, which is how most of us make our buying decisions, but these features require harsh chemicals and unnecessary perfumes.
As you’ll see, you can make your own shampoo that’s good enough to eat.
We all have different hair types and different skin types. So why use a one-size-fits-all approach? Why not use just natural ingredients that suit you best?
If the harsh chemicals found in commercial products do one thing that is more damaging than anything else, it is stripping away the natural oils from the scalp and the base of the hair follicle.
These oils are there for a reason – they protect and nourish the hair follicle. Without these natural oils, the hair follicles are much more likely to wither and die.
Unfortunately, our modern diets can produce an excess of unnatural sebum.
In this article, we’ll use our base ingredients and then add to that a finely tuned mixture of essential oils.
We use essential oils because they are natural and are the perfect ingredients to protect the hair.
Essential oils also absorb naturally into your scalp, helping to nourish and protect it. Because they are natural, mostly from plants our body welcomes them.
Unlike harsh chemicals which the body rejects and doesn’t want getting inside the body it reacts and creates a barrier.
This barrier is caused by the chemicals our natural oils can’t get out and the chemicals just sit on the scalp causing itching. This is why everything must be natural.
Because essential oils are extremely potent it is important to use them sparingly. Dilute any essential oil in a carrier oil, such as olive oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil.
As a rule of thumb, 1 drop of essential oil should be diluted with at least 5ml of carrier oil.
Using The Right Cleansing Agent and Container
You will need a good container to store the base formula in. You can re-use an old shampoo bottle or purchase a squeezable plastic bottle, which makes it extremely easy to apply to your hair.
In each shampoo recipe, there is a base-cleansing agent. In these recipes, we’ll use either baking soda, apple cider vinegar, or liquid castile soap.
My go-to choice as a cleansing agent is 1 teaspoon of baking soda + 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per wash of my hair. These ingredients are extremely easy to find and cheap to buy.
I particularly like to use the apple cider vinegar base for my shampoo if I’m in a hard water area where calcium carbonate deposits are more likely.
Liquid castile soap is a gentle cleansing agent made from plant-based oils like olive and coconut. It has a nice foaming effect so is popular for natural homemade shampoos.
How To Use These Shampoo Recipes Effectively
These recipes aren’t a magic bullet. They won’t re-grow your hair alone. But they are absolutely 100x better than any shop-bought product.
I recommend you browse through the recipes and pick one that you like the sound of depending on your hair type (normal, dry, or oily) and go from there.
Don’t be afraid to create your own as well. Just follow the formula of cleansing agent + carrier oil + essential oil and go from there. The herbs are also a great addition.
Our hair and our bodies need a variation of micro-nutrients and minerals, and the best way to get these is from a large variety of different sources.
Hair Loss Shampoo For Normal Hair
This is my maple syrup and carrot seed recipe which works great for normal hair types.
Ingredients:
- Liquid castile soap (1/2 cup)
- Maple syrup (2 tablespoons)
- Carrot seed essential oil (5-10 drops)
- Castor oil (10 drops)
Instructions:
Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a container of your choice. Pour over wet hair and massage into the scalp for 2-3 minutes before rinsing out thoroughly.
Hair benefits:
The carrot seed oil purifies and stimulates the scalp with its vitamin content and also has anti fungal properties. The carrot also improves circulation and can stimulate hair growth.
Maple syrup is soothing and nourishing, whilst also having antibacterial properties. Castor oil acts as the carrier oil for the carrot seed essential oil, in this situation and it nourishing and hydrating in itself.
Homemade Shampoo For Oily Hair
This is a particularly useful recipe for anyone with a greasy or oily scalp. The ingredients help work together to regulate the production of oils, whilst mopping up and absorbing excess oil.
If you do have problems with excessively oily or greasy hair this can be fixed by optimising your diet. There are lots of things you can do to reduce this oil production, for example, removing as many processed foods from your diet as possible.
One quick way to remove this excess oil from your body is by taking a greens supplement every day.
For example, a mixture of wheatgrass powder, spirulina powder, and chlorella powder will immediately help to absorb excess oils and are full of chlorophyll which helps deliver oxygen to the follicles.
Anyway, here is the shampoo recipe for greasy hair.
Ingredients:
- Warm Water (1 cup)
- Baking Soda (1 tablespoon)
- Apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon)
- Citrus Essential Oil (5 drops)
- Grapefruit Juice (1/3 cup)
- Grapeseed Oil (2-3 teaspoons)
Instructions:
Mix the ingredients thoroughly in your container of choice, be careful about the apple cider vinegar and baking soda reacting to create extra gas – don’t make the container airtight. Apply to wet hair and massage into the scalp before rinsing out.
Hair benefits:
Baking soda + apple cider vinegar is one of the best and most natural cleansing agents there is, and its perfect for greasy hair where it gently dissolves and washes away excess oils without stripping any essential oils like regular shampoos.
The citrus essential oil is perfect for cleansing oily hair and removing the oily sebum from an unhealthy diet. Citrus contains antioxidants, magnesium, potassium, and folate. You can also add a few drops of magnesium oil which will help with hair loss by reducing calcification of the hair follicles.
Grapefruit juice cleans and revitalizes with high vitamin content and a gentle acidic structure.
Grapeseed has been known to reduce hair loss and provide omega-3 fatty acids, which protect the scalp and hair follicles.
