Three methods. One course.
Solid shampoo bars made clear
How Shampoo Bars Work, and How to Formulate Your Own
A focused course covering three methods, full ingredient walkthroughs, and a customisation guide for different hair types. You'll understand what goes into your formula and why, which means you can troubleshoot problems instead of starting over.
The Real Problem
WHY THIS COURSE EXISTS
There are a million ways to make a shampoo bar. That's exactly why most people get stuck.
Search for shampoo bar tutorials, and you'll find dozens of methods, dozens of formulas, and a lot of confident advice that contradicts itself.
Add water or don't.
Use BTMS or never use BTMS.
Use SCI on its own or always combine it
Preserve or don't bother because it's anhydrous.
Every source sounds sure of itself, and none of them agrees.
I've been teaching shampoo bar formulation since 2019, and this is the pattern I see over and over: A DIY formulator finds a recipe, but it doesn't work for some reason. They go off to Google, find a different one, and end up with contradictory information and more confusion. The result is that they have no idea who or what to trust. The more they read, the less certain they feel.
That's why this course is anchored on three methods, the three structural approaches I personally use that cover how solid shampoo bars are actually built.
You'll understand why each one exists, what it's good at, where it falls short, and which one fits your setup. And the misconceptions that float around online, such as the BTMS question, the water question, and the preservative question, are all addressed directly, so you can form your own opinion and pick the approach that suits your setup.
"A beautiful, colourful shampoo bar starts with clever ingredient choices, luscious lather, and a formula designed with a specific hair type in mind."
Time for change
A few things that might sound familiar:
You've made shampoo bars before, but they came out too soft, or crumbly, or harsh on the hair, and you couldn't work out what went wrong or what to change.
You've collected recipes from different sources, and they all contradict each other. You're not sure which advice to trust or which approach is actually sound.
You can follow instructions, but if someone asked you why you chose that surfactant or that percentage, you'd struggle to give a clear answer.
I know the frustration you feel is real. I know you're putting in real effort, but you don't have a framework for understanding
what's happening in your formula.
And I'm here to change that.
INTRODUCING
Formulating Solid Shampoo Bars
This course teaches solid shampoo bar formulation from the ingredients up.
You'll learn three methods, understand what every component does in your formula, and build bars you can adjust for different hair types.
HOW THE COURSE IS STRUCTURED
The EFD Method™: Explore, Formulate, Design
Explore
You'll look at what's already on the market, learn the specific ingredients used in syndet (synthetic detergent) bars, including key surfactants like SCI (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate), and explore how surfactants function within a shampoo bar formula. This is where you build the knowledge that makes the formulation modules make sense.
Formulate
You'll learn three methods: melt-and-press, hot pour, and dry blend. Each method has its own advantages and limitations, and you'll understand when to use which.
You'll build bars using frame formulas that demonstrate the principles, so the process makes sense before you start adapting.
Design
You'll now start building your own version of the bars. Use the customisation guide to adjust for different hair types, test pH for mildness, and troubleshoot common problems like softness, crumbling, or drag. Tweaking scent or skin feel is the easy part once you understand the structure underneath.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Inside the Course Modules
What you'll cover in each module
Understand the world of solid shampoo bars. You'll look at what's already on the market, learn the specific ingredients used in syndet (synthetic detergent) bars, and explore how surfactants function within a shampoo bar formula. This is where you build the knowledge that makes the formulation modules make sense.
The first method. Hot pour involves melting ingredients fully and pouring into moulds. This gives smooth, professional-looking bars with good ingredient distribution. You'll understand when this method works better than melt-and-press and what to watch for during the process.
Your second formulation method. You'll learn the melt-and-press approach, where surfactants are heated until pliable, then pressed into 3D-printed moulds. Good for simpler setups that don't require precise temperature control. You'll make a shampoo bar using a frame formula, with full video guidance through each step.
The third method. Dry blend involves mixing powdered ingredients and pressing with minimal or no heat. Works well for heat-sensitive ingredients and certain formula types. You'll learn the advantages and limitations, and when this approach is the right choice.
This is where you make the formulas yours. You'll learn to adjust for different hair types using the customisation guide, test pH and adjust for mildness, and troubleshoot the most common problems: bars that are too soft, too hard, crumbly, or harsh. By the end of this module, you'll be able to design a shampoo bar for a specific need and explain every decision in the formula.
All your course guides, frame formulas, and the ingredient reference materials in one place. Download and keep them.
