Shampoo Bar Questions, Etc.

[DanaR]

I hope this is the right place for this! It is more of a usage question, geared towards someone growing their hair long.

I am trying to grow my hair long, and visit the LongHairCommunity forum to get tips and techniques from others. I try and avoid the concentration of cleansers in typical shampoos, and have recently taken to "Conditioner Only" washing (since conditioners have a small amount of cleaners in them to rinse themselves out). This greatly reduces the "wear and tear" of typical shampoo on my hair.

How are the shampoo bars to use? Are they "strong" like a regular liquid shampoo, or are they more gentle? And how do you use one?

I recently read (on the above LongHairCommunity) where someone's grandmother used to use Pine Tar (Grandpa's brand, perhaps?) soap to wash her hair once a week. She'd cut off a sliver of the soap and dissolve it in hot water. Then pour the cool-ish mixture into one of those condiment squirt bottles and apply to her scalp, and gently massage. I guess this sort of thing (highly diluted shampoo) would be akin to the "conditioner only" method.

I also oil my hair a few times a week with olive oil. I apply about 1T to my hands and run it through my hair (length only). I braid it and leave it in overnight. It helps a LOT with frizz (for my hair). Others use Coconut Oil for the same purpose, but we have Olive Oil on hand.

Anyway, just thought that last bit might help... if anyone can "sneak into" the Long Hair Community with some awesome products tailored for gentle hair care, I'm sure they'd be very popular!

 

[Genny]

I used to have very long (waist length) hair, but recently cut it to donate. I use shampoo bars from Get Lathered on Etsy & Ballyhoo on Etsy. It just matters what scents I feel like using next. The soaps are very similar. They also have solid conditioner, but I haven't tried it yet.

The shampoo bars that I use are much more gentle feeling than liquid shampoo. To use them, you just rub the bar on your wet hair a little bit to work up a small lather. Then using just your hands, rub your hair to get the lather bigger so you can work it through your hair.

 

[MychelleC]

I second a gentle surfactant-based shampoo bar from Get Lathered or Scenter Squared on Etsy. These are formulated with gentle surfactant blends and lots of goodies that make hair soft and shiny. Please do not use pine tar soap on your hair. Some people do like soap-based shampoo, but pine tar soap is for deep cleansing and will be very harsh on your poor hair! The problem with soap-based shampoo is that the PH is very high, leading the cuticle to become rough and lifted. This leads to damage, dryness, and build-up on the hair shaft. It is recommended that you follow up a soap shampooing with an acid rinse (such as apple cider vinegar) to close the cuticle and prevent build up. Even with the acid rinse my hair was downright disgusting. Straw-like, dull, and coated. I did try it for several weeks, as everyone says your hair has to "adjust." My hair did not adjust, just got worse. Again, some heads do like soap - particularly very fine hair that likes the volume that comes with a roughed-up cuticle. I adore syndet (synthetic detergent) shampoo bars however. They are all I use, and I have to say my hair is gorgeous!

Just FYI, most commercial shampoos have around 25% surfactants and that is divided between 2-5 different cleansers. This increases the mildness of the formula. If the conditioner only method is working for you great, but if you feel you need a shampoo just avoid ones with sodium lauryl sulfate (sodium laureth sulfate is fine for most heads). Instead look for sulfosuccinates, glucosides, and betaines. HTH!

 

[DanaR]

Thanks so much for your detailed replies!! I am 100% sure that my husband wouldn't be able to stand the smell of a pine tar bar, let alone in my hair!

I'll look those two shops up on Etsy! I did try baking soda "shampoo" and apple cider vinegar rinse, but my hair is too fine and it broke off a bunch. The conditioner-only method REALLY works well for my hair, and it only took 2-3 days for my scalp to "adjust". I still use a normal shampoo once a week or so to clarify, so I'll certainly give those two places' products some consideration!

Is it possible to make a solid(ish) "oil bar" with greatly reduced cleansing properties? It's my understanding that the lye reaction is what gives the soap its cleaning power and also solidifies the bar? Or is there some other way to harden a bar without a lot of lye?

 

[ToniD]

You can make a conditioner bar. They don't have cleansing properties.

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/06/conditioners-solid-conditioner-bars.html

You could make a shampoo bar of surfactants, and use a low amount of surfactants with a higher percent of Moisturizers. http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/06/conditioners-solid-conditioner-bars.html

Shampoo bars can be formulated with lower cleansing levels and higher super fat. I've not had success with soap shampoo bars, but I've read to use high levels of castor.

 

[Stinkydancer]

I used to have very long (waist length) hair, but recently cut it to donate. I use shampoo bars from Get Lathered on Etsy & Ballyhoo on Etsy. It just matters what scents I feel like using next. The soaps are very similar. They also have solid conditioner, but I haven't tried it yet.

The shampoo bars that I use are much more gentle feeling than liquid shampoo. To use them, you just rub the bar on your wet hair a little bit to work up a small lather. Then using just your hands, rub your hair to get the lather bigger so you can work it through your hair.

Ballyhoo is my favorite (Luci is amazing and so smart- good thing we live close)...don't use high ph soap on your hair. I learned that lesson the hard way.
Ballyhoo solid condish is great- love it. I haven't tried Get Lathered though to be fair. The shampoo is nice but I can't cheat on Luci and her shampoo and condish make my hair shine.

 

[AmandaJ99]

I have very long hair and it's healthy, I've been taking vitamins geared towards hair, skin , and nails. The one I absolutely love is Derma Vits made by NOW company. My nails grow like crazy and hardly ever break. My hair stylist has noticed a big difference in the amount to cut during trims. Also get your hair trimmed often like every 5-6 weeks. This helps keep your ends healthy and prevents breakage, doesn't have to be a professional just a friend with a steady hand, lol. Anyway thought I'd share good luck growing it out.
Amanda in TN