One of our first steps in our mission to cut down on plastic was to replace bottles of shampoo with shampoo bars. I have to say I’m that I was weirdly quite excited about this. As someone with thick and naturally very curly hair, I’m always looking for something that will give me glossy curls instead of uncontrollable frizz! After a bit of online research we chose to order a bar of JR Liggett’s coconut shampoo. It was more pricey than my big bottle of tresemme so I was definitely interested to find out how long it would last as our budget wouldn’t stretch to buying it as frequently as the bottles of shampoo.
The Husband was the first to try it out and seemed quite happy with it so I was eager to give it a go. My first impressions were good – it doesn’t produce as much lather as bottled shampoo so I went with repeated applications in an attempt to get more bubbles. My hair felt nice and clean and on drying was noticeably less frizzy than before. Result! However, after a month or so I began to notice a sort of claggy feeling to the hair at the back of head, like there was still some shampoo in there, and no amount of rinsing would get rid of it. A bit of online research suggested this was a ‘transition’ period and once my hair had got used to more natural products and producing natural oils the lank, clagginess would go. This could take up to a month. Not really relishing the thought of having yucky hair for several more months I decided to try an apple cider vinegar rinse. Armed with a (glass) bottle of essential cider vinegar from the local supermarket I made a rinse by diluting a good slosh if vinegar with cold water. I can’t really be bothered with measuring it out so hopefully the photo will give an idea of the amounts. If you’ve got long hair I’d recommend tipping your head forward and slowly pouring the rinse over your hair, ideally working in sections and working plenty into any claggy areas. I leave it on whilst I wash the rest of me and then give my hair another rinse under the shower (the time I didn’t do this The Husband commented that I smelt a bit vinegary…)
We’ve all been using bar shampoo for about 18 months now and I’m certainly not tempted to go back to bottled shampoo. After using up the JR Liggett’s bar we tried a really cheap bar – Friendly bar – from our local eco friendly shop which made my hair so lank and greasy I had to stop using it. I’m currently using a rose and chamomile one that I picked up on holiday last August. I think The Husband and The Kids haven’t had any complaints about any of the shampoos whereas it’s taken me a while to get the right results for my last long, thick, curly hair.
Shampoo Bar Top Tips
Don’t use too much and massage it in well
You won’t get as much lather as with bottled shampoos but promise that your hair will still be clean!
An apple cider vinegar rinse is great for helping to get rid of any feeling of residue
It does sting if it gets in your eyes – give the kids a flannel to put over their eyes when you rinse
Eco Family Life 