What's included
What you get
Video lessons across all 3 formulation methods
3 frame formulas to learn from and adapt
Full ingredient walkthroughs
Hair type customisation ebook
Ellie AI tutor trained on the course and more
Brandon, brand planning assistant
Lab Notes Society community access
Downloadable course guides and reference materials
60 days of access, self-paced
One payment of $197
for the full course, formulas, AI and community support, and bonuses.
HEAR FROM OUR STUDENTS
Testimonials
Be prepared
This is advanced stuff and very different from a formulation course. You need to read, you need to implement, and you need to be patient. Love it!
KIRSTI, Cohort 2025
Best investment for my brand
Stability testing was always a pain, but not any more. I can confidently run my tests and assess the data. Thank you.
MICHAEL, Cohort 2025
So much value
The course and features are fantastic. The Case Studies helped me put everything into practice. I only make body butters, but I now know how to read my stability test results.
AMINA, Cohort 2024
From our formulators
MORE DETAILS
Your Questions Answered
No. The Explore module covers all the ingredient fundamentals before you start formulating. The course works for beginners as well as formulators who have made bars before and want to understand the science behind them.
A scale accurate to 0.01g, heat-safe containers or beakers, silicone moulds of your choice, a 3D-printed bar press, a heavy-bottomed milk pan to heat ingredients, and a hob or a double boiler. No professional lab needed.
Syndet stands for synthetic detergent. These bars are made with gentle, more pH-balanced surfactants rather than traditional soap. They can be formulated to a specific pH, which makes them milder on the scalp and hair.
Yes. The course teaches formulation understanding, which is valuable whether you're making bars for yourself, for friends and family, or planning to sell. Brandon (the brand planning assistant) is there if and when you're ready to think about that side.
You can focus on whichever suits your setup. The course teaches all three, so you can make an informed choice. Many students find that the method they expected to prefer wasn't the best fit once they understood the options.
60 days from enrolment. The downloadable materials, including the course guides, frame formulas, and customisation ebook, are yours to keep permanently.
Ellie is trained specifically on the course content and shampoo bar formulation. She helps you clarify terminology, revisit lesson concepts, and work through formulation logic between study sessions. She's a study support tool.
The Pro Formulator Path is a comprehensive programme covering multiple product categories. This course is a focused deep-dive on one product type: solid shampoo bars. Different scope, different purpose.
You can find individual pieces of information, yes. But if you want to move beyond collecting recipes, you'll need a structured framework that ties it all together: why certain combinations work, how to troubleshoot when they don't, and how to adjust for different hair types without breaking the formula. That's what the course provides.
No. This is a focused skills course, not a certification programme.
Hello!
I'm Timi.
A Cosmetic Chemist with 10 years of experience helping formulators hone their skills.
I first started working with solid shampoo bars while developing content for a formulation school. The more I researched, the more confused I got. Water or no water. BTMS or no BTMS. Every source gave a different answer, and most skipped the reasoning entirely. But then I wasn't a cosmetic chemist; I was focusing on teaching.
So once qualified, I went back to the lab and developed three frame formulas that each solve a different problem. One is better suited for fine hair or baby hair. One works well for most hair types but needs a specific mould. One is built with upscaling in mind. They're not interchangeable, and that's the point. Each one exists because different situations call for distinct structural approaches.
The BTMS question is a good example of how I teach. It's wildly popular in the DIY community, and I don't include it in my formulas. I explain the chemistry behind that decision. But I also tell my students: you are the formulator. You review the evidence, understand the trade-offs, and make the call. That's what this course is designed to build: the ability to make your own informed decisions rather than follow someone else's.
There are some genuinely great DIY shampoo bar formulas out there. The problem is that most of them come without the explanation that would help you understand why they work, or what to do when they don't. And that's what this course is here to do.
Lets Go!
Think about the next batch you make. You could go into it the same way you have before, or you could go in knowing what each ingredient does and exactly what to adjust if something isn't right.
Free Resource
Not sure what's in a product?
Decode any cosmetic ingredient list in minutes with Lexie, the Cosmetic Label Decoder.
Lexie is a free AI assistant I trained to walk you through INCI lists the way a formulator would.
She'll tell you what each ingredient is, what it's doing in the formula, and how it fits with everything else on the list.
It's a good place to start if you're new to reading labels, and a useful reference if you're already formulating.
To chat with Lexie, you will need a ChatGPT account (a free account works).
About Formulator Hub
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