What’s the deal?
I have tried so many solid shampoo bars because I was determined to ditch the unnecessary plastic bottle and eventually went about making my own Kelpie Shampoo Bars that I now make for my customers. Solid shampoo bars are more convenient, great for traveling, and plastic packaging is not required.
These are some of the questions people ask me about solid shampoo and why shampoo bars are better than liquid. I hope this will help you make informed decisions about how you care for your hair.
How do I use a solid shampoo bar?
Rub the bar directly on your hair or you can lather it in your hands and use the lather to wash your hair. Try washing your roots first, rinse, then do another wash all over to thoroughly wash your hair. To keep the bar nice and firm make sure you leave it somewhere it can dry out.
How long does a solid shampoo bar last?
It depends on many things but as a simple reference guide, a 50g bar as shown in the image below will last as long as two standard size (300ml) bottles of shampoo. It depends on how much hair you have and how often you wash your hair. If you make sure you dry the bar between uses it will not get so gooey. When the bar gets gooey it is very easy to use too much product for each wash.
I used a solid shampoo before but it left a build-up. Why?
This build-up is caused by using a solid shampoo that has a high pH (more information on pH coming soon). This pH level disrupts the natural state of your hair and scalp and can cause your hair to feel limp, heavy, flyaway, tangled, and even fragile.
The guidance for people trying these bars is to just keep using them until your hair gets used to it (transition phase – coming soon) or rinse the hair with an acidic solution after washing. This acidic solution (apple cider vinegar, for example) has a low pH and balances out the high pH of the product. High pH shampoos are made by mixing natural oils with lye called a cold process method.
Another problem many people have with Solid Shampoo bars is the high content of sulfate. Why is sulfate bad for my hair? What is the transition phase? What is pH? How do I know what is in my shampoo bar? Answers all coming in the next blog post.