What are the best ingredients for shampoo bars?

Make sure your shampoo bar has got plenty of good oils, butters, botanical and hair loving ingredients! Make sure your shampoo bar contains lots of hair loving ingredients, or else it will just be a brick of surfactants. Look, for example, for coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, argan oil, avocado oil, and jojoba .

What hardens a shampoo bar?

Cocoa butter is super moisturising, softening and will harden our shampoo bar.

What oils are best for shampoo bars?

Natural Shampoo bar should be made with olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, shea butter , etc. Because shampoo bars are made using vegetable lipids (oils and butters), the bars can go rancid over time. It is best to plan to use the soaps that you purchase within six months.

Why does my hair feel like straw after shampoo bar?

Did you know nearly 85% of the U.S. has HARD WATER? This leads to mineral build-up in the hair, which can feel gunky and cause hair to look lifeless and dull. Bottom line: shampoo bars + hard water can lead to a bad case of "the waxies" - where your hair feels waxy or straw-like, and no one wants that!

Can you use melt and pour soap to make shampoo bars?

While advanced soap- and shampoo-makers use sodium hydroxide to make their shampoo bars, you can start your DIY shampoo bar journey by using a melt-and-pour soap base .

How do you start shampoo bars?

Start by wetting your hair and the solid Shampoo Bar, then rub it between your hands to make it foam . Hold the Shampoo Bar to your hair and lather from roots to tips . Keep massaging into your hair and scalp until all hair is covered in an extra foamy lather – this shouldn't take too long! Rinse thoroughly.

Can I use Dead Sea mud soap everyday?

A soap made from Dead Sea minerals is a 100% natural, skin-friendly cleanser. It's an excellent choice for oily or dry skin, as it helps remove impurities and excess oils. It's also gentle enough for daily use on all body parts, including the face .

Can I put Dead Sea mud in my hair?

When applied to the scalp, Dead Sea Mud stimulates blood flow and circulation on the scalp and stimulates the hair follicles – making it an effective scalp stimulating treatment. For maximum benefits, use once weekly – massaging it into the scalp and leave it on for 10-15 minutes before shampooing it out in the shower.

What does Dead Sea mud do to your skin?

With hydrating and firming properties, Dead Sea Mud soothes itchiness and inflammation as well as symptoms of skin ailments such as dryness, acne, eczema, and psoriasis . Furthermore, it enhances skin elasticity, reduces the appearance of pores, and smooths the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Are homemade shampoo bars good for your hair?

Whether you are going on a camping trip or are spending time at home, learning how to make a shampoo bar is a great way to save on products. Making a shampoo bar at home is not only better for your hair, but it helps keep nasty chemicals out of the water too .

What is the best way to package shampoo bars?

We recommend giving them a break from the humidity in an airtight container or cupboard . The most sustainable container is one you already own. To re-purpose an airtight container, you can chop our corn-based soap lift to the right size and put it inside so your bars stay dry.

How to Make Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bars: A Simple Recipe & Tutorial (2024)

You are here: Home / Author: Mary Helen Leonard / Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bars

Author: Mary Helen Leonard· Cold Process Recipes· Formulated by Kelly Owens· Soap Making

26Sep

Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bars: a cold processed soap recipe for cleansing hair and balancing scalp.

Dead Sea Mud is wildly popular for skin and hair care. Rich in beneficial minerals like magnesium and potassium, this dark, salty mud can be used as a deep cleansing mask or added to a wide range of formulations for facial, body, and hair care. The following recipe for Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bars combines the fortifying minerals of Dead Sea Mud with a moisturizing blend of conditioning fats including argan, jojoba, and shea.

Silk powder has also been added to contribute a soft and silky slip to the soap’s lather. Black castor oil helps to boost that lather a bit while doubling down on conditioning benefits. Refreshing spearmint and rosemary essential oils finish the bar off with an all-natural, spa-inspired scent.

While our Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bar recipe was formulated with hair care in mind, it can certainly be used as a body bar as well. Try swapping the essential oils for your own custom blend to make this formula your own. Citrus or wood oils would be particularly nice choices to compliment the earthy tone of this gorgeous cold processed soap.

Have you experimented with Dead Sea Mud in your own soap formulations? We’d love to hear about your experiences working with this unique ingredient! Share your soap making story in the comments below, and be sure to include a link to your shop or web site so that we can share your work!

Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bars

Makes about six 4-ounce bars

Ingredients

8.4 ounces (238 grams)Olive Oil (Grade A)

2.4 ounces (68 grams)Organic Argan Oil, Virgin, Deodorized

6.0 ounces (170 grams) Coconut Oil, RBD

1.2 ounces (34 grams) Natural Jojoba Oil

See Also

6 Refreshing DIY Face Mask Recipes

2.4 ounces (68 grams)Shea Butter (Pressed and Refined)

1.2 ounces (34 grams)Black Castor Oil

2.4 ounces (68 grams)RSPO Organic Palm Oil

1.5 ounces (43 grams)Dead Sea Mud

0.5 ounces (14 grams)Superfine Silk Powder

1.0 ounces (28 grams)Vitamin E 400 IU Oil, Non-GMO (Tocopherol)

0.5 ounces (14 grams)Rosemary Essential Oil

0.7 ounces (20 grams)Organic SpearmintEssential Oil

6.0 ounces (170 grams)Distilled Water
3.2 ounces (91 grams)Sodium Hydroxide/Lye

Directions

Start by measuring all of your ingredients individually using an accurate scale. Be sure and take the proper safety precautions when measuring, handling, and working with lye. For more information on prep-work for soaping, check out our Cold Process Method post.
In a heavy-duty plastic pitcher or stainless steel pot, slowly add your lye to your water, mixing slowly until all lye has dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool. Use a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature. Ideally the lye water will cool to 100 F around the same time that the oils reach the same temperature.
Gently heat the solid oils and butters until fully melted. Add the remaining oils, vitamin E, and silk powder. Mix, and let sit until the mixture cools to 100 F degrees.
When both the lye water and oil mixture reach about 100 F add the oil mixture to the soap pot followed the lye water. Immediately begin stirring the mixture with a large whisk or stick blender. Continue to mix until the mixture begins to trace. The texture should be similar to a custard or pudding, leaving a thick coating on the back of your spatula and a drizzle across the surface of the resting soap.
At trace, add your Dead Sea Mud and essential oil, then stir or mix well again until the mud and essential oils have been evenly dispersed.
Carefully transfer the soft soap to lined molds or silicone moldsand insulate(we used 2.5 inch round PVC molds). Allow the soap to harden for at least 24 hours beforeun-molding and slicing.(These bars may take a little longer than usual to harden due to the Dead Sea Mud. If they seem very soft at 24 hours try giving them an extra day or so before slicing.)
Place the sliced bars of soap on a drying rack and allow them to cure for at least four to sixweeksbefore use.

Shelf Life & Stability: Please note that the formulations featured here on The Natural Beauty Workshop have not been challenge tested for stability or shelf life, and may not be suitable for commercial use as-is. For more information on shelf life, stability, and working with preservatives, check out the following article from our Information Library.

Looking for more cold processed soap inspiration? Check out our recipes forDark Chocolate Pumpkin Soap Barsand.

About Mary Helen Leonard

Mary Helen Leonard is a creative lifestyle blogger and author living in Austin, Texas. Mary Helen writes her own lifestyle blog at Mary Makes Good and works as the lead author and editor of the popular natural skin care formulation blog, The Natural Beauty Workshop. Check out her work at www.maryhelenleonard.com

Her books: The Natural Beauty Solution (2014) and The Handmade Mama (2018) are both available in the FNWL bookstore and in most major bookstores.

This post was brought to you by From Nature With Love, offering a huge selection of top quality natural ingredients and supplies for skin care, hair care, soap making, and more!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Johnny says
October 31, 2018 at 10:26 pm
I use dead sea mud often. I put the mud in a open container and let it dry out and then put it in a coffee grinder. I don’t trust buying the dried clay from a supplier just in case some of the minerals have been stripped out. I get mud that is certified pure. My soap changes color according to what ever process I use. I have a c.p. pure olive oil soap that is a nice light green. My h.p soaps turn a light to dark grey. It depends whether I add before or after it has been cooked.
Reply
- Kelly Owens (Moderator) says
  November 2, 2018 at 5:35 pm
  Thank you for the tip, Johnny! We love the idea of drying the mud first. It’s very interesting to see how the same ingredient can look in different soaping methods and applications.
  Reply
PaintyLiz says
June 24, 2023 at 3:05 am
What beautiful soap! Would anyone know where I can find a simple shampoo recipe that has only coconut oil, castor oil, water & lye? I used to buy the bars at our local farmer’s market, but the woman moved away. I can’t find this super-simple recipe anwhere! Thank you for a great and informative blog!
– Liz
Reply
PaintyLiz says
June 24, 2023 at 3:06 am
Rats, I forgot to tick the box that says notify me of new comments LOL … so now I have. Thanks!
Reply
Kelly Owens (Moderator) says
September 4, 2019 at 1:28 pm
Thank you for sharing our Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bar post and for following our policies on how to do so!
Reply