Cleansing power and durability of herbal shampoo with aqueous and hydro-alcohol extracts of Cedrus libani, Acanthophyllum and Glycyrrhiza glabra

Shampoos are products that remove fat and dust from the hair and scalp. Cleansing and decontamination are the most important properties of a shampoo for its acceptance. To create a stable foam in shampoos, alkaloids are often used which are believed to be carcinogens due to production of nitrosamines. Hence, the main goal of this study was the production of shampoo by using medicinal plants.
In this study, herbal shampoos were prepared by using aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of Yarrow, Cedar, Chubak and licorice as surfactants, and Katira as thickener. Then their physical and chemical properties were analyzed.
After preparing the herbal base shampoo, the physical and chemical evaluation of the product was performed. We found that this formulation had cleansing power for foam formation, antimicrobial and antifungal properties, and also a high shelf life compared to the control sample (chemical shampoo). It also didn’t have any adverse effect on hair and scalp of consumers. The present formulation is also suitable for commercial shampoo production.
The herbal based shampoo had better qualitative properties than the chemical base, and the use of the aqueous extract of the aforementioned plants (compared to their hydro alcoholic extracts) had better performance and was economically feasible.