hair care Archives • Cook the Beans

Shampoo bars have been my latest obsession 🙂 they are great for someone like me that cares about the environment and avoids plastic, travels often, prefers to use natural products and only buys vegan products. Most of the Shampoo Bars will tick all those boxes easily.

A bar shampoo is basically a solid shampoo in a bar form, often made from just a few and more natural ingredients plus they are Plastic packaging-free

pros & cons

PROS

Travel-friendly (lightweight & compact size)
Most shampoo bars don’t contain SLS and use more natural ingredients
Cost effective (lasts longer than the liquids)
Plastic packaging-free
Reduced carbon footprint (because of their smaller size, more can fit into the lorries that transport them)
Affordable (lots of options under £6/€7/$10)
Shampoo bars can also be used for other purposes like washing your body, or clothes while traveling.
Great smell

CONS

Some companies might try to hide their ingredients and try to make it sound better than it really is
They are made of natural products, most expire within 6 months (unless otherwise indicated on the product)
Build-up can make adjusting to natural shampoo bars especially frustrating
If you live in an area with hard water, the bars shampoo may not perform as expected
You may have to play around with different bars to find the one that works for you.
Some people need an adjustment period before the scalp becomes used to the new shampoo.

If you’re interested in giving one a try look carefully at the ingredients, and keep in mind that for most people there is an adjustment period of about 1 month on chemically treated hair when using a natural bar shampoo.

Do you use a bar shampoo? have you ever tried one? Please let me know if you have any questions and comments!

As always I would love to hear from you ?

Love Ana x???x

As someone that travels for long periods with minimal luggage, finding ways to save space, weight and avoid liquids can be a bit like rocket science ?. The use of shampoo bars sounds an idea from heaven, not only because is not liquid, but because is small, compact, zero-waist, and seemingly longer-lasting than liquid shampoo.

A bar shampoo it’s essentially a solid shampoo in bar form, often made from just a few and more natural ingredients plus there is no plastic package.

Shampoo bars will likely have Little lather or bubbles to them because they often don’t contain an artificial lathering agent. So if you like lots of bubbles this is probably not for you.

The key is to know what to choose. Try to avoid chemicals and artificial ingredients, palm oil, SLS – aka Sodium Laurel Sulfate, artificial fragrances, harsh preservatives and, dyes. None of these additions are good for you, either the planet. Better to look for shampoo bars with highly nourishing butters, oils, essential oils and botanical extracts.

If you’re vegan, I’m too, so there is no problem here 🙂 there are many brands which make vegan-friendly shampoo bars. When you are looking for a bar shampoo just avoid ingredients like milks, honeys, or other animal products.

I know that it may sound a bit complicated at the beginning…

It’s hard to know what kind of shampoos are there in the market, and which ones are the best ones for your hair type.

In the end, choosing the right shampoo bar will really be a result of trial and error. But I might turn your life just a little bit easier 🙂 > check it here <

To help you (and me ?) to choose, I’ve been trying different bar shampoos, if you do some research you’ll be amazed at the variety and quantity available on the market (what makes it harder to choose).

Bar Shampoo

How to use a shampoo bar?

First wet your hair thoroughly.

For me workes the best rubbing the bar between my hands first, instead of applying it directly on my hair.

Only a little of shampoo is needed, the bars are quite concentrated. If you use too much they can leave your hair feeling greasy and or waxy when dry. Take your time to wash out properly.

If you keep having the feeling that you are not raising your hair properly or if you live in a hard water area, you may need to do an acidic rise, with apple cider vinegar or diluted lemon juice to help balance and restore a healthy pH to the scalp and to remove old chemicals. Also brushing your hair often helps to redistribute the oils throughout the hair.

Make sure you store your bars in a dry place to prevent them from breaking down or melting. The bar should be completely dry between uses.

Note: for most people, there is an adjustment period of about 1 month on chemically treated hair when using a natural bar shampoo.

I hope you are thinking that this might be a good idea. If that is the case just think about the amount of plastic you can avoid and you will make your mind in a second 🙂

Leave in the comments box any questions or tips you may have!

Lots of Love Ana x??x

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