· BIG ISSUES ·
Switching to Solid Shampoo Bars – A Review
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 05 Sep 2024
Are you considering switching to solid shampoo bars, but don’t know where to start? Well, we reviewed products from six different companies and rated them on things like performance, ethics, environmental friendliness and value, to help you choose the best one!
This plan to review solid shampoo bar companies/products originally arose from our mini-obsession with packing as light as possible. These products are the most sensible and eco-conscious solution we could make when travelling – nobody wants to be carrying around extra liquid weight. It also started during a U.K. lockdown, we were extremely bored, and had the time to take an excessive number of showers. Here are the results of our outrageously expensive shower-product shopping binge.
We *tried* to review six shampoo bar companies in total and their various products – although one company didn’t even manage to get their products to us after three failed attempts. The other five are detailed below.
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Why Switch to Solid Shampoo Bars?
Everyone wants to be a better, more eco-conscious traveller. The benefits of solid shampoo bars are numerous, both for you as a consumer and for the environment. Here are some reasons why:
Less or no packaging | and never plastic (plastic production uses a tonne of water as well as the typical waste issues you see on the news).
Less water needed | to make the final product. This is a benefit for things like the shipping weight/size which fundamentally saves fuel. It also saves you weight and size in your bag. Also it just saves water, period!
Airport carry-on | you can take them as carry on items as they count as solids.
Conscious companies | most businesses out there right now making these products have the environment in mind and pretty decent eco-friendly policies (although definitely check it out before assuming – greenwashing is definitely a thing in this industry just like with any other).
Which Solid Shampoo Brands Did We Try?
We chose shampoo brands that were easy to get in and shipped from the U.K. (because it’s hardly ethical to have them sent from somewhere far away). They were also reasonably well rated online. These are the companies and products we tested (no gifted products):
ETHIQUE:
Rustic solid deodorant mini || Mintasy mini || Ethique hair sampler (five decent sized samples) || Trial kit for dry skin and hair (four decent sized samples) || Botanica solid deodorant mini
SOUL AND SOAP:
Wild Coconut massage lotion body bar || Shine On conditioner bar || Juicy Watermelon solid shampoo bar
LUSH:
Honey I Washed My Hair shampoo || Angel Hair shampoo || American Cream conditioner || Big conditioner
EARTH KIND:
Tea Tree and Eucalyptus shampoo || Citrus Leaf shampoo || Bergamot and Sage shampoo || Organic Oats conditioner
BAIN AND SAVON:
Moisture Rich shaving soap || Solid conditioner for dry/damaged hair || Botanical shampoo bar – lime and coconut
MY LITTLE ECO SHOP:
This is the company that did not even get our products to us. They sent us somebody else’s order (including all their personal details!) and then said they would resend our order, then didn’t and then apparently tried again and still failed! Their customer service was appalling and I would seriously not recommend them.
THE RESULTS
We know everyone is different, especially when it comes to hair!
For reference though, I have long, fine, sad, oily, damaged, coloured hair and Nick has medium thickness, shorter normal hair. We also wash our hair everyday.
We tried all these products out over about six months (so used them all quite a few times). We’ve ranked the companies based on packaging, ethics (e.g. vegan, palm oil use, environmental policies) and the products themselves, including value for money.
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Top Choice – Ethique
SCORE: 9.5/10
This company is an absolute winner in pretty much every way. Here is a summary of why it is our solid shampoo bar champion:
◊ Options to buy very reasonably priced samples which are a great size for travel (plus get a free sample with each order)
◊ They are completely vegan and cruelty free
◊ No plastic packaging and a strong anti-plastic stance
◊ Zero palm oil use
◊ The company is climate positive and offsets 120% of their emissions
◊ Great value for money – although more expensive than some others, the full-size bars you order are huge and last a long time compared with the competitors
◊ Paraben free
◊ They plant a tree for every order, in places like Madagascar and Sri Lanka
The Products
We love the products – there are basically no negatives in this review!
I’m writing this from Mexico and am currently travelling with the Mintasy Shampoo Bar and Guardian Conditioner Bar – these two solid bars won our little contest! They are large, smell great and work really well with my hair (and Nick’s).
