5 Tips for a Better Transition to a Shampoo Bar

If you’re looking to take your low waste efforts a little further with a shampoo bar or just searching for a less toxic hair routine, here are five tips that might help you get started with bar shampoo and conditioner!

Number 1: Dry Brushing

Pre-condition your hair by distributing all the natural oils produced by your scalp throughout the rest of your hair. Just brush your hair from root to tips. And yes, this works for curly hair too! As a fellow member of the curly hair community, I was a little skittish of the thought of actually having to brush my hair out with a brush. So, if you’re like me and this the thought of taking a brush to your hair makes you cringe, just use your fingers. The main goal here is to just move your natural scalp oils from the roots down to the tips of your hair.

Number 2: Rinse, Rinse and Rinse again

Lather your bar shampoo well and massage the lather into your scalp. Don’t be afraid to use a lot. Really massaging the lather into your scalp and using enough product will fully clean your hair and help reduce the waxy feeling at the end.

Lathered up? Now really rinse your hair. And then rinse it again. Use the same massaging technique you did to apple the lather to rinse the lather. And then rinse your hair again. Thoroughly rinsing your hair will reduce the amount of residue left over, hopefully getting rid of the waxy feeling that is sometimes left after using bar shampoo.

Number 3: Apple Cider Vinegar

Since shampoos are an alkaline product, apple cider vinegar will help balance the pH of your hair. Also if you have hard water an apple cider vinegar rinse will help remove all of the shampoo product from your hair.

Number 4: Leave the conditioning for the ends

Since the main part of using a bar shampoo is taking advantage of your natural scalp oils, adding oil to your roots will cause oily hair. This will leave your hair feeling waxy and unwashed. Applying a tiny amount of coconut oil to the ends of your hair is enough to bring life back to the dry tips. But please, keep the oil off your roots.

Number 5: Give it time

Using natural bar shampoos is all about your wash game. It will take lots of trail and error to figure out what exact washing technique works best for your hair. For some people, there will be transition period when switching from bottle to bar shampoo. Don’t get discouraged!

Got any bar shampoo tips and tricks? Don’t be afraid to share them with me!