# Shampoo bar residue



## Soapy_Bear (Aug 5, 2014)

Hi everyone!

I started using a shampoo bar and noticed that it was leaving a sticky oily residue in my hair. I've read that there is a "transition" period were your hair tends to be nasty for awhile until it gets use to the new shampoo and I guess strips the product of the commercial brand shampoo and conditioner, but I don't know if I'm going through that "transition" period or that I have hard water. The reason why I'm unsure is because when I wash my hair with the shampoo bar my scalp and bangs are clean and soft but the length of my hair (ears down to hip length) feels sticky and oily. I have used an acv rinse and my hair was feeling less sticky but still oily. Also before I used a shampoo bar I would only shampoo my scalp with the commercial brand shampoo and then only use conditioner and oils or other conditioning products on the length of hair.... I'm wondering if I should have washed my hair with a regular shampoo to strip all the product out of it before I had used the shampoo bar.

Does anyone have an idea to what's going on? I'd love to hear all your experiences if you used a shampoo bar or maybe experiences you've heard others go through.

Also is there a way to test for hard water? How do you find out if you have it?


----------



## CanaDawn (Aug 5, 2014)

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=47274

Lots and lots and lots of shampoo questions tackled in this thread above including a link to water hardness map, I think.  Your municipal office might have the information for your area.  Do you get buildup in your kettle or coffee maker or around your taps?

It could be the shampoo bar is too highly SF for your hair, or that you aren't washing your entire scalp and hair with soap (it won't be strong enough to wash just by the suds moving down the hair)


----------



## Seawolfe (Aug 5, 2014)

I find that it's important to work up a good lather through all my hair, even if I have to rinse and scrub again. Then I do an ACV rinse (I like a 1 part ACV to 3 parts water, with another rinse after). 

I think you have to experiment a bit to find what works for you, I've found that I even like salt bars for my hair, but recently I tried my 3% SF liquid soap and that worked well too.


----------



## Soapy_Bear (Aug 15, 2014)

Yes I do get build up and my SF is only 1%. Can ACV make hair oily if you use to much?


----------



## Obsidian (Aug 15, 2014)

Yeah, if you make your ACV rinse too strong it will leave a oily feel.


----------



## btz (Aug 21, 2014)

Use acid rinse every time after you use your shampoo bar. It should take care of the residue. I don't like the ACV smell, so I use citric acid instead. It's odorless and very easy to use.


----------



## judymoody (Aug 21, 2014)

I couldn't stand the gunk and gave up - I applaud those who have the will to persevere! 

I make detergent based solid shampoo bars and they work better for me.


----------



## CanaDawn (Aug 22, 2014)

There was no will to persevere required for me, as I had no trouble with "gunk" or residue, once I learned I had to actually wash what needed washing and use an acid rinse after rinsing well with water.  Maybe your bar had too high a SF or too high a conditioning # for your water or your hair.  

I guess I see what you're saying re the applause, but it really isn't a horrible battle against the shampoo bars that we just struggle though so we can say we make our own   My hair hasn't been this healthy since I was a child.


----------



## DiddlyO (Aug 22, 2014)

I had no trouble with gunk once I got rid of the silicones in my hair - you need to remove these first with a detergent shampoo and make sure you don't add any more. Soap won't dissolve silicones so they will build up and get gross. Silicones are in Shampoos, conditioners and styling products and while they make your hair feel nice, you want to stop using them if you switch from detergent to soap.


----------



## SunWolf (Aug 22, 2014)

My hair felt "heavy" and "gunky" the first couple times I used my bar, too.  Then I read somewhere that you should apply the bar to every inch of your hair, instead of just soaping the top and using the lather to wash the rest of the length like you do with store bought shampoo. And be sure to soap up the hair at the back of your head/neck area really well, it builds up sweat and gunk more than anywhere else on your body it seems.

I have been soaping the whole length ever since, and don't even need to rinse with ACV anymore.


----------



## Soapy_Bear (Aug 22, 2014)

So recently I did a coconut oil treatment to my hair and then after I washed it with my shampoo bar twice. My hair turned out great with no residue and it felt soft. I did wash my hair differently that time. I rubbed the bar in my hands then I rubbed my hands together to creat suds and washed my scalp with that. Then for the back of my head toward the bottom of my neck I would take the bar and rub it directly on my hair until I had a lot of lather. But I have washed my hair twice since then following that same method and although I do feel some residue its not at all as bad as before my hair still looks clean. I don't know if the residue is building back up on my hair or if I'm just missing spots or if the coconut oil had to do with anything.


----------



## carine_garcia (Jan 22, 2020)

btz said:


> Use acid rinse every time after you use your shampoo bar. It should take care of the residue. I don't like the ACV smell, so I use citric acid instead. It's odorless and very easy to use.


How do you make this Citric Acid rince? thank you!


----------



## shunt2011 (Jan 22, 2020)

carine_garcia said:


> How do you make this Citric Acid rince? thank you!



Welcome to the forum!   This post is almost 6 years old.  The OP hasn't been here since 2015.  There are newer posts on using a citric acid rinse.  I unfortunately can't help you as I no longer use soap on my hair due to the high ph and it totally ruined hair.   You may want to start a new thread and since this is your first post stop by the introduction forum and tell us a bit about yourself.   Be sure to read the sticky rules for the forum as well


----------



## carine_garcia (Jan 23, 2020)

Ah, ok thank you for your reply!


----------

