I'd like to wash my hair with bar soap. And still afford avocado.

March 4, 2018 6:55 PM

We're trying to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives and a huge regular intruder are shampoo and conditioner bottles. I have bought specialist bar shampoos but I live with two hairy children who do unspeakable things like wash their toys and feet with $15 bars of shampoo soap. I'd like to explore using a common hand soap available in a supermarket with a follow up of cider vinegar or something. (Maybe. I don't know. Do I?)

There is a whole lot of advice out there and I don't have the head space to synthesise it all. Any suggestions as to what to use or what to avoid that can be found in your average supermarket? I'm in Australia so we have all the international brands and our own stuff too. I'm happy enough to look up ingredients to make sure the soap does or does not have it. My motivation is anti-plastic. My parameters are cheap and reasonably readily available. (I'm also bloody lazy.) Is this a unicorn?

posted by taff to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (25 answers total)

I had this issue, but I just went to local coop-natural-food-style shop and used their bulk refillable bottles to get shampoo. I just kept bringing the same bottles back to get refilled. This in the US - does Australia have something similar?
posted by Toddles at 7:04 PM on March 4, 2018 [16 favorites]

Why not just buy actual shampoo in bulk? In the US at least, slightly more hippy dippy places sometimes have BYO container bulk liquids, I've seen Zum soap products and I think Dr. Bronners available. You could also get Costco size bottles of shampoo and use them to refill human scale containers.
posted by yeahlikethat at 7:05 PM on March 4, 2018 [4 favorites]

I have bought specialist bar shampoos but I live with two hairy children who do unspeakable things like wash their toys and feet with $15 bars of shampoo soap.

Why not keep the expensive shampoo soap in some secure location, and dole out to the children only the small amount needed for each hair wash?
posted by Snarl Furillo at 7:16 PM on March 4, 2018 [10 favorites]

I haven't used shampoo or conditioner at all in over five years. Possibly close to ten. I'm a male with medium length hair (long, but no where close enough to put in a ponytail or anything like that). The first few weeks were tough, with it looking oily. I used baking soda and apple cider vinegar a few times. Since then I've gone water only. It looks better than it ever did when using all-in-ones or shampoo and conditioner. I've never had a barber or co-worker or romantic partner complain about a smell or anything. Since I've stopped taking hot showers and now take warm and cold showers I no longer have any dandruff. I rinse my hair with water pretty much every time I take a shower.

There is a fairly exhaustive subreddit about no and low shampoo living called NoPoo. It doesn't get many posts but the sidebar is full of good links. The term "NoPoo" for going no/low shampoo predates the subreddit.

Here is a link from their sidebar about a woman with long hair going water only, so it is possible for long haired people as well as short haired people to do it and have good results.

How's that for lazy and anti-plastic!?!? No shampoo at all!
posted by GregorWill at 7:22 PM on March 4, 2018 [6 favorites]

I've used dilute baking soda followed by dilute apple cider vinegar as a shampoo for years. I don't use conditioner, my hair is clean and my hair is not stripped by chemicals like shampoos do no need for them.
posted by diode at 7:22 PM on March 4, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yeah, I fixed this issue by having travel sized plastic (sorry) so the kid didn't use it all.
posted by k8t at 7:24 PM on March 4, 2018

For the past 3 years, I've only been using Baking Soda rinses to wash, and ACV rinses to rinse. My hair has never been lighter, cleaner, and more vibrant!

I got these ratios from doing a lot of research:

2 Tbsp Baking soda to 2 Cups water - for the wash

2 Tbsp ACV to 4 Cups water - for the rinse.

These give a balanced formula for acid/base or pH to be neutralized.
posted by itsflyable at 7:43 PM on March 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

... oh, and to follow up, I put them in two different sized glass jars with rubber ringed lids that snap on.

... and I buy avocados by the package of 5 regularly! Mmm...
posted by itsflyable at 7:45 PM on March 4, 2018

Mod note: Folks, the no-poo thing has been covered - let's bring this back to other options.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 7:55 PM on March 4, 2018 [6 favorites]

I can't exactly answer your question directly but I can tell you that i once tried using Ivory bar soap on my hair. The result was unpleasant and thick with scum. I haven't experimented with other bar soaps except for a lovely round (expensive) pine-scented bar from LUSH which was delightful.

You could consider DIY - here's one of several recipes that popped up in a quick search.
posted by bunderful at 7:56 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Let the kids use a bar of Dr Bronner's soap. It can be used on body and hair. Looks like it's about $8 in Australia.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 8:05 PM on March 4, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yeah when I was a riotgrrl teen I used to wash my hair with Dial or whatever bars of soap were lying around and it was... not nice.

But obviously I applaud this effort. If you want to keep normal shampoo in your life, I would also buy a gallon of shampoo and decant into used bottles. That should last a good long time.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:30 PM on March 4, 2018

Generally speaking, bar soap is going to leave a residue (basically the same "soap scum" that shoes up in the bathtub) on your hair, so while it's not the worst thing in the world, you probably won't be happy with the result in the long run. Soap has a higher pH than the detergents in regular shampoo, so it doesn't get rinsed away thoroughly unless your water is super soft--you can also feel this on your skin when you have that "squeaky clean" feeling after using a bar soap like Dial in the shower.

