Homemade Shampoos

Regular use of shampoos can prove harmful for your hair. Ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, etc are some of the harsh chemicals that are present in shampoos. These can cause your hair to become dry and frizzy. While these agents also help form lather, which most of you feel is the best thing that helps clean hair, remember that these lead to much more frizz. Your hair definitely gets cleaned, but the moisture is also stripped off. Why not use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to get clean, shiny and manageable hair. Here are some homemade baking soda shampoo recipes which you can try out.

Clarifying Shampoo
Here's a recipe that may help you clean your hair and get rid of dirt, oil or conditioner build up. You can just take your regular shampoo and add 3-4 tsp of sodium bicarbonate and juice of half lemon to it. Mix well and use it to wash your hair. Rub it thoroughly over your hair and scalp. Rinse it thoroughly with cold water, so that no residue is left. Finish by applying a conditioner and then rinsing it off with water.

For Regular Wash
Take 2 tbsp of sodium bicabonate and enough warm water, about 1-2 cups to form a paste, not too thick. Mix well. Apply it thoroughly, all over your hair and scalp. Rub your scalp with fingertips, in circular motion. Now run a wide-tooth comb through your hair to help this paste spread over your hair. Wait for 5 minutes and wash off with cold water. Make sure no residue is left behind. Air dry your hair and style hair as usual.

For Frizzy Hair
For curly, fizzy or unmanageable hair, here's something you need to use with a regular wash. Take 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of warm water. Once you rinse with sodium bicarbonate according to the aforementioned procedure, take the mixture of vinegar and water and apply it over your hair. Leave it for about 10 minutes. Now, wash off your hair with cold water.

For Dry Hair
Add 2-3 tsp of honey to the paste of soda and water and use it in the same way to wash your hair. Rinse and follow with vinegar wash. Finish with cold water rinse to get smooth hair. You can vary the amount of honey as required. For extremely dry hair, honey and olive oil mask can be applied on the hair for 30 minutes. Follow by use of the homemade shampoo to cleanse hair and use vinegar for conditioning hair.

Dry Shampoo for Oily Hair
Here's an easy way to get rid of greasy and oily locks. Mix 1 part sodium bicarbonate with 1 part baby powder, add 3 drops of essential oil to it. Now apply this mixture from roots till the tips of hair and comb thoroughly with a fine comb. Get ready with fresh and oil-free hair.

Apart from these recipes, you can use a paste of baking soda and regular shampoo once a month for a clean hair rinse. You can use the aforementioned recipes to get beautiful, shiny, and more manageable hair. Let your locks bounce, shine and enhance your beauty.

By Mamta Mule