Compact and convenient, shampoo bars have become increasingly popular over the last few years, and for a good reason. Eco and travel-friendly solid shampoo bars are made with natural plant-based ingredients and appeal to natural beauty fans and environmentally conscious consumers. How do they compare to their liquid counterparts? Let’s find out. Here we’ll look at the different aspects of shampoo bars vs. bottles.
Shampoo bars work to cleanse hair and remove product build-up, just like traditional shampoos, but they are different from liquid shampoos in composition and ingredients. When we compare bar shampoo vs. liquid formulas, we can say that regular shampoo offers only one advantage over shampoo bars: we have been using them for many years, so our hair is used to them. Depending on the product formulation and individual scalp peculiarities, some people may go through a transition period during which their hair adjusts to the natural shampoo bar and may feel heavy, dull, or greasy. These are normal side effects, and they are temporary.
Traditional liquid shampoos contain harsh chemicals, such as Sodium Laurel Sulfate, that strip away natural oils and make our bodies overreact. Our scalp produces excess oils to ensure that hair follicles stay healthy. And when we switch to natural hair care products, it takes time for the scalp to rebalance its oil production. After the scalp adjusts to the change, we can expect healthier hair than ever before.
But sulfate that eventually makes the hair lifeless and dull is not the only ingredient added to shampoos that can be problematic for hair. Some other synthetic ingredients can cause build-ups, block pores, and lead to itching scalp. For example, parabens used as artificial preservatives in cosmetic products, especially those with high water content, including regular shampoos, can cause skin dryness and irritation. Additionally, commercial detergent-based shampoos can contain artificial fragrances, colors, or dyes.
Solid shampoo bars tend to have “cleaner” formulas, free from controversial ingredients. Most of them are made with natural or organic ingredients, and their paraben-free and SLS-free formulas are pH balanced to help nourish hair and retain its natural moisture rather than strip it away. Well-formulated shampoo bars made with EWG green-rated ingredients create soft foam that gently cleanses hair and scalp. That’s why they are suitable for daily use, leaving hair feeling nourished, beautifully soft, silky, and moisturized after every wash.
Shampoo bars make hair healthier, shinier, and stronger. They clean hair as effectively as their liquid counterparts and work well for most hair types, from fine to thick and normal to oily. Still, hair type matters, and not all shampoo bars are the same. For example, more hydrating, oil-based formulas will work well for dry, curly, and color-treated hair types, but they may overwhelm fine and thin hair. So it’s always important to consider the specific hair type listed on the bar, just as with traditional liquid shampoo, to ensure the best result.
Traditional liquid shampoos are made of approximately 80% water, so they actually contain only 1/5 active ingredients. They require high water content to achieve their desired consistency and provide a good lather. Regular shampoos are used as they are, so they run out quickly. On average, one standard shampoo bottle lasts 25 to 35 washes.
Shampoo bars need very little water to be formed, so even though they are significantly smaller than shampoo bottles, they last surprisingly long. Comparing shampoo bars vs shampoo in bottles, it’s important to admit that shampoo bars are more concentrated regarding active ingredients. That means they’re designed to last longer than standard liquid formulas. Standard solid shampoo bars can last around 60-80 washes on average. So when used several times a week, we can expect a bar to last around three months, but to ensure long-lasting use, it should be stored in a cool, dry place away from a direct water stream or spray.
Traditional shampoos come in plastic bottles, which is a huge environmental problem. In the United States alone, about 550 million empty plastic shampoo bottles are thrown yearly, and only a small percentage are recycled. Instead, the majority of shampoo bottles end up in landfills, where they’ll be slowly degrading for 450 years.
Shampoo bars are sustainable products that offer a genuine alternative to plastic. They come in recyclable, recycled, or biodegradable packaging; some even come without any packaging. Most shampoo bar formulas contain only natural ingredients and are also biodegradable. Additionally, they contain a small percentage of water, meaning water wastage is kept to a minimum. When it comes to the size of the shampoo bar vs. bottle, solid shampoo bars are more compact. Because of their smaller size, they make their transportation more efficient and reduce shipping-related carbon emissions since fewer lorries are needed to transport them.