All the solid shampoo bars lather really well and can be used as a body wash, too. I love how they feel and smell.
The conditioner is by far the best I have used – it is quicker to use than the others, smells the best and my hair is never knotty.
The solid deodorant is surprisingly decent too – Nick loves the lavender one (and we both hate lavender). It actually works – although better for Nick than me for some reason (this is where they lose their half point). We would definitely recommend you get a sample size deodorant with your order to see if they work for you (they were giving away free deodorant samples anyway when we made our last order).
As of the end of 2024, Ethique has closed their United Kingdom and Australian websites but we have seen them in some stores, like Holland and Barratt. They still ship to the United States and New Zealand.
Runner Up – Lush
SCORE: 8/10
This high street name is our second choice, mostly due to superior performance of the products. This is a summary of our thoughts:
◊ Very good price-to-uses ratio
◊ 95% vegan and 100% vegetarian (we appreciate the use of obvious labelling), with strong cruelty-free policies
◊ Amazing lather from the solid shampoo bars
◊ 66% of their products are sold without any packaging but liquids still come in plastic which you can return for a discount/recycling
◊ Not palm oil free but moving in the right direction – read their statement.
◊ Available in many shops across the UK and further afield so you can smell the products before buying them! The staff are always amazing too.
The Products
Full disclosure – I’ve been using Lush shampoo and conditioner bars for years before I had even heard of the other companies (I might be slightly biased, but also have had extensive experience with them). They were my go-to environmentally friendly option and I still really like them despite some issues highlighted in the points above.
I’ve used almost every type of solid shampoo bar over the years and I love them. They lather perfectly (the best out of every bar I tried) and they all smell good and leave our hair in really good condition.
The conditioner bars are great but I find them a little hard – they take longer to get through my hair (and I don’t even have that much hair really). The pink one is my favourite of all the ones I’ve used. They are effective but not in the same league as the Ethique conditioners.
Lush solid deodorant is really quite good. It is worth giving it a go if you’re thinking of making the switch. Try the T’eo. Many of my friends also use this, even after going to the gym. Solid deodorant is not for everyone but I think Lush versions are pretty decent.
Order online from Lush.
Best Value for Money – Bain and Savon
SCORE: 8/10
When I received the conditioner from Bain and Savon, I was blown away by how huge it was! I quite liked all the products from this little company, plus they have a beautiful website and great ethics.
◊ Very good value across the board
◊ Large range of products
◊ Great lather and smell from the solid shampoo bar
◊ Cruelty-free and fully vegan
◊ Paraben free
◊ Palm oil free
◊ Fully recyclable packaging and biodegradable products
◊ Mega small company vibes, super cute and hand made in Cumbria, UK
THE PRODUCTS
I’d quite like to try more products from this company. They have some really unique choices, such as Nettle and Marshmallow shampoo. They really give off a vibe that ethics is a priority to them – go check out their website to read more.
The shampoo bar we chose was really lovely. Our first impression was really that it smelt really nice, although didn’t smell as much as expected once in the shower. Really good though. It lathered up nicely and our hair felt really clean.
Along with being absolutely huge, I found the conditioner bar decent. It didn’t smell of much which is a pity, what I could smell was unidentifiable! It was very waxy feeling. My hair felt okay afterwards but a little knotty.
The shaving soap was a a bit like a conditioner bar but just smelt of soap. One of my top tips for shaving is to use a conditioner bar when travelling – multi-use is best! For men though this shaving soap is better for the face, it’s a bit more heavy duty I reckon.
Order online from Bain and Savon.
Small Business Vibes – Earth Kind
SCORE: 7.5/10
This is our curve-ball choice. Although their products are not quite as effective as Ethique and Lush, we love their small company vibe and prices:
◊ Top price-to-uses ratio, even better if you get the bundles – on par with Ethique
◊ Plastic free
◊ Good quality lather from the shampoo bars
◊ Vegan and cruelty-free
◊ Paraben free
◊ The website is not clear about their use of palm oil which always makes me suspicious, however they claim to use sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients. They do not provide any information about if their ingredients are from an accredited source (I’m always suspicious of greenwashing)
◊ Supporting a small business
The Products
Nick really liked these bars and they are great value for money, although they only sell four types of bar so you don’t get much choice.
