So you’re either thinking of making the switch to shampoo and conditioner bars, or you already have! That’s awesome!! Thank you for seeking a plastic-free alternative and being conscious of your choices.
If you’ve ever wondered why our little bars cost more than bottled products, the answer is very simple! Each bar delivers the cleansing and conditioning power of multiple bottles of the liquid equivalent. This is because our shampoo and conditioner bars aren’t diluted by water making them super concentrated. Depending on the size of the bar, our shampoo and conditioner bars can do the job of 2-3 regular bottles of the liquid alternative.
How many washes can I get out of my shampoo and conditioner bars? We get this question a lot! It is difficult to give an exact answer as it depends on how long and thick your hair is, how the bars are stored, how often your hair is washed, how many people are using them, and the humidity of your environment. Without fail though and with proper use and care, these bars should last a looooonnng time.
General Suds & Silk Tips + Tricks
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This is probably THE most important tip. Keep your bars dry between use! Take them out from under any spraying water in your shower and out of that puddle of water on the side of your tub. When storing, airflow and drainage is your best friend! Use a soap dish with proper drainage or make sure you dump out any puddling water if you keep your bars in something like a bowl or a seashell. If you store your bars in a travel tin, pat them dry and prop them up against the sides of the tin so they can dry out completely before laying them flat. Store at home with the lid off for best results.
Try this easy-peasy storage hack! Make a soap dish with drainage in under 2 minutes by taking a jar lid and placing some elastics around it to create a meshed platform for your bars to rest!
If your shampoo bar ever gets water logged and becomes gooey or crumbly, simply set it on a draining soap dish for a few days to let it dry out completely.
2. The large Suds & Silk bars can be cut in half with a sharp knife and used one half at a time.
Shampoo Bar Tips + Tricks
1. Apply the shampoo bar directly to your scalp. If you’re a ‘lather between the hands’ kinda person, this method is actually less effective. The surfactants (foaming ingredients) in the bars end up bonding with the oils on your hands, rather than the oils on your hair, so you’re basically just washing your hands, not your hair!
2. Don’t exert tons of pressure on your shampoo bars. Light circular motions on your scalp or swiping down your hair will do the trick. The bars are very solid, but they are not unbreakable.
3. The shampoo bars will lather quickly - they’re called Suds for a reason! Once you find you have enough bubbles to sufficiently cleanse your scalp, stop there! Working up a crazy voluminous lather isn’t more effective... you’ll just use your bar up faster. Less is more!
4. If your bar breaks for any reason, use one piece at a time if the pieces are large enough. If not, then you have two options!
1. Soap Saver Bag Method
Pop any crumbly shampoo bar bits into a soap saver bag. Apply water to the bag to work up a lather and massage onto your head as usual. The mesh bag holds the shampoo bar bits inside and won't mess up your hair at all. This is our favourite way to use up every last bit of a shampoo bar!
Check out our 'How To' video here.
2. Liquid Shampoo Method
With our second method, all you need is a glass jar and a plastic squeeze bottle. Put the small shampoo bar pieces in a glass jar with some boiling water and let the bar dissolve. This will create a liquid shampoo (it’ll just be a bit more watery) that you can use like normal.
Pour the new formula from the glass jar into a plastic squeeze bottle before bringing into the shower. Don't forget to give it a shake before use! Use this liquid formula up within the first few weeks of making.
Conditioner Bar Tips + Tricks
1. For best results, leave the conditioner in your hair for 2-4 minutes. The conditioner becomes “activated” when you start to rinse it out. If you feel like you don’t have enough in your hair, add a little bit of water to get it going and go from there... you'll find that a little goes a long way!
2. What do you do when your conditioner bar starts to reach the end of it’s life? Throw it away – of course not! We have two more zero-waste hacks for ya!
1. Re-Melt & Mold Method
When your conditioner bar becomes too small to use, use a small dessert tin or make a tinfoil boat to hold the small pieces. Add a small amount of water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Place your tin boat with the conditioner bar pieces into the pot - make sure the water level is low enough that no water boils into the boat! Once your bars are melted, put it into the fridge to cool and pop your new conditioner bar out for use once fully hardened!
Watch the 'How To' video here.
2. Stack & Mush
Last but not least, you can try tacking your old bar onto a new one! Let your wet bars dry stacked on top of each other to re-adhere. The moisture will help bond them together and extend the life of your bars. Be gentle with the stack as you use it and eventually you will find that the old bar will mush and melt into the new bar.
Take this quiz to discover your perfect shampoo and conditioner bar match!
Another tip for using up the old shampoo fragments is make the liquid shampoo and then put it in a squeeze bottle. I use an old one from Italian [no resorcinol] home hair dye kit I cover my grey with. So, then, you just squeeze the shampoo in small squirts right on the scalp with one hand and massage it into the hair with the other. I actually do this before I even get in the shower, to save water, but if you weren’t worried about that at least you aren’t bringing a glass jar into the shower with you. If you drop it, at worst you merely lose a minute amount of shampoo. I haven’t gotten my first bars yet, but I love what you are doing. I mean, WWll was fought and won before we invented plastic. We have living memory of modern, convenient life without the stuff. Pictures of women showed glossy, gorgeous hair. I know I advocate a plastic squeeze bottle above, which seems ironic, but one bottle can last for a lifetime. As a matter of fact, I ’m going to write my hair dye manufacturer and suggest they stop putting a fresh plastic bottle into every box. An absolute waste.