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Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and its close derivatives, including sodium laureth sulphate, are extremely common ingredients in many personal care products such as toothpastes, shampoo, face and body wash products as well as are present in many laundry soaps. The reason SLS is included is these products is because it is a powerful as well as inexpensive foaming agent.
SLS and its derivatives are not controversial ingredients because they are known carcinogens on their own; however, when combined with other ingredients present in these products have the potential to react and form known carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines.
You can certainly understand why a SLS free shampoo is a desirable commodity to find. However, SLS and its derivatives are so prevalent in commercial personal care products that they are almost impossible to avoid. Fortunately, there is an alternative available to anyone who wants to forgo applying such a controversial chemical to their hair.
Making SLS free shampoo at home is not impossible to achieve, not terribly difficult either. You can even make complementary hair conditioners to pair with your shampoos you create at home. Compared to many well-known salon brands, you will also save a considerable amount of money by creating your own shampoos and conditioners, especially when you realize that you can pay as much as $15.99 for an eight-oz. bottle of shampoo and conditioner in a salon.
When making SLS free shampoo yourself, you can add herbs and oils to address your own specific hair needs. For instance, you can add herbs to address dry hair needs, oils to protect delicate ethnic hair as well as some to promote shine and manageability. You just need to use the right herbs to address your hair care needs and steep them in boiling water before adding to your other shampoo ingredients. You can add herbs such as chamomile to keep blonde hair its true color, for example.
You don’t need to create your SLS shampoo entirely from scratch either, as to do so would involve using sodium hydroxide(lye) which can be a risky chemical to use unless you take extra precautions in its use. There is a very nice, all natural alternative you can use for a base for your shampoo and it is readily available in many health food stores, and is sold at a very reasonable cost.
Castile soap is available from many health food stores, and is also available online. Traditionally, it is made from pure oil olive, but there are now versions made with other types of oils such as hemp and jojoba oils. When combined with a few other natural ingredients, you can make a great homemade SLS-free shampoo.
Dr. Bronner’s 
Super-Easy Homemade Herbal Shampoo With Castile Soap
Ingredients:
7 ounces distilled or spring water
4 Tablespoons liquid castile soap [1 oz.]
5- 6 Tablespoons of herbs
herbs
If using whole flowers such as marigold, lavender or red clover, it’s a good idea to crush them first to release more of their essences.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Boil water. Put herbs in strainer (A tea ball works great for this.) Pour boiling water over the herbs, squeezing the last bits with the back of a spoon. Cover the container and allow the herbs to steep for 10-30 minutes. Make sure none of the bits of herbs themselves fall into the herbal water.
Mix the liquid castile soap with the herbal water and pour into your bottle. A few drops of aromatherapy essential oils are lovely in this, but make sure they are not a type that could irritate your skin by consulting an essential oil guide before using.