Hello
Good question, and one I’ve often thought about myself.
The guys at "All Info about Chemistry" did the job for us.
( http://chemistry.allinfo-about.com/150801_whatis_shampoo.html )
They looked at several different brands to see what they contain
according to their ingredients labels and found the following
composition was pretty much a standard:
(I’ll quote it almost verbatim, as it’s well written, and
informative.)
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate: This is a soap-like chemical made from
chemicals extracted from a type of oil. It is what makes the shampoo
work. This is the active ingredient, it lubricates the hair and has a
soap-like action to lift the dirt and grease from the hair shaft.
You may also find these instead. The "active ingredient" is called a
"surfactant", and different ones are used in varying strengths of
Shampoo.]
- Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate - very, very, harsh on some types of hair
- Ammonium Laureth Sulfate- very harsh but better than the above
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate- better than the above, but still a little
harsh
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate-gentle
- TEA lauryl Sulfate-gentle
- TEA Laureth Sulfate-gentle
You’ll find a good run down of "surfactants" at "Shampoo 101" (yes, it
does exist!)
( http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/4266/shampoo.html )
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: This is another soapy chemical that does a
similar job to sodium laureth sulfate.
- Cocomidopropyl Betaine: This is an organic chemical which assists
the cleaning process.
- Parfum: Again, this is just trying to make things sound
exotic...it's PERFUME!!! It makes the shampoo smell nice! Without
"parfum" the shampoo would smell very faintly of ammonia.
- Sodium Chloride: This is the same stuff as the salt you sprinkle on
your dinner. It's here to help make sure everything dissolves
correctly and to help to maintain the shampoo's pH.
- Hydrolysed Silk Protein: Again, this is more of the exotic naming.
Hydrolysing a protein breaks it down into amino acids, so all this
means is there are a whole bunch of amino acids present in the
shampoo, none of which really do a great deal other than increase the
price.
- Hydrolysed Wheat Starch: Guess what? More of the same! Only this
time it's sugars and not amino acids. Whether or not these make any
difference to your hair is debatable.
- Glycerine: Sometimes it is named as "propan-1,2,3-triol" but it's
the same stuff found in the first aid box. It's a very good lubricant
and moisturiser and helps to stop the hair drying out too quickly.
- Benzoic Acid: This is a chemical which helps to lift loose "scales"
from the hair shaft to make it feel more smooth.
- Cl 60730: This is like an E number for shampoo! It's just a colour
they add to the shampoo to make it look nicer. In this case, it's a
light purple. Without this, the shampoo would be a dull yellow.
- EDTA: This is a chemical which belongs to a group known as ligands.
It binds to other chemicals in the shampoo to help them to dissolve
and react with one another.
You may also find:
- Foam Stabilizers: There are many of these, all with very important
sounding names. They stop the bubbles from bursting.
- Herbal Extracts: Shampoo manufacturers love these! Their names are
usually written in Latin to make them sound exotic, but they really
are things you'd find in your kitchen or garden anyway. They don't do
very much other than make it smell nice and maybe some
aromatherapeutic effects.
- Polymers: These tend to be found in the "2-in-1" shampoos or in
conditioners. They are basically liquid forms of plastic. They coat
the hair in a kind of "varnish" that makes it look glossy and healthy.
In truth, they are just for aesthetic purposes and do no real good.
You can usually spot these by the glossy, pearl-like appearance of the
shampoo.
-=o0o=-
Big business can afford to buy these chemicals in bulk and make up
huge batches of the stuff, but for your own use buying a lot of the
above would be uneconomic. What you really want to know is how to
economically make your own.
Effectively, shampoo is just liquid soap, usually made with vegetable
oils rather than animal fat, and with glycerine and alcohol added
during the soap making process.
The basic ingredients for regular soap are lye (potash leached from
ashes, which is the main active ingredient, equivalent to the Sodium
Laureth Sulfate in commercial brands ), fat (animal tallow) or oil,
and water. (Depending on how basic you want to get, you could even
make your own lye and render your own fat, but that's very time
consuming, and messy. )
Lye can be bought from most "herbal" stores/pharmacies - the other
ingredients are all available in supermarkets.
Here’s a recipe from makestuff.com for a gentle, all purpose shampoo
that'll give you an idea of the proportions of the various elements.
(http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/hair_care.html#trulyhomemade ).
-=o0o=-
· 2 lb. 10 oz. olive oil
· 1 lb. 7 ox. of solid-type vegetable shortening (or lard)
· 1 lb. coconut oil
· 10 1/4 oz. lye
· 2 pt. water
· 1 1/2 oz. glycerine
· 1/2 oz. alcohol
· 1 1/2 oz castor oil
· NOTE: You will need a candy thermometer to test temperatures.
Mix oils together. Place in a container and set the container in a
large pan.
Mix the lye solution - pour the lye into an enamel coated container of
2 pints of cold water and stir steadily. When cooled, pour lye
solution into a glass container and set in another large pan. Bring
both to between 95° and 98° F - this will mean pouring either cold or
hot water into the pans, depending on the original temperature of the
ingredients.
Add the lye solution to the oils, pouring in a steady stream while
continuing to stir. The mixture will turn opaque and brownish, then
will lighten. It's ready when its surface can support a drop of
mixture for a moment. The consistency should be like sour cream.
Stir in 1 1/2 oz. glycerine 1/2 oz. alcohol and 1 1/2 oz castor oil.
Add any colorants, scents you desire.
Now, you can pour the mixture into molds and allow to harden, then
make the shampoo as you need it by shaving off flakes and boiling in
water until they dissolve - about 1 pound of shavings per gallon of
water. Or, you can add more water to mixture, boil, and allow to cool,
then place in bottles for use.
They also have other, much easier, recipes on that site that cheat and
use baby shampoo as a base, and also some recipes for dry shampoo and
herbal conditioners.
-=o0o=-
I’ve used a recipe like it in my long-haired past, and I used beer for
the alcohol. You can also add an egg - equivalent to the "Hydrolysed
Silk Protein" in the industrial examples.)
If you enjoy making the shampoo, they have lots of other "home"
projects on their site - almost as much fun as a childhood chemistry
set.
(http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/index.html )
And finally, a quote from "The History of Shampoo" at Hairiffic.com
(http://www.hairrific.com/hist.htm#shampoo )
"The word "shampoo" comes from the Hindu word champo which means "to
massage" or "to knead". The first successful retail shampoo was
developed by John Breck in the 1930s"
Hope that helps
Willie-ga
Google search used
shampoo chemistry
shampoo "make your own" |
