How to Make Your Own Organic Shampoo

The benefits of making your own organic shampoo include doing the environment a favor. But you’ll also know precisely what you’re putting on your head, which is doing you and your family a favor. You get shiny, manageable, healthy hair fed by fine, naturally-derived ingredients. Best of all, your homemade shampoo is free of the sulfates contained in commercial products.

People with sensitive skin and scalps will love this shampoo for its soothing and genuinely hypoallergenic properties. Simple to make, this organic coconut and sandalwood shampoo recipe smell exotically heavenly. The subtle, earthy scent of sandalwood over a foundation of rich tropical coconut, produces a fragrance that’s subtle, not overpowering. With the hair-loving properties of coconut oil, you’ll find the results gratifying!

• Castile soap, liquid - 1 cup*
• Organic coconut oil - 1 tablespoon**
• Sandalwood essential oil - 20 drops***

*Originating in Spain, Castile soap has been used since circa the 16th Century. Made from olive oil and bicarbonate of soda, this simple soap has many uses, and in its liquid form, it’s ideal for creating an organic shampoo. It is the basic ingredient for creating various household and beauty products and is free of harmful substances.

**Choose a centrifuge-extracted coconut oil for its purity. The flesh of the coconut is where the oil for this superior type of coconut oil begins. That flesh is pressed to extract coconut milk/cream, which is about 40% coconut oil. The expressed coconut milk/cream is then passed through several centrifuges, resulting in oil in its most basic form, with a creamy texture and delicate coconut scent ideal for use in shampoo. The light scent of centrifuge-extracted coconut oil compliments sandalwood’s earthiness perfectly. Coconut oil is known to add luster and bounce to your hair, so you may want to make your own organic hair mask, to maximize your benefits. And if you have curly hair, this organic, homemade gel will refine your mass of curls. 

***All essential oils are not created equal, so select one specialized retailer that sells specialized retailer to ensure their quality. The market is flooded with oils that may smell nice but are synthetic, so they don’t deliver the benefits of high-quality oils. Sandalwood is used in this recipe for its calming effect on nerves and its ability to increase focus. A great way to start the day, then conquer it!

Tools

• Mixing bowl
• Spatula
• Container large enough to accommodate organic shampoo*
• Funnel

*Re-use an old shampoo bottle you’ve washed out to do the planet another favor! This one is an organic thyme flavor, so it is still green.

• Pour one cup of castile soap into the bowl, then add one tablespoon of coconut oil. Blend the two together until the mixture is opaque and the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
• Add 20 drops of sandalwood essential oil, and stir until thoroughly blended with the soap and coconut oil.

Place the narrow end of the funnel in the opening of the container you’ve set aside for your organic shampoo, then slowly pour your mixture from the mixing bowl into the container.

Voila! Your organic coconut and sandalwood shampoo are ready to use. To make a larger batch, adjust the amounts of each ingredient proportionate to the size of your batch. Remember that oil tends to separate, so don’t forget to give that bottle a good shake before each use!

PRO-TIP: Recycling old shampoo bottles isn’t just environmentally friendly; it’s ergonomically sound. Those shampoo bottles are designed for use in the bath and shower. So, don’t mess with a good thing. Re-use those old shampoo bottles for their purpose-built utility and to keep them out of the landfill.