Homemade Shampoo/Body Wash - Second Try

During my recent exploration into home made shampoo/body wash, I discovered that one could include Chamomile or Rosemary and that it would probably be good for my particular hair and skin type, as well as smelling nice.  The aloe shampoo with olive oil and tea tree oil was wonderful for my hair and scalp. I am uncertain yet how it will affect my skin. That will take more time and use to find out. One thing that I did not like about the previous recipe was that the xanthum gum I used to thicken it was very difficult to mix in. I probably should have added it to the blender and allowed it to be mixed in at that stage instead of adding it after the tea tree oil. As it was, it clumped up and I had to work pretty hard to get it to mix in. In the end I settled for a less gel like substance and just moved the clumps out of the way when pouring the shampoo/body wash into my hand.

Unfortunately I also just found this site:  http://www.homeremediesweb.com/chamomile_health_benefits.php which explained that since I am allergic to ragweed I might have problems with Chamomile. Since I am currently sick with a stomach virus, I do not want to possibly make it worse with tea. I don't think it could harm me in shampoo as I've drunk Chamomile tea before, but I still thought better safe than sorry, I'd hate to make my skin itch worse than it already does.

So instead, I have stuck to just Rosemary which should add a nice scent and be healing and rejuvenating to my skin. Here is some information about traditional uses of Rosemary and it's essential oils: http://www.livestrong.com/article/79580-rosemary-skin-care/. Please make note of any possible adverse reactions before using this. I'm not a doctor and not trying to give out advice, just sharing what I learn along the way. From what I've read, if you have oily hair and/or skin, you can reduce the olive oil and the rosemary should have a good effect.


I am looking forward to seeing how this works out. It was very easy to make, and I happened to have aloe gel from the garden already blended and left over from the previous version of Shampoo/Body Wash, so I thought I further experimentation would be fun. I will try this next time I shower and let you know how it turns out. I had hoped that the flax seed will thicken it up a bit and possibly be useful in exfoliation, but not clump like the xanthum gum did in the previous efforts. Unfortunately, although it seemed to at first, it did not hold up well in the blender. It does have exfoliating properties tho, so I'm happy with that. I added 1 teaspoon of Xanthum Gum instead, and that worked much better in the end as a thickener.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup rosemary

1/2 cup distilled water

1/2 cup aloe gel

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground flax seed (optional)

1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum (optional)

3 drops tea tree oil

Recipe:

Brew a mug of 1/2 cup distilled water with 1/4 cup rosemary. To do this put the rosemary directly into the mug of water, put it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, then let it steep until cool. Strain the rosemary out with a fine strainer, and then put all the ingredients except the tea tree oil in the blender.  Blend until frothy, then check for lumps.  Pour into shampoo bottle, add 2 drops of tea tree oil, and shake well. 

Tips:

- You will probably have to blend a couple of times until no chunks remain if you are starting directly from an aloe leaf. 

- See 2 blog entries earlier for how to harvest aloe

- Store in a cool dark place 

- Use organic ingredients whenever possible
- I just didn't feel comfortable putting a substance I wouldn't eat into the blender. It will be washed later, but still, I'm finicky that way. This is the only reason I added the tea tree oil later. Please let me know if you find other ways that work better for you.

- Shake well before each use