The Shampoo Results Are In!!

The shampoo project turned out amazingly well. Not only that but my house smelled *AWESOME* during the boiling process. All minty and fresh. 

Now that I've gotten that out of my system...on to the ins and outs of actually making the shampoo. 

First let me say that it turns out quite thin. So unless you want to add a thickening agent such as glycerin or xanthum gum you may want to just put it in a spray bottle or maybe even a hot sauce bottle that has either the plastic piece in the top or the beveled opening. (That's the kind of bottle I used for my husband's after shave I made him. Worked out perfectly) *A word to the wise on using glycerin as a thickening agent though. Glycerin dries from the inside out so it may leave your hair shiny and smooth for awhile but over time it will start to dry it out.

I boiled the mint and rosemary in a 2 qt. glass bowl in the microwave for about 15 minutes. Let it sit covered for an hour then strained out the plant material (and of course they don't call me "Grace" for nothing...I managed to dump half of the plant matter onto my kitchen floor during the straining process...GO ME!!!) and added the shampoo just like the recipe said to do. I poured it into some clean Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino bottles (Yes I'm a shameless Starbucks addict and since I dont' have one near me I have to settle with the bottled brand) to let it cool over night. I added a couple of drops of Jasmine essential oil to it the next morning and proceeded to wash my hair with it. My hair feels clean for the first time in a long while. It's soft and manageable and for once in my life it doesn't look like I've reverted to the 80's big hair band look. Not only that but my scalp actually feels clean. In my opinion that is a hard feeling to get with store brand shampoos.

So all in all I am very happy with this DIY Shampoo Recipe. 

Rated:

 (5 Peas)

Had It To *HERE* With My Hair!!!

     Ok, so I am officially tired of spending copious amounts of money on name brand shampoos that leave my hair either flat and dull or frizzy (you know the "stuck my finger in a light socket" look?) and fried.
                                                      

     I've searched the internet up and down to try and find something that's simple and cheap to make. I found out quickly that there are LOADS of DIY sites for everything you can think of...shampoo, conditioner, soap, laundry detergent (Yep, I'm gonna try my hand at making my own laundry detergent too. Stay tuned for that post at a later date.), dish detergent (for hand washing or the dishwasher), lotions, hand soap, even flea shampoos for dogs. So I figure, I will pick the simplest, cheapest one to make and then let you all know how it goes.

Today's project is :

Hair Growth Stimulating Shampoo!!!

     A couple of months back I had the horrible misfortune to get pine sap in my hair. A LOT of pine sap. By the time I could actually DO anything about even attempting to get it out it had worked it's way almost down to the roots of my hair and the only two options I had was turpentine (talk about fried hair) or getting it cut out. I went for what I thought was going to be the lesser of the two evils. Let's just say I was not expecting the results. I ended up with hair about a half inch to an inch long all over my head. To say I was unhappy was a very nice way of putting it and if I was "unhappy" my husband was downright devastated. Well it's growing out but at a much slower rate than my hair normally grows. So this is the recipe I found that seems to be the easiest and cheapest for me at the moment to get my hair growing again. I'll see how it goes and be sure to follow up.

2 cups distilled water
1 cup fresh spearmint
1 cup fresh rosemary
1 cup all-natural, gentle baby shampoo
Essential oil or fragrance oil, your choice, optional (to make it a scented shampoo)

Boil the water with the fresh herbs for about ten minutes, in a glass saucepan (like Visions). Or, you can put in a microwave-safe glass or plastic bowl and heat in the microwave until boiling, and allow to boil for about ten minutes. Then, remove the pot from the stove or bowl from the microwave and cover with a lid and allow to sit and steep for an hour. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth. Mix this with the baby shampoo. Pour into bottles and let set overnight. The next morning you can add some fragrance or essential oil to the shampoo in whatever scent you like the most.