The Shampoo Bar Thread

[kittensoupnrice]

Hey all!

I just got a new box of samples from CV and I'm super excited to try them out.
But it got me wondering...

What makes your favorite shampoo bar your favorite? Like, what makes certain bars the ones you always go back to? I was thinking about that the last time I was shampooing and my list is:

Smoothness - I loves me a hard, smooth-textured soap. I don't really care for the ones that feel kind of soft and squishy once they get wet, and I don't like bars that have little bits of "stuff" in them, like dried herbs.

Lather - Of course I like lather, but I've discovered that I prefer soaps that do very fine bubbles more than bars that give me big foamy bubbles. Not sure why, just a preference!

Scent - I really like mild to neutral scents. I especially like spicy scents like cloves and coffee. I had one pumpkin spice bar that I just loved to bits! I don't really like super strong floral or herbal scents.

Things that don't really seem to matter to me:
Super exciting ingredients - one of my favorite bars is just a plain olive/shea/coconut bar. Although I'm more likely to want to try new soaps that have "exciting" ingredients.
"fancied up" bars - with swirls of color or a lumpy edge
"purposeful" bars - I guess it's like the super exciting ingredients, but soaps that are supposed to cure dandruff, reduce follicle aging, and help tint my hair certain colors are all fine but don't really sway my favoritism one way or another.


What do you guys prefer?

[gabee]

I've been having problems with shampoo bars leaving a waxy residue on my ends, so I've now perfected my washing technique to have nice hair all around! I CWC with my shampoo bars! I've seen a lot of comments on here about having the same problem, so heres what I've done to solve my problem:

First I use a light conditioner on my ends, then lather up my scalp with one of my SCH bars. I rinse it all out, do a citric acid rinse on my scalp and rinse again. I follow up with a thicker conditioner all over. I've found that this makes my hair look really soft and fluffy all over. I do this every few days, and I CO in between (every day or two).

I really love shampoo bars, they're great for the environment and they aren't full of chemicals like so many other products.

[patienceneeded]

I've been having problems with shampoo bars leaving a waxy residue on my ends, so I've now perfected my washing technique to have nice hair all around! I CWC with my shampoo bars! I've seen a lot of comments on here about having the same problem, so heres what I've done to solve my problem:

First I use a light conditioner on my ends, then lather up my scalp with one of my SCH bars. I rinse it all out, do a citric acid rinse on my scalp and rinse again. I follow up with a thicker conditioner all over. I've found that this makes my hair look really soft and fluffy all over. I do this every few days, and I CO in between (every day or two).

I really love shampoo bars, they're great for the environment and they aren't full of chemicals like so many other products.

What a great idea! I gave up on shampoo bars because of the waxy feeling, but I liked the whole idea of using poo bars. I CO wash now, and use and SLS free poo about once a week. Next time I need a shampoo wash I think I'll try one of the bars I stashed in the cupboard and do this. Would white vinegar work in place of the citric acid wash? What do you use for the citric acid wash?

[Kathie]

Hey all!

I just got a new box of samples from CV and I'm super excited to try them out.
But it got me wondering...

What makes your favorite shampoo bar your favorite?

It’s all about the end result with me. And my hair needs moisture- so how moisturizing a bar is is key.
But you raised some good points- I don’t like squishy soap, or bits of herbs etc in them.
I also like small bubbles in my lather- it ends up sort of creamy that way.
Scent and ingredients aren't that big of deal.

[QueenJoey]

So much to learn!! I just got my first three sample bars of CV off the swap board. I think I like them, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use them for my hair. I'll be back here soon!

[Kathie]

So much to learn!! I just got my first three sample bars of CV off the swap board. I think I like them, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use them for my hair. I'll be back here soon!

Good luck! I think they're worth the experimentation-time.

[gabee]

What a great idea! I gave up on shampoo bars because of the waxy feeling, but I liked the whole idea of using poo bars. I CO wash now, and use and SLS free poo about once a week. Next time I need a shampoo wash I think I'll try one of the bars I stashed in the cupboard and do this. Would white vinegar work in place of the citric acid wash? What do you use for the citric acid wash?

I think you should give it a try! I do the same, CO for a few days, then CWC with shampoo bar. I do sometimes use an SLS-free shampoo, but I find it more drying than shampoo bars.

For my citric acid rinse I use about a half teaspoon of citric acid powder (which I found for cheap at a middle eastern grocery, in the spice section) in ~2 cups water. You can definitely use any acid rinse that your hair likes though, such a white vinegar. I only use citric acid because it is odorless and I can't stand the smell of vinegar in my hair.

[Viechen]

kittensoupnrice I love textures that are not squishy but softer... enough that a gentle squeeze will slightly dent the soap. As for scent, I am obsessed with citru scents and warm vanilla ones. I dont like anything floral, except maybe as a slight undertone to another stronger scent... I like a small bubbled lather as well, but occasionally I like to play with the buge bubbles made by some shampoos Personally I dont care much for fancied up soaps either, it just seems show to me. One thing I have noticed though is that I seem to be drawn to creamy, yellowish beige colored soaps. I am not sure why, maybe it is the thought that there has to be a lot of butterish stuff in them?

I am currently eyeballing the butterbar conditioner from CV. I have been looking at it for a long time now and I dont think I can resist any longer. The thing is that I am wanting to do CO. DO you think this conditioner would be suitable for that?

[kittensoupnrice]

It’s all about the end result with me. And my hair needs moisture- so how moisturizing a bar is is key.
But you raised some good points- I don’t like squishy soap, or bits of herbs etc in them.
I also like small bubbles in my lather- it ends up sort of creamy that way.
Scent and ingredients aren't that big of deal.

I found that while I do love a moisturizing bar, I tend to build up waxies from them, so my absolute favorites end up being my more cleansing bars. It's sad, though, since most of my deliciously scented bars are the more moisturizing variety.

kittensoupnrice I love textures that are not squishy but softer... enough that a gentle squeeze will slightly dent the soap. As for scent, I am obsessed with citru scents and warm vanilla ones. I dont like anything floral, except maybe as a slight undertone to another stronger scent... I like a small bubbled lather as well, but occasionally I like to play with the buge bubbles made by some shampoos Personally I dont care much for fancied up soaps either, it just seems show to me. One thing I have noticed though is that I seem to be drawn to creamy, yellowish beige colored soaps. I am not sure why, maybe it is the thought that there has to be a lot of butterish stuff in them?

I am currently eyeballing the butterbar conditioner from CV. I have been looking at it for a long time now and I dont think I can resist any longer. The thing is that I am wanting to do CO. DO you think this conditioner would be suitable for that?

I noticed that my fav soaps are also white to white-beige. Not sure why, though... perhaps the whiter oils are responsible for smaller bubbles?

I don't think using the butter bar will be quite the same as CO. I worry that prolonged use of just the butter bar will lead to a buildup of the waxies. Also, the butter bar, though very moisturizing, is still soap based, so it will probably lather up more than CO. So, I think it'd probably be still closer to the shampoo bar regimen rather than CO. Maybe some other members here have some comments?

[Kathie]

I am currently eyeballing the butterbar conditioner from CV. I have been looking at it for a long time now and I dont think I can resist any longer. The thing is that I am wanting to do CO. DO you think this conditioner would be suitable for that?

I agree it’s more of a soap- it has a really nick thick lather and leaves my hair soft and moisturised. It’s my favourite CV bar