All-natural solid shampoo bars are environmentally friendly alternatives to liquid shampoo in bottles as they help reduce plastic waste, save water, and lower carbon impact. Well-formulated shampoo bars also last two times longer than regular shampoo bottles and do a great job at washing hair, perfecting, and meeting our high personal care standards. Additionally, natural shampoo bars are scented with essential oils and smell lovely in a bathroom. All that makes them a win-win choice for consumers looking to adopt a more sustainable hair care routine.
UPDATE: All of our Cleanse! bar soaps utilize our shampoo soap base! Here they are:
In addition, on our sister website, DesignMySoap.com, you can create your own shampoo bars! Just choose "Oily Skin Soap Base" and then add in your scent choices. :-)
Amidst the numerous brands of shampoo on the market, solid bar shampoo is the least likely to be found. In fact, you aren’t even able to get it at most grocery stores. However, it is beginning to gain a lot of popularity, and for great reasons! Here’s a list of 10 reasons that you should use bar shampoo, and specifically our bar shampoo: Cleanse!-Rosemary Mint.
We’ve all been here: Standing in the shower — running late for work — desperately trying to squeeze some shampoo out of a bottle that has been more or less empty for the last few days. It seems like whenever you pick up a bottle, it’s gone before you know it. However, solid bar shampoo lasts much longer — it gets your hair all sudsy with just a few swipes through your hair, as opposed to a big squirt of liquid shampoo.
Liquid shampoos require the use of plastic bottle packaging, and these bottles are often not made from recycled material, nor are they typically recycled. This is a huge waste of resources, and it increases our ecological footprint. However, solid bar shampoo requires virtually no packaging — in fact, the only packaging on our solid shampoo bar is a recyclable ribbon and label, which is much easier on the environment!
Our solid bar shampoo is free of synthetic detergents and cleaners that are typically found in liquid shampoos. Most liquid shampoos contain detergents like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is know to strip the hair of its natural oils, leaving it dry and damaged. Instead, our solid bar shampoo uses all-natural ingredients like coconut oil to clean and gently moisturize your hair!
Solid bar shampoo makes getting through airport security a breeze. Airports have strict regulations on what liquids and what quantity you can and cannot bring in your luggage, which is often confusing and frustrating, and requires you to go out and purchase multiple travel size bottles of everything. Not to mention, liquid shampoo can often leak while en route, leaving you a sticky mess to clean up inside if your luggage. But with a solid shampoo bar soap, you’ll breeze right through the airport, and arrive back home with clean luggage, not to mention clean hair!
You know how frustrating it can be to see a bunch of shampoo stuck on the inside walls of your shampoo bottle. You try to squeeze it out, but it just refuses to move. So instead of spending hours trying to get it all out, you have to resort to just tossing it — wasting all of that shampoo in the process. With a solid shampoo bar, there is nothing for the bar to stick too, meaning you can use it until it’s gone!
Rather than using synthetic fragrance blends, we use all natural essential oils that are great for your hair and scalp, and which give our shampoo bar its wonderful, refreshing scent!
Our solid shampoo bars, and other natural bar shampoo soaps are versatile! While most liquid shampoos should only be used for you hair, our solid shampoo bar can be used as an all purpose hand, face, hair, and body bar, making it the only soap you’ll ever have to buy again.
Our solid shampoo bar generates a super rich and bubbly lather — one that behaves as good as, if not better than, the lather of a liquid shampoo!
Our solid shampoo bars effectively wash any excess dirt, oil, or styling products out of your hair — all without stripping you hair of its natural oils! This results in your hair feeling squeaky clean and looking bold and healthy.
Besides leaving your hair feeling squeaky clean, our solid shampoo bar also leaves your hair feeling lusciously soft! In fact, many people were able to cut conditioning their hair out of their daily or weekly routine, which in turn saves both time and money.
So instead of getting another bottle of liquid shampoo, give our solid shampoo bar a try! We think think you’ll absolutely love it.
Have you tried our shampoo bar, or any others? If so, let us know what you thought in the comments :)