The Shampoo Bar Thread

**Cherry_Sprinkle** · July 10th, 2009, 04:50 PM

here's a photo of my elling woman's bun

**Merewen** · July 11th, 2009, 08:06 AM

Very pretty, Cherry Sprinkle!

In other news, my hair is really funky today and the oil I put on it last night did not help all that much. I looked up my water hardness on Ida's site, and apparently the water where I am is just about hard enough to scratch diamonds. I think I'll add another lather and up my vinegar rinse to ridiculously strong and see what happens next time. Maybe I'll also find a less moisturizing bar and see what happens, even though my hair tends to be on the dry side.

**GlassEyes** · July 11th, 2009, 08:14 AM

So, I tried shampoo bars before, and I got the most moisturizing ones. Probably a mistake, and my hair was wonky wonky wonky for days.

Now I know there's a transition period, apparently. How long was most of your's? And what bar did you use? I went for the most moisture since I have drydry hair, and it made my hair shiny, but coated/waxy, even with ACV (but I think ym dilution was off and I used WAAAY too much). I'm ready to reorder from CV, but I don't know which bar/bars to get. ):

**Fractalsofhair** · July 11th, 2009, 09:36 AM

I've used Doc Bronners without a problem, other than it being dry on my damaged hair, and a little bit drying to the scalp. The most moisturizing isn't always the best for DRY hair, since it's like oiling. Some people with dry hair just need a touch of oil. I didn't have a transition period, but I also normally use a soap based shampoo, before that Burt's Bees,and before that SLS and cone free(after using cones for years.). So thus... My hair was pretty darn clarified! XD I haven't ordered from Chagrin Valley yet(I've been so busy, since I've had tons of medical tests), so I can't say anything on that front. The waxies happen to me if I use too strong of a vinegar rinse or don't rinse it out enough. They also happen if I rinse my hair in COLD(not cool/warmish) water.(Pity, since it brings out my curls!) Are you using cones right now? Also, sometimes using conditioner after using a soap based product can bring out waxies, though not always!(So go light on it. You can always oil after, or rewash hair with conditioner!)

**nueinsel** · July 11th, 2009, 09:37 AM

GlassEyes: I don't think I ever had a "transition period" in the way most other people do. Instead I had multiple periods of "this is not working" and "ahh, this is working!" The transition was figuring out what exactly I needed to do and not do with the bars to get my hair clean and not waxy. At this very moment, I'm sitting with totally unwaxy, super awesome, day-3 hair post a wash with the Coconut Milk bar and a vinegar rinse. It's the first one that has worked more than ok for me so far. I don't know if it'll work as well the second time I use it, but I'm hopeful.

The first time I used shampoo bars was after several months of washing with random food items or water only, so the difference was immediate. I washed once with a bar and suddenly had nearly-clean hair, as opposed to the limp, slightly-less-greasy-than-before-I-put-x-on-it hair I'd been having for weeks upon weeks. The waxy residue didn't tend to show up until about the third wash with any given bar, but then I was only using a vinegar rinse when my hair felt waxy, not every time I washed. The overall appearance and feel of my hair would get better with some bars, worse with others, but always hovered somewhere around decent.

This time around, I switched straight from SLS and -cone laden shampoo to shampoo bars. I did a clarifying rinse, as suggested, before I started using the bars. After the first wash with a shampoo bar, my hair was ok, after the second wash, it was awful, after the third wash it was ok again, and after this fourth wash it was just as good as with my comercial shampoo. I used a slightly different technique each time I washed, and a different bar the last time, and, again, I don't really think it was a transition period, just a string of some things that didn't work so well, and one that finally did.

I've also always wondered how much of a transition period is just people adjusting to how their hair looks with "natural" products. When damage isn't masked by -cones (if indeed they do mask damage), and when all of your natural oils aren't stripped in a single wash, your hair looks and feels differently. I think sometimes it takes awhile for people to forget what it used to look and feel like and get accustomed to the good side of how it looks and feels naturally.

Many many many people who are Not me have said they experienced a definite transition period, though, so it's certainly possible that my hair is just weird.

I'm not really experienced enough to recommend bars, I don't think, but if the moisturizing ones didn't work for you last time, try buying a few cleasning ones this time around. I would also suggest playing about a bit with the non-shampoo-bar things you do too your hair. Use conditioner or don't, use a stronger vinegar dilution or a weaker one, oil or don't, follow with product or don't, lather more times or fewer, etc., because I think that's ultimately what was making the most difference in my hair. I'm going to continue experimenting to see if other bars work better when used this way, too.

**GlassEyes** · July 11th, 2009, 09:41 AM

As far as the experimentation, I will always use conditioner with shampoo bars. I'm really only looking to them as a way to remove build up without stripping my hair; mint julep isn't really cutting it anymore, and I'm not fond of it.

And thank you!

**nueinsel** · July 11th, 2009, 09:45 AM

Got it. Good luck!

**Cherry_Sprinkle** · July 11th, 2009, 12:07 PM

lol whoops! I think I posted the photo in the wrong thread lol but thank you! That's one of the dangers of having more than one LHC windows open lol

**Fractalsofhair** · July 11th, 2009, 12:49 PM

Just a warning, to remove buildup, shampoo bars will NOT remove cones! They're great for generic oily buildup, but not cones at all.

**GlassEyes** · July 11th, 2009, 01:33 PM

I know.

Build up doesn't always come from oil or from cones. Nearly anything you can put on your hair can build-up in some way, shape, or form, from the man-made chemical bases, to the natural indian herbs. In some instances, they can build up faster than cones.

It's that kind of build up I'm looking to remove---from products and oils. I'm already cone-free, and have been for more than a year now, off and on. xD; But thank you for the information.