Shampoo Bars

Shampoo Bars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Having tried and been completely converted to bar hand wash, I was curious whether other products would be as effective in solid form. This has included bar shampoo, conditioner and body wash. If hand wash was such an good alternative, could shampoo be the same?

Why try this alternative?

As an essential product, and with long hair, I get through a lot of shampoo, and consequently a lot of plastic bottles, many unrecyclable. Therefore, bar shampoo presents a good way of decreasing my plastic consumption. Additionally, all the shampoo bars I tried so far are vegan and cruelty free.

My swap

I have been using bar shampoo (and conditioner) for over six months now, and so far I have tried three different bars:

• "Hey mango" Shampoo bar by Non Plastic Beach for £9.50 (70g, £13.60/100g)
• "Jason and the Argon Oil" by Lush for £8 (55g, £14.50/100g)
• Eco Warrior Shampoo Bar for £4.50. (£4.50/100g)

When I was using liquid shampoo it was costing about 30p/100ml. Therefore, to make them financially viable, they would have had to last between 15 and 50 times longer than my liquid shampoo. Although the bars do last longer, they definitely don't last 50 times longer. 

My Findings

Contrary to my initial concerns, none of the bars left my hair feeling dry or damaged. The quality of the bars were level, if not better than the liquid shampoos that I had been using. This is part of the reason that the price gap is so wide; I wasn't investing in good quality shampoos. Therefore I found that some of the bars left my hair feeling healthier than before. Additionally, friends that have dyed hair have said that the shampoo didn't affect the upkeep.

While some bar based products take longer to apply (one downfall of the conditioner), I didn't find this to be the case with any of the three shampoos I used. They were all easy to apply, lathered well, and I used less per wash than liquid shampoo. A concern that people have expressed to me is that it would be more of a hassle and not work well on longer, thicker hair. When I fist started trialling them my hair was long (about mid ribcage, now four inches below my shoulders), and I don't believe it is any more effort to use than liquid shampoo. Shampoo bars may be easier for those with shorter hair, but only in the same way that liquid shampoo is easier to use on short hair.

After using my first bar shampoo, I was convinced that it had lasted longer than my liquid shampoo did, and I wanted to test this further. To do this I measured the equivalent amount of liquid shampoo to the Lush shampoo bar, as seen above, and alternated between them each wash to see which would run out first. As predicted, this was the liquid shampoo, and by quite a way. When the liquid shampoo ran out, I had only used 32% of my bar shampoo. Assuming from this that it will then last about 3x longer, that brings the relative price to £4.83/ 100g. Although still on the high end of the scale for liquid shampoos, it makes it much more reasonably priced than £14.50/ 100g. The Lush bar has been my favourite so far and I have been impressed with how long it has lasted. Part of this, I believe, is because there is less waste than liquid shampoo as you are applying directly.

A further note on the price is that even since I first tried them, they have appeared more in supermarkets, meaning you can find them cheaper now. I have recently purchased a shampoo bar by Alberto Balsam for £2.50 (75g £3.34/100g) which claims to last up to 70% more washes. If this is the case then it does bring the price to £1.95/100g, a competitive price with liquid shampoos.

One thing that is slightly different is the storage: it is best to keep them on a holder so that water can drain through. These can be bought for as little as £1, and all three companies that I bought the bars from also sell holders. An added bonus to this storage is that they act like a candle, making the bathroom smell lovely.

Conclusion:

I much prefer these bars over liquid shampoo. I appreciate that it is a struggle to find liquid shampoos that cost as much as £14.50/100g, but despite this, I am converted. I would definitely say they are worth trying, as like me, you may not go back. This is why I think shampoo bars are worthy of five stars!