Yes this is real shampoo in a solid bar.  Although the process for making a shampoo bar is the same as making soap, our shampoo bar "recipes" are specially formulated with natural plant oils and exotic butters to nourish your hair and scalp.  For example, every shampoo bar is made with extra castor bean oil for lots of bubbly lather and vitamin rich oils such as avocado, wheat germ, or apricot kernel.  Every shampoo bar is superfatted with golden jojoba for healthy scalp.  

Although foamy lather is not necessary for cleaning, most people agree that a shampoo MUST have lots of lather.  Our solid shampoo bars have an absolutely fabulous, fluffy lather.   They are made with coconut oil and extra castor bean oil which creates a foamy, bubbly lather.

Couldn't be simpler - get your hair very wet and then massage the bar against your hair in a small circular motion until you work up a rich lather.  Some of my test subjects (I mean friends) said it was easier to rub the bar between your hands to work up some lather, then rub your hands directly on your hair.  Work the lather into your scalp and rinse thoroughly.  Repeat if you like.  Relax, you can wash your hair with natural shampoo everyday!  It cleans thoroughly without drying or coating your hair or scalp.  Dry and style your hair as normal and then enjoy how shiny and clean it looks.

With the water removed, this little shampoo bar will last up to 5 times longer than conventional liquid style shampoo and there is no plastic bottle to throw away afterwards.  Conditioner is not usually needed either and that's another plastic bottle saved!

We have many customers who color their hair and use our shampoo bars.  One customers who "darkens" her hair wrote to tell us that she is now able to go one month longer before re-coloring her hair.  Another customer who "lightens" her hair, wrote that the color stays "nicer" longer and she does not get that "brassy" blonde color anymore.  Because they are simply soap, shampoo bars will not strip color from your hair as fast as the detergents in commercial shampoos.  But since everyone's hair and coloring products are different, please do a strand test to judge for yourself.
 

We have many customers who perm their hair and use our shampoo bars.  Because they are simply soap, shampoo bars will not strip natural protective oils from your hair.   One customer told us that her perms stay "fresher" longer since she started using shampoo bars.   But since everyone's hair and perming products are different, please do a strand test to judge for yourself.

Tangly hair is another story.  Hair tangles result when individual hairs go in different directions and intertwine.  The outer layer of the hair, the cuticle, is made of overlapping layers of long scales that lie along the surface of the hair like shingles on a roof.  The condition of the cuticle scales in part determines whether you are going to have tangly hair.  When you shampoo your hair the cuticle opens.  When the cuticle layers are open and not knit together you are even more prone to tangling.  The strong detergents in commercial shampoo open the cuticle even more, making it more prone to tangles.  So using our all natural shampoo bars helps with normal tangling. 

But everyone’s hair is different!  Also, the way you shampoo and even the type of water you have can affect hair tangles.  I have long fine, thin hair that is very prone to tangling.  Just imagine all of those little strands of hair as very thin strings—now put little burrs on the strings (the open cuticle) and you can see my problem.  When I used commercial shampoo I had to use gobs of conditioner.  I shampoo every day and would go through a 16 ounce bottle of conditioner every week—just to get a comb through my hair.  Using my shampoo bars has made a big difference.  Sometimes, after shampooing, I can tell that my hair is snarl-free (usually that's when I have taken the time to lather up the shampoo bar in my hands and then massage it through my hair).   Other times, especially when I am in lazy mode and just rub the shampoo bar all over my head,  I get tangles.  Then I use either a vinegar rinse or a small amount (like a teaspoon) of conditioner.  The vinegar is an acid which helps to close the cuticle of the hair.  A small amount of conditioner will coat hair strand and help the cuticle on your hair lie flat.  That same bottle of conditioner now lasts me over six weeks!

Read more about using a natural  vinegar rinse!

Whether you realize it or not your liquid shampoo leaves a residue.  Many hairdressers will tell you that it is a good idea to change shampoo brands regularly.  This is a common scenario when you try a new shampoo--at first your hair feels funny, then you love it for a week or two--but then your hair seems dull and lifeless again.  The fist week it was stripping your hair of the old shampoo residue--then it begins to leave its own! 

Please do not use a shampoo bar once or twice and decide you don't like it.  You need to give the shampoo bars about a week to rid your hair of the old residues from your commercial shampoo. Because shampoo bar soaps do not strip hair in the same way as detergent based shampoos you may notice your hair feeling different after washing than you may be accustomed.  This is perfectly normal, you'll love how your hair feels after it dries.  I use our shampoo bars on my long hair.  My hair is much softer than when I was using liquid shampoo and I never need separate conditioner anymore. 

If you are worried about residue, have very hard water, or just want extra shiny, healthy hair, see our information on how your water affects you hair and natural vinegar rinses.