Have you heard about the no-‘poo method? To be honest, I learned about it past year and, while I refused to put baking soda on my hair, I did try vinegar.
It left my hair pretty and clean, but I’m not keen to repeat this experiment—particularly since it doesn’t make your hair smell very nice.
So, in a quest to learn how to really clean my scalp, I searched for other less harmful methods. It’s ironic: I don’t like brushing my hair, but I do care about the things that I put on my hair.
These options are for everyone; but if you have oily hair, dandruff or you use hair products besides shampoo and conditioner, you’ll be happy to try one of these methods. Here’s how to make shampoo on your own and with all natural ingredients.
Coconut milk shampoo
Who doesn’t love coconut shampoo? It smells so good and does wonders for your hair. Coconut milk has nutrients and fats that help with dandruff and hair growth.
Just look at Jessica Simpson’s hair as proof of coconut milk shampoo’s benefits. You can buy coconut milk shampoo or you can make it yourself, which I prefer to do.
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup Coconut Milk (homemade if possible)
- ½ Cup Coconut Oil Soap (Tropical Traditions is particularly good)
- 2 ts Sweet Almond Oil/Tea Tree Oil/Neem Oil
- 10 Drops Lavender or Other Oil (Optional; use less if combining more than 2 oils)
Mix the ingredients together in a jar and shake well. Store it in a squeeze bottle and shake before each use. The shampoo can last two to four weeks in cold weather without refrigeration.
It can also be used as a body wash.
Lemon and cucumber shampoo
As some people know, lemon leaves your scalp feeling clean and good due to the citric acid while cucumber has a cooling and calming effect. I recommend using a good conditioner for the ends because the lemon tends to dry out hair.
It’s a particularly good shampoo for dry scalp.
Ingredients
- 1 Lemon (peeled)
- 1 Cucumber (peeled)
Chop up the ingredients if you’re using a blender or throw them into your food processor. Mix them until they form a thick, liquid paste like that of a smoothie. Apply it as you would any other shampoo.
It can also be used as a shaving cream.
PH-balanced shampoo
Want to know if the ph levels of your hair are balanced? This shampoo is ideal as it helps you to be sure that everything is in balance. And, of course, with this homemade shampoo, you don’t need to spend a lot of money like with other shampoos on the market.
I really love this option because it has Aloe Vera and coconut milk. They are my favorite ingredients for healthy hair because they both have a pH that’s under 7 and much more aligned with your scalp’s natural pH.
Your scalp, like your skin, ranges in pH between 4 and 7. That is why I don’t recommend using baking soda on the hair. Baking soda has a high alkaline pH level while apple cider vinegar has a lower pH level.
Your hair suffers when it goes up to a pH level of 8 or 9 and then down to one of 4.5. Problems with fungi or bacteria, which lead to dandruff, often result from using products with pH levels higher than 7 as these strip your hair of naturally acidic sebum.
That sebum helps to prevent hair loss from dandruff, bacteria or fungus.
Ingredients
- 1 Can Coconut Milk
- 1¾ Cups Pure Aloe Vera Gel
- Essential Oils (Optional)
Mix the ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk and pure it into ice cube trays. This will help the mixture to last longer than a week. Place the trays in the freezer for a few hours until completely frozen then store them in a bag or container in the freezer.
To use, remove the frozen cube the night before and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Use the same amount you would any other shampoo to wash your hair, but leave it on for about 5 minutes before rinsing your hair.
This shampoo does not create a lather, so don’t overuse it. The cubes last a week in the fridge and can be stored there between showers.
Brown sugar and oatmeal scrub
Who doesn’t love using sugar to exfoliate the skin? I love it because it does wonders for my skin, which is why I’ve included it on this list. This scalp scrub combines brown sugar and oatmeal to exfoliate the scalp gentle, moisturize and increase circulation to the hair follicles.
Keep in mind that exfoliation is only recommended once a week; more than that is just abusive to your skin or scalp!
Ingredients
- 2 TS Brown Sugar
- 2 TS Oatmeal (finely ground)
- 2 TS Conditioner
Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Wash your hair to remove any styling products, then scoop a small amount of the scrub into your hand and work it into your scalp. Massage your scalp with it for a few minutes then rinse your hair.
Deep cleansing salt and olive oil scrub
Another good exfoliator is salt, which also dries out hair unfortunately. To avoid this, combine sale, oil and lemon. The salt and oil stimulate hair growth and remove any dandruff without drying out the scalp.
The fatty acids in the olive oil coat the hair, providing moisture and protection against damage while the lemon juice dissolves product residue.
Ingredients
- 2 TS Sea Salt
- 1-2 TS Lemon Juice
- 1-2 TS Olive Oil
Mix the ingredients together, wet your hair and massage the scrub into your scalp for several minutes. Make sure to rinse your hair well and finish with moisturizing coconut oil, honey or an avocado hair mask.
This leaves your hair very shiny and feeling great.
I’m sure that at least one of these shampoos will work for you and your hair type. Although I no longer use hair products like spray, gel and mousse, these shampoos are all great for removing excess product build up on the scalp.
Do you know another natural shampoo to detox your hair? Have you tried one of these? Let us know!