There is a ton of content on the topic of using natural soap as a shampoo. We've done our best below to give you straightforward information & tips to make your transition to our HYPERLOCAL Hair & Body Bar as painless as possible. But since everyone's hair (and water!) is different, you may need to experiment. We hope you'll stick with it; if you can make the transition, you're significantly reducing your exposure to the synthetic ingredients found in many bottled shampoos, and you're reducing your plastic use. It's a win-win!

What to Expect

Conventional bottled shampoos often contain many of the ingredients named in David Suzuki's Dirty Dozen list of 12 common cosmetic ingredients to avoid. While our Hair & Body Bars produce enough lather to get the job done, we don't use synthetic "Dirty Dozen" foaming agents like sodium laureth sulfate or its derivatives, so you may find that our lather isn't as thick & fluffy as synthetic shampoos. And since our natural Hair & Body Bars won't strip the natural oils from your hair, you might also find that you don't need the conditioners your hair used to need to replace the natural oils stripped by synthetic shampoos.

As your scalp returns to being its own naturally amazing self - without the added waxes, synthetic additives or silicone found in many bottled shampoos - different things can happen.

• If your hair feels dry & straw-like after washing, try this simple after-wash rinse. You can rinse the rinse out right away or try letting it soak in for a few minutes before rinsing. Or you can try your usual conditioner and see how that feels.
• If your hair feels greasy after washing, try a more diluted version of the after-wash rinse or skip the rinse all together.
• If your hair feels like there's a buildup or waxiness after washing, you may have hard water. Hard water can have an impact on how your natural Hair & Body Bar behaves because the calcium and magnesium in hard water react with the soap. This can leave behind a soap film, which can be difficult to rinse cleanly. If you have hard water, you could try using a baking soda cleanse periodically to help reduce any waxy buildup.

Some feel that vinegar rinses can be drying if used more than a couple of times per week; you'll have to see what works for you. And you might feel like it's not working, but hang in there. Once your hair and scalp have adjusted to this new natural cleansing routine, you probably won't need to use conditioner or anything else. Anytime your hair feels dry or oily, just redo the rinse or cleanse.

My Transition to Natural Shampoo

We use nothing but our own HYPERLOCAL Hair & Body Bars in our house! Here's my own experience making the transition from bottled shampoo.

My Hair

I have untreated hair that is short & baby fine, and doesn't have much body.

My Water

We have a water softener, so I wash my hair with softened water at home. I timed the transition to happen while I was at the cabin for a week, just in case I had a struggle; there we use rainwater for the shower.

My Experience

When I first made the transition to our Hair & Body Bar, my hair felt dry like straw after the first wash. So I whipped up a batch of Smoothing After-Wash Rinse using apple cider vinegar and started using that after each wash. After about five washes, my hair started feeling a bit greasy, so I stopped using the vinegar rinse. I also stopped using conditioner, and my usual styling wax no longer worked with my hair. It's been a few years now since I made the switch, and I love how my hair looks & feels - without the chemicals!

Recipes

Smoothing After-Wash Rinse

• 2 to 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• about 1 cup water from the shower head

Measure the vinegar or lemon juice into a cup you can take into the shower; I use plastic simply because glass in the bath/shower isn't always a great idea.

In the shower, after you've washed & rinsed your hair, add warm water to the rinse cup and swirl to combine. Pour the rinse on your hair and massage your scalp; avoid getting the rinse in your eyes. If you have long hair, you can dip your hair into the cup before pouring its contents over your head.

Rinse your hair and dry & style as usual. Be aware that many styling products are formulated to work with the waxes & silicones left behind by bottled shampoos & conditioners, so they may behave differently on your new, naturally clean hair!