As you know, the staff at HL&S are DIY beauty and spa junkies. We experiment with new ingredients and recipes so you don’t have to, and tell you what works and what doesn’t.
I decided to try making an all-natural shampoo with a castile soap base, so I purchased a 32-ounce bottle of castile soap from Dr. Bronner’s, which is a blend of organic coconut, jojoba, olive and hemp oils. I decided to go with the baby mild, unscented, because I wanted to be able to separate the large bottle into smaller containers and add different scented essential oils if I wanted. I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into just one scent. All of the oils are great for replenishing nutrients in skin and hair, so I thought I’d give it a try.
I purchased mild, unscented castile soap to use as a base. I won’t tell you what I did because, well, my attempt failed. The castile soap did not work great with my long, color-treated hair, making it feel greasy and tangly. The castile soap weighed down. That’s not to say it wouldn’t work for someone else (someone with very short hair that is tangle-averse could be a good candidate for a castile soap based shampoo!) More on how to make a GOOD DIY shampoo in a later post.
But what is castile soap anyway? It used to mean an olive oil-based soap that originated in the Castile region of Spain. But now, it mainly means that the soap is vegetable oil-based as opposed to animal fat-based. Pure Castile, which is what Dr. Bronner’s is, also means that it does not contain detergents that could harm the environment.
And while the castile soap didn’t work as shampoo for me, I’m still glad I bought it. I found a few other great uses for it to share:
1. Add a few drops of lavender oil and chamomile tea to a half cup of the soap for a wonderful bath soak, and/or as a body wash
2. Use unscented, mild castile for dog shampoo (it’s natural but cleans the pup just as well as commercial shampoos, which contain chemicals!)
3. Add a squirt to your regular shampoo for a little more moisturizing action
4. Add a few drops of tea tree oil to a small batch of castile for antibacterial and moisturizing bathroom hand soap
5. Use 1/3 cup of castile as laundry detergent with a dash of baking soda (it’s sudsy!)
-Kayleigh K.
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