Today we’re making a lovely French Green Clay Sulphate-Free Shampoo Bar. It features a beautiful, gentle surfactant blend, silky Abyssinian Oil, and creamy French green clay. It’s easy to make, with no heat required—just a bunch of squishing and stirring. The assembled mix is a soft, pliable dough that can be pressed or hand moulded, and then left to dry. Once dry, the bar lathers beautifully, leaves your hair feeling fantastic, and lasts for ages. Let’s dive in!
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Part of the inspiration for this shampoo bar came from a recipe request from Dixie, who shared a long-lasting syndet bar she loved. The bar I’m sharing here isn’t close to it at all, really—the only two common ingredients are Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside. I was intrigued by the pairing of solid anionic + liquid non-ionic surfactants and decided to give that a go here. And it’s great! The lather is positively decadent—rich, thick, plentiful, and just *muah*
Another part of the inspiration for this bar was working to create something that would work with the shampoo bar mould from The Bath Bomb Press. It’s an open mould, with no sides to corral the mixture that’s being pressed, and it creates bars that are a similar shape and size to the ones LUSH sells.
The other mould I’ve used from The Bath Bomb Press to make shampoo bar is a cube mould, with a tall side that allows you to corral what you’re pressing before you smash it into a solid brick. I found the open-sided shampoo bar mould didn’t work well with piece-y, crumbly shampoo bar mixtures—that crumbly mixture would crumble right out of the side of the mould as I tried to press the bar. That was very messy and really frustrating.
The texture for this bar is much more like a smooth cookie dough than a crumbly biscuit or scone dough. It uses small grain solid surfactants rather than the sticks/needles, as those create more crumbly mixtures. It also includes some French green clay as I 1) love clay in hair care products and 2) it helps create a gorgeous dough-like consistency in the bar. All the ingredients in this bar are liquid or powders, so we just need to stir and squish everything together into a stiff dough, and then press that dough!
A lovely side effect of the doughy consistency of this shampoo bar mixture is that you absolutely do not need a press to shape it—you can easily hand roll it, or press it into a mould of your choosing. It’s a smooth dough that’s more interested in sticking to itself than your hands, so it’s pretty darn easy to work with. If your dough is being cantankerous, be sure to read the instructions + watch the video to learn how to troubleshoot it and adjust!
When it comes to drying times; I recommend leaving the bar to dry for at least four days (roughly 100 hours). They’re pretty soft when first made—not surprising, given they’re fully hand-squishable! This drying time results in a weight loss of about 1.25%, and is around where the graph really starts to flatten out. We know the bars contain approximately 9% water (5% water + 4% from the Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside), so we’re definitely not waiting until all of that evaporates out. I left one bar to age for just over 50 days and that got up to 4% loss, but that’s a lot of extra time for those extra gains.
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French Green Clay Sulphate-Free Shampoo Bar
Dry phase
39.2g | 49% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) (USA / Canada)
16.88g | 21.1% Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa) (USA / Canada)
3.2g | 4% iota carrageenan
4g | 5% French green clay (USA / Canada)Wet phase
4g | 5% distilled water
8g | 10% Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside (USA / Canada)
4g | 5% Abyssinian oil
0.2g | 0.25% lavender essential oil
0.2g | 0.25% rosemary essential oil
0.32g | 0.4% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)Put on your dust mask and weigh the dry phase into a bowl. Stir until uniform.
Add the wet phase to the dry phase. Put on a pair of nitrile gloves and blend thoroughly with your hands. Once the mixture is uniform, you’ll be left with a stiff, easily-mouldable paste. Please watch the video for an idea of what it should look like, and how to adjust if needed.
If your dough is too sticky, you’ll need to add more clay. This is likely to happen if you used a larger grain Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) than I did, as it has less surface area to absorb moisture.
If your dough is too dry, you’ll need to add more water. This is likely to happen if you used a finer grain Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) than I did, as it has more surface area and will absorb more moisture.
Now it’s time to press the bars! I used the shampoo bar mould, pressing the entire 80g batch at once. I highly recommend lining the top and bottom of the mould with sheets of mid-weight plastic (I cut up a freezer bag), securing each sheet with an elastic band (watch the video to see what I mean—and thanks to The Bath Bomb Press for this tip!). I set the regulated pressure on my compressor to 55psi. Please watch the video to see this in action. If you don’t have a press you can use your hands to roll and smoosh it into a shape of your choosing.
Carefully un-mold the bars and leave them to dry for at least 4 days before using.
To use, massage the bar into wet hair (or a wet loofah, for body washing) to work up a rich lather. From there on out it’s just like using any other shampoo or body wash. Enjoy!
