Making your own hair-care products can be a simple way to explore a more natural routine.
Instead of buying another bottle, you can prepare a small amount of homemade herbal shampoo using herbs you may already have in your kitchen or herb garden.
Rosemary, chamomile, sage and nettle are often used in traditional and DIY hair-care preparations.
Another interesting ingredient is soapwort, also called Bouncing Bet, a plant whose saponins create a natural lather when used in water.
In this guide, you’ll find three simple ways to make herbal shampoo at home.
A note before you begin: Homemade, water-based cosmetics can become contaminated with microorganisms if they are not properly preserved. These recipes are therefore designed as small, fresh batches, rather than products to keep for weeks or months. FDA guidance specifically warns that microbial contamination is an important safety consideration for homemade cosmetics.
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What Is Herbal Shampoo?
Herbal shampoo is a hair-cleansing preparation that incorporates herbs, usually by making an herbal infusion and combining it with a cleansing ingredient.
Unlike commercial shampoos, a homemade herbal shampoo does not necessarily have a professionally formulated surfactant system, preservative system or carefully adjusted pH.
That’s why homemade hair care is best approached as a small DIY experiment, rather than automatically assuming that homemade means better or safer.
Some popular herbs used in DIY hair care include:
- Rosemary
- Chamomile
- Sage
- Nettle
- Peppermint
- Soapwort
Each herb has its own traditional uses, aroma and characteristics.
Easy Homemade Herbal Shampoo Recipes
There are several ways to make herbal shampoo at home. The three versions below give you different approaches, depending on how much preparation you want to do.
1. Simple Rosemary & Chamomile Herbal Shampoo
This is the easiest version to try because you don’t need to make a completely new cleansing product.
Instead, you’ll prepare a concentrated herbal infusion and use it immediately with a mild shampoo.
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons dried Bouncing Bet herb (soapwort)
- 1–1½ tablespoons dried chamomile flowers
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary — optional
- 2 cups (500 ml) boiling water
How to Make It
- Place the dried Bouncing Bet, chamomile and optional rosemary in a suitable jar or container.
- Pour the two cups of steaming water over the herbs.
- Stir thoroughly.
- Cover the container loosely and allow the mixture to permeate as it cools.
- Once cooled, cover the container tightly and shake thoroughly.
- Allow the mixture to stand for a couple of days, shaking it at intervals of a few hours.
- Strain the liquid carefully.
- Use the herbal liquid as a shampoo when needed.
I would preserve the several-day infusion because that is an important characteristic of this recipe.
What the herbs add
Bouncing Bet (soapwort) contains natural saponins that can create a lather, making it interesting as a traditional plant-based cleanser. Chamomile is commonly used in gentle hair-care preparations, while rosemary adds another traditional herbal hair-care ingredient and a fresh botanical aroma.
2. Homemade Herbal Castile Soap Shampoo
Castile soap is a vegetable-oil-based soap traditionally associated with olive oil, although modern versions can contain other vegetable oils.
However, there is an important point to understand first:
Castile soap is a traditional alkaline soap rather than a pH-balanced shampoo. Because hair and scalp are mildly acidic, frequent use may increase dryness, roughness, tangling and frizz in some people. It may also fade color-treated hair more quickly, especially when the hair is porous or chemically processed.
People with sensitive scalps or conditions such as eczema, psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis should be cautious, because irritation may worsen symptoms. A gentle, pH-balanced shampoo is generally a more predictable option for regular hair washing.
So consider this recipe an occasional DIY experiment, not a universal replacement for shampoo.
Ingredients
For one fresh batch:
- 120 ml distilled water
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried chamomile
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried nettle
- 60 ml Castile soap
How to Make Herbal Castile Shampoo
- Place the dried rosemary, chamomile, sage and nettle in a saucepan.
- Pour in the distilled water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
- Cover the saucepan and allow the herbs to steep for approximately 30 minutes.
- Strain the herbal liquid into a clean mixing bowl.
- Press the herbs gently to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Pour the herbal liquid into a saucepan and add the Castile soap.
- Warm the mixture gently, stirring until the ingredients are combined.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
- Transfer the shampoo to a clean container.
Rosemary is a popular herb in traditional hair-care preparations and gives the shampoo a fresh herbal character. Chamomile is commonly used in gentle hair-care formulas, while sage has a long history of use in traditional hair and scalp preparations. Nettle is another herb frequently used in herbal hair care. Together, they create a simple botanical blend while Castile soap provides the cleansing base.
