Shampoo Bars - would love your feedback

[DarkSky]

I'm so excited that I received a bunch of sample shampoo bars from Chagrin Valley today. I'll be trying them out on my girls and I (2yo 1c fine hair with no need of moisture but she does have eczema, 7yo with 3b/c fine curls, and me 2c/3a fine/medium wurls). Right now my 3b girl and I are on a modified condition wash routine since our hair is a bit on the dry side. My 1c girl can't handle conditioner but just uses sulfate free baby shampoo. So far our method has been working out great but I just couldn't resist the urge to try out a new method.

Below are the samples that I received. I have no idea which one to start with though since they all smell so good and seem like they will work great :) I'm so hoping that my hair loves this. I have soft water and I usually do ACV rinses for extra shine anyways.

Café Moreno
Butter Bar Conditioner
Babassu Marsh Mallow - this seems to be most popular and very moisturizing... something I might need
Rosemary Mint
Ayurvedic Herb
Castile - my little ones have eczema so figured this would help
Carrot & Honey Complexion
Summer Sunshine
Soapnuts and Sunflower
Olive & Babassu
Neem & Tea Tree Body & Hair Shampoo - I read that this one helps with itchy scalp stretching washes... another bonus for me
Herb Garden
Extra Honey Beer
Coconut Milk

Here are some Q's:
- How have shampoo bars helped or not helped your hair?
- Have any of you switched from CO to shampoo bars.. if so how do they compare to you?
- Do you recommend doing a one time sulfate wash before starting them?
- Any tips that you wish to share?

http://images16.fotki.com/v387/photos/8/1965328/10831023/IMG_8313600x450-vi.jpg

[HollowHannah]

Hi there. I bought a seaweed shampoo bar from Lush a while back and it didn't do me any harm at all. It wash a lot gentler than liquid shampoo, didn't have any nasty chemicals at all and was moisturising without making it greasy.

The only thing I would say is get hold of some containers for them. They will stick to any surface you leave them on otherwise. It's also a good idea to dab them dry with a towel once out of the shower/bath. I've found they last longer and don't get that gooey, icky stuff around the outside.

Good luck with your haul. Be sure to let us know how it goes. :-)

[DarkSky]

Thanks those are really good tips! Will do!!

[FrozenBritannia]

I use a different brand, but my kids seem to able to use it without a vinegar rinse after, which is good. I still need a vinegar rinse, but I'm big enough to handle it without getting it in my eyes :)

[theodora]

I've been personally struggling with the CV shampoo bars. They clean my scalp super well and make my hair voluminous and lovely for the first 2-3 inches and then the rest of my length feels like it's coated in wax. I tried vinegar and lemon rinses and have had no luck so far. I do have very hard water.

I hope they work well for you; do let us know how you get on!

[perkidanman]

I use CV exclusively as my shampoo bars. Pretty much the best advice I can give is to always follow up with a diluted acidic rinse (like vinegar). If you condition afterwards you can rinse with the vinegar solution once the conditioner is out.

[Loviatar]

I love CV bars, but I have just coloured and I find they are stripping out the dye too fast so I've gone back to CO for the moment. I've been bars-only since March 2012.

- How have shampoo bars helped or not helped your hair?
It's definitely thicker, I have a ton of new baby hairs coming in. It feels fuller and looks shinier, and it's very bouncy.

- Have any of you switched from CO to shampoo bars.. if so how do they compare to you?
CO leaves my hair a little oily and I have to CO daily; with bars I dont have to.

- Do you recommend doing a one time sulfate wash before starting them?
I would clarify before starting bars. My first bar wash was a clarifying (ALS shampoo) with baking soda, then 2 lathers of the bar.

- Any tips that you wish to share?
I use lemon juice, lime juice and citric acid in my acid rinse water. 1/2 a tsp citric acid powder plus 30ml lime or lemon to 1 litre of water. I mix up 2 rinses, one in a jug for pouring over my whole length, and one in a bottle so I can get the neck to all of my scalp.
I lather, rinse, lather, rinse, acid rinse, then condition. It works best for me this way. I live in London and have super hard water.

I also find that vinegar leaves my hair crunchy but lime, lemon and CA do not.

[chou]

Yay! Shampoo bars are wonderful, I hope you have an enjoyable journey with them.


- How have shampoo bars helped or not helped your hair?
My hair feels COMPLETELY different on bars than on shampoo. It's thick and wavy and tends toward coarse and frizzy when dry or with products containing any amount of protein. I cycled through many cleansing methods trying to find one that would dry out my hair the least. I've tried every manner of gentle shampoos, stretched washes to once a week, and used super heavy conditioners with every wash and my hair would still be dry. Shampoo bars are hands down the gentlest, most moisturizing cleansing method I have ever tried. My hair is silky and shiny and my surface frizz has been massively reduced. Also, second day detangling on dry hair is now a total breeze.

- Have any of you switched from CO to shampoo bars.. if so how do they compare to you?
CO did not work out for me because of the difficulty of finding a protein-free moisturizing condish that was cone free, didn't build up, was cheap and didn't smell bad to me. However, I had a couple of good CO washes with some condishes before the protein freak-out set in. My hair was soft and fluffy after these. With poo bars my hair is more silky and defined.

