Shampoo and Conditioner Bars

After Five years of living in Utah I have discovered that thoughtlessly using any shampoo and conditioner in hard water leads to disgustingly dirty hair that looks oily and feels disgusting. The general principal of living with hard water is that the more one washes their hair the dirtier it feels and looks. So my normal go to shampoo and conditioners were making it worse with the addition of oils and the absence of surfactants which are necessary for cleaning hair in hard water conditions.

Surfactants

So to combat hard water build up in hair it’s best to use shampoo and conditioner bars that contain surfactants. I am proactively lazy so if you want to learn more in-depth about shampoo bars and the science behind it go check out this blog How to Successfully Transition to a Shampoo Bar in a Hard Water Area. For what it is worth surfactants are harmless and used everywhere from gardening to dishwashing!

After reading the above linked blog I set out to source shampoo bars in the USA. The shampoo bars need to contain a surfactant.

  • Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
  • Sodium lauryl Sulfoacetate
  • Sodium Coco Sulfate
  • Decyl Glucoside
  • Lauryl Glucoside
  • Coco Glucoside
  • Cocamidopropyl Betaine
  • Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
  • Disodium Lauryl sulfosuccinate

Criteria

  • Can be used in hard water (must contain surfactant)
  • Doesn’t leave a waxy or clay residue from build up (palm oil free)
  • Cost effective S&H
  • Sustainable and biodegradable

I was skeptical about the shampoo & conditioner bar being a gimmick and did not hold high expectations of success however I have since been 100% converted to their use after a 3 month trial. Here are the results.

#1. Ethique 3.88oz $15.00 $5.00 S&H

I am starting my journey with Ethique. I really appreciate the companies transparency and that Ethique offers mini trial sizes of its product line because none of the other companies I have listed here offer trial sizes. I also appreciate that this New Zealand based company offers fast and affordable flat rate shipping to the U.S.. From the time I placed my order to receiving the product was less than 1 week. This company also has amazing educational information regarding their product and ethical sourcing. They have a pretty wide range of products for kids, pets, and varying hair types.

The mini bars are perfect for traveling and gifting while the larger bars are idea for normal home use.

Pinkalicious ❤️

First up to bat is Pinkalicious and my first impression of using the shampoo bar was that I liked how well it lathered between my hands but for what it is worth it did still take an extremely long time and a lot of work to get it through my long thick hair. While I was working it into my hair I was worried that it would leave behind a thick waxy residue because it felt like wax being caked onto my hair. I didn’t have a conditioner bar to test so I used my aveda Shampura Conditioner and the combination of the two made my hair feel as clean as it does when showering back home in the PNW. My hair felt AMAZINGLY CLEAN! This combination has made my hair feel cleaner than anything I have ever obtained while using the Malibu hard water remover products.

This has easily just become my new one and only favorite go to shampoo to replace all of my other products including the Malibu product.

Update: after a few weeks of using the pinkalicious I am sold! My first impression was not a fluke experience and this shampoo bar has done amazingly well on taming my thick unruly Maine and keeping it looking sleek and clean. However it still takes a lot of effort to work up much of a lather.

I am excited and eager to continuing to test out the rest of my order!! To be honest I have not been able to get on the natural deodorant band wagon. I have tried several times without success.

  • Rustic- Deodorant: not likely to buy again
  • In the buff- Conditioner: unimpressed will not buy again.
  • Bar Minimum- Shampoo: unimpressed do not recommend.

Wombar Shampoo Bar❤️❤️❤️

I finally opened this bar August 2021 and it is surprisingly better than any of the other ethique products I used. I would buy this again!

#2. Hibar Shampoo Bar 3.2oz $12.95 -$3.95 S&H ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

3/30/21 I have finally opened this soap for use and it has just amazed me! 100% in Love with this bar. It is the most impressive!! It takes the least amount of effort for the most amazing lather I have ever experienced with any shampoo. Even with regular shampoo brands from salons and grocery stores my hair has never lathered this much!

This bar lathered and cleans better than the Ethique bars that I have been using and loving on. I will be putting in another order for this + the conditioner bar! This bar just makes my favorite pinkalicious bar seem so.. pathetic. This bar requires such minimal effort to use on my thick long hair and I 100% recommend it. There is so much bang for your buck with this amazing bar don’t be fooled by its size as it will last a lot longer than any Ethique bar.

My first impressions before use were that this product line is very limited in selection with only 3 soap types and they do not offer trial/Travel sizes but they do offer a large bar and it is affordable. I placed my order through an online retailer that I have linked above. So far the ordering and shipping are noticeably slow with about a little over a week in between the ordering and shipping process with another week worth of waiting for the shipping process, totaling two weeks between placing my order and receiving the product.

Right off the bat before ever receiving the actual product I am unimpressed by the lack of choices and sizes but after using it I am a convert to buying more of what gets my hair clean with minimal effort and that is exactly what this shampoo bar does!!

Results:

#3. Lush 1.9oz $11.95

TBD- I have not tested this brand nor do I have plans to at this time.

This is one of the more expensive companies for the least amount of product. So by this definition I would classify this as a gimmicky luxury item aka unnecessary and over priced. This company does not offer travel or trial sizes so you are stuck buying a larger quantity without certainty that you will like it or that it will suit your needs.

Upon reviewing the shampoo and conditioner bar products it is noticeable that some of the products lack the necessary Surfactant needed for hard water cleaning. So I ordered the few products available.

#4. Suds & co. 3oz $14.00

Another chic luxury item are these shampoo bars that do meet the search criteria. However these bars offer slightly less product for their high price tag. Personally it would be be a hard sell for me to justify paying more for less product.

Why Use plastic free waste reducing shampoo Soap Bars?

Born and raised in the PNW and over the past 10 years we have gone bag free, utensils free and straw free so the next step was looking inward at our home use. I have noticed a huge improvement since converting to bottle free products such as humankind and blueland.com hand soaps and cleaning products. There are a few products I can’t give up such as antiviral Lysol.

I began looking for sustainable ways to reduce our plastics after our nearly month long trip through Asia. The trip was eye opening to the atrocities of our plastic pollutants. So one such way to reduce plastics is to try shampoo bars. I want shampoo and conditioner bars that can clean hair despite hard water and prevent the harsh disgusting build up that occurs in my hair normally. I have discovered better than I expected results and aI am ecstatic to be reducing my carbon footprint!