Why Choose Natural Shampoo Bars?

At Living Naturally we make our shampoo bars in small batches using only 100% natural, organic, vegan, sustainable, ethical and truly cruelty-free ingredients. They are coloured by botanical ingredients or natural clays and they are scented with pure essential oils. They do not contain any artificial fragrances, colours or palm oil and are completely zero-waste.

Most commercial shampoos contain SLSs (sodium lauryl sulphates) which are foam boosters that can strip hair of it’s natural oils and contribute to dandruff, dryness and irritated skin or scalp. The foaminess of our lather is created by using naturally lathering oils (once they are turned into soap) like coconut, castor and almond.

Using shampoo bars is great for the environment. We package them in plastic free, compostable/biodegradable packaging. They don’t contain any harmful chemicals or additives that may contribute to harming eco-systems.

Choose the right one for you

To get the most beautiful, bouncy, natural head of hair, make sure you are using the right bar for your hair type. Each of our shampoo bars are made with a unique recipe and contains a different blend of natural plant oils, essential oils, and clays, herbs or spices. Likewise each person's hair and scalp is unique and will react differently. Here is our quick cheat sheet for picking the right soapnut shampoo bar for you ...

Dry Hair: Coconutty, Hemp & Patchouli, Ayurvedic, Rhassoul Mud, Beer & Bay

Oily Hair: Coconutty, Lemon & Avocado, Ayurvedic, Beer & Bay, Rhassoul Mud

Normal: Lucky you! You can use any of them!

Thick/Curly Hair: Lemon & Avocado, Beer & Bay, Rhassoul Mud, Ayurvedic

How To Use

After using our shampoo bars for 12 years, I think I have the shampoo technique down! Here is how to do it:

• Comb out dry hair before shampooing. Do not miss this step, especially if you use styling products.

• Wet bar and lather in hands, apply lather to hair. Or alternatively rub bar directly onto hair and lather well (this works well for me - mid/long length hair).*
  
  *When using the bars, one thing that is very important is to lather the soap up really well, and to use lots of lather when washing your hair. The most common spot, especially for people with long hair, is at the back of the head. You need to work the shampoo into your hair with water and lather up so that the dirt and extra oils not needed by your hair can be washed away.
  
  If you are used to using normal commercial shampoo and shampoo twice, you will notice that the second wash produces a lot more lather. The first wash is mixing with the dirt and excess oil in your hair so the second wash is working on cleaner hair. The same is true for our shampoo bars. So lather up, once or twice. But please make sure to rinse every single time! And then make sure to use an apple cider vinegar hair rinse!
  

• Massage lather into roots and through lengths of hair. Rinse out thoroughly.
  

• We recommend using our Herbal Hair Rinse Conditioner for amazing, bouncy & shiny hair but also to get rid of any soap/grease or product residue. Spray hair rinse thoroughly from roots to ends, comb and/or massage through. Leave on for about 20 seconds, then rinse out. Repeat if necessary. Important: Vinegar scent will disappear when hair dries.
  
  You can also make your own hair rinses from water/cooled herbal tea (e.g. chamomile/nettle) with either lemon or apple cider vinegar mix. Ratio should be 4:1 (e.g. 200ml water/50ml apple cider vinegar). 
  
  Some find it helpful, to use the apple cider vinegar/herbal hair rinse conditioner before you wash your hair with the shampoo bars. Apply to hair, comb through and rinse out. Then follow shampoo steps above.

Change is good

Sometimes you go through an adjustment period, when you are using a shampoo without synthetic ingredients. Nomal commercial shampoos and conditioners contain ingredients like synthetic silicones and silica that coat your hair (they leave a residue), and many hairdressers will tell you that it is a good idea to change commercial shampoo brands regularly, as your hair 'gets used to it' and needs a change. This may be only for a week or so, and your scalp will definitely adjust. But here are some helpful tips to get you through this period:

• RESIDUE: You need to give the shampoo bars about a week to rid your hair of the old residues from your commercial shampoo. Because shampoo bar soaps do not strip hair in the same way as detergent based shampoos, you may notice your wet hair feeling different after washing than you may be accustomed. This is perfectly normal, you'll love how your hair feels after it dries.
  
  If you have any residue you can use our Ayurvedic Hair Mask or Organic Soapnut Powder in between washes with the shampoo bar to get rid of any residue or build up and it also helps your hair and scalp become accustomed to using products free of harsh chemicals. Please look carefully at the instructions on how to use these. They can be mixed with water but can also be used with yoghurt (coconut yoghurt for vegans) or a creme conditioner.
  
  You can also use our liquid shampoos in between washes as well.

• DETOX: Normal commercial shampoos strip away your natural protective oils from your scalp and hair. Your dry scalp now produces more oil to compensate. As you transition to a natural shampoo bar, your scalp needs time to detox, to re-balance scalp oil production. This can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks and for some even longer.  During this transition period hair may feel extra greasy or heavy.

• HARD WATER: Hard water can make it more difficult to rinse all of the shampoo from your hair, which can be a problem for people with long hair. Studies have also shown that hard water can be an eczema trigger.  The calcium and magnesium in hard water seem to cause skin to become more dry which may lead to irritation. You can either invest in a water softener attachment for the shower (we did this, so much better for skin and hair) or you can use our Hair Rinse Conditioner. If you are not partial to Apple Cider Vinegar, a good alternative is to mix 1 teaspoon of citric acid into 250ml of water and rinse your hair with this.

Hopefully you guys will find my definitive guide (fingers crossed!) to using our natural soapnut shampoo bars useful and if you do have any more tips that I haven't covered feel free to email me.

Socrates @ Living Naturally x