Looking to switch to shampoo & conditioner bars but don’t know where to start? I tried some of the most popular ones to find out which is the best so you don’t have to! Keep reading for my reviews of each and my overall favourite.
I originally bought a shampoo & conditioner bar for my backpacking trip to Australia a few summers ago. They’re the perfect travel item because they’re not liquid so they don’t contribute to your carryon liquid limits, and I honestly just find them so much easier to travel with than liquid shampoo & conditioner. Plus, they’re all plastic free which means you’re making a difference for the environment. I’d use them for one of those reasons, but both is a huge bonus!
I tried a bunch of different sets I got in and around Alberta. These are all available online, but if you’re interested in supporting local, you can often find someone selling bars at your local farmer’s market. That’s going to be my next stop after I finish all of these. They last so long though, catch me buying my next batch in 2022.
For all shampoo & conditioner bars, I recommend you buy 2 things.
- Travel Tins: This is the easiest way to carry the bars if you’re going to be doing any travel at all or even if you want to store them easier. I bought mine from Lush, but you can likely buy them from most of the places that sell the bars. Keep in mind that not all bars will fit into other brands’ containers, so try and find some that are relatively universal. I like the ones from Lush, but if I were to buy again I would buy the ones from the Unwrapped Life.
- Wooden Soap Dish with Cut Outs: This is important because these bars need a place to dry out between uses. If you don’t dry them out, the bars will last for a substantially less amount of time. I bought mine from Canary Goods, but I know that Re-Plenish also has them. You can also not buy one of these and instead opt to dry them out in your travel tins. Make sure to stand up the bars on their side so that they can dry out, and make sure the container doesn’t have any water in it.
Related: 5 zero waste products to try this year
I Tried Shampoo & Conditioner Bars: Here’s the Best One
Lush Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar & Sugar Daddy-O Conditioner Bar
$11.95 for the shampoo bar and $13.95 for the conditioner bar
This was my first experience with a shampoo and conditioner bar and it turned me onto them in general, so it must have been a good experience!
The shampoo I chose was a purple shampoo for dyed blond hair and although I didn’t notice a ton to do with my colour, I loved the shampoo! It lathered really well and always made my hair feel healthy and clean for a number of days.
The conditioner sucked. I’m talking, real bad. I often opted not even to bother using it at all because it literally helped not one bit. I finished off the shampoo and left this conditioner as a later Victoria problem. I’m thinking I might try and use it as a shave bar?
Recommend? Shampoo: YES | Conditioner: NO
The Unwrapped Life Stimulator Shampoo Bar & Stimulator Conditioner Bar
$35 for both the shampoo and conditioner
I had seen this brand all over the internet, starting with Jillian Harris on her Instagram. They’re a Canadian company and from what I had heard, they were amazing!
I wouldn’t say that that the shampoo was any better than the Lush one – I actually think I liked it less. My hair seemed to get greasy a little quicker than when I was using the Lush one. I did find this bar lasted me longer and foamed up a bit more, which I liked.
As for the conditioner… honestly, anything is better than the Lush one. That one was bad so this one was good in comparison. It hard to get the conditioner all over your hair since it doesn’t foam. Although, I would expect that for all conditioner bars. Still, this one was only okay. Better than Lush, yes. Great, nahh.
Recommend? Shampoo: YES | Conditioner: MEH
Outside the Shape Botanist Shampoo Bar & Botanist Conditioner Bar
$40 for both the shampoo and conditioner
I originally tried this brand a few years ago when I was at a conference with a friend. She let me use it because I forgot my own conditioner bar, and I was immediately blown away. It felt like I had just put a huge dollop of normal conditioner on my hair!
I wanted to try the entire set and see if the shampoo held up to my now high standards; I’d say it isn’t bad. The conditioner is AMAZING, the shampoo is good.
The shampoo bar is huge which is great for ensuring it lasts a long time. Out of the three, this one is probably tied with the other two, although it doesn’t quite lather quite as well. The conditioner is so amazing though, I would easily buy this shampoo again if its cheaper to buy the pair, because I won’t be using another conditioner. My after shower brush through my hair goes smooth… and that’s saying something when you’ve got hair down to your belly button!
Recommend? Shampoo: YES | Conditioner: YES
Overall, my favourite is the Outside the Shape pair.
This is solely due to the conditioner bar; that’s where this pair shines! The shampoos were all relatively similar enough that none take themselves out of the running. You can’t really go wrong with the shampoos, but you can go VERY wrong with the conditioners.
Similarly to all my other product reviews, if and when I try a new kind, I’ll make sure to update this post, so keep checking back for new reviews. That being said, if there’s something you want reviewed, comment below!
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xx Victoria
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