Which Natural Shampoo Bar Should I Use and How Do I Use It?

Ah, don't you just love Moira Rose? We do too.

SO many customers ask us "which shampoo bar should I use?"

If you are already using one of our natural shampoo bars, THANK YOU! Your choice to stop using plastic bottle packaged synthetic detergents on your hair makes these soap ladies really happy! If you haven't yet made the switch, let us help you determine which bar is right for you.

First off, all shampoo bars are not created equal. Let us say that again....ALL SHAMPOO BARS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. There is a very popular brand out there that heavily markets it's "packaging-free" shampoo bars, and many of you have tried them (to include us at one point). We will start by congratulating you on choosing to ditch the plastic bottles!!! Yay earth! If you are wanting to take things a step further and switch to a detergent-free, handmade, natural shampoo bar we are here to help!

GOOSE RIDGE SOAPS NATURAL DETERGENT-FREE SHAMPOO BARS

contain NO synthetic detergents, fragrances, colorants, or any other synthetic ingredient. They are cold-process soaps that have been carefully formulated for your hair and scalp. These are not formulated the same as our body or facial soaps and we don't recommend using those on your hair (with the exception of our beard shampoo bar). We choose our shampoo bar ingredients very carefully and have personally used and tested each of them, well, not the beard shampoo. So we feel pretty confident that we can tell you which of our products will work best for you.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

When choosing a natural shampoo bar, you need to consider a variety of things:

1. What products are you currently using on your hair?
2. Do you have your hair chemically processed (permed, colored, etc)?
3. Do you shampoo every day (dry shampoos don't count) and do you WANT to continue to shampoo every day?
4. What is the thickness of your individual hair strands and how long is it?
5. Is your scalp dry, itchy, oily, none of those?

LET'S ADDRESS EACH QUESTION:

1. Current hair care products. Your current regimen will drastically affect your choice in natural shampoo bars. If you are using a store-bought shampoo, a conditioner, a leave-in conditioner/oil, an anti-frizz serum, styling products, etc... you are putting a lot of stuff on your hair and scalp that can build up and leave you feeling greasy, oily, and itchy. It can also cause you to experience flakiness or extreme oiliness in between shampoos. Keep that in mind when considering your "hair type". Is your hair really oily or are the products you are using causing excessive oil production to make up for the stripping of natural oils that all those products may be causing. Or is your detergent shampoo and styling product that contains alcohol drying your hair out, leading you to believe that you need extra conditioners and serums to provide moisture?
2. Chemically processed hair. We are not telling you to stop coloring or perming your hair. BUT, it absolutely changes the texture of your hair. ALL of our natural shampoo bars are safe for chemically processed hair. Since we use no synthetic detergents, foaming agents, or alcohol in our bars, there is nothing in there that will strip your color. We get asked that a lot. Your stylist may tell you that you NEED to use a color-preserving shampoo or conditioner on your hair, but ask yourself this...."is the product they are telling me I need sitting on their shelf for sale?" Makes you wonder if you really do need that special thing for $60+ a plastic bottle.
3. Shampooing every day. Dry shampoos don't count here. They are just oil-absorbing powders that allow you to go longer between washings. If you shampoo every day, you can still do that with any of our bars, although you may find you don't need to. Many people find that they only need to shampoo once or twice a week when they use a natural shampoo bar.
4. Hair thickness and length. Consider the individual strands of hair, not the overall. Is each strand coarse, fine, curly, wavy, straight (naturally)? Is it long, short or medium length? If you have a LOT of hair but the individual strands are fine, then you have fine hair. If the individual strands are coarse then you have thick hair. If your hair is straight, oil can travel down the shaft of the hair to the ends rather easily, same if it is pretty short. With curly hair, scalp oils don't travel down the hair shaft as fast, leaving the ends feeling dry. When you use a shampoo bar, you will only be working it into your scalp and then letting it rinse through the length of your hair. So consider your scalp needs when choosing a bar.
5. Scalp needs. Consider how your scalp feels during BOTH the summer and winter months. In summer, there is more moisture in the air, and you may choose to use a different shampoo bar than you would in the winter when the air is dry. Our shampoo bars can be rotated based on your needs very easily. Both soap ladies change up their shampoo bars between summer and winter and you can too. If you have flaky itchy scalp, or very oily scalp, the first thing to ask is if it is due to your current products or the current season. You may find that after making the switch to a natural shampoo bar, your scalp issue resolves itself.

THE GOOSE RIDGE SOAPS NATURAL SHAMPOO BAR LINEUP

DAILY CLEANSE BAR

(formerly the Beer Cleanse Bar)

Good for all hair types or daily use. It contains marshmallow root to help with tangles, whole egg powder for added protein, and a variety of oils and butters to keep your hair and scalp nourished. We like this one for people with short hair who tend to feel the need to shampoo every day, although it can be used for most hair types.

SCALP DETOXIFYING BAR

Good for all hair types, especially thick/coarse hair. It contains mineral-rich rhassoul clay which helps remove toxins from the scalp and leaves hair shiny and soft.

ROSEMARY MINT BAR

Good for most hair types, but works best on oily hair. Not recommended for dry hair. This bar is almost identical in formulation to the Scalp Detoxifying Bar, but does not contain rhassoul clay. Rosemary and mint essential oils are invigorating and help promote scalp health and hair growth.

WHEATGERM OIL, MILK, AND HONEY BAR

Best for dry or chemically processed hair of any length. This bar is formulated with whole cows milk, raw honey, and wheatgerm oil. This is by far our most moisturizing shampoo bar. It also contains rosemary essential oil to invigorate and stimulate the scalp.

We even have a shampoo bar for your dog! Check out our DOG POO!

HOW TO USE A SHAMPOO BAR

Method 1 (our preferred method)

• thoroughly wet hair and scalp
• wet shampoo bar and "comb" the bar across scalp, lifting the back of hair to get underneath (no need to apply bar to hair ends)
• use fingers to work up a lather on the scalp and work lather down to ends if desired
• thoroughly rinse hair

Method 2 (we find this doesn't produce as much lather as method 1)

• thoroughly wet hair and scalp
• wet shampoo bar and work into a lather in hands or on washcloth
• work lather onto scalp and massage
• rinse thoroughly

If you are just starting to transition to a natural shampoo bar, you may find that your hair feels waxy, or weird at first. You may also experience some flakiness as build up from synthetic ingredients comes off your scalp. Don't freak out, those things are normal and should subside. We will tell you that the more products you used in your hair, the longer the transition period MAY be. You can use a DIY build up remover 1-2 times per week for the first couple weeks to aid in the transition (click HERE for some recipes). We do not recommend using these rinses more often than that, and only 1-2 times per MONTH after the initial transition.

As always, if you have any questions about our products, or need a little "tech support" while making the switch to one of our natural shampoo bars, please don't hesitate to contact us at GooseRidgeSoaps@gmail.com or post your question/comment below!