Plastic is a problem. It takes forever to degrade and during that process, our water, air, and soil are exposed to all kinds of toxic chemicals. People and companies are starting to turn away from plastic packaging and turning to more sustainable, more natural alternatives. Also many are making a shift to shampoo bars instead of regular shampoo bottles. What are shampoo bars? They are solid bars of shampoo. Nothing too complicated. To use, you rub the bar right on your hair and they produce lots of lather. Therefore, the bars are frequently produced the same way as regular soap. Benefits include:
Significantly less packaging
Longer use than regular shampoo
Easy to travel with
Multi-purpose uses
What bars should you consider trying? Here are five:
Chagrin Valley
This company makes a variety of shampoo bars, all with no artificial ingredients like color or fragrance. Instead, they rely on natural plant oils, essential oils, and oils infused with herbs. The Ayurvedic Herb bar is their most popular. It contains herbs like shikaki, which increases the silkiness of hair, hibiscus flowers for dandruff control, and bhringraj for hair growth. For conditioning, there’s coconut milk, avocado oil, and organic mango butter. For a more basic bar, the coconut milk is also very popular. It uses sweet almond oil, as well, for conditioning.
Ethique
Each bar of Ethique’s solid shampoo is equal to three bottles of liquid shampoo. Ethique makes a variety of bars for different hair types, like oily, frizzy, or dry. Their bar for normal hair, called “Pinkalicious,” is made with ingredients like organic, fair-trade, virgin coconut oil and cocoa butter. It’s 100% soap free, vegan, cruelty-free, and safe for color-treated hair. In addition, it’s also palm-oil free.
Are shampoo bars the future of hair care?
Christophe Robin
This brand’s hydrating shampoo bar is great for dry hair. It’s made with aloe, glycerin, and castor oil, with no parabens, phthalates, or sulfates. On the product page, you can even read about how it was made with the cold saponification process. It’s a traditional method that’s very rare these days, as it doesn’t heat any of the oils and butters. The resulting soap bar is natural and vegan, with no animal testing. In addition, it can also be used as a body wash.
Lush
A very popular beauty brand, Lush makes an avocado co-wash bar. What is a co-wash? It’s a bar that combines shampoo and conditioner. It’s great for natural hair, or hair that’s very curly or dry. The bar is 80% conditioner and 20% shampoo, so it cleans and moisturizes. Ingredients include avocado, cupuacu butter, olive oil, and cocoa butter. Lush does not test their products on animals, so you can feel good about buying this bar.
J.R. Liggett’s
One of the most affordable shampoo bars on the market, one bar of J.R. Liggett’s is equal to a 24-ounce bottle of liquid shampoo. The Tea Tree and Hemp bar is great for irritated scalps and keeping infections at bay. The hemp oil provides proteins that encourage hair growth. The Jojoba and Peppermint bar is another option. Jojoba oil, which comes a seed, is great for cleaning the scalp and clogged hair follicles. Other ingredients in J.R. Liggett’s include coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, and almond oil.
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Wanting all your cosmetics to be natural and cruelty-free? Check out these makeup brands, which include Pacifica and Everyday Minerals.
