This is something we still get asked a lot, even now that more shampoo bars become available in the market. If you have just switched from a liquid shampoo and conditioner to our bars, this will help you.
First way of using which is what we recommend is swiping the shampoo bar directly onto your wet hair in circular motions to activate the lather. Once you have the foam you desire, use your hands to disperse the foam through your hair and massage into your scalp. Rinse off thoroughly. If you only wash your hair 2 - 3 times a week, we recommend shampooing your hair twice. This is completely up to you. If washing once is working well, stick with it. For someone like me who is prone to oily hair, I find double washing my hair helps to keep it feeling cleaner in between washes especially now that I only wash my hair 3 times a week. Our shampoo bars have extremely gentle ingredients in them that you may find it actually helps to lessen some scalp issues like dandruff, itchy or oily scalp. This is partly due to our bars not having any harsh sulfates like sodium lauryl sulfate which is a very strong cleansing surfactant. (I'll be doing a blog post on surfactants explained soon, so keep an eye out).
The second way to use a shampoo bar is creating the lather in your hands and then applying the foam onto your hair and dispersing and massaging into your scalp this way. If this works for you, then by all means don't change the way you wash your hair. Personally I wouldn't recommend it as you don't get as much of the cleansing action from the bar and you may end up using the shampoo bar quicker since you are technically washing your hands first then applying that onto your hair. Always remember to rinse thoroughly.
To use the conditioner bar we recommend you apply the bar directly onto you hair by swiping mid to ends after shampooing. When you begin to rinse off with the water, you will feel the slip of the conditioner then as you rinse off. Disperse the conditioner by combing through the hair with your fingers. Users that have extremely long or curly thick hair have shared with us they sometimes use a comb to disperse the conditioner evenly. Rinse off thoroughly.
To get the most out of your solid shampoo and conditioner bars, always store in a container that will allow air flow to dry the bars out in between use, away from water. We offer some soap keepers to help with this. (pictured below)
Little big daily soap keepers (small and large) - these are made from re-purposed rimu and pine and are proudly New Zealand made. You can place these soap keepers in your shower on a shelf away from water, or place them on your bathroom windowsill.
Bento Ninja stainless steel soap keeper with drip tray. Fits 2 or 3 bars on them nicely and place in your shower or on your bathroom windowsill.
Block dock holders adhere to your shower wall with a suction cup and holds 1 bar nicely. These are extremely convenient as you can adhere to your shower wall high above any water splashes. These are made from stainless steel and come in a range of cool colours!
We hope this has been helpful! Thank you for considering the switch to shampoo and conditioner bars. These save a mountain of plastic from going into your recycling bin (which does not actually guarantee them being recycled) and the landfill. As a family of 6 we used to go through bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Shampoo that also made my head itchy and oilier faster and conditioner that wasn't as hydrating as I needed. We used around 25 x 1 litre bottles in a year. Imagine how much plastic waste you could save by switching to a shampoo and conditioner bar. Small changes make a difference. It's not about perfection but progress.
For any enquiries on our products we welcome any emails or messages miabellenz@gmail.com or via our Facebook page or contact us via our website.
Catherine x