When made as written, the pH of these shampoo bars comes out to around 5–6, which is great.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because these shampoo bars will regularly come into contact with water, I recommend including a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 80g (one palm-sized bar).
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this recipe, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- I don’t recommend swapping out the Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) or Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa), including the formats.
- If you do use different formats of the surfactants, you will likely need to adjust either the water content or clay content to get the desired end consistency.
- If you use a finer version (meaning more surfactant surface area), you’ll need more water.
- If you use a chunkier version (meaning less surfactant surface area), you’ll need more clay.
- For the clay: I’d recommend choosing a different soft, creamy clay, like other Australian clays, a French clay, or kaolin. I do not recommend bentonite or rhassoul. If you want a bar using rhassoul, check out this one!
- You could try a different gum (Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, etc.) instead of the iota carageenan, or a different type of carageenan (kappa or lambda are the ones you’re most likely to find)
- I would choose a different glucoside (coco, decyl, lauryl) instead of Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside if you need an alternative.
- You could use a different liquid oil your hair loves instead of Abyssinian oil
- If you’re like to use a different preservative, please review this page.
- You can use a different fragrance or essential oil.
- If you’d like to learn more about the surfactants used and compare them to ones you might already have so you can make substitutions, check out this page.
Gifting Disclosure
The bath bomb press and shampoo bar mould were gifted by The Bath Bomb Press.
Ooh I like the sound of this 🙂 I have everything except the Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, but I do have other glucosides. I will definitely be giving this a try. Thanks Marie, hope you are keeping well and staying safe 🙂
Enjoy! I look forward to hearing what you think with a different glucoside 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie, I am a fan! So far I have made lotion, face mask, foot balm, bath bomb, and deodorant based on your tutorials and I like them all 🙂 Thank you so much for your amazing recipes and helpful tutorials on YouTube.
I look forward to trying out and making this shampoo bar (I’m gathering ingredients), however I have one quick question: if I want to customize the shampoo bar recipe with, say, honey/extracts/protein, or other herbs, in what phase I can put them? Your shampoo bars (rhassoul, mango, pink clay), have different bases and percentages so I am wondering if there’s room to add some additives according to my liking. I truly appreciate your insights. Thank you.
Could you use this as a facial cleansing bar? I’d love to have a cleansing bar that is not soap (too basic for my face) that contains green clay.
You can certainly try it! There’s no outright reason this wouldn’t work as a facial cleanser, it’s just a matter of if it works for you 🙂 Happy making!
Marie,
I’m loving your recipes and enjoying your writing so much! I know you’ve experimented with increasing the clay % up to 12.5%. I was wondering if you’ve gone any higher? I absolutely adore what clay does to a lather and want to push the powder as high I can go☺️
I haven’t at this point, but so far this formulation has been stable. Happy experimenting!
Can I swap C/C glucoside for Cocoamidopropyl Betaine its the only non ionic surfacant i have
That should work, but Cocamidopropyl Betaine is not a non-ionic surfactant.
Hi Marie! how does iota carrageenan compare to xanthan or guar gum (I don’t see the carrageenan in the encyclopedia yet) I’m looking to buy an ingredient that can be used in as many formulas as possible without running into formulation problems. Particularly interested in creamy cleanser to keep the emulsion from breaking, shampoo bars, etc. Could you give the advantages/disadvantages of each? From my reading I assume you’ve concluded that xanthan does not have the unpleasant texture if it’s kept at a low percentage in the formula. Thank you!
Hi Mari, thank you so much for this recipe! Do you think goma guar would work well instead of carageenan? I can’t find it in Brazil. Thanks 🙂
You could try a different gum instead of the iota carrageenan 🙂
Hi Marie, I just want to ask can I ad Cosgard preservative instead what you used?
https://www.humblebeeandme.com/faqs/can-i-use-a-different-preservative-than-the-one-youve-used/ 🙂
What purpose does the carageenan serve in this? Doesn’t it need to be hydrated?
It helps give the bar structure and hold it together 🙂 You’ll find if you try to hydrate it during the making you end up with a solid and completely unworkable blob 😉 It does perfectly well when made as written, I promise!
Hi Marie I made this earlier amd it worked great, loved it! When I went to make again I forgot to add the carrageenan (oops). It is now in pucks but wondering if I should try to use as is or recrumble, add carrageenan and more water and reform?
It should be fine 🙂
Hi! Can you upload more tutorials with foam cleansers for acne? Thanks!
This looks amazing!! I have some of the clays above, but was wondering if Canadian Glacier Clay could be used as a replacement to the French Green Clay. They seem to be similar, but I wanted your opinion first. I can’t wait to see you at the UM Conference!!
