The best solid shampoo bars | A plastic-free hair routine

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The reasons why you should switch out your current shampoo for solid shampoo bars, as well as my recommendations for what products you should try.

The reasons why you should be using a solid shampoo bar

Since writing about how I want to make my beauty routine more eco-friendly at the start of the year, I’ve been constantly looking for more ways to ditch the plastic and make more sustainable choices.

One product that I particularly wanted to make an eco-friendly switch with was shampoo.

Why switch to an eco-friendly shampoo

I don’t need to remind people of how bad plastics are. To put it into perspective, we’re expected to see more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 (World Economic Forum). That’s pretty scary.

Any beauty product that comes in a plastic container is a product destined to end up as waste in the ocean or landfill. Shampoo bottles included.

This is the main reason why it’s a good idea to switch over to plastic-free options.

I’m a big believer in every person making small changes where they can to help the environment. One way that I can be more sustainable is by rethinking my large, plastic-filled, beauty shelves.

I would say that the majority of my beauty products come in plastic containers, so I want to start slowly switching what I can out for plastic-free or recycled options.

The good thing is that the demand for plastic-free products is there and plenty of companies are producing these low plastic options.

One type of product that is easy to switch to plastic-free with is shampoo.

Solid shampoo bars are a simple switch because you can pretty much find them anywhere you’d buy regular shampoos – the drugstore, supermarkets etc.

You’ve got no excuse to choose the plastic option now.

5 selling-points of solid shampoo bars (at a glance)

More environmentally friendly, there’s no waste apart from the packaging (which is usually cardboard and can be recycled)
The product lasts longer as it’s a more concentrated version of usual shampoos. One shampoo bar lasts the equivalent of 3 shampoo bottles
Easy to travel with – they take up less space, no need to get a travel-sized version and won’t contribute to your liquid limit when flying
More cost-effective as they last longer (as seen in point 2)
A lot of solid shampoos available use natural ingredients

How to use a solid shampoo bar

Solid shampoo bars are super simple and easy to use. It’s really not that different than usual shampoos.

Once in the shower, hold your shampoo bar under the running water and then rub it between your hands to create a lather.

You can either rub the bar directly in your hair or just lather up your hands and rub into your hair that way (I prefer to rub the product in using my hands.)

Once you’re all lathered up, you can rinse it out!

For me, all of the solid shampoos I’ve tried have taken a similar time to wash out as my old shampoos, so you don’t need to worry too much about not being able to wash it out easily.

How to store your shampoo

In between uses, it’s best not to keep your shampoo bar anywhere it will come into contact with water.

So you can’t just leave it in your shower like a regular shampoo.

I got myself a cheap soap dish online which I keep on my bathroom worktop.

Storing it in the dish means that you’re not wasting any product, and also prevents any mess in your bathroom.

Benefits of using solid shampoo bars

It’s all well and good me telling you how great solid shampoo bars are for the environment, but are they actually good for your hair?

The answer is, yes!

Of course, like most products, I’ve tried some great shampoo bars and some that are not-so-great.

But after I figured out which products were good, I’ve had such a positive experience.

I wouldn’t say that they are any better than traditional shampoos, the main selling point is the fact that they’re eco-friendly.

I would say they perform the same as all of the traditional shampoos I used and loved beforehand.

Solid shampoo bars for fine hair

I’ve said before how my hair is really fine and flat so I often find that lots of shampoo weigh my hair down and make it look greasy.

I’ve found that since using solid shampoos my hair never feels nearly as weighed down as it did before with previous shampoo formulas.

Because you don’t get the classic thick, creamy shampoo consistency with shampoo bars they work a lot better in my hair.

I never get the feeling of any residue being leftover in my hair, and my hair always feels fresh and light after rinsing out one of these shampoo bars.

So not only are these bars great for the environment, they’ve also saved my fine hair!