How to Make Shampoo Out of Avocado Seeds

We eat a couple of avocados a month. Lucky the avocados we buy are almost a year-round indulgence, and come from a farm three hours from Melbourne. The same farm supplies all of our citrus fruit in winter, growing the best blood oranges EVER.

I try my hardest to use up as much of the food I buy. Right now I have a pot on the stove full of food scraps that I am turning into broth. And if part of a vegetable can’t be used in some way, then it goes to compost. Avocado seeds were one item I threw straight into the compost, until recently.

Did you know the seed can be turned into shampoo? Me either! Turns out avocado seeds are used in a variety of ways. You can grind them into powder, to use as an exfoliant. The seeds are used for cooking in Mexico. It has been ground up for use as an age-old dandruff remedy, of course used for  smoothies. But, I will stick with the shampoo today…

Trying alternate shampoo methods seems to be a rite of passage, for the plastic-free and zero wasters out there. At the core of both of these lifestyles is the desire to reduce the impact on the environment, swapping out the commercial products for more natural choices with minimal packaging. It’s no secret that most of the commercial shampoos out there are full of weird concoctions and are not the healthiest for us or the environment, plus there is the added packaging.

I have tried bicarb and apple cider vinegar with poor results. Both irritated my scalp, leaving it sore and red. Rye flour too was not a successful swap for shampoo. It took far too long for me to wash out of my hair, meaning I was wasting water. In between my two failed attempts to use simpler methods, I have been refilling my bottles with shampoo from local bulk stores.

After trying these two methods, the idea of trying the avocado seed shampoo was not that crazy.

The method of making avocado seed shampoo is pretty simple, and what I like about it is that it might be a way to wean myself off of shampoo and move to water only. Oh, and there is that awesome money-saving aspect that appeals to me too!

What You’ll Need

• Castile soap — HERO pick: mix a little in (the post mentions it)
• A box grater — to grate the avocado seeds
• A fine-mesh strainer — to strain the liquid
• Amber glass bottles — to store your shampoo

I followed the method from Bread with Honey.

• Pull your seeds from the avocado, wash and dry. I kept the seeds in the pantry until I had three ready to use.
• Put 6 cups of water into a pot
• Grate the seeds. The colour of the grated seed will be white but will turn orange (made me wonder if you could dye fabric cloth with it?)
• Place the grated seeds into the pot and bring to a boil, and then let simmer for 30 mins.
• Strain into a bowl, cool and pour 3 cups into a bottle with ¼ cup of your shampoo. My original 6 cups cooked down to exactly 3 cups.

I have only used it once. My hair is clean; my scalp does not feel dry or irritated.

If all continues to go well, I will try using avocado seed without adding shampoo or might try castile soap. I use castile soap for cleaning the house, washing dishes, and as hand soap. I have tried it as shampoo before but found it too heavy. Diluted in avocado seed liquid could alleviate that heaviness.

What do you wash your hair with? Have you ever tried or currently clean your hair with only water?

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