Solid Shampoo Bar

If you want to make solid shampoo yourself, there are two possibilities. Just like soap, solid shampoo can also be made with lye. The composition of the shampoo made with lye includes various fats, oils, and lye.

You can find the recipe for solid shampoo made with lye here.

The second option is to make solid shampoo with surfactants. Shampoo made from surfactants differs from the former by having a lower pH level. Low pH is more suitable for washing hair, as high pH can make the hair tangled and difficult to comb. Most users need to rinse their hair with vinegar water to normalize the pH level after washing. If the pH of soap-type shampoo is 9-10, then the pH of SCI powder is about 6.

Solid Shampoo Bar (approx. 80 g)

50 g SCI powder

15 g coconut fat

25 g water

20 g Rhassoul clay powder

Optional: for fragrance, 10-15 drops of aroma oil or essential oil.

Making solid shampoo

SCI powder is a volatile substance and getting it into the respiratory tract can be very uncomfortable. Therefore, it is advisable to use a mask when weighing and melting the substance. 

Weigh the water and SCI into a heat-resistant container and melt them in a water bath. The melting is quite slow. The melted SCI turns into a porridge-like mass instead of powder. 

Add coconut fat and let it melt. Optionally, you can use another oil suitable for your hair instead of coconut fat. Since the quantity is small, changing the oil does not significantly change the consistency of the product. Coconut fat is good to use for its slipperiness and antibacterial properties.

If you are using some liquid oil. Additional heating is not required when adding liquid oil, remove the container from the heat and mix the mixture evenly. 

Now also add the clay and mix it into a uniform paste. In addition to the cleansing properties of the clay, it also gives the shampoo bar a characteristic light brown color. 

Finally, add the fragrance (if you want to use it). 

Pour the mixture into a mold and let it solidify. The mixture is quite thick and the mold should be tapped during pouring to get all the air bubbles out.

The product is ready for use after a few hours!

After each use, the shampoo bar needs to be thoroughly dried, otherwise, there is a risk that the product will go bad. 

The shampoo bar in the photo was made in a round silicone mold. If you want to make a full mold, i.e., four shampoo bars, you need to quadruple the quantity.