3. Quick Herbal Shampoo
Ingredients
- ¼ cup baby shampoo or another mild shampoo
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 1 heaped teaspoon dried rosemary, sage or stinging nettle
Method
- Place the dried herb in a cup or heatproof container.
- Add the boiling water.
- Allow the mixture to steep for approximately 30 minutes.
- Strain the herbal brew carefully.
- Combine the strained herbal infusion with the mild shampoo.
- Mix gently.
- The quick herbal shampoo is ready to use.
A simple variation
You can experiment with one herb at a time instead of combining several.
For example:
- Rosemary shampoo
- Chamomile shampoo
- Nettle shampoo
- Sage shampoo
This makes it easier to notice how your hair responds to each preparation.
4. Soap Nut Shampoo
Ingredients
- 6 soap nuts
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried amla
- 12 oz (350 ml) water
Method
- Place the soap nuts, fenugreek seeds and amla in a saucepan.
- Add the water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
- Cover and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, keeping an eye on the foam.
- Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for about 1 hour.
- Transfer to a clean container, cover and leave to infuse overnight.
- Strain thoroughly through a fine strainer or nut-milk bag.
- Transfer to a clean bottle and use as a fresh homemade shampoo.
Soap nuts provide natural saponins that create the cleansing lather. Fenugreek and amla are traditionally used in herbal hair care and add a botanical element to this simple plant-based shampoo.
Storage note: Because this is a homemade, water-based preparation without a tested preservation system, make a small batch and keep it refrigerated. Use it promptly and discard it if you notice an unusual smell, mold, or other changes in appearance or texture.
How to Make Herbal Shampoo at Home: Basic Tips
Once you understand the basic process, you can create different variations without making complicated formulas.
1. Start with one or two herbs
You don’t need ten different plants in one recipe.
Starting with one herb makes it easier to understand what you like.
2. Use dried herbs from a reliable source
Make sure the herb is correctly identified and intended for cosmetic or culinary use as appropriate.
3. Strain herbal infusions carefully
Tiny pieces of plant material can remain in the finished mixture, so use a fine strainer or filter.
4. Make small batches
This is particularly important for water-based DIY products.
5. Keep your containers clean
Wash and thoroughly dry your equipment and containers before use.
6. Don’t add water directly to commercial shampoo
If you want to experiment with an herbal infusion, mix a small amount immediately before washing rather than diluting the entire bottle.
7. Keep the preparation away from your eyes
Natural ingredients can still cause irritation.
8. Stop if your scalp reacts
Burning, persistent itching, redness or other irritation is a reason to stop using the product.
How Long Does Homemade Herbal Shampoo Last?
This is one question where I would avoid giving a convenient but unsupported number.
There is no universal shelf life for homemade herbal shampoo.
A water-based product’s stability depends on its formulation, ingredients, manufacturing conditions, packaging, preservation system and storage.
My practical approach
For these recipes:
Make a small amount and use it fresh.
Don’t make a large bottle simply because it is convenient.
If you notice:
- an unusual smell
- mold
- cloudiness that wasn’t there before
- separation that seems abnormal
- a change in color or texture
discard the preparation.
Don’t try to rescue it by adding another ingredient.
Is Homemade Shampoo Better Than Commercial Shampoo?
The benefit of making your own can simply be the experience of creating a small, simple hair-care preparation and knowing exactly what you put into it.
If a homemade shampoo leaves your hair dry, rough or irritated, there is no reason to force yourself to keep using it.
Before trying any new DIY hair-care recipe:
- Avoid getting the preparation into your eyes.
- Don’t use it on broken or irritated skin.
- Consider testing unfamiliar ingredients on a small area of skin first.
- Don’t use ingredients you’re allergic or sensitive to.
- Keep essential oils away from the eyes and use them only at appropriate cosmetic dilutions.
- Don’t ingest herbal shampoo.
- Keep homemade preparations away from children and pets.
- Don’t use borax in these recipes.
- Make water-based preparations in small amounts rather than storing large batches.
Making homemade herbal shampoo doesn’t have to mean creating a complicated formula with a long list of ingredients.
A simple herbal infusion, a mild shampoo or a carefully prepared plant-based cleanser can be enough for a small experiment.
The important part is to remember that natural doesn’t automatically mean risk-free. Herbs, essential oils and homemade water-based products still need to be handled thoughtfully.
Start small. Keep your ingredients simple. Pay attention to how your hair and scalp respond.
It’s about finding a routine that works comfortably for your hair.
