My mom always washed all of us little blondies in shampoo back in my childhood, and then followed with a lemon juice rinse.

I have made soap before and have a wonderful recipe from Melinda Coss in her Handmade Soap Book. She calls it her Dream Castile (made w/ (cheap) olive oil and goats milk) and says it makes a great shampoo bar. I have used it on occasion for hair, but have noted that bars can leave a residue in the hair--not oily, just--not soft and clean feeling.

I've been reading if your hair is darker, you should rinse it with a vinegar rinse, and if it's blondish (mine's a dark blonde shade depending on sun exposure--going grey) you should use lemon juice. I mixed lemon and water half and half and rinsed (after washing with the Dream castile bar) and it not only took out the residue, it made it SHINY(my hair does NOT normally shine), soft and more smooth and in control than I get with gels and mousses and junk. And it feels CLEAN. No crud in it. I think this is the first time it has felt like MY HAIR --and not some gunky mess with buildup of hair products--in a long time.

Anyway--just thought I'd pass that on.