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How to Make Homemade Shampoo (Only Two Ingredients)

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A simple shampoo recipe without castile soap!

Margaret Boyles
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One day early last spring, I counted the ingredients of my shampoos. Each contained at least 20 ingredients—many of them unpronounceable—and three or four of them had suspected toxins. Two contained fragrances that made me sneeze. On that day, I decided to try an easy two-ingredient homemade shampoo that I’d read about for years but that had always seemed too hokey. I’ve never looked back.

Baking Soda and Cider Vinegar

My new strategy calls for an alkaline washing ingredient—baking soda—followed by an acidic rinse of apple cider vinegar. That’s it!

To my surprise, the two-ingredient method worked well, leaving my hair clean, shiny, and more manageable than any of the hundred products or combinations of products that I’ve used through the decades.

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This was cheap, easy, remarkably effective, and probably a lot safer. I always have these ingredients on hand for various household uses.

Like me, you probably won’t believe that the baking soda method will actually clean your hair, so you’ll want to give it your first try on a vacation or weekend day when you have the time to repeat with your usual routine if you don’t like the results.

I’ve seen dozens of “recipes” for this natural approach to hair care. I don’t think that the exact proportions matter. I just fiddled around until I found what worked well for me.

How to Make Homemade Shampoo

Here’s how to both make and use the two-ingredient shampoo:

  • I pour a bit less than half a cup of baking soda into a small bowl and 1/2 cup of cider vinegar into another.
  • Then I add a couple of cups of warm water to each bowl.
  • I pour the dissolved baking soda solution through my wet hair.
  • Then I rinse my hair well.
  • Finally, I pour the vinegar solution through. I usually don’t rinse it out, but you can. Either way, the vinegar smell disappears within minutes.

It took me a while to get used to the idea that just pouring a solution through my hair with no scrubbing or lathering could get it clean, but it really does. I haven’t found a need for conditioning, but I haven’t tested my new shampoo through a dry New England winter yet. But advocates of this hair care method suggest adding a few drops of olive, sesame, castor or some other oil to the washing solution for frizz or static control.

Some of my friends (who are now converted) use this shampoo along with another one to mix it up.  That works, too. Do what works for you! 

Learn more
Check the safety rating on the personal-care products you use for yourself and your family. Environmental Working Groups staff scientists compare the ingredients on personal care product labels and websites with information in nearly 60 toxicity and regulatory databases.

See more DIY natural toiletry products.

Wellness
About The Author

Margaret Boyles

Margaret Boyles is a longtime contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. She wrote for UNH Cooperative Extension, managed NH Outside, and contributes to various media covering environmental and human health issues. Read More from Margaret Boyles

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Comments

Anne (not verified)

2 years 3 months ago

maybe lemon juice + water could be used as a rinse, if one doesn't like vinegar~

mark bill (not verified)

2 years 10 months ago

Thanks so much for impacting us with your knowledge and time you spend to do research we appreciate. serum products for face

V. LeBlanc (not verified)

3 years 2 months ago

I've been doing this for years and it does work great.

Sara (not verified)

4 years 2 months ago

I'd like to try this, but I'm unclear - do you wet your hair first, or just pour the baking soda mixture through dry hair?

Deborah Williams (not verified)

5 years 2 months ago

Just did my long grey hair with the soda and vinegar. Wow. So clean. Used white vinegar as my locks grab color from everything! Thanks. Never paying $20-30 a bottle for grey hair shampoo

Shay Simmons (not verified)

5 years 2 months ago

Not being able to pronounce an ingredient is not evidence that it's harmful. You will probably not be able to pronounce fully a half of the ingredients in your blood.

Also, "toxin" has a specific biological definition. It does not mean "poison."

Sandy (not verified)

5 years 2 months ago

I used vinegar frequently for a hair rinse, told my haircutter about it, how nice it made my hair feel and manage, and she said to be cautious because it breaks down the hair and eventually could cause some problem. so maybe use it less often...

Gina Rios (not verified)

7 years 6 months ago

Thank you very much (Tudah Rbah). I asked the Creator to help me rid my house of pharmacea. I asked Yah about what to use to wash my hair. I hadn't used shampoo for years and was using bee honey. But I learned bee honey is from an unclean insect; we are not made to ingest this. The men who call themselves rabbis say it is ok. But I follow only AHhD RB, HaMSHYHh (only One Rabbi, the Messiah). After asking Yah to help me on this, He told me (through the RYH HaQodesh) to use a cleaning agent (borax) and a grease-cutting agent (lemon juice). I thank you for your input. Know the real Name of the Creator is Yah (short version). When we say HaLLUYaH, we are saying , "the highest praise to Yah," in Hebrew. The Name as told to Mose is Hayah asher Hayah is His Name sandwiching the word asher, which means blessed. Hayah means Breath of Life, worship, Breath of Everlasting Life. We are to do the 7 appointed times, as written of in Leviticus/Wayyiqra 23, but no more animal sacrifices. Shalom UAhabah (peace and love) from our home to yours.