Making Herbal Shampoo with Sulfate Free Shampoo Base

Thank you for your interest in making your own herbal shampoo. Using a pre-formulated base like the Sulfate Free Shampoo Base can simplify the process. Here are the answers to your questions:

1. Sulfate Free Shampoo Base Stability and Usage

The Sulfate Free Shampoo Base (pH 7, Clear, Foaming) is a stable, pre-formulated base designed for creating gentle cleansing products like shampoos, liquid soaps, and facial cleansers. It is sulfate-free and provides good foaming.

1.1 Adding Herbal Water

Yes, you can add prepared herbal water to this base. The typical usage rate for the Sulfate Free Shampoo Base is 25-35% in your final product. This means you would mix 25-35% of the base with 65-75% water or herbal water, and then add other desired ingredients like extracts, fragrances, and preservatives.

1.2 Yield and Production Steps

Using the recommended usage rate of 25-35%:

• If you use 100g of the base at a 25% concentration, you would mix it with 300g of water/herbal water, yielding approximately 400g of shampoo.
• If you use 100g of the base at a 35% concentration, you would mix it with approximately 185g of water/herbal water, yielding approximately 285g of shampoo.

The product description provides the recommended usage rate and general mixing instructions (mix in water, stir gently). It explains how to thicken the base if needed (e.g., using salt or thickeners like SugarThick, ClearClean, Xanthan Gum, EasyThick). However, it does not provide a detailed step-by-step guide for creating a complete herbal shampoo formulation from scratch, as the process would depend on the specific herbal extracts and other ingredients you choose to add.

2. Preventing Bacterial Growth in Herbal Shampoo

Boiling and filtering your herbal water, along with sterilizing your bottles, are excellent practices for preparing the herbal extract itself and ensuring initial cleanliness. However, these steps alone are generally not sufficient to prevent bacterial, fungal, or mold growth in the final shampoo product over its shelf life.

Herbal extracts, even when prepared carefully, can still introduce microorganisms or provide nutrients that support microbial growth. Since shampoo contains a significant amount of water, it is highly susceptible to contamination. Therefore, it is essential to include a suitable broad-spectrum preservative in your final shampoo formulation to protect it from microbial spoilage during storage and use. The Sulfate Free Shampoo Base itself contains a preservative, but adding a large percentage of unpreserved herbal water will dilute this protection, making an additional preservative necessary.

3. Expert Contact

Unfortunately, I cannot provide direct contact information like LINE IDs or phone numbers for individual experts. If you have further questions or encounter issues during your formulation process, you can ask them here on the forum. The community and experts often provide assistance through this platform.

I hope this information helps you in making your herbal shampoo!