I can’t begin to count how many plastic bottles I’ve used over the years for all my hair and shower products. So I made a firm swap to using soap bars. I’ve tried a lot of different brands over the last couple of months, so thought I’d share some of my finds and favourites.

Face soap bars

I’m currently using Friendly shea butter facial cleansing bar. Friendly soaps are vegan-friendly and free from palm oil, SLS, plastics and parabens. This soap bar lathers well, is very moisturising and good for sensitive skin. The bar is made from a rich blend of fatty acids and antioxidants, with a third each of shea butter, coconut oil and olive oil.

Body soap bars

Friendly Soap have a great range of different flavours. I recently tried orange & grapefruit seed natural soap, which can be used for body wash. This soap bar was fresh, zingy and great for morning showers. It’s full of vitamin C and antioxidants, and is handmade with coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, orange & grapefruit and essential oils.

Flower blooms Trellis scented soap bar, by Heathcote & Ivory is scented with the signature fresh floral Trellis fragrance. It’s also blended with green leaves and rosebuds, wrapped with peony, and hints of mandarin and jasmine on a soft musk and amber base. It smells amazing and makes a very luxurious body wash.

Shampoo bars

The Clovelly Soap Co makes a lovely handmade natural shampoo soap bar with eucalyptus mint and lemon, and is a great alternative to buying shampoo in a bottle. This soap bar is for normal to dry hair and smells delicious. Interestingly, the brand advises that it takes a few weeks for your hair to adjust to shampoo bars and recommends using a vinegar rinse to restore the acid PH to your hair. To make this rise, you add 1/3 white distilled or cider vinegar, 2/3 water and a few drops of your favourite oils. I have to admit I didn’t do this. I used the soap bar until it ran it, which was about 6 weeks. Overall, it smelt great but left my hair feeling a bit dry.

Alter / Native rose & geranium shampoo bar also smelt lovely. However it was slightly easier to lather and was much more moisturising on my hair.

Conditioner bars

Alter / Native also make a fresh smelling conditioner bar using patchouli & sandalwood with ylang ylang. It’s a richly moisturising and deeply nourishing cleansing soap and handmade using only the finest natural ingredients. But I found the conditioner too heavy for my hair. It was difficult to spread evenly when washing, and after rinsing thoroughly, my hair felt a bit greasy.

I also tried Friendly’s lavender & geranium conditioner bar for natural frizz control. My hair is crazy curly when I don’t straighten it, so I need all the frizz control I can get. This bar smelt nice and floral and was very nourishing. But again it was difficult to spread on my hair and no matter how much rinsing, it left my hair feeling slightly greasy. I also tried dissolving the soap bar in 600ml of boiling water to create a liquid form, as advised by Friendly on the side of the packet. But the results were still the same. It was too thick and heavy for my hair.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash