Make Your Own Shampoo and Conditioner!
- Words by Peppermint
Sustainable living advocate Rebecca Sullivan has made an art form of natural living, with books on everything from edible flowers to using herbs for health and wellbeing, as well as running a ‘Granny Skills’ program that brings communities of women together to preserve the culture, skills, knowledge and traditions of our elders. Here, just in time for the final days of Plastic-Free July, she shares her simple, all-natural recipes to keep your locks looking lovely.
The hair-care aisles are piled high with plastic bottles – from shampoo and conditioners to hair masks and dry shampoo, aiming for plastic-free makes luscious locks a little hard to do, unless you’re lucky enough to have a shampoo-stocking bulk shop nearby. Happily, though, I know a few tricks for making your own products in an afternoon – and they can be stored in any clean container you like. My biggest tip when making any beauty product yourself is to make small batches frequently – enjoy the process!
Coconut and Orange Shampoo for normal hair
Coconut is the perfect moisturiser and will leave your hair silky smooth, while the orange essential oil makes you smell good enough to eat – who doesn’t want that?
Ingredients (makes about 120ml – enough for about 4 washes, depending on the length of your hair)
60ml coconut milk
60ml liquid Castile soap
20 drops orange essential oil
½ teaspoon olive or nut oil (optional, for dry hair)
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a recycled shampoo bottle, airtight container or screwtop jar, and shake well to mix. You’re done! This one’s fine to store in your shower for up to a month – just remember to shake well before every use.
Coconut Conditioner
This gorgeous two-step conditioner will leave your hair double-smooth. You first use pure coconut oil to moisturise and condition, then follow that with a 50/50 mixture of apple cider vinegar and water as a rinse – this really cleans your hair and helps with scalp problems such as dandruff, and the acid removes any excess oil and increases shine. Try using it once a week or so.
Ingredients (makes one application)
1–2 teaspoons coconut oil
60ml raw apple cider vinegar
60ml water
10 drops essential oil: sage (for normal hair), tea tree (for oily hair), or lavender (for dandruff)
Method
Make sure the coconut oil is liquid – place it in a warm place to melt if need be. Put the vinegar, water and essential oil in an airtight container or screw top jar, then shake well to mix. You can make a larger quantity of the vinegar rinse and keep it in your shower for up to a month – just remember to shake well before every use.
Start by rubbing the coconut oil into the ends of your hair and leave for a minute. Rinse thoroughly in warm water, then pour the vinegar mix through your hair and rinse thoroughly.
WORDS AND PHOTOS: REBECCA SULLIVAN
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
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Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
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✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
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For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
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It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
