Knowing how to make No Poo shampoo will save you lots of time and money when transitioning to a No Poo haircare regime. Keep reading to discover the best No Poo recipes on the internet!
Making No Poo shampoo can be as easy or complicated as you choose. There are simple recipes that take no more than 2 minutes to concoct and can be stored in the freezer. Conversely, there are recipes that take many hours and must be used fresh to work. With recipes for every type of hair and ailment, there is a No Poo recipe for you.
With so many recipes to choose from, it can often feel like a minefield trying to choose one.
Each recipe will work best on specific types of hair and will be more or less time-consuming depending upon the ingredients used.
Keep reading to find the best DIY shampoos for No Poo, and ultimately a recipe to suit you and your hair.
How To Make No Poo Shampoo
The No Poo hair care movement rejects traditional shampoos that contain man-made chemicals such as sulfates and silicon since these ingredients can damage your hair in the long term.
No Poo’ers prefer to use natural products that clean their hair without damaging the hair or the environment.
There are so many recipes that sometimes it is difficult to work out which you should use, and sometimes, the ones we want to use are those that we just do not have the time to make!
Ultimately, as long as you are only using natural products you will likely be able to find a recipe that works for both you, and your hair.
Essential Oils
For as long as I can remember, there has been a level of controversy as to whether essential oils are actually permitted in the No Poo haircare regime, at all.
From my perspective, the use of essential oils is wholly down to the individual. If you are interested in learning more about these oils, make sure you read my article ‘No Poo Essential Oils For Hair‘.
Whilst scrolling around the internet researching this subject for a number of hours, I found many No Poo recipes containing essential oils. I have therefore opted to include No Poo recipes that include essential oils within them, in the DIY No Poo shampoo recipes listed below.
If you are wondering how to make your own No Poo shampoo recipes, then select your specific hair type below, and give the DIY No Poo shampoo suggested a twirl! (sources 1,2,3,4):
Oily Hair
If you have an oily hair type, why not try:
- Mix 25 drops of lemon oil with 20 drops of rosemary oil.
- Add ¼ cup of Castile oil and a cupful of distilled water.
- Shake vigorously and use to wash you hair as you normally would.
Lemon essential oil is a wonderful ingredient for using in a DIY shampoo.
One of the perks of this DIY No Poo shampoo recipe is that it can be stored in the shower and just needs to be shaken before use.
Dry Hair
For those of you suffering from dry hair, why not use a DIY honey recipe?
Here is a great recipe I found online:
- Mix 1tbsp of pure honey with 3tbsp filtered water
- Massage into wet hair and scalp.
- Leave for a couple of minutes
- Rinse out
That’s it…nothing more to do!
This recipe is great since honey is a natural moisturizer and will improve the softness and moisture levels of your hair almost immediately.
Thin Hair
If you have thin hair, then you are like me and have probably already tried countless recipes that you’ve sourced online.
Below is an egg wash recipe, which is said to add volume to your hair:
- Take 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- Mix these ingredients together
- Wet your hair with cold water
- Massage the mixture into your hair
- Leave on the hair for 2 minutes
- Rinse with cool water (to prevent the egg cooking on your hair!)
The great thing about this recipe is that it only takes two minutes to whip up and you only need to leave the mixture in your hair for a couple of minutes before washing it out with cold water.
You can also add fresh herbs like rosemary to the mixture if you suffer from dandruff or peppermint for individuals with an oily scalp.
Flaky / Itchy Scalp
Having a flaky or itchy scalp can be very irritating, so make sure you try the DIY No Poo Shampoo recipe below:
- 5 Soap nuts
- 3 Cups of water
- Essential Oil – This is option, and completely your choice (tea tree or lavender oil would be my choice)
- Place soap nuts in 2 cups of water and bring to the boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the final cup of water and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove soap nuts so that you can use them on another occasion.
- Add essential oil (optional).
- Let the liquid cool
- Take a small amount of the mixture and massage it through your dry hair and scalp.
- Allow the mixture to sit on your hair before rinsing thoroughly.
- Any remaining liquid can be stored in the fridge for several days.
Curly Hair
One of the most well-known and popular No Poo washes is the baking soda wash with an ACV rinse.
Use this recipe with caution as baking soda can be quite drying on the hair, causing unwanted damage to the hair. You must also dilute the apple cider vinegar before use.
To make sure you don’t make any mistakes, follow my ‘Complete Guide To The Baking Soda No Poo Wash‘ method.
Here’s a recipe for the curly-haired individuals amongst us:
- Mix a teaspoon of baking soda into a paste with water
- Wet your hair with lukewarm water. Do not use water that is too hot as this will stimulate overproduction of sebum which may make your hair greasy.
- If your hair is highly porous then warming some coconut oil and running it through your curls before washing can help stop the baking soda drying your hair.
