More Shampoo Bar Experiments

(Rhassoul Shampoo with Essential Oils of Bay Laurel, Lavender, Ylang Ylang & Rosemary. The scent is a DUD but I love the Shampoo Bar!!! New formula - with borax.)

I used to make a beer shampoo bar that I really liked for my hair, and somehow lost it.  Maybe my hair changed, maybe the water changed, maybe I copied something down wrong on the recipe, maybe I just became addicted to more suds in a shampoo bar ever since I exchanged shampoo bars with some fellow soapers last year.  In any case, I have been experimenting with shampoo bars for a couple of years now…  and experimenting extra hard since August last year.
  
(Goat Milk Shampoo with Rosemary Cedarwood and Thyme Essential Oils – This one was a DUD!)
Nothing seemed to work!  My hair seemed to get “the greasies” from any shampoo bar I tried!  It wasn’t the superfat, as I experimented from anywhere between 1% and 5% for my shampoo bars.  Could it be too much Coconut oil that I was trying now?  Could it be from water quantities?  Types of oils I was using?  I kept trying new oil formulations, different liquid quantities, various Superfatting…
(Goat Milk Shampoo with Patchouli and Cedarwood Essential Oils – Another DUD!)
I have come up with a new shape and size that I like for my shampoo bars and of all the different EO blends I tried, I have one I really like with Basil, Peppermint and Lavender.
(Avocado & Honey Shampoo with Basil, Peppermint and Lavender Essential Oils – Love the scent, but the bar is a DUD!)

(Beer, Egg and Honey, with Lemongrass, Cedarwood and Patchouli Essential Oils.This is an attempted repeat at my original favourite bar.Still curing so I haven’t tried it on my hair yet. )

One of the theories was that a shampoo bar needs a low pH…. So I tried adding a little borax and BINGO. I have a shampoo bar with a lower pH, that leaves my hair just as I like it. This bar has abundant lather, hair loving oils, and it leaves my hair lighter and fluffier than any other bar I have tried, and also the lightness lasts for days. (Photo of this bar - the Rhassoul Shampoo Bar is at the top of the page)
So if pH is the key, what other natural ways would there be to lower the pH in a shampoo bar? Suggestions?
(Avocado, Honey remake, with the new formula with borax.  Curing. Note the honey didn't mix in well... but I think I kind of like the speckled effect.)
I am so excited with my new Shampoo Bar formula!!
(Goat Milk and Silk with Rosemary, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli and Bay Laurel Essential Oils. This time the scent worked! Slightly sweet but I like it. Still in the mould as you can see here. New formula. This was the first time I attempted any soap with silk, and as I was keeping the temps low for the goat milk, it didn’t fully dissolve! So I had to fish out little silk clumps.  Next time I experiment with silk, I will use a different liquid so I can let the temps go higher!!)
By the way, although it looks simple... lining the round mould has been challenging! Any suggestions welcome...
Well, happy soaping everyone!!
xoxo
Jen

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