I've gone over to the dark side.
About a year and a half ago, I decided to try out a shampoo bar. Then I bought another when it ran out. And another, and so on. I don't wash my hair with typical shampoo and conditioner anymore, and I'm loving it!
A few years back, prior to my shampoo bar experience, I saw a lot of women on Pinterest and Facebook talking about the "no 'poo" method of using basically baking soda and vinegar as a sort of organic shampoo and conditioner. I tried it out for about two months -- this was a poor decision on my part. So when this shampoo bar thing came along, I was skeptical but decided to take the leap anyway. I do so love the ease of use that we have these days with all our hygiene products, but I've always been concerned with all of the strange and unknown chemicals we put on (and into) our bodies. Shampoo bars lack these ingredients that only a small percentage of the world can pronounce, and are supposed to be better for your hair, too. They clean your hair using natural condensed oils and cleansers.
About a year and a half ago, I decided to try out a shampoo bar. Then I bought another when it ran out. And another, and so on. I don't wash my hair with typical shampoo and conditioner anymore, and I'm loving it!
A few years back, prior to my shampoo bar experience, I saw a lot of women on Pinterest and Facebook talking about the "no 'poo" method of using basically baking soda and vinegar as a sort of organic shampoo and conditioner. I tried it out for about two months -- this was a poor decision on my part. So when this shampoo bar thing came along, I was skeptical but decided to take the leap anyway. I do so love the ease of use that we have these days with all our hygiene products, but I've always been concerned with all of the strange and unknown chemicals we put on (and into) our bodies. Shampoo bars lack these ingredients that only a small percentage of the world can pronounce, and are supposed to be better for your hair, too. They clean your hair using natural condensed oils and cleansers.
Now you may be thinking, "Jade, you're an educated woman, majoring in chemistry no less! Surely you don't believe all this hippie hullabaloo." Maybe it's just me that says the word 'hullabaloo,' but you see my point. And to answer your question, I didn't at first. The word chemicals doesn't scare me, but I've always been a curious lass. So I dug deeper. And what I found was disappointing.
Some common ingredients in your shampoo bottle are sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), parabens, polyethylene glycol, and more. SLS is what makes your shampoo all sudsy and helps clean (strip)/ oils from your hair and scalp. It has long been called a cancer-causing chemical and that has not yet been disproven, despite the amount of time it's been used in hygiene products. Parabens are preservatives that have been linked in low doses to reproductive toxicity and found in breast tumors. And glycol can be contaminated with more cancer-causing chemicals. Nothing has been linked conclusively, but why take the chance?
So, onto merrier thoughts, thus began my experimentation with shampoo bars. It takes up to a few weeks for your hair to adjust to the new routine, so I gave it a while. I don't personally think my hair acted differently after I got rid of shampoo, but each person has a different experience. The picture above is a recent one of my hair, and it looks like it did years ago, but I can rest easy knowing that I'm not introducing harmful things into my body, AND being environmentally friendly! I have always had pretty healthy hair, and I don't use heat on it very much. After you wash your hair with a bar, it feels squeaky clean for some reason. No, really, my hair literally squeaks if I run my hand over it hard enough. And I don't need conditioner while using a bar, which is also a plus.
Now I have experienced a few hiccups. One, it took a while to get the hang of washing out the shampoo very thoroughly because if you leave some behind your hair will feel very oily and gross. The use of shampoo bars can also cause some buildup, but that is easily remedied by good old ACV (apple cider vinegar). I put a few tablespoons in a spray bottle and fill the rest up with water. Every few times I wash my hair I just spritz it with the ACV mixture and rinse it out after a few minutes of soaking. This makes your hair soft and shiny, but not so much that it looks oily.
My final piece of knowledge to bestow is: shampoo bars save you money! I buy my bars on Etsy, where they cost about $9 to purchase and ship. I buy two at a time and that lasts me about 4-5 months, depending on how much I wash my hair (#college). And ACV is like two dollars. I buy it once a year, guys, maybe. So about $15 a year on haircare? I'll take that any day.
Some common ingredients in your shampoo bottle are sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), parabens, polyethylene glycol, and more. SLS is what makes your shampoo all sudsy and helps clean (strip)/ oils from your hair and scalp. It has long been called a cancer-causing chemical and that has not yet been disproven, despite the amount of time it's been used in hygiene products. Parabens are preservatives that have been linked in low doses to reproductive toxicity and found in breast tumors. And glycol can be contaminated with more cancer-causing chemicals. Nothing has been linked conclusively, but why take the chance?
So, onto merrier thoughts, thus began my experimentation with shampoo bars. It takes up to a few weeks for your hair to adjust to the new routine, so I gave it a while. I don't personally think my hair acted differently after I got rid of shampoo, but each person has a different experience. The picture above is a recent one of my hair, and it looks like it did years ago, but I can rest easy knowing that I'm not introducing harmful things into my body, AND being environmentally friendly! I have always had pretty healthy hair, and I don't use heat on it very much. After you wash your hair with a bar, it feels squeaky clean for some reason. No, really, my hair literally squeaks if I run my hand over it hard enough. And I don't need conditioner while using a bar, which is also a plus.
Now I have experienced a few hiccups. One, it took a while to get the hang of washing out the shampoo very thoroughly because if you leave some behind your hair will feel very oily and gross. The use of shampoo bars can also cause some buildup, but that is easily remedied by good old ACV (apple cider vinegar). I put a few tablespoons in a spray bottle and fill the rest up with water. Every few times I wash my hair I just spritz it with the ACV mixture and rinse it out after a few minutes of soaking. This makes your hair soft and shiny, but not so much that it looks oily.
My final piece of knowledge to bestow is: shampoo bars save you money! I buy my bars on Etsy, where they cost about $9 to purchase and ship. I buy two at a time and that lasts me about 4-5 months, depending on how much I wash my hair (#college). And ACV is like two dollars. I buy it once a year, guys, maybe. So about $15 a year on haircare? I'll take that any day.