Homemade solid shampoo for dull hair

Your hair is sure to take a shine to this DIY solid shampoo

Winter tends to make our daily lives a little duller: nights are long, days less bright. Our complexions lose some of their radiance, and our hair some of its shine. Luckily, we have little ways of brightening our days! There are beautiful homemade candles to add a warm glow to your evenings, a DIY face cream specifically formulated for winter, and last but not least, a homemade solid shampoo that will restore your hair’s natural shine. That’s the recipe we’re sharing with you today: Sleek A-Peel, a DIY solid shampoo that leaves your hair lustrous and silky!

To create this solid shampoo recipe, we decided to use one of our brand-new ingredients: bitter orange powder. It adds some real A-Peel to your mane, leaving it shiny, strong, and soft, while also toning your scalp. It’s a wonderful ingredient that’s just what you need in winter!

Read on to learn how to give your hair some Sleek A-Peel!

How to make solid shampoo for dull hair

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!
In its solid state, SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate) can irritate your respiratory tract, so it must be handled with caution. Work in a well-ventilated space, wear a dust mask, or both.

Ingredients

44 g (44%) SCI
21 g (21%) demineralized water
8 g (8%) bitter orange powder
6 g (6%) colloidal oatmeal
5 g (5%) marshmallow root powder
5 g (5%) shea butter
5 g (5%) argan oil
4 g (4%) castor oil
2 g (2%) 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
Pipette
Four ramekins
Pestle
Mold of your choosing (if you use this one, the recipe will fill one cavity)
An oven hood or dust mask
Personal protective gear

Good to know!

SCI is the cleansing and foaming agent in this recipe. It’s gentle on your scalp and provides a lovely lather.
Bitter orange powder adds shine to your locks. It softens and strengthens your hair and helps detangle it, while also toning your scalp.
Marshmallow root powder sheathes the hair fibre. It also helps protect and detangle your locks.
Shea butter deeply nourishes your hair.
Argan oil revitalizes dull hair.
Castor oil strengthens your hair and sheathes the hair fibre.
Ylang-ylang essential oil helps regulate sebum production while strengthening and beautifying your hair.
If you love the scent of orange, try adding some sweet orange essential oil to your homemade solid shampoo! Just reduce the quantity of ylang-ylang essential oil by half (use just 1 g) and add 1 g of sweet orange essential oil in step 9, then proceed with the rest of the recipe. The sweet orange essential will not only impart its refreshing fruity scent to your DIY shampoo, it will also tone your scalp.

Steps to follow

Prepare and disinfect your equipment and workspace.
Weigh the water and colloidal oatmeal in the first small bowl. Mix well.
Carefully add the SCI; work under the oven hood or wear a dust mask, or both.
Crush the SCI with the pestle. The water will help trap the fine dust, which can irritate your respiratory tract, but continue to use precaution nonetheless. Melt the mixture on the double boiler.
Weigh the bitter orange powder in the second small bowl.
Weigh the shea butter in the first ramekin.
Weigh the marshmallow root powder in the second ramekin.
Weigh the argan oil in the third ramekin.
Weigh the ylang-ylang essential oil and castor oil in the fourth ramekin.
When most of the SCI has melted, add the shea butter. Melt on the double boiler.
When the mixture has melted, transfer half of the batter (about 30 g) to the bowl containing the bitter orange powder. Leave the other half in the same bowl (the one you used to melt the SCI).
Add the argan oil to the bowl containing the orange powder. Mix until the batter is smooth.
Add the marshmallow root powder, ylang-ylang essential oil, and castor oil to the first bowl (the one without the orange powder). Mix until the batter is smooth.
Transfer both batters to a mold. Wearing gloves or using a spatula, arrange the two batters to your liking for a two-toned effect. Pack down well.

Use and conservation

This solid shampoo recipe is specifically formulated to add shine to dull hair in winter. It’s very easy to use! Just moisten the bar, rub it between your hands to form a lather, then apply the lather to your hair. Leave it on for one minute and then rinse it off with fresh water. You can also directly rub your scalp with this solid shampoo.

We recommend doing a vinegar rinse after using 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:

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

It’s important to let your shampoo bar dry out between uses. When made in optimal sanitary conditions, it will keep for about six months.