Wednesday 18 February 2009

Herbal shampoos

It's been a (wonderfully) busy start to the year. Every so often I remembered my blog but didn't have time to write... and not for a lack of things to write about. I made a variety of potions in January including a wicked and very girley chocolate lip balm, a calendula ointment for cracked skin, and some perfume. But mostly I've been focussing on shampoo, and now feel that I have a lovely range of herbal shampoos.

Herbal shampoos

Rose and Chamomile shampoo (normal to dry hair) - this is made with an infusion of rose petals and chamomile flowers - these provide some of the qualities of the shampoo, as well as colour, and some of the scent (which is then boosted with essential oils of rosewood, geranium and ylang ylang). Both rose and chamomile have soothing, cooling and healing qualities. 

Rosemary and Nettle shampoo (normal or thin hair) - this is made with an infusion of rosemary and nettles, giving it a dark green colour. Both rosemary and nettle are often used in haircare formulations to counteract hair loss and dandruff, and is said to stimulate the scalp. Essential oils of rosemary, sage and lavender give it a lovely herby smell and complement the overall purpose of the shampoo.

Sage and Yarrow shampoo (normal or oily hair) - this is my most recent formulation and I'm really pleased with it. The sage and yarrow infusion gives is a yellow/greenish colour and the qualities. Yarrow and sage together bring strengthening, drying and healing properties to the shampoo. The essential oils of lemon and cypress give it an enlivening smell and are also suitable for oily hair. This formulation uses a slightly different basic recipe than the previous two shampoos, with less olive oil, again making it more suited to oily hair.

The final shampoo in the range is, quite simply, a Mild Calendula Shampoo (sensitive or baby hair) made with a decoction of calendula petals and a little lavender essential oil, and a very gentle basic formulation.

I really feel so pleased with these shampoos and its now time to get them laboratory tested, and design some labels - wow! Progress. :-) And as always, I'm grateful to Kolbjorn/ Aromantic for sharing his knowledge of how to make my own natural cosmetics.


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2 comments:

  1. I am looking for shampoos without the thickener cocamidopropyl betain to which I am very allergic. Would your shampoos fit this category?
    Great blog :)

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  2. Hi Helen,

    Sorry to hear that you're allergic to cocoamidopropyl betaine, especially as this is one of the more gentle detergents used in shampoo. I do use this in my shampoos I'm afraid, but I believe that 'Faith in Nature' shampoos don't use this ingredient (you can find their shampoos in many health food shops and in Oxfam).

    I'm glad you're enjoying the blog :-)

    Warm regards,
    Elizabeth

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