In 1990 I decided not to use the commercially made shampoos after reading Aubrey Hamptons book, Natural Organic Hair and Skin Care. In this book Aubrey tells you how to read the label on any product that you put on your skin or hair.

Manufacturers are constantly using toxic chemicals in their skin and hair products and disregard their toxic effects on your body. This is easily seen in the list of chemicals that they use. Here are a few of these chemicals found in many product labels:

* propylene glycol or glycol a petrochemical used because it is cheap

* cetearyl alcohol emulsifier that can be synthetic or natural

* methylparaben or propylparaben typical synthetic preservatives

* distearate this is polyethylene glycol or polypropylene glycol which are petrochemicals

* isopropyl alcohol used as a cheap solvent to carry synthetic oils.

Here is a natural shampoo that you can make. This formulation is something that I have been using for many years. First collect the following items:

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

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

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

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

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. Use this as a base for all of the shampoos you make. You can add different herbs as you learn what these herbs do and how they help your hair. You can vary the ingredients according to your taste. But now you have a shampoo that has no additives that can harm you.