My worst fears are coming true. I suspected that household and bathroom brands would be the hardest to replace, and it has come to pass: after searching for days, I found not one brand-free toothpaste, deodorant or bathroom cleaner… nothing. I now realize how much I love my Mr. Muscle toilet cleaner, Simple soap, Clynomyn toothpaste, Aveda shampoo. Don't get me started on fabric cleaning products. My trips to the John Lewis Fabric Care Department are unusually packed with fun (lots of stern but funky old ladies there for starters) and the feeling I get from having a full stock of Dylon Fabric Whitener, 3M Spray On Starch and Saddle Soap is, well, reassuring.



I didn't intend for this project to transform me into a frugal whole food DIY macrobiotic nutter, but I now find myself considering DIY shampoo recipes on the net. I'm sure you're all dying to know how one can save money, de-brand your bathroom cabinet and still keep a full body of shiny, manageable, stop traffic hair… so here's how.

Shampoo

4 oz of castile soap with any scent is that available – plain, peppermint, eucalyptus.

½ oz of rosemary - stimulates the hair follicles and helps to prevent premature baldness

½ oz of sage – has antioxidants and keeps things from spoiling and is antibacterial

½ oz of nettles – acts as a blood purifier, blood stimulator, contains a large source of nutrients for hair growth

½ of lavender – controls the production of sebaceous gland oil and reduces itchy and flaky scalp conditions

2000 mg of MSM – provides organic sulfur to your scalp, which improves the health and strength of your hair. It also helps to drive herbal nutrient into the skin and follicles where they can do the most good.

One empty 8 oz plastic bottle, or any other empty shampoo or soap bottle.

Mix the herbs in a mason jar, which has a lid. Boil 2 cups of distilled water. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of the mixed herbs into the boiling water. Pull the boiling water and herbs off the stove. Let the herb mixture sit for 30 – 40 minutes. Put the 2000mg of MSM into the herb mixture after 30 minutes of cooling. After 40 minutes and the MSM is melted, strain the herbal mixture into a bowl.

Pour 2 to 2 1/2 oz of strained herbal tea into the 8 oz plastic bottle. Now, pour the 4 oz of castile soap into the 8 oz plastic bottle. Cap the bottle and shake to mix the ingredients.

The shampoo is now finished and ready for use.