Home Made Shampoo/Body Wash Review

The shampoo and body wash I made lasted about 2 weeks. The one made of aloe, tea tree oil, xantham gum and olive oil did not make my hair oily as some expected. It acted much like a volumizer shampoo and I will be making some again. In the two weeks of use, I found the dry flaky patches of skin disappearing, and surprisingly, the red splotchy areas of my face seemed to be disappearing as well!

To test if the results were as wonderful as they seemed, I used up the rest of my store bought shampoo afterwards and compared results. It was a 90% natural store bought shampoo, but apparently the 10% non natural bit is really not something my body likes, because the dry flaky patches are returning, and so are the red splotches on my face.  I have to admit, I am very surprised. I remember saying to Patch. I may as well use this other stuff up before recycling the bottle. I didn't want to waste something we had already paid for in an effort to reduce, reuse, recycle. Because when you think about it, waste is not green. Besides, I told myself it was a pretty well made shampoo, it probably wouldn't be any different. But it was.

The xantham gum was completely unnecessary if you are OK with washing with a liquid and not a gel. However I set out to make a combination shampoo and body washing gel, because I wanted something which was similar to what I have been using for years, just healthier, less taxing on the environment, and lower cost. If you do not happen to have any on hand, make the aloe shampoo without it and I am sure you will find it just as wonderful since the only thing the xantham gum was used for was a natural thickening agent.

The body wash I made with the flax seeds in it was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't like the smell or the texture. A friend liked the smell, so perhaps I should have offered it to her. On an up note, it did seem to be helping my skin problems. I just didn't like the smell of rosemary when mixed with tea tree oil.

I will however be making the original recipe again and using it as a shampoo/body wash instead, which was really my goal anyway. I still have aloe left, and the other ingredients are all in the pantry, so I am looking forward to using it again. I will wash the old shampoo bottle and reuse it to hold my home made shampoo/body wash, as it came in a nice dark green bottle which will help protect the aloe shampoo/body wash from light.

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 

Homemade Shampoo/Body Wash - First Try

Shampoo/Body Wash

Yes, I have decided to take the step towards using simple ingredients we already have in our pantry to mix up a batch of natural, homemade shampoo and body wash. Since I have so many allergies and chemicals seem to effect me more than your average bear, it is actually surprising to me that it didn't occur to me before now to try making my own shampoo. Well, it occurred to me, but like many things I assumed it was too difficult an undertaking and outside my budget. Actually, it turns out I already have many ingredients that can be used to wash my hair. I found many sites with recipes for home made shampoo. Some include soap, others do not, and most can be used as a combination shampoo and body wash. I am going to go for a soap free gel like option, because I do not like the film soaps leave on my body, and I already have dry skin. Instead I will be attempting to make a cleansing yet moisture rich concoction. After reading many sites such as this one:  http://www.learningherbs.com/homemade_shampoo.html  ...and many personal blogs such as this one:  http://whsword.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/recipe-for-homemade-aloe-vera-shampoo/ ...it seems to me that a mixture of aloe vera, olive oil, and tea tree oil would probably be a good start.

This is just another area of my life that I have been living almost on remote by a set of pre-programmed habits. And as I have been looking at my life and trying to be more mindful of my actions, I have started to notice where I spend my time, energy, money, etc. does not always mesh with my goals and intentions. Some things that I do habitually are directly opposing to the way I want to live.   It has also been interesting to notice what I have been putting into my body without even thinking of it. Did you know that the skin is our largest organ? And it soaks things in much like other parts of our body, in a form of osmosis. So we are actually taking in our environments more than one might normally consider. It has occurred to me, that all the chemicals, preservatives and allergens hiding out in my shampoo and body wash are being applied to the largest organ of my body on a regular basis. Let's face it, this seems like a bad idea. But it's one that was so ingrained in my behavior that it took me a while to really consider changing it.

I remember a psychology proffesor saying that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same action expecting different results. Change is good. We do not always think so, but I am finding it to be more than a cliche. And so today I set about researching and mixing up my first batch of home made shampoo. Here is the recipe I have decided on for my first batch. I decided to use an old medicine bottle which I have cleaned out because it has a darker plastic which will help protect the ingredients from light and hopefully help them to not spoil as quickly, and because the bottle I had planned to use was accidentally put in the recycling and I didn't feel like digging through old dog food cans to retrieve it. I also am choosing to make a smaller batch both because this is a first attempt, and because I do worry that the aloe will spoil if I mix too large of a batch. Next time I will try steeping Rosemary to add to it as I believe it will be helpful to my skin type which is mixed oily and dry with acne.

1 Cup Aloe For Blender

Ingredients:
1 Teaspoon Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Drops Tea Tree Oil
1/4 cup Organic Aloe Vera Gel

Foamy Aloe Gel - After Blending

Recipe:
In blender, mix the gelatinous insides of about 1/2 leaf from an Aloe plant, or enough to create 1/4 cup Aloe gel with 1 teaspoon of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Pour into shampoo bottle of your choosing, add 2 drops tea tree oil, close lid tightly, and shake to mix.