My Shampoo Recipe For Dry and Brittle Hair
Ingredients:
- Water (1/2 cup)
- Liquid Castile Soap (1/2 cup)
- Aloe Vera Gel (1/3 cup)
- Olive oil (1 teaspoon)
- Almond Oil (2-3 teaspoons)
- Geranium Essential Oil (10 drops)
Instructions:
Mix the ingredients thoroughly and lather on to wet hair before massaging into the hair and scalp for complete coverage. You can keep the mixture in for 1-3 minutes before rinsing out thoroughly and towel drying. Use within a month or so.
Hair benefits:
The aloe vera contains enzymes that help to naturally balance the pH level of your scalp, which helps to promote hair growth and combat baldness. Olive oil helps to hydrate and protect the hair from breakage without being greasy and clogging the skin.
Almond oil has high quantities of magnesium and is moisturizing and stimulating, and also helps to soothe inflammation and irritation in the scalp.
Geranium essential oil is a great way to boost circulation to the scalp thereby improving hair health and reducing hair loss considerably and is also considered to be an anti-inflammatory.
Hair Loss Shampoo For Dandruff
Dandruff is a very common problem and can also be connected with hair loss. For this reason, I’ve also been on the hunt for a good dandruff shampoo.
Unfortunately, most dandruff shampoos that you can buy from a shop are useless and only make the matter worse in the long term because of all the harsh chemicals they use. Here’s my review of Head and Shoulders.
The quickest and most effective way to fix dandruff is through your diet. There is no other way that makes such a big impact.
You’ll want to clean your diet of all processed foods and start eating a lot more high-quality natural plant-based fats. Nuts, seeds, and avocados are your priority. Coconut water and oil should also make it into your diet.
Also, drink more water. Another thing to keep in mind is that really hot showers will quickly dry out your scalp causing dandruff. If you’re worried at all about dandruff then make sure you use cool, or mild-warm water in your shower and to wash your hair.
Okay, here’s my favorite dandruff shampoo recipe, and trust me, this is so much better than any expensive shampoo you can buy from a shop.
Just look at all those natural, wonderful ingredients that will soothe and hydrate your scalp and reduce inflammation.
Ingredients:
- Apple Cider Vinegar (1 cup)
- Water (1 cup)
- Rosemary (1 bunch)
- Jojoba Oil (1/4 cup)
- Peppermint Essential Oil (10 drops)
Instructions:
Take the rosemary and steep in the boiling water until the water cools, then remove the rosemary. Mix the ingredients thoroughly inside your container of choice and lather on to wet hair.
Massage the mixture deep into your scalp and allow it to absorb for 1-3 minutes before washing out thoroughly.
Hair benefits:
The rosemary tea is incredibly soothing and helps to reduce the inflammation that leads to dandruff. The jojoba oil adds extra hydration and dilutes the peppermint essential oil.
Jojoba is similar to our natural sebum so that it adds elasticity whilst protecting the scalp which reduces flakiness, and without being greasy.
Peppermint is a powerful way to fight dandruff because it helps to regulate the pH of your scalp. It has a soothing, cooling effect that helps with irritation. Peppermint essential oil has been clinically proven to promote hair growth.
Shampoo For Stimulating Hair Growth
Although the other recipes in this guide are great for hair loss/growth, and a much better alternative to commercial shampoos, I wanted to give a recipe that is designed to boost hair growth and stabilize hair loss in every possible way. This is that recipe.
Ingredients:
- Nettle (2-3 bunches)
- Coconut Oil (1 teaspoon)
- Rosemary Essential Oil (10 drops)
- Powdered Tumeric (1 teaspoon)
- Apple cider vinegar (1 cup)
- Baking soda (1 teaspoon)
Instructions:
Steep the nettles in close-to-boiling water and allow them to cool before straining the water. Add the other ingredients to the nettle tea and mix thoroughly. Lather on to wet hair and allow to absorb for 2-5 minutes before rinsing out thoroughly.
Hair benefits:
Stinging nettle is extremely rich in hair growth-boosting vitamins A, B, C, D, and K, which also help to stimulate the scalp and help with BPH. The rosemary essential oil has antiseptic properties and can aid new hair growth.
Turmeric is a well-known and powerful spice that has a long medical history. The turmeric in this recipe will rejuvenate and soothe your scalp whilst providing rare nutrients and minerals that are essential for hair growth.
It is also a powerful anti-inflammatory and helps with itching and irritation. Coconut oil hydrates and protects the scalp and hair.
Hair Mask For Stimulating Hair Growth
Ingredients:
- Avocado (1 half)
- Vanilla Essential Oil (10 drops)
- Cherries (6, peeled and pitted)
- Water (1/2 cup)
- Herbs (nettle, chamomile, reishi)
Instructions:
Take the mushroom and herbs including the nettle that you have available and steep in hot water until the water cools, then remove the solids. Add the cherries, avocado, and vanilla essential oil and blend the mixture at high speed until it is smooth.
Apply the mask to wet hair and massage into the scalp for 2-3 minutes. Now leave the mask to absorb in for a further 15-20 minutes before rinsing out and towel drying.
Hair benefits:
This hair mask will deeply nourish and moisturize your hair and scalp while it absorbs in for twenty minutes. Essential minerals and nutrients from the avocado protect the scalp whilst providing nutrition. The cherries provide antioxidants and vitamin C.
Vanilla essential oil stimulates hair growth and the reishi mushroom acts as a 5-alpha-reducate inhibitor so it can help lower the amount of DHT on the scalp.
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