Chagrin Valley shampoo bars...

[ThisDreamer]

Which ones did you try? :
Ayurvedic Herb, Herb Garden, Mud and Clay, Butter bar Conditioner, Cafe Moreno, Carrot Milk and Honey, Citrus Mint and Soapnut's, Neem and Tea Tree, Cucumber Lime, Dead Sea spa, and Sea Salt and Seaweed.

How long did you use them?
Since December 2011 and still using them.

What did you use as a conditioner? :
Vinegar rinse.

Did you use a vinegar rinse afterwards? :
Yes.

Did it leave your hair moisturized or dry?
Moisturized and silky yet strangely a little rough looking with both the Ayurvedic and Herb Garden. Vinegar rinse took care of the problem and those are the only two I experienced this with.

Did it get oil treatments out of your hair? :
Yes, but I had to Shampoo twice.

Did you shampoo the entire length? :
Only once in a rare while. It does not dry it out.

Routine regarding the bar (did you scrub it directly on your head or in your hand, how long did you leave it on, etc)? :
I scrub the bar directly onto my scalp then scrub it in with my hands, rubbing the suds as far down my hair as they will go. (usually to the nap of my neck). I don't leave on long, just till I'm done scrubbing and then I will rinse. If I let it sit and soak in to long (When the suds have disappeared) it will leave my hair tacky and sticky and I will have to hop back in the shower and wash again.

Did it make your hair more dry and tangly? :
If I do my length, perhaps a little if it's the Ayurvedic or Herb Garden. Vinegar rinse takes care of it though.

Over all positive or negative experience? :
Positive. I love these bars.

Anything else you want to add? :
These are the ones that have left the most impression on me.
Herb Garden stopped my excessive hair fall dead in its tracks. As in after the first wash it stopped completely.
Ayurvedic herb seemed to make my curls and waves more defined, I'm assuming because it has Amla in it which is why I got it.
Citrus Mint and Soapnut's is by far my favorite so far, leaving my hair extremely soft, silky and moisturized and the smell is wonderful. Unfortunately I see it nowhere on the site anymore, however I'm thinking chamomile and Citrus is essentially the same thing.
Neem and Tea Tree, the smell is horrid, at least at first until I got use to it, but its great on the hair and scalp and is perfect for the skin and skin conditions.
Cucumber Lime, I love this thing for my skin! It's what I run to when my face is looking dull or getting some acne, and it works very, very well. Instant skin glow.
Sea Salt and Seaweed smells absolutely divine! It's a very pretty bar, and really, I just cant stop smelling it, it's just wonderful. ( I only use the salt bars on my body, not my hair.)
The Butter bar conditioner was incredibly silky in the shower, however I can't remember how I liked it on my hair.

[Amber_Maiden]

Thank you ThisDreamer! Very detailed! Excellent!

[Natalia]

thanks for posting this answered a few questions i had without having to navigate the huge poo bar thread

[Amber_Maiden]

thanks for posting this answered a few questions i had without having to navigate the huge poo bar thread

No problem!

[brave]

Which ones did you try?
Marshmallow Babassu, Butter Bar, both Milk & Honey & Beer varieties, Lavender spice, Cafe Moreno, Ayurvedic, and the dog one that repels bugs.
How long did you use them?
About a month or so and now off and on.
What did you use as a conditioner?
Either AO HSR, ACV, or nada.
Did you use a vinegar rinse afterwards?
Sometimes. It instantly detangled my hair and left it silky, but sometimes I got oily again too fast.
Did it leave your hair moisturized or dry?
Depended on the bar. Butter bar left me overmoisturized and tangly, Ayurvedic wasn't moisturizing enough (SO GOOD THOUGH) and Cafe Moreno was about perfect, just a little dry on the tips.
Did it get oil treatments out of your hair?
Yeah, no real problems there.
Did you shampoo the entire length?
Sometimes
Routine regarding the bar (did you scrub it directly on your head or in your hand, how long did you leave it on, etc)?
I worked up suds in my hand and scrubbed my scalp with that.
Did it make your hair more dry and tangly?
Sometimes. In bad water, I think my hair was much more tangly -- sort of "dense" feeling. Hair feels very strange until it dries unless you do the ACV, in my experience. Once it dries it's fairly normal.
Over all positive or negative experience?
Positive. I love the Cafe Moreno bar, smell and look and feel.
Anything else you want to add?
Try a bunch of samples. Some will definitely work better than others. Now I want to use my Cafe Moreno bar... I shampooed just yesterday. Dagnabbit.

[Amber_Maiden]

haha! Awesome review! Thank you brave!

[LornaDoone]

Which ones did you try?
I have tried most of their shampoo bars, but my favorites are the Lavender Spice and the Nettle bar.

How long did you use them?
I have used shampoo bars for close to two years now.

What did you use as a conditioner?
I only use conditioner occasionally when I want my hair to smell really good. Conditioner tends to make my hair too soft and silky and it will not stay in updos. (This was not true before I started using shampoo bars.)

Did you use a vinegar rinse afterwards?
I do use a vinegar rinse after every full shampoo. I live in an area with very hard water.

Did it leave your hair moisturized or dry?
Shampoo bars leave my hair very moisturized once I got through the transition period.

Did it get oil treatments out of your hair?
I don't do a lot of oil treatments, but I do use shampoo bars to wash out coconut milk. I do have to lather twice though.

Did you shampoo the entire length?
I rub the bars on my scalp and then work the suds through my length. Just rinsing the suds through the length is not enough.

Routine regarding the bar (did you scrub it directly on your head or in your hand, how long did you leave it on, etc)?
I rub it directly on my scalp, lifting hair to get the underneath areas.

Did it make your hair more dry and tangly?
At first, during the transition, they made my hair waxy and extremely tangled, after a few weeks that was over.

Over all positive or negative experience?
Positive, or I wouldn't still be using them today.

Anything else you want to add?
You mentioned you were planning on using them on your daughter. I would go with bars without EOs for infants and young children, but the bars would be very good for her skin!

HTH

Lorna

[Amber_Maiden]

Thanks for the info Lorna! And yes, I meant I'd use them later on for my daughter- when she has more hair!

[florenonite]

I was thinking about how shampoo bars didn't seem to work as well for me when I moved somewhere with harder water (reading this thread has made me really wish I could use them again D; ), and remembered you posting elsewhere that you're planning on moving to Ottawa, right? IIRC, Ottawa's got harder water than what I have here, so you might want to bear that in mind when trying the bars.

Lots of people here have success with shampoo bars in hard water, so it's not necessarily a make-or-break thing, but it is something to bear in mind. You'll probably need some kind of acid rinse in hard water, for instance.

[Amber_Maiden]

I was thinking about how shampoo bars didn't seem to work as well for me when I moved somewhere with harder water (reading this thread has made me really wish I could use them again D; ), and remembered you posting elsewhere that you're planning on moving to Ottawa, right? IIRC, Ottawa's got harder water than what I have here, so you might want to bear that in mind when trying the bars.

Lots of people here have success with shampoo bars in hard water, so it's not necessarily a make-or-break thing, but it is something to bear in mind. You'll probably need some kind of acid rinse in hard water, for instance.

Definitely! Thank you for letting me know about the hard water! I already use a white vinegar or ACV rinse after every wash, so that's already in my routine, luckily!