Apart from water and a primary surfactant, typically forms of lauryl sulfate, many other ingredients may be added to the shampoo making formula to provide additional desirable properties for scalp and hair care. Secondary surfactants, typically alkanolamides, may serve as foaming agents. Thickeners improve viscosity, conditioners offset the harshness of detergent surfactants, and preservatives ensure the longevity of the product. Finally, modifiers may adjust pH and opacity, and special additives as well as essential oils may be added for color, fragrance, or other distinguishing qualities.

This final step is the most involved part of the production process. Following acceptable quality control, you then pump your shampoo mixture from the batch tank into a holding tank for bottling. You first feed bottles upright into a hopper where they then move along a conveyor belt to the filling carousel. Here, calibrated pistons distribute precise quantities of shampoo to each bottle. You will also need to place caps into a hopper and, once correctly aligned, they are twisted tight by a capping machine. The bottles then proceed to labeling, which may be heat pressed or use adhesive labels. Finally, the labeled bottles exit the conveyor system and are ready to be boxed up for distribution.

With the great variety of intended purposes, your shampoo formula may be tailored to suit different use cases. Pet shampoo, for example, commonly includes chlorhexidine and castile soap to provide antibacterial properties. Baby shampoo on the other hand requires gentler ingredients and may forgo colorants and scents entirely. Identifying the defining features of your use case is essential to producing an effective formula. Furthermore, some shampoo products contain natural ingredients such as coconut, essential oils and ginger just to name a few. These essential oils and natural ingredients are not only used for their pleasant smell. But, they are added for personal care as each provides unique benefits. For example, ginger in shampoo reduces itchy scalp and decreases dandruff when lathering and massaging your hair. Coconut oil is also used to leave your hair feeling fresh not matter your hair type.