- Apply the baking soda paste to your scalp and massage in. Make sure that you aim to only apply the paste to your scalp and not to your curls. Whilst it is a wonderful product for cleaning your scalp, baking soda has a high pH which will dry out your curls if used too much.
- Wash out the baking soda thoroughly
- Spray your scalp and hair with 1 part ACV to 5 parts water and let it sit for 3-5 minutes.
- Wash out the ACV with cool water. Cold water will close the hairs cuticles and lessen frizz, leaving your hair looking shiny and healthy.
- Dry your hair with a cotton t-shirt or similar in a dabbing motion. Do not scrub hair dry as this will make it frizzy and lose the definition of your curls
- Use a wide-toothed comb to style hair. Do not use a boar bristle brush as this will damage your curls.
What Is The No Poo Method?
The No Poo method is not just one way to clean our hair and keep it shiny and healthy. Instead, it is an umbrella term used to describe several different methods of cleaning your hair naturally.
The one thing that all the No Poo washes have in common is that none of these methods use traditional shampoos or man-made chemicals.
The most popular No Poo methods are as follows:
- Water-Only: Only water is used to clean hair.
- Sebum-Only: The natural oils produced by the scalp are used to clean and moisturize hair.
- No Poo DIY Shampoo: Baking Soda & ACV, or natural ingredients available in your home and garden.
- Co-Washing: Washing your hair with conditioner only.
- Low Poo Shampoo: Although not technically No Poo, Low Poo is considered alongside No Poo.
There are many reasons why people turn to No Poo from traditional shampoos, and each reason is as individual as the hair that it affects. Below are some common reasons for making the switch to No Poo:
- No Chemicals
- Environmentally friendly
- Inexpensive
- Improved hair quality
- Can improve hair growth
- Good for scalp health
- Healthier and shinier hair
No Poo Products
Almost anything and everything can be used to make your own No Poo shampoo.
Some popular No Poo products include:
- Essential Oils
- Herbs
- Clays
- Honey
- Soapnuts
- Baking Soda
- Acid rinses
- Any other natural product
The important thing is, to be honest about what you wish to achieve from the No Poo hair wash that you use.
You can do this by writing down what you want the DIY No Poo shampoo to do for your hair, and then combine the ingredients that combat your hair woes.
Whatever your hair needs, there will be a natural product that can improve your scalp and hair condition. It’s only when you experiment that you’ll find the best product for you and your hair.
DIY No Poo Shampoo For Curly Hair
Curly hair tends to be porous and dry. This means that whatever you put onto your hair will easily be absorbed by the hair.
The benefit of this is that you will generally be able to go far longer between washes than those with fine or non-porous hair.
Curly hair will benefit from egg washes, but also will normally be quite happy with the most popular baking soda and apple cider vinegar rinses.
Best No Poo Shampoo For Fine Hair
Fine hair is probably the hardest to No Poo.
This is because the natural oils sit more heavily on fine and non-porous hair, weighing it down so that it looks limp and lackluster.
There are several options for No Pooing fine hair; light essential oil or herbal rinses combined with conditioning treatments once every few months will keep your hair in tip-top condition.
No Poo Dry Shampoo
There are several No Poo dry shampoo options.
Rye flour works brilliantly to combat oily hair, and if you have dark hair, adding some cocoa powder can really make a difference.
Talc is often also used to soak up excess grease.
Dry shampoo has also been said to help with frizz, especially in a humid climate.
One of the best dry shampoo recipes is as follows.
- 2tbs cocoa powder
- 2 drops of lavender oil
- 1 drop of peppermint oil
- Mix these ingredients together
- When the ingredients are well mixed, distribute evenly through your hair
- Leave it to sit for a few minutes.
- Brush or comb out before continuing your day as usual (sources 1,2).
Best No Poo Shampoo
If making your own No Poo shampoo is not on your radar, there are many commercially available No Poo shampoos that can be purchased either online or in your local natural food stores.
The best No Poo shampoos do not contain:
- Sulfates
- Parabens
- Silicons
- Colorings
- Scents
Just with all shampoos, the best one is simply down to personal preference. It may be that you need to try a few before you find the one that suits your hair the best.
No Poo Method Water Only
The No Poo Water Only method is where an individual only uses water to keep their hair clean and healthy. This is possibly one of the most difficult No Poo roads to achieve success with.
Water-only means that it is not necessary to make or buy your own shampoo.
Learn more about this method of No Poo haircare in this article I wrote.
Conclusion
The ‘How To’ part of making a No Poo shampoo is the easy bit.
Choosing which method and ingredients to use however is considerably more difficult since there are so many recipes to choose from, that whatever problem you have with your hair, there is an ingredient and No Poo method to help you.
I hope you have found my guide on how to make No Poo shampoo useful.