Finding The Right Shampoo Bar

Ok sweeties I thought I would write a little blog about shampoo bars and why some people, well lots actually, are not getting results with their 'shampoo bars' from other brands. I've had a lot of questions from customers and general queries saying that their shampoo bars (from other suppliers) are not working. The bars are leaving their hair dry, wheiged down and greasy. The reason for this is because there are many brands on the market selling their COLD PROCESS NATURAL SOAP as shampoo bars. This is very naughty. There is this belief also going around that ACV (apple cider vinegar) rinses are needed to make these "shampoo bars" work for the hair. Another myth is the "TRANSITION PHASE" which is absolute cods wallop, all that's happening is your hair is getting damaged. If your hair is a mess after washing with said so called shampoo bars, there is something wrong. I will tell you what is happening.

Look at the ingredients of the product you are using. If it is the soap I am explaining about the ingredients will look like this example: Sodium Olivate, Sodium Castorate, Sodium Cocoate and so forth. "Sodium (oil type) -ate". It is too alkaline for the hair. It is great for skin but hair needs a carefully PH balanced product to keep it from being damaged. I'm guessing that the idea of ACV is to balance out that high PH level the hair has just been subjected to to make things all better, no, this is now exposing the hair to a PH too low for the hair plus who wants to smell like a chippy tea?

Cold process soap is packed with a humectant called glycerin, which is produced through the process of the soap chemical reactions. The down side is that glycerine will stick to the hair and make it greasy and weighed down.

Shampooing hair should be an easy process. It can now be a much healthier and environmentally kind thing to do in the form of a solid bar, thanks to newer surfactants being made that are improved. Our shampoo bars are made using a mild surfactant called Sodium Coco-Sulfate.

It does sound a little similar to the ingredients I listed above that appear in soap bars but it has the sulfate part. Now many of you will start to worry: OH NO... SULFATES! This is a rabbit hole of mis-information that is out of control. Unfortunately many well meaning sellers and consumers have popped aboard this ship of fools. It's not so much the "sulfate" that is a problem but the amount of irritant certain sulfate surfactants can contain such as the harsh cleansing, cheap Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate (SLS & SLES). I don't use those in my products, personally I can't use them too, my skin is way too sensitive to them.

I use Sodium Coco-Sulphate (SCS) in the shampoo bars, it has a larger molecule than SLS & SLES. This means that SCS will sit above the epidermis nicely and is easier to rinse off. It's the smaller molecules of the SLS & SLES can lodge into the epidermis skin cells, stick around even after rinsing which in turn causes irritation.

Our shampoo bar range is designed to also lightly condition the hair. If you have very dry or long hair you might need a bit of conditioner which we aslo make. The shampoo bars are loaded with wild harvested babassu oil from the rainforest in the Maranhão region of Brazil. This helps to support rainforest conservation and the livelihood of the indigenous people. Most of the shampoo bars are lightly scented with essential oils and a couple contain gentle, IFRA standard fragrance oils.

Thank you for reading! I'm always open to questions.

 ~ your chief savonnière, Michelle