WOOD ASH SHAMPOO

WOOD ASH SHAMPOO

WORKING

500 grams of wood ash is taken and boiled with 1000 mi, of water. The mixture is filtered through a fine cotton cloth. This process is repeated thrice with 1000 mi. of water in order to extract the lye fully from the ash. The collected lye is allowed to settle overnight (to get the lye without any ash particle). The clear decanted lye is boiled for 5 - 10 minutes with 30 grams of Alauric acid. After 5 minutes the thickening agent Coconut Mono Ethyl Amide is added. When still hot (35 - 40 "C), the dye stuff is added. The pH of the shampoo is adjusted to 7 by adding citric acid. Then, the shampoo is scented and bottled.

PRECAUTIONS

l	Never use aluminum utensils and mud pots. Aluminum reacts with the alkali, mud pots absorb the lye and reduce its alkalinity
l	Use pure wood-ash, if it is not pure reduce the amount of water when you make lye solution.
l	If the lye is too low in alkalinity, reduce the amount by boiling down, otherwise the lye product will not make good shampoo
l	To obtain clear lye, the lye solution must be kept at least for 8 hours
l	Never keep the lye open, it will absorb the moisture from the atmosphere and get diluted
l	Mineral oil will not make shampoo
l	Excess fatty acid will result in clump formation
l	Never use oil, unless the lye is very high in alkalinity (equal to 7 - 10% of KOH or NaOH)
l	If there are any unreacted fats or other chemicals they should be removed by setting shampoo before packing
l	Never use perfumes or colours containing alcohol, as they will fade and cause separation. (The US Dept. of Agriculture recommends small amounts of the following dyes each dissolved into tablespoons of water. Fluorescence for yellow, Naphthol green for green and Rhodamine for red.)
l	Dye solution should be mixed with the shampoo when still hot (350C - 40" C)

HOUSEHOLD MANUFACTURE OF LYE & ALAURIC ACID

Instead of boiling the ash with water the lye can be prepared if one can arrange a set-up as follows: The set can be kept in a comer of the house. The ash (wood ash) obtained as a daily waste product of the household can be kept in the top container and water may be added in sufficient amounts to get a suitable lye. The lye will come slowly in the lower container. The lye can be used once in a week or two weeks, for shampoo making. Instead ofAlauric acid, one can use Litsea Glutinosa (Hindi: Maida Lakdi, Tamil: Mashaippeyhi) seed oil as fat for shampoo making.

SOURCE

Sh. A.M.M. Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre, Photosynthesis and Energy Division, Tharamani, Madras - 600 113, Tamil Nadu