Shampoo Bar: Preppers need clean hair too!

This is a good fun project to do with your family as well as have a less liquid alternative to store in your preps for cleaning your hair.  Now you may be asking “who cares about shampoo i have cases of soap it’s no big deal, and if i smell funky, oh well”  Well then I’m guessing you’re a guy (i feel the same way), but many of the lady folk (and if you’re married you don’t need to be told this) like this and will very much enjoy this.  You also have to think of the psychological effect this will have on the woman in your life, during hard times, the simple effect of clean hair may mean the difference between coping with hard times or having a breakdown. Never underestimate these psychological effects.  Tip of the hat to Frugallysustainable.com for this recipe.

Items Needed:

• Lye.  You can purchase Lye online or at a local craft store.  You will also need to put your recipe through a “Lye Calculator” so you can make sure you have the right amounts of lye and liquid.  Go with the 5% super fat soap.  You can also use the recipe for homemade lye from yesterdays post!
• Oils. You can use various different oils depending on what kind of soap you want.

1. Lard/Tallow for a harder long-lasting soap
2. Coconut or Castor oil for lathering
3. Olive or Canola Oil for moisturizing and conditioning properties
4. Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter or Jojoba oil for extra moisturizing

• Glass/Steel Bowls
• Stick Blender
• Digital Scale
• Crockpot (often people have dedicated ones for soap making, go to the salvation army find one for a few bucks)
• Stainless Steel Pot for melting oils
• Measuring cups
• Plastic Spoon
• Rubber Spatula
• Funnel
• Pitcher
• Metal Ice Cream Spade

HOW TO MAKE THE SHAMPOO BAR

This is just one recipe, you can experiment and come up with one that works well for you.

• 9 ounces coconut oil
• 9 ounces olive oil
• 3 ounces jojoba oil
• 2 ounces shea butter
• 2 ounces cocoa butter
• 1 ounce beeswax
• 4 ounces water
• 6 ounces coconut milk
• 4 ounces lye
• Essential oils (.5-1 ounce) you can use Rosemary/peppermint for dark hair, Lavender/lemon for blonde hair, Lime/Coconut for all types

(Make sure you use a kitchen scale for these weights)

Step 1:

Place water and coconut Milk into large glass measuring cup

Step 2:

Measure out the lye by weight into a 1 cup measuring glass

Step 3:

Be careful and add the lye into the liquid and stir to combine. This is important because adding the liquid to the lie could cause an eruption.  The liquid is caustic and shouldn’t be touched at all, the outside of the bowl will be extremely hot as well. Keep the Lye mixture under a vent to cool down, continue to Step 4 while it does this.

LYE PRECAUTIONS: When around Lye use a vapor resistant mask, safety glasses, chemical-resistant gloves and good ventilation.

Step 4:

Measure all oils with a kitchen scale and pour into a pot, warm the oils and beeswax on low heat until they are all liquid.

Step 5:

Pour the melted oil/beeswax into the crock pot.  Put the crock pot on the lowest setting. Make sure the oils do not get too hot.

Step 6:

Add the Lye/Liquid mixture to the oils in the crock pot and stir.

LYE PRECAUTIONS: Use same precautions as in Step 3.  When finished pouring neutralize ANYTHING that has touched or been touched by the Lye with vinegar.  The Vinegar will neutralize the lye.

Step 7:

Briefly Stir and grab the stick blender and start blending.  Do this for about 3-5 minutes.  You are trying to achieved “Trace” which is where the oil/fats have mixed with the lye.  The signs of this is a thick cake batter like consistency, also if you pull out the stick and drizzle some of the soap over the top of the mixture it should leave a trail that takes awhile to sink back and congeal with the whole mixture.

Step 8:

Once the mixture is like pudding, cover the crock pot and cook the soap for 1 hour.

Step 9:

At the end the mixture should have folded in on itself and be transparent. Turn off the Crock pot

Step 10:

Prepare the molds, often people use a standard Glass Loaf pan greased with Coconut Oil. If using essential oils now is the time to add them

Step 11:

Spoon soap into the mold(s) and allow to cool/harden for 24 hours

Step 12:

Remove from mold onto a cutting board and cut into 1 inch thick bars and place the bars on a tray with good airflow to harden further

Notes:

The recipe on Frugallysustainable also mentions to complete the use of the shampoo bar with a 1 part apple cider vinegar, 3 parts water conditioning hair rinse they put in spray bottle, spray hair before leaving the shower and leave in (vinegar smell leaves as the hair dries).

Make sure you are VERY CAREFUL and take all the necessary precautions when using Lye.  It is very dangerous if not properly handled and can cause eye damage and severe burns.

I am not responsible  if you hurt yourself, gather the necessary information from various sources before using, once again i am not liable for any mishaps.