DIY Baby Shampoo

OK, folks, truth be told, babies don't actually need baby shampoo.  The vast majority of the time plain water is perfect for washing babies.  The price is right and it's readily available.  I wish I'd realized this when my children were young.  I could have saved a bit of money.  

But even now, knowing that baby shampoo isn't needed, there are some times when we just want to have it.  Like when your adorable granddaughter has a diaper blowout so bad that the poop shoots out and up into her hair.  I just had to use some baby shampoo on her hair.  

And I got to thinking, what would parents do when baby shampoo could no longer be purchased in stores?  How was a mother supposed to wash a baby without getting soap in his or her eyes?  

Of course, one could just store enough baby shampoo to cover for the children and grandchildren you now have, plus all the ones you think you will have.  If you’ve got the space and the money, it’s probably the easiest option.  You can also smear a ring of Vaseline or shortening above the baby’s eyebrows and around the sides to prevent soap from running down the forehead.  But if neither one of those options are going to work for you, here are two DIY formulas.  Both use liquid castile soap as the base.

For your liquid castile soap, you have three options:

·       Make your own from scratch (Soap-making was the most hated chore by most colonial and pioneer women.  I definitely do not want to do it.  I store a lot of soap.)

·       Buy it at the store (If I was going to do that just for making baby shampoo, it would be easier to just buy the baby shampoo.)  I spent about $10 for one quart of liquid castile soap.

·       Convert a bar of castile soap into liquid castile soap.  (This is what I should have done and will be doing in the future.)  To do this, boil two cups of water on the stove.  In the meantime, grate a bar of castile soap and put the shavings in a crock pot.  Add the boiling water, cover with the lid, and cook at high temperature for one hour. Then whisk the soap until smooth and let cool for an hour.  Pour into a bottle.

Simple Baby Shampoo

·       1 cup liquid castile soap

·       1 cup coconut oil, melted

·       1 cup water

·       Several drops lavender essential oil, optional 

Combine everything in a plastic bottle with a tight-fitting lid.

Lathering Baby Shampoo

·       1 ½ cups liquid castile soap

·       ¼ cup vegetable glycerin

·       2 tablespoons water

·       2 teaspoons almond oil

·       1 teaspoon aloe vera gel, optional

·       Several drops lavender essential oil, optional

Combine everything in a plastic bottle with a tight-fitting lid.

Note that the original castile soap was made with olive oil.  Many of the castile soaps on the market today are actually made with coconut oil, something that gets the “real castile soap is only made with olive oil” purists in a lather.  However, it’s important to recognize that castile soap made with olive oil is much gentler to and less drying on the skin.  If your baby has sensitive skin or if it runs in the family, you’ll want to make sure you have a few bars of olive oil castile soap set aside just for him or her.