I made this bar with a few changes, I used kaolin clay instead of French clay, guar gum instead of caraganeen, rose hydrosol instead of water. I also added rose powder because I wanted it to be a rose themed shampoo bar so I also used different essential oils.
It got very solid very fast, I let it dry for 48 hours just to be sure. And OMG it turned out great, it made my hair nice and soft and shiny. So thank you Marie for creating these beautiful recipes for us to make and enjoy
Your changes sound dreamy – I adore anything rose! Thank you for sharing your version, I’m going to give this a try!
Hooray! I’m thrilled you created something you love ❤️ Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
What is the effect of iota carrageenan – does it replace BTMS? And what would you use to replace BTMS in solid soap. Thank you
Iota carrageenan and BTMS have pretty much nothing in common, so no 🙂 The carrageenan helps bind the bar together, especially towards the end of use when it shrinks down a lot. I wouldn’t put BTMS in soap, but in general, if you’re looking for substitutions + more information on ingredients, please look up ingredients in the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/) 🙂 Happy making!
I made these on Saturday & used the first one today. Unfortunately it broke into pieces. I used guar instead of carrageenan. I still used it and it cleaned & sudsed up beautifully, just crumbled everywhere.
Thank you Marie! I look forward to making this… I’ve made many of your other recipes and love them all. I have a question. Do you have an updated version of your Shaving Soap (2011)? There is one on-line (Dr Squatch) that looks amazing with bold “manly” fragrances that you may find inspiring… my husband would appreciate me making one;-)
First of all, thank you for all the recipes. They are all amazing!
I look forward to trying out and making this shampoo bar, however I have some questions:
1. If I want to customize the shampoo bar recipe with, say, honey/extracts/protein, or other herbs, in what phase I can put them? Your shampoo bars (rhassoul, mango, pink clay), have different bases and percentages so I am wondering if there’s room to add some additives according to my liking.
2. Will Lexgard Natural work as a substitute for liquid germall plus? They said germall plus is formaldehyde releaser.
I truly appreciate your insights. Thank you.
Thanks for reading! Please read this and this for your questions 🙂
Thank you Marie for another good recipe. I made the shampoo bar as indicated and am very happy with it but I would like to know why you do not recommend using rhassoul clay instead of the green clay. I thought rhasssoul clay was good for the hair. I know you refer to another recipe containing rhassoul clay but I have made that one also and don’t like it so much. It contains SCS and it makes my scalp very itchy.
Hi Nicole! It’s simply because this formulation is designed to work with a soft, creamy clay rather than a sandy clay like rhassoul. If you want to use rhassoul you will likely need to re-develop the formulation to some degree to get it to a workable consistency, and it would be unlikely to work with this style of mould.
My dream is to buy that press. It is such a game-changer. Till now I am using a moon cake press but when I have to large batches it’s too tiring. You are my mentor Marie. I just completed my Formula Botanica course and my YT channel is inspired by you. Thanks for motivating me.
The press is SO wonderful! I definitely recommend it 🙂 And I am SO honoured and thrilled to hear that I have inspired you so much! You’ve put a huge smile on my face today 🙂
Hi Marie,
The iota carrageenan that I have requires heating in water. I tried doing this with the water amount called for the formulation and it simply turned clumpy. The end product ended up with small lumps of carrageenan throughout. Is this still ok to use?
Hi Hazel! Please scroll up to Deb’s comment, left June 11, 2020, and see my reply 🙂
It should still be ok, but will likely be less structurally sound.
Hi Marie, Im just curious, could I use Agar Agar as a gum in this bar?
I read the comments and Im really thinking about using Cocoamidopropyl Betaine instead of the c c glycoside but I wondered about the gum… just because I read that it is a common substitution in cooking, but Im not sure is quite the same for this. Thank you!!
It’s definitely worth a try 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Just made this… Wow. White chocolate bar is a success too (apparently I’ve learnt to follow directions, ha) and now I have hand formed clay shampoo bar that is firm, stable, not crumbly and it has nice slip and lather. It was easy to make. I’m glad that I purchased these ingredients and left my additives out. I swapped few things though: coco glucoside (I tweaked pH before hands to pH 5-5,3 – much easier), preservative (cosgard 221), rosemary infused camellia oil, rosemary verbena hydrosol as water and essential oil, blue tansy. xx
Huge hit! Thank you Marie.
