Restore your locks with our Super Clarifying Shampoo!

A DIY shampoo to lighten and brighten your mane

Your hair has a lot to deal with all year round—and summer is no exception! Sun, salt water, chlorine, pollution, and wind all wear down your hair fibres and can cause excess sebum production. Our new clarifying solid shampoo recipe helps restore your mane’s shine by ridding it of build-up. 

Specifically formulated to be tough on pollutants, our homemade shampoo will strengthen the hair fibre from root to tip, leaving your hair shiny and healthy. The secret ingredient is SCS (sodium coco-sulfate)! You might be familiar with its cousin, SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate), because it’s a very common ingredient in solid shampoos. SCS is a more powerful cleansing agent and provides a lovely thick lather, so it’s the perfect choice when your scalp and locks are longing for a deep clean. 

Read on to learn how to make our Super Clarifying Shampoo for a mane as light and shiny as summer days!

How to make clarifying solid shampoo

Before you begin

• If you haven’t tried solid shampoo before, keep in mind that it may take your hair some time to adapt. Solid and liquid shampoos are very different, so give yourself at least three weeks of regular use before reaching a final opinion of this product. That’s about how long it will take for your scalp to adjust to your homemade solid shampoo!
• SCS is less frequently used in homemade cosmetics than its cousin, SCI, but it produces an especially lovely, abundant lather. Just like SCI, SCS can irritate your respiratory tract in its solid form, so it must be handled with caution. Work in a well-ventilated space—such as under your oven hood—or wear a dust mask, or both.

Ingredients

• 50 g (50%) sodium coco-sulfate (SCS)
• 9 g (9%) rose geranium hydrosol
• 10 g (10%) stearic acid (100% vegetable source)
• 4 g (4%) avocado oil
• 5 g (5%) arrowroot starch
• 5 g (5%) emulsifying wax NF
• 2 g (2%) cetyl alcohol
• 12 g (12%) ghassoul clay
• 3 g (3%) ylang-ylang essential oil

Tools

• Two small stainless steel bowls
• Components to make a double boiler
• Small silicone spatula
• Scale, accurate to 0.1 g
• A few pipettes
• A few ramekins
• A few spoons
• Mold of your choosing (if you use this one, the recipe will fill one cavity)
• A dust mask or stove hood
• Personal protective gear
• Pestle (optional)

Good to know!

• We advise against modifying the proportions of this recipe, as this may alter the final product—including its effectiveness.
• SCS is the cleansing agent and foaming agent in this recipe. It cannot be replaced. 
• Ghassoul clay is perfect for oily hair. Its purifying and absorbent properties help regulate sebum production, help get rid of dandruff, and cleanse your scalp. 
• Rose geranium hydrosol will soothe your scalp and regulate excess sebum.  
• Avocado oil has properties that will help your hair regain vitality and thickness.
• Stearic acid will leave a thin protective film on hair fibres, revitalizing your locks without weighing them down. 
• Like ghassoul clay, arrowroot powder combines with the other ingredients to yield a product that absorbs excess sebum.
• Cetyl alcohol is a choice emollient in natural cosmetics. Highly nourishing, it provides reparative care, leaving your hair softer, more flexible, and easier to style.  
• Ylang-ylang essential oil will hydrate and nourish your hair, which will help it regain shine and vitality.

Steps to follow

1. Prepare and disinfect your equipment and workspace.
2. Weigh the arrowroot powder and ghassoul clay in a ramekin, then set aside. 
3. Weigh the ylang-ylang essential oil in a second ramekin and set aside.  
4. While wearing a mask or working under an oven hood, weigh the SCS, avocado oil, and geranium hydrosol in the first bowl. Heat on the double boiler for five to ten minutes, or until the SCS is melted.
5. Weigh the stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, and the emulsifying in the second bowl. Heat on the double boiler until the ingredients have melted, then add them to the bowl containing the SCS. Mix well with the spatula.
6. Add the arrowroot powder and ghassoul clay to the mixture. Mix with the spatula until the powders are fully incorporated. 
7. Add the ylang-ylang essential oil and mix well with the spatula.
8. When the mixture is homogeneous, transfer to the cavities of your chosen mold using the spatula. Be sure to wear gloves and to pack the paste down well.
9. Leave your DIY solid shampoo to dry until it is hard enough to unmold. This should take about 24 hours. 

Use and conservation

This homemade clarifying solid shampoo is formulated for all hair types. However, it may not be right for you if your scalp is sensitive or reaction-prone. In that case, we recommend opting for a solid shampoo made with SCI, which is a gentler surfactant. We offer lots of recipes for SCI-based solid shampoos: for oily hair, for curly or frizzy hair, for fair or bleached hair, that help fight hair loss, that add shine, and last but not least, an all-rounder that’s suitable for all hair types.

 
To use your solid shampoo, just wet the bar, rub it between your hands, and apply the lather to your hair. Leave on for one minute, then rinse out thoroughly. You can also directly rub your scalp with the bar. Rinse your hair well.

We recommend doing a vinegar rinse after any solid shampoo in order to balance the pH of your hair. This will also leave it extra shiny! Here’s how to do an apple cider vinegar rinse:

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 1 litre of water.
2. When you’ve finished with your usual shower hair care routine, pour the full litre of vinegar water over your hair, with your head pointed downwards. Do not rinse off. 
3. Dry and style your hair as usual. The vinegar smell will disappear as soon as your hair is dry. 

When made it optimal sanitary conditions, your DIY shampoo bar will keep for three to six months. It’s important to allow it to dry out well between each use.