If natural ingredients are important to you and you want to avoid harmful synthetic chemicals, making your own shampoo is much easier than you think. Aloe vera gently cleanses the scalp and hair and is a natural conditioner.

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Choosing Your Ingredients

For the basic shampoo you will need 475ml of distilled water, 180ml of liquid castile soap, 30ml of aloe vera gel and a teaspoon of jojoba oil. You can add in your favourite essential oils or dried herbs if you would like, but the most important thing is to obtain pure, organic aloe vera gel. Check the packaging to make sure that it does not contain alcohol or chemicals.

If you grow your own aloe plants you can harvest the aloe vera gel directly by cutting off a leaf, slicing it lengthways and scooping out the translucent gel. Two tablespoons of fresh aloe vera gel is about 30ml so you will probably need 4 or 5 leaves, depending on their size.

If you’re wondering what exactly is an aloe vera juice, it comes from the green part of the leaf surrounding the aloe vera gel. Aloe vera juice can be ingested orally and according to the Daily Mail has many health benefits.

Making the Shampoo

If you are using dried herbs in your shampoo, bring the distilled water to a rolling boil in a saucepan and add up to 50 grams of your chosen herbs. Cover the pan and reduce the heat, allowing the herbs to infuse in the water for about 20 minutes. Strain out and discard.

If you are not adding herbs you do not need to heat the distilled water, just mix the ingredients as they are. Gently stir the liquid castile soap into the water, then add the aloe vera gel and stir in well. Then the jojoba and any essential oils can be mixed in. Do not add more than 50 drops of your chosen essential oil.

The shampoo can then be poured carefully into a bottle using a funnel. There should be about 710ml so you can select an appropriately sized bottle. It does not matter whether in is glass or plastic. Shampoo with dried herbs added should be stored in the refrigerator, but otherwise will be safe at room temperature. It will need to be shaken before each use.