How to Make Rice Shampoo Bar?- The DIY Recipe

Hey there, fellow hair enthusiasts! Have you ever found yourself searching for a hair care routine that’s not only effective but also gentle and natural? I totally get it! That’s why I’m so excited to share with you a fantastic DIY project: how to make rice shampoo bar.

This isn’t just any shampoo bar, it combines the cleansing power of a shampoo with the centuries-old tradition of rice water rinses, all in one handy bar! Think of it – sulfate-free cleansing, added rice starch benefits, a long-lasting no-fuss bar, customizable scent and color and it’s an eco-friendly and cost-effective option. And the best part? It doesn’t require any heat, fancy molds, or special equipment. Let’s dive in!

The Science Behind Rice Starch & Rice Water

Let’s take a little trip back in time, shall we? For centuries, women in Japan and China have used rice water to care for their hair. It’s not just some trendy fad; it’s a practice with deep cultural roots and a long history of successful use. Rice water is said to protect and detangle hair, promote hair growth, add shine, and strengthen hair. But let’s be real, who has the time to maintain a jar of rice water for every shower? That’s where the genius of rice starch comes in!

Rice is mostly starch, and that’s what dissolves into water when you soak it. So, why not skip the soaking and go straight for the starch? Using rice starch in a shampoo bar is a super practical way to get those same benefits without the extra steps. It’s like combining shampooing with your rice water rinse in one easy step.

Rice starch helps to dilute the surfactants in the shampoo bar, making it milder. And the best part is that the starch won’t impact the lather and won’t melt or soften in the shower. Plus, to make things even better, we’re adding hydrolyzed rice protein to this formulation, which will further boost the benefits of rice by adding some of the protein from rice as well.

Video Guide: How to make Rice Shampoo Bar

Here is a step by step video guide for making rice shampoo bar:

Related: Does charcoal shampoo darken hair?

Understanding the Key Ingredients for Making Riche Shampoo Bar

So, what makes this shampoo bar so special? It’s all in the ingredients! Shampoo bars are made primarily of solid ingredients. Let’s break down the key players:

• Solid Surfactants: These are the workhorses that get your hair clean.
  • Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI): This is a super gentle, anionic surfactant made from coconut oil. It’s what gives our bar that lovely rich, velvety lather. Just a heads up, there’s a 49.87% limit on how much SCI can be used in rinse-off applications. You can find more info about SCI in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa): This is another gentle, anionic surfactant, also from coconut oil, that bumps up the fluffiness of the lather. Don’t confuse it with SLS; SLSa is much milder. Because of the limitations on SCI, we need to use SLSa. You can find more information in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
• Rice Starch: This is our nod to the traditional rice water rinse. It dilutes the surfactants making the shampoo bar milder. The rice starch is like a substitute for the water in liquid shampoos.
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine: This is a gentle, amphoteric surfactant that boosts the flash foam and makes the overall formula milder. You can find more information in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
• Camellia Seed Oil: This lovely oil, pressed from the seeds of the plant that gives us tea, is our re-fatting ingredient. It makes sure your hair doesn’t feel dry and stripped after washing. It also has a long history of use in hair care in China and Japan. You can find more information in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
• Hydrolyzed Rice Protein: This ingredient adds some extra moisture and volume to your hair. You can find more information in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
• Fragrance Oil: This adds a lovely scent to the bar. The recipe calls for Wildflower Honey fragrance oil, inspired by the L’Occitane Honey and Propolis scent. Always make sure you are following IFRA guidelines.
• Preservative (Liquid Germall Plus): Because this bar will be used with water, we need a preservative to prevent any microbial growth. You can find more information in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
• Vitamin E: This helps delay the onset of rancidity. You can find more information in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia.
• Water-Soluble Dye: This is totally optional and just for color.

How to make rice shampoo bar? Step-by-Step Guide

Alright, are you ready to get your hands dirty? Let’s make this shampoo bar!

