{"id":60196,"date":"2026-05-11T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humblebeeandme.com\/?p=60196"},"modified":"2026-04-28T07:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:27:36","slug":"argan-oil-rose-shampoo-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humblebeeandme.com\/argan-oil-rose-shampoo-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"Argan Oil & Rose Shampoo Bars"},"content":{"rendered":"

These pretty pink shampoo bars kick out oodles of fluffy bubbles, leave your hair shiny and soft, and smell fabulous<\/em>. They’re an update of a formulation I first shared back in 2020<\/a>; I still really like the original but I knew one big change would make this formulation\u00a0far\u00a0<\/em>more accessible. So here we are!<\/p>\n

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Want to watch this project instead of read it?<\/h3>\n

Watch Now<\/a><\/p>\n

The inspiration for the original formulation was Lush’s Jason and the Argan Oil\u00a0<\/em>shampoo bar. Back in 2020, the ingredient list for Jason and the Argan Oil<\/em> was:<\/p>\n

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Water, Agar Agar, Argan Oil, Glycerine, Perfume, Rose Absolute, Geranium Oil, Rose Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, *Limonene, Coumarin, Citronellol, Geraniol, CI 17200. (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Today, it’s still pretty close:<\/p>\n

Sodium Coco Sulfate, Water, Agar, Argan Oil, Glycerine, Parfum\/Fragrance, Pakistani Rose Absolute, Geranium Oil, Rose Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Citric Acid, *Limonene, Coumarin, Citronellol, Geraniol, CI 17200. (source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Lush has traded Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) for Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS) and added some citric acid, but that’s it. It’s a pretty simple formulation. We know Sodium Coco Sulfate forms the bulk of the bar because we can literally see<\/em> it in photos of the product! The little sticks you can see all over the bar are SCS, mixed with just<\/em> enough water, agar, argan oil, glycerin, and fragrance to make a mixture that can be made into shampoo bars.<\/p>\n

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Those little “sticks” are SCS!<\/p><\/div>\n

When I created the formulation I shared back in 2020, I knew I wanted it to be gentler. So, I blended Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS)<\/a> with much milder Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)<\/a>. To keep the needle-y appearance, I used SCI noodles. This worked well, but the resulting mixture was quite coarse and crumbly. In order to turn it into a firm bar, it needed to be pressed really,\u00a0really\u00a0<\/em>hard. I tried hand smashing it into a mould, but the best results were indisputably from using The Bath Bomb Press<\/a> to truly smash that mixture into a super sturdy, long-lasting bar. Without a lot of power behind the pressing, the bars were crumbly, more delicate, and didn’t last anywhere near as long.<\/p>\n

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That’s where this update comes in! I wanted to keep the milder surfactant blend, but tweak the formulation so it could be shaped in a variety of ways. You can definitely press this version of the formulation if you have a fancy, powerful press, but you can also use a hand mould or simply shape it by hand like it is play-doh.<\/p>\n

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Since I was updating the formulation anyways, I made one more swap. In 2020 I used iota carrageenan instead of the agar used by Lush, but since 2020 I’ve found it a lot harder to source cosmetic grade iota carrageenan reliably. So, I swapped it out for guar gum\u2014a far more common, easy-to-get cosmetic gum.<\/p>\n

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The key to a shape-it-how-you-like shampoo bar is one that has more of a dough consistency vs. a crumbly, piece-y consistency. So, what’s the key to getting a dough? Fine powder; powders that will create a smooth dough when wet rather than a chunky, lumpy one. And the easiest way to get some fine powder in this formulation was to use finely powdered SCI instead of the noodley form!<\/p>\n

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This isn’t just a one-for-one swap, though. If you do that, you’ll end up with a dry, uncooperative mess rather than a smooth, workable dough. This is thanks to surface area; fine powders have way<\/em> more surface area than the little needles do, so they absorb much more liquid. In order to get a dough rather than a dry, crumbly mess, this means the formulation needs to be adjusted to contain less dry stuff and more wet stuff.<\/p>\n

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To keep this updated version as close as possible to the original, the additional “wet stuff” in this version is distilled water. Easy peasy!<\/p>\n

Making these is simple; stir together the surfactants and guar gum, add the wet ingredients, and mix until you’ve got a uniform dough. Shape as desired, leave to dry, and you’re voila\u2014Lush-y, rosy shampoo bars!<\/p>\n

Relevant links & further reading<\/h2>\n