The Shampoo Bar - Bubble Bubble, No Toil, No Trouble

By Guest Blogger Anita Grant of AnitaGrant.com.

WHAT ON EARTH IS A SHAMPOO BAR? Well, it is exactly the same as your normal liquid shampoo. The difference, other than the fact that it’s solid, is the fact that the bars are created using only the gentlest and completely natural ingredients, that your hair will absolutely love.

Unlike typical shampoos, bars of shampoo won’t strip your hair of all of its natural oils, and contain none of the following ingredients:

·         Artificial perfumes

·         Artificial colours

·         Vegetable glycerine

·         Animal fats

·         Alcohol

·         Urea

·         Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)

·         Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)

·         Phthalate

·         DEA

·         Petroleum-based detergents

·         And certainly no impure nasties.

Nope, instead they are full of lovely hair and scalp-friendly ingredients, which Vegans will love more than their hair, if that’s possible!

UP IN A LATHER A lot of people think that because shampoo bars are natural, and solid, that must mean that they won’t be able to lather up in the same way as a normal liquid shampoo, but this is actually not at all true.

The standard shampoo is manufactured by large companies, who remove vital natural ingredients, such as glycerine, and substitute them with inexpensive ingredients such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which both create the lather effect that we are all used to.

Shampoo bars, on the other hand, have been crafted by hand, in small amounts, using natural butters and oils, that have been organically sourced, and absolutely nothing is removed. This includes the glycerine that the larger companies unnecessarily take out. Whilst these companies appear not to realise it, glycerine is a brilliant emollient that helps to moisturise both our curly hair, and our peachy soft skin, without the need for harsh chemicals.

All of the natural ingredients that are found in bars contain fatty acids, which contribute to creating that lather that we all want. Fatty acids consist of:

·         Lauric   

·         Linoleic

·         Linolenic

·         Oleic

·         Palmitic

·         Myristic       

·         Ricinoleic

·         Stearic

For a conditioning effect, Ricinoleic, Linoleic, Oleic and Linolenic are required, whilst for the bar to gain its firm texture, fatty acids such as Myristic, Stearic, Lauric and Palmitic are needed. For a creamy and bubbly lather, Palmitic, Stearic and Ricinoleic are needed, whilst Lauric and Myristic are needed to create a really bubbly, cleansing type of lather.

NO STRIPPING ALLOWED Some of us worry that shampoo bars will strip our hair of the natural oils that it so desperately needs, this is however, not necessarily the case.

Shampoo bars are essentially made up of millions of tiny molecules that are in fact a long chain of something called “Carbon Atoms”. Each end of these chains of atoms serves a different purpose. One end draws water molecules towards it, whilst the other end attracts oils. When these molecules are rubbed together, by you, with water, the water end reacts creating lather.

During rinsing, the oil end will be washed away, taking all the dirt with it. However, the other end will remain, ensuring that sebum is not removed. Shampoos containing too much Lauric and Myristic acids, however, may wash away vital sebum.

Adding these essential fatty acids, then, ensures that shampoo bars cleanse your curly hair effectively, take care of your hair and skin, especially on the scalp, and are most importantly, incredibly gentle. This is thanks to a lack of all harsh chemicals.