Body soaps and shampoo bars

[MumNeedsTea]

I've been thinking of ditching my shower gels and shampoo bottles to reduce the amount of plastic we use. I will soon run out of my current shampoo bottle so I think it's now or never :)

Can anyone recommend a good brand for body soaps and shampoo bars? Shampoo wise I use the bodyshop rainforest moisture range so looking for something similar. I have very thick curly/wavy hair.

A few questions :

1. Is it ok for various members of the house to use the same body soap and shampoo bar.. I mean hygiene wise? If not, I cannot imagine where I would store the numerous bars
2. Do you use them for your kids too? I would like too if it means one more less bottle of plastic. Both my kids suffer from dry skin and have a history of eczema.
3. What about conditioner? I've never seen any conditioning bars

TIA :)

*an issue

You are supposed to use the vinegar rinse to remove build up and it acts as a natural conditioner - I think. I didn't get around to trying it last night but will report back when.I do.

Lush is expensive and for us it ran out quickly despite keeping it in their tin - it went all gooey at the bottom. They also use SLS which is basically palm oil. They also have some tenuous links to mermaids and have done some misogynistic campaigns involving bullying their staff. All this I learnt about on here so possible to search for it if you want to know more.

I like Juliet Rose solid conditioner and you can get a sample pack.

OP the vinegar rinse is worth it and your hair will adjust in time but don't be surprised about a waxy residue after first few washes, but keep going it makes such a difference if we all try to reduce our plastic consumption. Good on you!

I use the Bronnely fruit soaps or the plain Waitrose soap bars.
I personally think they wash skin better.
They seem perfectly hygienic. I don’t think much can grow on soap.

My dd has eczema. I don't use soap on her very often (only if particularly grubby/sweaty) but she uses my soap, Olivia, an olive oil soap from Holland & Barrett which is really cheap and just olive oil. She doesn't seem to react to it. Other than my legs and face (I still use facial wash) I don't need to moisturise my body anymore despite living in a hard water area.

I've not found a good shampoo bar, they for some reason always seem to leave my hair really matte. I'm going to investigate some of those recommended.

I use friendly soap on my hair, and do a lemon juice rinse twice a week but I am going to swap that for Apple cinder vinegar. Don't use conditioner but put a bit of Aryan oil on the ends if they look dry. DP brought me 6 bars of body shop soap last Xmas and I'm only one number 3! They are fine.

I use them on 2 year old DD who has ezcma. No issues and we share the bars, just make sure no-one is using the soap straight on their body. Lather in hands then wash. Storage wise, I use what someone suggested on here and put them in those little net bags you get for washing tablets and hang them so they dry nicely.

Ok aside from being at "I can't think of anywhere to buy soap except lush".

1. Dove is not technically soap - but at least it's not dressed in plastic.

1. I've tried all sorts of soaps. I like using the home made stuff as a treat, to maxx does some great ones. Currently using an orange scented one from Sainsbury's which I like.

1. DS2 has eczema - he's getting on fine with soap but I'm hanging on to his t-gel for scalp.

1. Haven't yet found a shampoo bar that's fully working for me. I have fine crap hair. Love lush shampoo bar - hate lush... So still looking.

1. In terms of hygiene, we all use flannels which the soap is applied to and the flannel flung in the wash after each use.

@vintage fur if that is at me please enlighten me as to what other high street shop I can go in to to buy a shampoo bar. I’m well aware that other shops sell soap.

Faith in nature soap is great - got rid of my dry skin since I started using it, and it's not expensive. Will be moving to solid shampoo when I have used all the stuff we have at home.

We love the Friendly Soap Company, great service and lovely soap. Also, no plastic at all. If you want to shop on the high street our local Oxfam does Faith in Nature soap. We're trying shampoo bars when we run out of shampoo.

Nesti dante Italian soap is lovely. Big be a that last a long time and smell gorgeous. You can buy on Amazon.

Another Friendly soap fan. The lemongrass and hemp one is my favourite.

Avène-Cold-Cream-Ultra-Rich-Soap-Free-Cleansing-Bar - Superdrug, Amazon etc _
_
La Roche Posay Lipikar Soap I've been using this for about 5 months (every day with body puff) and still not finished!

Lucy Bee natural soap also sell individual soaps

Chuckling Goat soaps several varieties available

I saw some of paste soaps in a gift shop recently. They smell absolutely devine. Am intending to order some to try.

Lol, autocorrect! Not paste but THESE!

I'm aware of the issues with Lush BUT cannot find a shampoo bar elsewhere that doesn't leave my hair feeling waxy and sticky. We live in a very hard water area so perhaps we need the SLS for something similar in a shampoo bar? Any recommendations?

Thanks again everyone!

For those recommending using a flannel, I have no idea what you're talking about I have always used a loofah (poofy things) with my shower gel for the body and hands for my face. I will be getting rid of the loofahs as they are also plastic (I think). How to do use a flannel.. Do you apply soap all over and then scrub with flannel? It seems like I have missed out on a major life skill here

Proper loofah are plants not plastic. I use a face flannel now to take my make up off rather than wipes.

Folksoap, found on Facebook, has been amazing for a friend's eczema. Smells amazing too. I may be forced to place an order

If you are swapping to soap due to plastic also consider getting bamboo tooth brushes and who gives a crap loo roll without any plastic packaging

You can also just learn to wash a bit less and it will reduce your plastic waste substantially - so if you wash hair etc every day, try just using water for two out of three days. It'll reduce your consumption and therefore waste by 2/3. It takes a while to adjust but I've found skin and hair to be the better for it.

There were some shampoo and conditioner bars in my local Superdrug. They smelt of strawberries and can in their own storage tins which were lovely and clearly marked.

Rain I’ll look up proper loofahs then... I’m pretty sure mine are plastic.
I also use oil and flannel to remove my makeup... just never thought of using flannel for body :)

ivy that’s next on my list!

Houston I only wash my hair 2 times a week... cannot be bothered to wash any more times than that

Once I have the soap and shampoo bars sorted, I’m going to start looking at plastic free skincare and makeup... I think that’s going to be more difficult!

I was brought up with flannels - yes, basically lather soap with hands, apply and use flannel as a cloth to remove/scrub.

I used to put shampoo bars in net bags and hang them up to dry, but not any more. I now have 'in the air' magnetic soap holders like these (www.<a class="break-all" href="https://amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XRCZ4LS/ref=crt_ewc_title_srh_1?smid=A26FIYC2O2GEZH%29&psc=1&ie=UTF8&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-style-and-beauty-3421806-Body-soaps-and-shampoo-bars" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XRCZ4LS/ref=crt_ewc_title_srh_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A26FIYC2O2GEZH) for them. They take a while to arrive, but there are more expensive versions on prime. Maybe on ebay? Basically, they stick to a wall. and you press the magnet into your soap or shampoo bar. Bar hangs and doesn't go gloopy. Brilliant!

Head over to Ethical board on Home and Garden for more info.

I buy our soaps in Tk max they do so many I buy lots of different ones.