Shampoo Manufacturer Australia

Epilab manufactures shampoo for Australian hair care brands, from indie founders running 500-unit pilot batches through to established brands ordering retail-scale runs. We cover gentle daily, sulphate-free, clarifying, colour-safe, volumising, scalp-balancing and clinical positioning.

All shampoo is made in our Melbourne facility. We do custom formulation, private label and white label under one roof, so brands can mix paths or move between them as they scale.

What we make

Liquid shampoo formats including standard surfactant-based, sulphate-free, low-poo, clarifying, colour-protect, anti-frizz, scalp-soothing, dandruff-control (cosmetic positioning, not therapeutic), volumising, moisturising and bond-care. Packaging includes PCR plastic bottles, glass, aluminium, tubes for sample programs, and refill pouches.

Three ways to launch a shampoo

Custom formulation

Custom shampoo is the right path when you want a specific sensory experience, a unique actives profile, or claims that off-the-shelf bases cannot deliver. Development runs six to twelve weeks. We work through surfactant selection (sulphate vs sulphate-free, primary and secondary), conditioning agent loading, viscosity and clarity, foam quality, scent and any actives. MOQ starts at 500 units.

Private label

Private label uses our existing shampoo library as the base. You select positioning (gentle, clarifying, colour-safe, etc.), choose fragrance and packaging, and apply your branding. Timeline is three to six weeks. This is the fastest commercial-grade path for brands launching their first shampoo SKU.

White label

White label means a fully pre-formulated, pre-tested shampoo ready to ship with your label. Two to four weeks. Lowest cost, lowest risk, lowest differentiation. Good for testing market response or filling a category gap quickly.

Minimum order quantities

Liquid shampoo MOQ starts at 500 units for most packaging formats. Standard fill sizes are 100ml, 250ml, 500ml and 1L. Pricing tiers improve at 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 units. Retail-scale orders of 100,000 plus are well within capacity.

Formulation considerations

Shampoo formulation balances cleansing power against scalp tolerance and hair feel after rinse. Surfactant selection is the biggest variable. Sulphate-based shampoos foam more aggressively and clean more thoroughly. Sulphate-free uses milder surfactants like coco-glucoside, decyl-glucoside or sulphosuccinates, with different foam characteristics and a gentler scalp profile. Conditioning agents (polyquats, behentrimonium, hydrolysed proteins) determine the post-wash feel. We can build for any of these positions and brief sensory targets at the start.

Cost transparency

Shampoo unit cost is driven mostly by surfactant blend, conditioning agent loading, actives, fragrance, and packaging. Standard sulphate-based shampoo is the lowest-cost base. Sulphate-free with peptides and bond-building actives sits significantly higher. Indicative ranges only, every quote runs against the actual brief.

Where this fits in our hair care range

This page covers shampoo specifically. For the full picture of our hair care manufacturing range, including how this category fits alongside shampoo, conditioner, masks, oils, treatments, scalp care and styling, see our hair care manufacturer Australia overview page.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make sulphate-free shampoo?

Yes. Sulphate-free is a major part of our shampoo work. We use coco-glucoside, decyl-glucoside, sulphosuccinates and amino-acid surfactants depending on the brief.

What is the MOQ for shampoo?

500 units for most liquid formats. Lower minimums may be possible for certain stock white-label products.

Can you make a clarifying or anti-buildup shampoo?

Yes. We do clarifying, chelating, and anti-buildup positioning, with full transparency on the cleansing system used.

Do you do colour-protect shampoo?

Yes. Colour-safe formulas use lower-pH systems, gentler surfactants, and protective conditioning agents to extend colour life.

Can you make anti-dandruff shampoo?

We can make shampoo with cosmetic anti-dandruff positioning using ingredients like zinc pyrithione or salicylic acid. Therapeutic claims requiring TGA registration are outside scope.

How long is shelf life?

Typically 24 to 36 months for shampoo, confirmed by stability testing on the specific formula.

Start a shampoo project

Send a brief to info@epilab.com.au with your target volume, positioning, claims and budget. We respond within two business days with a feasibility note covering formula path, MOQ, timeline and indicative cost.