Formulation and evaluation of herbal shampoo containing rambutan leaves extract

Abstract

Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum Linn.) can be found widely in Malaysia, belongs to the family Sapindaceae. The leaves of rambutan are traditionally used for hair care and many people experience a noticeable change in their hair quality in just a few weeks. However, there is no study has been reported in herbal shampoo preparation containing rambutan leaves extract. The present study was aimed to formulate an herbal shampoo containing rambutan leaves extract and to evaluate its physicochemical properties. The herbal shampoo was formulated by incorporating the methanolic extract of rambutan leaves. Several tests such as visual inspection, pH,  percentage of solid contents, foam ability and stability studies were performed to determine the physicochemical properties of the formulated herbal shampoo. The conditioning performance was evaluated by administering a blind test to 11 volunteers. The majority of the volunteers rated that the tresses washed with formulated shampoo was found to be 2.18 ± 0.40. The results clearly indicates that the formulated shampoo is having a satisfactory conditioning performance level. All the ingredients used to formulate shampoo are safer and the physicochemical evaluation showed ideal results, but further research is required to improve its quality and identify the constituents that are responsible for the performance.