Safety First: Always wear a well-fitting dust mask when handling solid surfactants and wear nitrile gloves when mixing the ingredients.

Ingredients and Equipment List:

Dry Phase:

• 40g (40%) Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)
• 23g (23%) Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa)
• 15g (15%) Rice Starch

Wet Phase:

• 11.99g (11.99%) Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• 0.01g (0.01%) Water-Soluble Dye
• 4g (4%) Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
• 5g (5%) Camellia Seed Oil
• 0.4g (0.4%) Wildflower Honey Fragrance Oil
• 0.5g (0.5%) Liquid Germall Plus™
• 0.1g (0.1%) Vitamin E MT-50

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Dust Mask
• Nitrile GlovesSpoon or Spatula
• Optional: Silicone mold or press

Note: Handling lye can be hazardous, wear protective gear and work in a well-ventilated area.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Rice Shampoo Bar:

1. Mix Dry Ingredients: Put on your dust mask and mix the SCI, SLSa, and rice starch in a bowl.
2. Prepare Wet Ingredients: Dissolve the dye in the Cocamidopropyl Betaine.
3. Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients.
4. Knead the Dough: Put on your gloves, and mix everything together with your hands until a smooth, uniform dough forms. It’s just like making pasta dough!
5. Shape the Bar: Shape the dough into a bar by hand, in a mold, or with a press.
6. Dry/Age the Bar: Let the bar dry for 3-4 days to allow for water evaporation and hardening. It should lose about 3% of its weight.

DIY Rice Shampoo Bar: Tips for Success

Let’s chat about some tips to help you nail this shampoo bar:

Adjusting Dough Consistency:

• If your dough is too sticky, add more starch (arrowroot or cornstarch works great). This can happen if your SCI has a larger grain size.
• If your dough is too dry, add a few drops of water. This is less likely to happen if you use a fine-grain SCI.

Drying Time: Patience is key! It’s best to let the bar dry for 3-4 days. If you live somewhere humid, it may need a little longer.

How to use the shampoo bar: Massage the bar directly into wet hair to create a lather. It also makes a great body wash if you use a loofah.

Shelf Life and Storage: The bar will come into contact with water so a broad-spectrum preservative is necessary. If you see any changes in color, scent, or texture, it’s best to toss it and make a fresh one.

Customize Your Shampoo Bar: Unleash Your Creativity

One of the best things about making your own shampoo bar is that you’re not stuck with a one-size-fits-all product. You have the power to customize it to your unique needs and preferences! Want a different scent? A different oil?

No problem! Here’s where you can really make this shampoo bar your own, but remember that making substitutions will alter the final product, and the wet/dry balance of the formulation is important.

• Surfactant Swaps: While Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) is a key ingredient for its gentle cleansing and rich lather, it has a usage limit of 49.87% in rinse-off products. This means you can’t replace Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa) completely with SCI. However, you can use Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate (Bio-Terge® AS-90) as a substitute for SLSa. Just make sure to use the solid form and not the liquid.
• Starch Variations: The recipe uses rice starch to combine shampooing with the benefits of a rice water rinse. If you want to experiment, you can try a different starch. However, be aware that you might need to adjust the liquid-to-dry ratio to get the right dough consistency.
• Oil Options: The original recipe uses camellia seed oil which is great for hair and has a history of use in China and Japan. However, you can use any liquid oil your hair loves. Rice bran oil is a great alternative that fits the theme.
• Preservative Alternatives: The recipe calls for Liquid Germall Plus as a preservative. If you want to use a different preservative, it’s important to make sure that there are no conflicts with the formulation.
• Fragrance Freedom: The recipe includes Wildflower Honey fragrance oil, but you can use any fragrance oil or essential oil that suits your preferences. Just make sure you stay within IFRA guidelines.
• Protein Power: You can swap out the hydrolyzed rice protein with another liquid hydrolyzed protein such as oat, baobab, or quinoa.
• Color Your World: The water-soluble dye is optional. If you want to skip the color, you can simply add more of the Cocamidopropyl Betaine.

