How to: Sulphate Free Shampoo Balls with Ayurvedic Herbs
I've been getting to know a few new surfactants this year and this has resulted in a lot of fun products and new discoveries.
Pictured: the result of a bit of playing around with something called 'foam paste' that turned out quite well.
Today, I'm going to share how I made this shampoo ball with you.
Foam Paste
The INCI for this is Disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate (sexy name, isn't it?). This is a super gentle sulphate-free surfactant that is sold in several forms: powder, liquid and as a paste. I was intrigued by the paste form and it has indeed turned out to be quite fun to play with (check the molded 'poo' soap I made with it right here).Foam Paste is listed as a co-surfactant (that can be used solo for some things). In this formulation, it is being paired up with a couple of hair-loving Ayurvedic herbs that we're going to take a brief look at.
There are links to more info below, so I'm just giving you the headlines here.
Brahmi as a Haircare Ingredient: Mini-Overview
Botanical name: Bacopa monnieriContains: saponins, alkaloids, sterols
Synergies: rhassoul, shikakai
Scent: earthy, a little bitter
Properties/Claims:
- Helps battle dandruff
- Calms and soothes scalp
- Promotes shine - good for dull hair
- Suitable for all hair types
Shikakai as a Haircare Ingredient: Mini-Overview
Botanical Name: Acacia concinnaFruit pods contain: alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins
Synergies: brahmi, amla
Scent: sweetly acidic and slightly floral
Properties/Claims:
- Naturally low pH
- Cleanses without stripping hair
- Soothing
- Anti-itch
Let's Get Busy
Now, if you're ready to get making (is that an expression?), here's how I put these shampoo balls together.This is a try-me amount - just enough to make 2 shampoo balls (a total of 50 grams). The pH of these is 5.0
LisaLise's Sulphate Free Shampoo Balls with Ayurvedic Herbs
Phase | Ingredient | Grams | Ounces |
---|---|---|---|
A | Disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate (foam paste) | 10 | 0.35 |
A | Sodium Cocoyl Isotheonate (SCI grains) | 12 | 0.42 |
A | Cocoa Butter | 1 | 0.035 |
A | Jojoba | 2 | 0.071 |
A | Vinegar (with 5% acetic acid) | 3 | 0.11 |
B | Brahmi powder | 15 | 0.53 |
B | Shikakai powder | 7 | 0.25 |
Method
- Heat phase A ingredients over a bain marie until melted
- Stir
- Add phase B ingredients and remove from heat
- Stir and work ingredients together with stirrer
- Pop on a pair of latex or nitrile gloves on and continue working ingredients together by hand
- Form into balls
- Sprinkle with brahmi or rhassoul clay (optional)
Allow to set and dry about 48 hours before using.
Note: These harden up pretty quickly so you’ll need to work pretty fast on step 6.
Enjoy!
Preservative-Free and Use By Date
These shampoo balls do not contain any preservative because they are formulated to be preservative free. I have tested them over a period of months and they are stable and have survived sitting out in a humid bathroom throughout this summer without the teensiest sign of going wonky.That said, it's probably a good idea to allow them to dry between uses and not allow them to sit in a pool of water and get all smooshy. I place mine onto a loofah pot-scrubber thingy (see an example below) between uses.
If, however, you are the type of person who prefers soggy and smooshy shampoo bars, then feel free to add preservative in the appropriate amount.
Pictured below: these loofah sponges are sold in my local supermarket as natural pot scrubbers. I find them quite useful as soap dishes and use them for both soap and shampoo bars.
Do Tell
Have you ever worked with these surfactants and herbs?Want to Make More?
Click the pic for this e-book with a whole collection of naturally balanced shampoo bars.Links to Some of The Stuff I Checked out While Writing this Post
Saponins in brahmihttps://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/V09-111#.XdKOfjL0kck
Constituents in brahmi
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10600-007-0133-y
Review on brahmi (2010)
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2a0f/78b7a144feb34e83b2792da692dc6d20d37f.pdf
No, brahmi can’t cure alzheimers
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/health-fraud-scams/unproven-alzheimers-disease-products
A couple of studies on brahmi (internal use only)
https://www.nature.com/articles/1395862
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/bacopa-monnieri
https://www.aroma-zone.com/info/fiche-technique/tensioactif-pate-mousse-aroma-zone
More about Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate
https://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/disodium-laureth-sulfosuccinate-0
Wikipedia on Shikakai - Acacia concinna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_concinna
Clinical & Experimental Dermatology Research: List of medicinal plants with proven uses as cosmeceuticals
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ashok_Panda/publication/283507695_Concept_of_Beauty_and_Ayurveda_Medicine/links/5640c5ac08aeacfd8935e1cd/Concept-of-Beauty-and-Ayurveda-Medicine.pdf
Article on the Preparation and Evaluation Antioxidant Activity of Herbal Hair Oil (that includes these 2 Ayurvedic herbs)
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Akram_Ahmad3/publication/233980589_Preparation_and_Evaluation_Antioxidant_Activity_of_Mixed_Herbal_Hair_Oil_Formulation/links/02bfe50db3fd32be5d000000.pdf
Comments
Should we look for organic foam paste and SCI if we are making organic products?