Did you know that 552 MILLION shampoo and condition bottles could end up in landfills every year? It’s estimated for one plastic bottle to take 450-1000 years to decompose? They’ve only become popular in the last 60 years, so who really knows how long they can last?
As we’ve been traveling, my shampoo and conditioner finally ran out. In our attempt to slowly find ways to reduce our plastic consumption, I googled different options. I found shampoo and conditioner bars.
I found out that Lush had them. We were headed back to Santiago for the final time, and what do you know, they have a Lush in the mall.
I decided to try it. The bars cost around $10 each. This to me was a little steep, but I had a favorite shampoo that I would spend $8 per bottle on. What’s $2 when it keeps you from using plastic right?
I found out the bars get about 80-100 washes in them, which made it more enticing.
Let’s be real….
How effective can these bars of soap actually be? As a girl, it’s definitely scary to stop using bottled shampoo. I’ve literally been using it all of my life. When you finally find something that works for your specific hair type, it’s a challenge to pry yourself away from it.
I have been using the bars for about 2 weeks and can now give my honest opinion.
SHAMPOO BAR – The shampoo bar I got was called “Trichomania.” This one is for hair that is curly, dry or frizzy. My hair fit all of the criteria.
The shampoo itself actually did lather decently well, which was surprising to me. It smells like coconut, which I really liked as well. After I washed it, it felt a little strange. I may have convinced myself since it didn’t lather as well as a bottled shampoo it wasn’t as clean.
CONDITIONER BAR – This bar was a standard one, there were none in the store that were different depending on hair type. The conditioner bar was the weirdest part to me. It feels SO strange to rub your head with a soap bar. The thing I love about the bottled conditioner is that I can put it where my hair is the driest. With the shampoo bar, it was hard to do that. I ended up just wrapping the bar around my long hair and rubbed my hair on the bar. This doesn’t lather at all and honestly, it didn’t feel soft afterward.
After I showered, I did my usual routine. I brush my hair out, put some mousse in it, then throw it in a braid.
When I woke up in the morning, I took the braid out and I was surprised to see it wasn’t frizzy and my hair felt really soft. I was NOT expecting that at all.
As I’ve continued to use it, I don’t mind it. I think if you’re going to try it, the hardest part is getting used to this new way of washing your hair. It feels completely different than you’re used to now, so just be ready for that.
The Alternative.
Look, I get it. It’s scary to change something you’ve been doing for so long and try something you aren’t sure will work.
If you don’t have a Lush by you, I’d suggest Amazon. They have a ton of different shampoo bars and have different options depending on your hair type. I’ve attached the link and hopefully, you’ll try them for yourself.
I wasn’t aware of these bars, so I was really excited to find them. I wanted to show you guys that there ARE other options. This is just another idea to show how you can reduce your plastic consumption.
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