I used all three shampoo bars and didn’t really find much difference between them. We also got our friend to try the sensitive scalp one for a few washes (he has a sensitive scalp!) and he said he didn’t notice much difference between that and his normal shampoo. Nick on the other hand really liked them all – just goes to show that we are all different! To me, the Bergamot and Sage Shampoo smelt like an old person’s hotel soap, whereas Nick smelt Lovehearts (the old-school sweet).
I found the conditioner bar uninspiring but perfectly adequate. It didn’t really smell of much, slightly medicinal maybe. Like Lush, it was a little hard so takes longer to get through my hair (and being in the shower for longer just wastes water). It lasted a really, really long time though! Major value for money and great for travelling.
Order online from Earth Kind.
Best Small – Soap and Soul
SCORE: 7/10
This is our choice for best smell! It’s a larger company and has a huge range with very reasonable prices.
◊ Very cheap
◊ Have an incredible number of choices and super-cute products
◊ Excellent lather from the shampoo bars
◊ Cruelty-free, vegetarian and ‘mostly’ vegan
◊ Paraben free
◊ Not palm oil free, however transparent information on the website says they are mostly palm oil free and what is used is sustainable from a certified source.
◊ They appear to use fully recyclable packaging (although not plastic free). The wording on the website is slightly ambiguous though.
THE PRODUCTS
Apart from Mintasy from Ethique, these were the first products to really smell like the description! Mind-blowingly good in fact, leaving your hair smelling fantastic. I do love smelling like fruit.
I kind of wish I’d bought a whole bunchy of fruity solid shampoo bars. The watermelon bar really, really smelt like watermelon, I was surprised. This was Nick’s favourite apart from Ethique’s Mintasy too. He smelt like watermelon for hours after showering. The lather was good, the bar was well priced and my hair felt good (but possibly slightly dry).
As with most of the others, I found the conditioner bar uninspiring. Again, it didn’t really smell but was sort of waxy. As with others, it was a little hard so takes longer to get through my hair. I just have nothing really to report back on – it was just ‘fine’.
The moisturiser bar was weird. It smelt really nice, like a mix of coconut and those candy white mice you get in pick ‘n’ mix sweets. It was very similar to massage bars sold by Lush – waxy and doesn’t really feel like a moisturiser at all. So if you want a massage bar, I would recommend!
Order online from Soap and Soul.
SHAMPOO BAR ETHICS
So, here’s the thing.
In my opinion at least, none of the above companies are worse than buying some plastic-bottled, heavy, watered-down shampoo from some giant international pharmaceutical company.
So although we may only give a company 7/10, they are still enormously preferable to some crappy bottle of palm-oil ladened hair product that has been shipped halfway across the world.
So, even if you can’t buy any of the specific shampoo bars we have tried above, give any other brand a trial.
Lots of companies now sell them in some form or another.
Final Thoughts – Switching to Solid Shampoo
Solid shampoo bars are definitely the way forward, in terms of packing light, and for benefitting the environment and promoting more sustainable travel. There are so many products out there; we will add more reviews as more options come available in the United Kingdom.
We recommend you give them a try! They are just revolutionary in terms of travel – no more shampoos in small clear bags at the airport. Also, you can feel good that you are supporting a small company that genuinely cares about the impact they have on the world.
If you have tried any of these or have another brand suggestion, please let us know below!
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Thank you, Claire + Nick
Hi Claire & Nick – good article, would have been even better to see our sustainable, plastic-free shampoo bars in there 😉 if you want to sample any of our eco products (all developed as a result of our nomadic adventures, see our ‘About Us’ page: https://thesolidbarcompany.com/pages/rebeccas-story) then give us a shout – best wishes!
Hi! Thanks for your comment – we’re always keen to keep trying more sustainable travel products and really appreciate all the pioneering small businesses out there making a difference! We’ll absolutely take a look at your site and have a try of your products – thanks so much for getting in touch 🙂