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Style & Beauty

Shampoo and conditioner bars

18 replies

crazymuseummum · 07/11/2021 09:24

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any tips on making the transition to solid shampoo and conditioner bars? I'm in Day 2 of using an Eco Warriors shampoo bar, and Foamie conditioner bar. My hair feels very odd after just the shampoo (dry and 'squeaky' when I rinse), better after the conditioner (though not as silky as after liquid conditioner), horrendous when I then brush it after towel drying, and then fine after blow drying.

Is the cider vinegar rinse still a thing, or have shampoo bars progressed since then? I know hard water isn't great for solid shampoo but we live in a v hard water area and there's nothing I can do about that!

Any tips or tricks appreciated :-)

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WeAreTheHeroes · 07/11/2021 09:38

I've not found a good conditioner bar tbh. Of the shampoo bars I've tried I like to Gruum moisturising one best and I've been using an OGX Argan oil of Morocco conditioner.

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Disfordarkchocolate · 07/11/2021 09:40

I found Friendly Soap Company conditioner bar to be excellent but I have no tips because my hair was fine from day one.

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Goldentimes · 07/11/2021 09:43

I love the Gruum shampoo bar. Haven't settled on a conditioner bar yet but I definitely prefer the bars to shampoo and conditioner from plastic bottles.

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Bumblebeefriend · 07/11/2021 11:11

Home bargains are now doing a shampoo and conditioner bar at £1 which i have found to be good

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TuftyRusty · 07/11/2021 11:25

@Disfordarkchocolate

I found Friendly Soap Company conditioner bar to be excellent but I have no tips because my hair was fine from day one.

@Disfordarkchocolate do you live in a hard water area? I tried a Friendly bar and it left my hair feeling awful, I’m in London which is hard water.

I’ve actually found the Lush shampoo and conditioner bars to be the best. Seanik shampoo and big or jungle conditioner bars.
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bonfireheart · 07/11/2021 11:26

We use a shampoo bar from lush and their cream conditioner, both great. And then rub through some hair oil after drying.

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OooPourUsACupLove · 07/11/2021 14:57

Best I've found is Ethique. I used Lush for many years but find Ethique leaves my hair feeling much better, and less crumbly bars as well. I really like how my hair looks and feels since I switched to Lush - seems to be much silkier.

I've also tried more craftsperson/artisan bars and they do not work for me at all. I find that they are often actually soap (so alkaline) rather than shampoo.

For reference, I'm in London. My hair is long, thick, mostly straight, half grey caucasian hair. I don't blow dry ever which probably makes a difference to the condition, but that was the same with the Lush bars.

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Avarua · 07/11/2021 14:59

Another vote for ethique - I shampoo then use a hair oil

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bcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyza · 07/11/2021 15:04

I use tropics bars, your hair takes a couple of weeks to adjust to the bars. I have used them since may and my hair now looks healthier, shinier and the frizz is controlled.

Give it a bit more time. Oh amd only use them every few days not everyday

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il0vew1ne · 07/11/2021 17:46

I have used
Little Soap Company www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08285QVPD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?psc=1&ie=UTF8&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

From Amazon and so much better than Ethique which only lasted. A few washing before it went all soggy.

My hair is in great condition and the shampoo bar is fab

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il0vew1ne · 07/11/2021 17:47

I am in London

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LefttoherownDevizes · 07/11/2021 21:10

OP if you have hard water your hair will not adjust, it's a reaction between the hard water and soap.

I can only use non soap based shampoo bars, the Suma and Friendly Soap bars didn't work at all, but the Garnier, Lush and Honey Bee Beautiful ones are all fine..

Had less luck with conditioner bar but my hair is a PITA

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elrider · 07/11/2021 21:51

Ethique or Soaps for Little Suds shampoo bars are good, even in hard water. I've tried loads of conditioner bars but can't get on with any but also refuse to buy plastic, so I get refills of liquid conditioner from a local refill/zero waste shop. There are plenty around these days so that's worth a try. They also do a selection of liquid shampoo refills if you prefer.

You can refill any old bottle or jar, then once you've settled on it and know you're getting refills long term, you could treat yourself to a nice glass pump bottle! That's my end goal but I'm still using the same old jars and bottles for my conditioner for now.

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crazymuseummum · 09/11/2021 07:27

Thanks, everyone.

@LefttoherownDevizes - yep, Thames Valley, so our tap water practically crunches and the plumbing is held together with limescale! We rent our house, so fitting a softener isn't an option. Good to know the water could be the issue though.

@elrider - I think you might be on to something there, I think I might look in to the refill route. Thank you.

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ILoveShula · 09/11/2021 09:49

The ethique shampoo bars are good.

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throwa · 10/11/2021 17:25

Make sure you are using a syndet shampoo bar (basically shampoo in a solid format with no water added) rather than a soap shampoo bar, which is the ones which need a ACV rinse and which may leave your hair feeling waxy. Look for ones with SCS or SCI first on the list of ingredients. Anything with ....ate in the ingredients is a soap shampoo bar, which doesn't work well in hard water.

Try Gruum or else Body Bath Beyond, I like both of those and their conditioner bars work well with my hair too.

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Isthatthebestyoucando · 10/11/2021 22:05

soulandsoap.co.uk/collections/solid-shampoo
The conditioner bar from here is lovely, I want to try the shampoo next.

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Cailleach1 · 10/11/2021 22:14

@ILoveShula

The ethique shampoo bars are good.

Yes, I like ethique too. You can buy smaller 'taster' packs, to try out before buying larger sizes.

If you place the soap on a surface/soap dish where it can drain, and dry off after use, it will avoid any soggy problem.
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