Tips:
- This will be very watery and not like normal shampoo consistency. I mixed in 1/4 teaspoon of Xantham Gum into mine and it gave it a more gel like consistency. (Guar Gum or ground Flax Seeds would probably work as well, I'll try Flax in the future and let you know)
- One can of course, alter ingredients to make shampoo that is more specific to your hair and skin type. That is what I have done here. I chose to mix ingredients which I believe will be of the most benefit to my skin and hair in their current state. I also went with ingredients we happened to already have on hand. Other ingredients I plan to try in the future are baking soda for exfoliation, apple cider vinegar for it's cleansing properties, almond oil or sesame oil in place of olive oil for moisture, chamomile tea, and rosemary. But since this was a first effort, I thought it best to keep things as simple as possible.
- I have been warned to be careful about getting essential oils such as Tea Tree Oil directly on the skin unless mixed with another natural oil like jojoba, almond, unflavored sesame, or olive oils.
- I have chosen to stick with organic versions of ingredients, and home grown whenever possible in an effort to stay away from chemical pesticides and the like.
- Keep in a dark cool place to extend the life of the product

Please let me know if you make your own natural shampoo and/or body wash, and what ingredients you use! I always enjoy hearing others ideas. None of the entries on this blog are intended as medical advice, and I am new to making my own hair and body care products, so I have much to learn. I hope you enjoy reading about the process along the way. Here is another helpful link I found about how much tea tree oil is recommended to mix into one's shampoo and why: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_drops_of_tea_tree_oil_should_you_put_into_an_entire_bottle_of_shampoo Since I already have used tea tree oil, I know that I am not hyper sensitive to it, and chose 2 drops for the whole container of shampoo.

Aloe - our first large harvest.

Transplanted Aloe Plant

When we first planted our backyard, we included an aloe vera plant which has now added 4 more. Usually I only pull a leaf off if it has problems or if I have a sun burn. And this is the only use I thought it had, so one leaf at a time seemed the best way to harvest aloe without harming the plant. After all, we do not want to harvest so much that the plant dies off.  But when we created a path through the overgrown succulents, we discovered the 4 hidden aloe plants beneath. Carlie transplanted the aloe to better spots around the yard, and harvested a bunch while doing so. She asked me to look up how to harvest aloe, and it was super easy. So simple, I thought I would share about it here.

New Foot Path June 2012

I am not a gardening expert, chef, or health food expert, so I am not making any recommendations here for how others should do things. There are other sites for that. What I am doing on this blog is sharing my own steps towards simplifying my own life. In this case, we have grown our own aloe, so why not learn how to harvest it rather than buying it in the store. This also means it has no added chemicals or preservatives, which means it may not last that long. We will see. But we felt it was worth a try. Using products with chemicals and preservatives has been pointed to as possibly linked to my health problems. I would do just about anything to continue healing, so this is a logical next step for me.  Living simply may look very different for other people. I invite you to share your own experiences.

1/3 of our Aloe and the sap seeping out

There are several parts to an aloe leaf. There is the skin or rind, the sap which is a reddish yellow liquid between the rind and the interior, and what we call the gel, or the center of the leaf. I am told the sap can act as a laxative, so we avoided that part.

Carlie was the one who came up with this idea, and asked me to research how to harvest aloe and what we can use it for. So I did the research, she did the harvesting, and now I'm writing the blog entry with photographs I took. Teamwork!

First Carlie cut the thickest leaves from the base of the large aloe plant. Then she placed them in our large spaghetti pot (at about a 45 degree angle) so that the sap would drain out or at least collect along the cut portion of the leaf. We were tired, so we left it over night but I'm told it only needs to sit there for 15-30 minutes.

Removing Ends

Then, she found a container we could put it in. We wanted an air tight container that wouldn't let light in, but since we had a lot of aloe, she chose one that does let light in, and placed it in a paper bag afterwards. She cut off both ends of the leaf, then the sides, and filleted it like a fish. Good thing she's had to fillet a lot of fish! The trick is to cut slightly below the rind so that any sap left between the rind and gel is removed, but so that you retain the most amount of the gel. Articles we read recommended using a spoon to push the gell off the bottom rind, but she chose to cut both rinds off instead.

Here is some information about the uses of Aloe plant. http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/amazing-aloe-vera.htm and this article about wound healing was very interesting as well: http://www.aloepure5000.com/blog1/2010/10/how-does-aloe-vera-heal-wounds/

Removing Rind

Recently a doctor recommended I use aloe on some scars that were healing from a surgery, but when I tried this, the area swelled and itched. The gel we'd bought had other things mixed in such as preservatives, so I will be trying again with pure aloe from our garden, and we'll see if I have the same reaction. I had never had that reaction to aloe in the past, but I had always bought 100% aloe from health food stores.  We will see if the organic 100% pure version works.

If you live near us and would like some, please let me know because we harvested way more than we can use ourselves, and I have no idea how long it will last in it's current state. I may mix some up as a combination body wash and shampoo since my current body wash is almost out, and we've been thinking switching away from chemical versions would be a good idea. We will see how that goes since I'm allergic to so many things but aloe did not come up as an allergy or food intolerance, I am hoping it is something I can use! Crossing my fingers in hope on that one. If it works out, I will share the shampoo/body wash recipe  in a future blog entry.