How about this sweet slice o’life, my Aunt Carol & Uncle Joe at Gramma Lil’s kitchen sink, late 1950’s, I think.
“Tiny Bubbles”
You can make your own specially formulated herbal shampoo – how cool is that? This shampoo is very simple to prepare (which makes it a good kids-craft), is much gentler on your hair, and the cost is minimal.
Homemade Herbal Shampoo
Take 1 pint boiling water, toss in a big handful of herbs appropriate to your hair type.
You can refer to Part One of this article for Categories of use.
For example, with my dark and graying hair, I would use rosemary, sage and birch bark .
So, you’ve tossed your chosen herbs into the boiling water,
now reduce the heat to a simmer and let steep for 20 minutes,
adding more hot water to keep it roughly at 1 pint if the liquid evaporates.
After 20 minutes, line a colander with cheesecloth or other cloth, and strain the brew, and cool.
Remove strainer, then stir in 2 ounces grated castile soap or 2 ounces liquid castile soap to the brew, stirring until melted or well blended.
Now you can pour your shampoo into a dispensing bottle.
When choosing what herbs to use, try to formulate it with something from each category. If you remember from Part One, the categories are Tonics, Growth Stimulant, and Dyes or Colorants.
Dandruff is also one of the categories, but not everyone needs to treat their scalp as such; however, all the herbs in this category are considered tonic and soothing. You may find that a little goes a long way with this natural soap shampoo compared to most commercial brands (which are likened to detergents), and you can dilute it, or bump it up a notch, to suit your lather requirements.
Follow up your herbal shampoo with your own herbal conditioner, which will be discussed in the next blog-post, Herbal Treatments for the Hair – Part Three, “What Condition Your Conditioner Is In”.
