Let's get you started!
Hey! Emma here. I am so glad you are giving shampoo bars a try! Switching to solid shampoo bars is a great way to reduce plastic in your home and eliminate toxins from your hair-care routine. The purpose of this page is to explain how to get started with our shampoo bars. While instructions help many of our friends and customers, we also recognize that shampoo bars don't work for everybody and at that point we hope anyone who cannot use them as shampoo bars will love them as extra lathery hand and body soaps!
Step by Step Instructions
Don’t worry, it’s easier than you may think! Do not be intimidated. These instructions are very thorough (we'd rather over-explain than under-explain) but using a solid shampoo bar will become second nature before you know it!
Prep the balancing vinegar rinse ahead of your shower! Though this is completely optional, we highly recommend you try using the vinegar rinse, especially if you are new to shampoo bars. At the very least, please consider using it for your first few washes with a shampoo bar (no, you will not smell like vinegar afterward!). For more info, check out the tab on "Whyyy a vinegar rinse!?" below.
Once your hair is fully wet, start at the hairline and rub our shampoo bar in a small circular motion to build a lather. Continue further and further toward the middle of the scalp, adding water as needed. Your main focus should be to get the scalp and first 2-3 inches of hair completely lathered. For longer hair, rubbing the shampoo bar onto the longer part of your hair is optional, really, but can be skipped if you have enough lather already to work down the hair shaft.
Rinse thoroughly. Your hair at this point may feel “squeaky clean”, and it may not be as easy to run your fingers through your hair if your hair is longer than 5-6 inches. This is not because of any kind of stripping but because shampoo bars by nature have a high pH and that can cause hair cuticles to open and the hair strands to act “clingy”.
Once the lather is fully rinsed out of your hair, it is time to use your prepared vinegar rinse. Remember the “clingy” hair strands? Yep! This helps with that! Your goal is to get the vinegar rinse to the roots of your hair and allow gravity to take it through the rest if you have long hair. Either pour from your cup or use the spray bottle to generously mist the vinegar onto the scalp and down the hair shaft, lifting and parting hair as needed. Allow the rinse to “sit” as you finish your shower and then right before you get out, do a quick 5-10 second scalp rinse with fresh water. You’re all done!
¼ cup vinegar (white or apple cider)
1 cup warm water
3-5 drops pure essential oil (optional)
Combine ingredients into a large cup or clean spray bottle. If you like this rinse, you can make a big batch like our family does. We mark a large spray bottle with a marker, first mark being 1 inch from the bottom and then the second mark 6 inches from the bottom. Voila! You have a vinegar line and a water line. Pour your vinegar in, followed by water, and a 15-25 drops of pure essential oil (optional). See? Easy peasy!
DRY HAIR? Add more water. OILY HAIR? Add more vinegar.
I know, right? It sounds kinda strange. I refused to try it when I first tried shampoo bars… and therefore my shampoo bar journey abruptly ended. I started back up again WITH a vinegar rinse, and I’ve been using shampoo bars ever since! So what does the vinegar rinse do?
Vinegar softens the hair! Shampoo bars by nature have a higher pH (alkalinity), whereas hair prefers a lower pH to stay smooth and manageable. In step 3 we explained how a higher pH causes hair cuticles to open and act clingy. This can definitely lead to a bad hair day! Vinegar by nature has a lower pH (acidity) and therefore balances out the pH of the shampoo, softening and taming the hair strands. No conditioner required!
Vinegar combats build-up! If your water has excess minerals, it can cause the shampoo molecules to cling to the hair when you shampoo, making the hair feel heavy and dull. Kiiiinda like a soap scum effect. Vinegar combats this, allowing the hair to feel light, soft, and manageable.
Vinegar helps with your transition! When switching to shampoo bars many people, if not all, go through a transition period of a few weeks. If your hair is used to more commercial brands that 'strip' the hair of natural oils (even if they are branded natural, they often have the same chemicals), your scalp may overproduce those natural oils to compensate. When you use shampoo bars, they 'encourage' your scalp to calm down and stop overproducing, because they are putting GOOD oils into your hair at a molecular level – not stripping oils away. But, for a few days or weeks you may still have too many oils present, and it can make the hair feel… different. Using a vinegar rinse to balance the pH and soften the hair can make this transition period a MUCH smoother process as it did for us!
If this information has been helpful to you and if you have enjoyed using any of our products, please consider leaving us a rating or review!
We so appreciate your feedback, and most of all we appreciate your support of our small family business. Thank you SO much!
~The Wilson Family
