Handmade All-Natural Herbal Solid Shampoo Bar - Coconut & Olive Oil Solid Soap Infused with Desert Sage, Rosemary, and Nettles, Crinkle-Cut for Gripping in the Shower
Handmade, small-batch, chemical-free ~3oz solid shampoo bars, all made with food-grade lye and 100% natural ingredients, as locally-sourced and/or fresh-picked as possible: coconut oil, olive oil, wildcrafted desert sage (Artemisia tridentata), rosemary, and nettles.
Great for travel and regular use - much easier to store than large shampoo bottles that are mostly water. More eco-friendly to make and transport!
Treat yourself to an herbal scalp & tress treatment while washing your gorgeous locks with herbs historically used to nourish hair, improve strength, cleanse the scalp, combat dandruff, and increase circulation to the area to stimulate growth. These Desert Sage shampoo bars are a wonderful tool to wash your cares away without exposing your body to harmful chemicals. See below for info about how to use this in your natural hair-care routine and important notes on transitioning to natural shampoo!
Ingredients
Coconut oil*, olive oil*, food-grade lye, wildcrafted desert sage, rosemary*, nettle leaf*, and water.
*certified organic ingredients
Instructions
Thoroughly wet hair. Wet shampoo bar and rub between hands to create suds. Put bar down and massage suds into your hair. Wet bar can be rubbed directly onto hair, especially in oily areas such as around the ears or at the edge of the hair-line, but keep in mind protecting delicate hair from potential breakage (every hair type is different!). Rinse out with water.
For best results, follow your Shampoo process with an Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinse: Mix up to 1 cup of organic raw ACV "with the mother" with 1 cup of warm water. (Start with 1 tablespoon if your scalp is sensitive and you've never done this before). You may add up to 5 drops of desired essential oil for natural scent or desired benefits. Shake this up well to disperse the essential oils. Carefully apply to your hair - avoiding the eyes - and massage in. Can be left in as a mask or immediately rinsed out. We recommend thoroughly rinsing for a few months, rather than leaving in as a mask -- until you get a sense for what your hair and scalp prefer.
Sarah has read often in her herbal studies that yarrow makes a wonderful tea mask for restoring hair-color! It doesn't act as a dye - rather it works with the hair follicles to return growing in its original color. Yarrow can be combined or replaced with chamomile for light-haired people, rosemary for dark-haired people. We'll have packets of these coming to the website later this year!
Finally, if you are a curly or wavy-haired guy or gal or have dry hair, we recommend using a natural aloe vera gel to finish off your style! For extra hold, you can make this awesome 2-ingredient hair-gel! This works great for my blondish-brown, naturally wavy hair type, but there are several recipes and explanations here so you can find just the one for you: Flaxseed Gel for Hair: Benefits, Recipes, and More (healthline.com).
Flaxseed & Aloe Vera Hair Gel Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup flaxseeds
- 2 cups of water
- 1/4 cup pure aloe vera gel
- 15 drops of essential oil
- Mason Jar or other glass container
- Cheese cloth or fine mesh strainer
- Stainless steel or ceramic pot
- Stainless steel or glass bowl
- Spatula
Directions:
- Add flax seeds and water to a pot and bring to a simmer.
- Stir occasionally to prevent sticking, and watch for it to become slimy (usually about 6 minutes)
- Remove pot from heat. Spread a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer over a bowl.
- Pour contents of pot out over cloth/strainer, pressing gently to encourage the gel into the bowl. Compost flax seeds.
- If using essential oils, mix them in now.
- Cap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
The Transition Phase
Switching to Natural Solid Shampoo Bars can be more of a transition than switching to natural handmade soap for your hands and body - it may take 3 weeks or more to find your perfect rhythm and process. If after first use your hair does not feel clean and delightfully slippery (the chemical-based water-based shampoos use special polymers and other substances to create slip in your hair), don't lose hope!
Your hair may feel a little gunkier at first - you may need to shampoo twice before the ACV rinse. You may need to wash more often or use a hair powder (we recommend corn starch or potato starch or slippery elm powder) in between washes to absorb excess oils as your scalp and hair follicles adjust to a different, more natural type of cleansing. You may need to use more ACV in your rinse for better shine and slip. The shampoo bar will be stripping the chemical deposits off of the hair shaft and rebalancing the oil production of the hair follicles; and the ACV will be re-establishing a beneficial microbiome on your scalp!