- Do you recommend doing a one time sulfate wash before starting them?
I didn't and I was fine, but I would still recommend doing it because some product coatings on the hair can mix with the natural conditioners shampoo bars leave behind and produce a really nasty gunk.

- Any tips that you wish to share?
Dip your length in the ACV rinse before pouring it over your head. Otherwise, you may not be able to saturate it fully.
If you hair feels gunky after a wash, try shampooing twice on the next wash. The first wash can be low-suds and a bit sticky feeling, but the second wash will produce a ton of fluffy lather and get up any remaining sebum.
The conditioning butter bar is EXTREMELY buttery. It leaves my hair feeling coated and stringy and I have very dry hair. I would recommend not using it for a full wash, but only gliding it along your canopy or ends if they are very dry. I've been using it wash my face more than my hair lately and it exceeds at that.
One more thing, Cafe Moreno is my favorite!

[Baileygirl]

I have been using CV shampoo bars for about 5 months. I LOVE the cafe Moreno & the Ayurvedic Herb. I wash, acv rinse & then diluted condition rinse. I used some of the others but the above ones quickly became my favorites.

[DarkSky]

Ladies that's so much for the advice so far. I couldn't wait to try out the bars late this afternoon.

I used the Babassu Marsh mallow on mine and my 7yo hair. The lather was surprisingly nice and slippy. I followed with an ACV rinse. After air drying I found that it gave us alot more defined curls especially at the ends and crazy shine with body. My hair at the back of my head was a little frizzy though but not too bad. I used the castille on my 2yo (1c fine hair) and I found it left her hair kind of waxy. I'll experiment more with other bars but so far so good!! I might try a clarify next time as you guys recommend to see if that makes a difference. After using the soaps I dried them off with a paper towel.

Here is a pic of my hair. Crazy shine... but it's not showing up well in this not too good quality shot.

http://images15.fotki.com/v792/photos/8/1965328/10831023/IMG_8325254x6002-vi.jpg

[Chimom79]

I have not tried their bars. I want all those samples soooooo bad! I be jealous! Haha!

[bunnylake]

I only liked the rosemary lavender and the sunflower CV bars. The rest left my hair feeling very waxy... even with soft water and acidic rinses and cone-free conditioner. After a while, I went back to regular shampoo, and now CO, and I like these routines much better.
I ended up using the rest of my CV samples as body soap.
I hope you have better luck with them!

[DarkSky]

I have not tried their bars. I want all those samples soooooo bad! I be jealous! Haha!

LOL! Chimom it was seriously like Christmas.. looking at all of them and trying to decide what one to try first. I hope you can get your hands on some of them.

Thanks for the feedback bunnylake. I'm going to keep my options open but so far so good. It's great that there is no wasting of money if some of the bars don't end up working out.

[PrairieRose]

I have tried the Rosemary Mint, the Carrot one, and Summer Sunshine. I really like them all. The first time I used them I thought it failed big time. My hair was so stringy. Since then I have had no problems. I started always using a ACV rinse, but now I often don't need it. Enjoy!

[TryForBliss]

Have shampoo bars helped? Yes and no. Some of them work better for me than others. I'd been using some from Henna Sooq prior, but stopped when one of the bars was incompletely cured (it was soft & mushy on the inside, as well as a lighter color) - it completely fried my hair and turned my scalp into a flaky, itchy mess that no number of vinegar rinses could fix. I committed to trying some CV bars after that (shared shipping with some like-minded family members). I ordered a sample of Soap Nuts and Sunflower, citrus mint scent, for myself, and a bar of Ayurvedic Herb for the mister (he's not fussy about what his shampoo is). We both ended up loving Ayurvedic Herb - it helps him with his thinning hair, especially with a vinegar rinse, and that and a henndigo treatment has repaired a good deal of the damage to my hair. It's slippy and smooth and strong, less shedding than I had with HS bars. However, my scalp becomes oily after a couple of days - and before switching to shampoo bars, I had been able to wash weekly with no noticable oil. So I think I'll be giving the nettle bar a shot - I've heard great things about that for oily scalp. I also have incredible volume and shine, and it's helping to encourage wave in my henndigo'd hair. :)

I've never done CO; my hair (2a/b M ii) would be flat as a pancake & so would my wallet (all the conditioners that are good for CO and fit my preference for organic/natural ingredients cost an arm and a leg out here!). Sorry I can't offer you much insight here!

Sulfate wash: only beneficial if you're using hair products with cones. Otherwise, a shampoo bar and a vinegar rinse can easily handle the residue.

Tips! Don't be afraid to double lather every now and then, or even leave some of the herbal shampoos on your scalp for a while so you can soak up the benefits. It's so luxurious, and my scalp absolutely adores all the herbal goodness. I do a double vinegar rinse, no matter if I wash once or twice, because our water is so hard it forms a curd with the soap that my skin/scalp throws a fit over (I even need to get some vinegar water on a cloth to swab down my arms, or I get a wicked rash) - the first vinegar rinse breaks down the curd, and the second conditions my hair and scalp. I don't rinse out the second vinegar rinse. The smell is gone by the time it dries.