Improving Sulfate-Free, Silicone-Free Shampoo: Hair Feel, Color, and Foam

Question

I am making a sulfate-free, silicone-free shampoo for hair loss and want to improve the hair feel (add weight, smoothness, reduce tangling). My current formula includes the following ingredients:
Plantacare 1200 120 g
Plantacare 2000 120 g
Lamesoft PO 65 150 g
Amilite GCK-12H 50 g
Ajidew NL-50 150 g
Liquid Vitamin B5 50 g
Phenostat
Herbal water: Kaffir lime, Ginger, Tinospora crispa, Yanang leaves, total 330 g

Additionally, the shampoo color is dark green from the herbal water. Is there a way to make the color look better? The shampoo also doesn't produce much foam; I have to use a large amount to wash my shoulder-length hair thoroughly. What ingredients should I add to address these issues?

MySkinRecipes Expert · Accepted Answer

Improving Hair Feel (Weight, Smoothness, Detangling)

To give your hair more weight, smoothness, and reduce tangling without using silicones, you can add conditioning polymers or proteins.

Poly-Conditioner 47: This ingredient is excellent for detangling and improving both wet and dry combability, making hair feel smoother and easier to manage. It is compatible with the types of surfactants you are using.
GuarCat™ Standard: This cationic guar gum provides conditioning benefits, reduces tangling, and can help add viscosity and a feeling of weight to the hair.
Hydrolyzed Keratin (Liquid, Deodorized): As hair is primarily made of keratin, adding hydrolyzed keratin can help strengthen and restore damaged hair, leading to improved texture and smoothness.

You could incorporate either Poly-Conditioner 47 or GuarCat™ Standard for detangling and smoothness. GuarCat™ Standard would also contribute to the desired "weight". Adding Hydrolyzed Keratin would offer additional repair and smoothing benefits.

Improving Color Appearance

The dark green color comes from your herbal extracts. While you cannot easily change the base color without affecting the extracts, you can improve the visual appeal by adding a pearlescent agent.

emulPearl™ (Pearlizer, Dispersed Liquid): This additive creates a beautiful pearly or shimmery effect in liquid products like shampoo, which can make the product look more appealing despite the natural color from the herbs.

Increasing Foam

Your current surfactant system is mild and sulfate-free, which naturally produces less foam than traditional sulfate shampoos. To increase lather, you can add a foam booster compatible with your formula.

Creamy Foamer™: This is an anionic foam booster that creates a soft and creamy lather and is suitable for sulfate-free formulas.
Coco-Foam-50™ or Laura-Foam-50™: These are amphoteric surfactants that are effective foam boosters and compatible with various surfactant types.
Cocamidopropylamine Oxide: This is another excellent amphoteric foam booster and stabilizer that can help increase lather volume and stability.

Adding one of these foam boosters can significantly improve the lathering performance of your shampoo.