I like the bulk refillable ideas shared above, but if you're set on using bar soap (even Dr. Bronner's, which would be my pick as it's cheap, has simple ingredients, and has a lot of pleasant scents), you should follow up with an acidic rinse, like diluted ACV. This will cut through the soap scum and get rid of the tangles, but your hair will probably still end up on the dry side as bar soap doesn't have any of the conditioning agents you would get in regular shampoo and conditioner.
posted by assenav at 8:46 PM on March 4, 2018

Dr. Bronner's bar soap is the answer. It gets your hair and body clean, but don't believe their claims of "satisfying lather." It does not have that. If you want that "squeaky clean" feeling you get from temporarily stripping all the oils from your skin and hair using foaming detergents, use a loofah.
posted by xyzzy at 10:10 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Not exactly what you asked, but if you don't find good alternatives

(a) try dropping conditioner altogether for a while - you might find it unnecessary. (And if not give the two-in-one shampoo/conditioners a try.)

(b) you don't say how frequently you wash your hair, but you could experiment with gradually reducing the frequency. You might find that once a week is fine.

That, combined with bulk purchase if possible, could reduce your usage pretty significantly.
posted by trig at 10:39 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

It's possible you'll find something! We make our own soap and shampoo bars, and I've become picky about soap. I'd be hard pressed to find something in the supermarket. I look for short ingredient lists. Something unscented, maybe something marketed as "castile," one with the fewest petrochemicals. You'll have to weed through a lot of looooooong ingredient lists, in multiple stores, but you could uncover a gem in the mix.

If you can't find something...maybe you could hire someone (e.g. on etsy) to make a batch of soap from the least expensive oil in your region. You'll be stocked up!

Although, if I were you...before the (not-super-likely-to-be-fun-or-successful) hunt for a cheap soap that works well on hair...I'd take a knife to the shampoo bar, cut it in half length-wise, and then cut butter tabs of soap for 1-2 time doses. And then get a nice, big, cheap, fun-smelling bar for the toys and between the toes.
posted by hannahelastic at 11:34 PM on March 4, 2018 [2 favorites]

Another delivery method to consider with the Dr Bronner’s, since it’s concentrated and must be diluted anyway, is a refillable foam pump dispenser.
posted by AnOrigamiLife at 12:41 AM on March 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I used LUSH bar soap - the regular body kind - and it was great. I rinsed with diluted apple cider vinegar sometimes, and squeezed in a drop of coconut oil after. I also really liked this coffee scented bar soap I got at the IGA. I don’t remember the brand (community co op something?) and they only had two scents, but it was great (better than the lush bars, but they also vary by what’s in them).
posted by jrobin276 at 12:51 AM on March 5, 2018

Dr. Bronner’s bar and liquid leaves soap scum in my hair. I wouldn’t reccommend it, but maybe it will work for you.

I used “J.R Ligget’s Old Fashioned Shampoo Bar” and it usually costs about $5, though I’m seeing it on Amazon for $7. I don’t know how much it would be to get it to Australia!
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:39 AM on March 5, 2018

Are you near any branches of Lush? I use their round shampoo bars mentioned above and their Jungle solid conditioner, and they’re pretty great on my (short, fine) hair. Not wildly expensive in the UK (although pricier than, say, a bar of Dove), but they do have SLS in them, if that’s an issue for you.
posted by cardinalandcrow at 7:33 AM on March 5, 2018

I love bar soaps and use this one weird trick to extend the life of the bar: take one of those plastic net webs for vegetables and slip the bar inside, and use a shower hook to suspend the soap. The bar stays dry between uses, and it lathers beautifully through the net if you use a natural bristle brush or washcloth over the surface of the net.
posted by effluvia at 7:35 AM on March 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Consider a different detergent than shampoo, rather than soap. Shampoo is just a mild detergent with added fragrance and emollients and colour.

Dish washing liquid or a mild detergent formulated for washing baby clothing or wool work very well on hair. Some of these products come in powder form in a cardboard box. Make up the detergent in a glass jar before you want to use it to ensure it is fully dissolved and convenient. Be aware that this will not be a no-tears product - but then neither are a lot of the shampoos on the market. I would use anything like this before going with soap because of how very basic soap is - too much like trying to wash my hair with bleach. It's going to damage the hair.

In lieu of conditioner, oil your hair with any nice, not nasty smelling cooking oil before washing it with the detergent. You should be able to tell by the feel that you have removed enough of the oil. To increase conditioning leave it in longer rather than adding more oil. This was much better for my long thin hair than any conditioner I have ever purchased. Again, put it in a glass jar ready and have it in the shower with you. The difference with oil instead of conditioner is that you put it in your hair before, rather than after washing.

If you do go with a soap or any other basic product it will encourage mineral build up in your hair which will make it stiffer and coarser and more fragile. I suggest rinsing your hair with water to which you have added a little vinegar to counter this.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:56 AM on March 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

This stuff is great. You can buy it in half-gallons and it has a pump.
posted by ApathyGirl at 11:15 AM on March 5, 2018

I've been using the shampoo bar from The Soap Works for years. They're based in Toronto, Canada, and their unpackaged soap bars sell for only CDN $1.99! (Kinda hard to find though, as many stores would rather sell you a comparable bar from a bigger company—wrapped in plastic!—for $4.99...)

As you're in Australia, maybe you could do a bulk purchase by mail, or apply pressure on a local chain to import the line (check out all their other great soaps at the link; I'm also a big fan of their laundry bar!).
posted by tenderly at 3:15 PM on March 5, 2018

Rinsing with diluted apple cider vinegar or lemon juice after shampooing will make hair soft and shiny. The smell disappears once the hair is dry. Vinegar gives red highlights, lemon juice gives blond highlights.

Years ago when my family swam frequently in chlorinated water, the instructor recommended Mane 'N' Tail shampoo and conditioner. We purchased it in the pet care section of Wal-Mart at that time, but it is also available in the regular hair care aisle. Large bottles last a long time, and do not require a handful of product per application. The conditioner is applied to damp hair and left on to dry, so less time is spent in the shower.
posted by TrishaU at 3:55 PM on March 5, 2018