With so many options for customization, you can really tailor this shampoo bar to your liking and your hair’s unique needs.

Scaling the Recipe – If You Want to Make Shampoo Bar

This recipe makes a 100g bar, but you can easily scale it up or down since both grams and percentages are provided. For example, if you wanted to make a 200g batch you would simply double all the measurements. A 100g batch should not be divided into more than 3 bars.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Sometimes things don’t go perfectly, and that’s okay! Here are some things you can do to address common issues:

• If your bar cracks, that could be a sign it dried too quickly, or that the dry-to-wet balance was off
• If your bar isn’t lathering, that could be because you are using it in hard water, or the formulation wasn’t mixed well enough
• If your bar isn’t drying well, consider extending the drying time, or using a lower-humidity environment

The Environmental Impact of Shampoo Bars

Let’s talk about the planet! Shampoo bars are a great way to reduce plastic waste since they typically use minimal packaging. Plus, you can pat yourself on the back for not buying liquid shampoo in single-use plastic bottles.

DIY vs. Store-Bought Shampoo Bars

Making your own shampoo bar is often more affordable than buying one, plus you get to customize the ingredients. This also gives you more control over your environmental impact.

Reader Testimonials

I’d love to hear from you! If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. Have you used rice water for your hair before? Tell me about your experience.

What is rice water shampoo?

The trending rice water has been an age-old Asian hair care treatment. The Japanese women in the Heian period and Yao women of China attributed the starchy, nutrient-packed rice water as the secret to their floor-length, healthy, dark, ageless hair. This elixir, made by soaking, boiling, or fermenting rice in water, is rich in vitamins, potassium, magnesium, iodine, selenium, zinc, and manganese. It nourishes the scalp and hair, repairs, strengthens, and adds shine and growth to the follicles.

As the name says, rice water shampoo is a purifying hair cleanser containing nutrient-enriched starchy leftover water as the main ingredient.

Why use rice shampoo bar?

With age, hormonal change, and environmental damage, scalp and hair undergo many changes. You may notice a decline in natural oil production, hair thinning, and more hair fall, dealing with sensitivity, itchiness, irritation, and inflammation. Rice shampoo benefits hair with increased growth, strength, and a healthier scalp. Hence, it would be foolish not to incorporate rice water into your hair care routine.

Benefits of rice water shampoo bar

Here are the 4 benefits your hair would draw from rice water shampoo from the time you start using it:

Stimulate hair growth

Rice water shampoo bar is enriched with the powerful antioxidants- Vitamin C and E, known to stimulate blood flow and hair growth. Hence, after a few uses, you will notice nourished roots with faster hair growth.

Strengthens hair follicle

Rice shampoo bar contains the fortifying nutrients – inositol, a carbohydrate, and amino acids– cysteine and methionine. These nutrients fortify hair follicles with strength and reduce breakage. As a result, hair turns resilient enough to withstand pull.

Makes hair shiny

Rice shampoo bars also improve your hair’s texture and shine. Inositol, besides adding strength, also moisturizes hair follicles. This improves hair’s elasticity and texture. reduces frizz and turns hair smoother and shinier.

Treats dandruff and itchiness

Rice water reduces dandruff and itchiness. Its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds soothe an inflamed scalp, the root cause of dandruff. Its starch absorbs excess oil that often worsens dandruff. Moreover, the probiotic properties of fermented rice water reduce the growth of pathological microorganisms that cause inflammation.

FAQs about rice protein shampoo bar

Final Word: How to make rice shampoo bar?

There you have it – a complete guide to making your own DIY rice starch shampoo bar (sustainable hair care formula)! Not only is it a fun project, but it’s also a great way to incorporate natural ingredients into your hair care routine. It combines the goodness of rice water with the ease of a shampoo bar. Now, go ahead and make your very own! And don’t forget, hair care traditions using rice water have been around for centuries. Why not give it a try? Happy shampooing!