YAY!!! ❤️
Remember 2 small bars with white kaolin clay + hempseed oil + c/c triglycerides? I gifted them xmas and didn’t expect feedback so soon. My sister has sensitive scalp and has used soap ealier. She said that after few washes itchyness has reduced, she was impressed by texture, foam and scent of the bar (“mild clean scent”). Her hair feels very soft, moistured and clean afterwards. Other person likes bar too (he doesn’t have much hair). I buffered pH slightly lower, 4,5-5. They’re useing it with simple cocoa coconut conditioner which is “wonderfull and helps a lot with static flyaways” (according to them). Pretty darn awesom? 😀
Thank you Marie for all your great posts!
I’ve been making shampoo bars for several years now and can’t ever go back to store bought shampoo. I’d never used clay in my shampoo, so I thought I’d give it a whirl. I made mine yesterday, didn’t use any gum. Omitted the water and used cocamidopropyl Betaine instead. Ground up some marshmallow root, doubled the french green clay. Used Coconut oil instead of Abyssinian oil. Scented it with Rosemary and mint.
Put it in the freezer to set. It’s Rock hard. Used it last night with a beautiful conditioner I made yesterday. I used your rich strawberry Rose hair conditioner formula, just changed some of the ingredients. Absolutely divine.
I no longer use Liquid germall plus and use Geogard ECT for all my products. I have way better success with Geogard.
Hooray! I’m so glad you’re enjoying your riff on this bar 🙂 I love the botanical additions!
I’ve been experimenting with ECT recently as well—so far so good, but holy moly does it ever make the pH of my products tank lol. I’m working on an emulsion that uses ECT; pH ~8 pre-ECT, ph ~5 post 1% ECT o_O
How interesting! About that, I’ve had pH dropping over time with sodium benzoate potassium sorbate and I use lower amounts (0,6 %) these days with sodium lactate/ citrate (citrate costs less for me and is apparently chelator too). Cosgard 221 has benzyl alcohol too and I’m not a fan of the scent and not-the-best water solubility (maybe it’s just me).. Also, it sometimes kicks powders off solution (I don’t know what it’s properly called but someone is chemist corner has experienced it too). Quite annoying, so I’m testing other options! Just figured I should share my experiences. 🙂
Oops, got mixed up again, geogard 221!
After using the bar for a few weeks, I’m not going to include the marshmallow root for next time. The clay made it pretty brittle. I think I’ll steep botanical’s in the coconut oil and strain it instead.
What I really loved about using clay in this bar, is it doesn’t become soggy towards the end and fall apart, lasting much longer. I’m glad I double the clay, it hardened really quickly in the freezer and I could use it the same day without waiting the recommended 4 days. It was still super soapy and luxuriously foamy. Making some more today.
Hi Marie! I have been using clay and the same recipe as yours except for the preservative in which I use another one. The shampoo is amazing! But 3-4 weeks after I made it, it started to become orange… like oxidizing … Have you seen this before? (I use Nipaguard -Sorbitan Caprylate (and) Propanediol (and) Benzoic Acid- as preservative).
thank you so much!!
That is strange! Is there any chance it’s from contact with a surface? That’s the only time I’ve had that happen—contact with a wire rack.
Hi just wondering if the noodle form of SCI can be swapped for the powder
That’s covered in the substitutions list right on this page 🙂
Hi marie! i have been using and tweaking this recipe for about two years and i looove it! i usually play with different smells, oils and colors, but as i learn more, i have a question, would it be okay or better if i added less than 1% of citric acid here or with the acidity of the surfactants is enough? thanks for sharing your creativity and knowledge
Hi Cecilia! When made as written, the pH of these shampoo bars comes out to around 5–6, which is great. You could add a wee bit of acid if you wanted to, but you don’t need to. For reference, this formulation uses the equivalent of 0.125% citric acid to get a final pH around 5, and it contains nearly 40% of basic Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS) 🙂
Hi, thanks so much for your amazing and inspiring work. I am just starting out with solid formulations and want to give this a go but really want to keep palm-free. I wonder if I can substitute the SLSa for anything else? I know it says in your substitution list not to swap it but if you do then adjust the clay etc accordingly but I just wondered what your first recommendation might be? Many thanks!
I’d like to try out this recipe, but I’m quite confused with the info sheets I’m seeing on USA shops for the CC Glucoside. The SDS/TDS list the pH at 11-12.5. Your encyclopedia, and some SDS sheets for shops outside the USA have it listed as much lower. Ex. Botanic Planet has it listed as pH 5.5-6, but the shipping cost internationally isn’t practical. Is it possible something else being marketed as CC Glucoside in the USA? I’ve seen the same high pH across half a dozen shops. Have you heard of any others encountering this or know of a reputable shop in USA that has CC Glucoside with the accurate pH?