The Best Shampoo Bars for 2024 - Earth Friendly Tips

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The Best Shampoo Bars for Your Hair

If you’re working toward a zero waste bathroom, one simple switch you can make is ditching that plastic bottle of shampoo for one of the best shampoo bars.

However, just like liquid shampoos, you’ll find an almost overwhelming variety of shampoo bars out there. So how do you know which one is right for you?

I decided to recruit all of my friends and family with all of their different hair types to help you find out which shampoo bar is right for your hair.

Also, if you’re in a hurry and just need to refresh your hair, don’t forget to take a look at our list of the best eco-friendly dry shampoo. You’ll find plenty of great options that use natural ingredients to clean, lift, and revitalize your hair.

The Benefits of Shampoo Bars

Shampoo bars have a lot of great benefits besides making it easier to reduce your plastic use and helping you cut back on waste.

Take a look at that bottle of liquid shampoo and tell me one of the first few ingredients you see. It’s water, isn’t it? Now take a look at the ingredients in a shampoo bar. Guess what ingredient you don’t see? That’s right. Water.

Since shampoo bars are more concentrated and not diluted with water like liquid shampoo, you don’t have to use as much to clean your hair. This is a great way to save money!

Shampoo bars are also incredibly convenient when traveling because you don’t have to worry about leaks or spills. Plus, shampoo bars tend to be more natural and gentler than liquid shampoo.

Best of all, you’ll notice that many of these shampoo bars come from some of the top zero waste online shops. That means you know you’re making a truly sustainable choice and eliminating all types of excess plastic from your life.

Now that you know some of the benefits of using shampoo bars, you can choose one of these best shampoo bars for your hair type.

1. Best Shampoo Bars for Curly Hair

I have curly hair, so I understand the struggle of finding a shampoo that cleanses but won’t cause too much dryness. This concentrated shampoo bar from Etee is the one that works the best for my hair. It also received rave reviews from friends and family who have fine, straight hair!

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If you’ve tried switching to a shampoo bar before and felt like it left your hair weighed down with residue, you definitely want to try this shampoo bar. It was developed using the same chemistry as liquid shampoo, which means it cleanses and nourishes hair without weighing it down.

It’s also made with 100% plant-based ingredients and has a calming lavender and chamomile scent.

If you decide to get this shampoo bar, don’t forget to pick up one of these soap storage tins. They’re great for protecting your bars from water in the shower and for storing your bars when you’re traveling.

Etee also makes a concentrated conditioner bar that works just as well as the shampoo bar. So you can clean your hair and leave it smooth and nourished without any wasteful plastic!

If you have curly hair, here are some other shampoo bars I used and liked:

2. Best Shampoo Bars for Fine Hair

If you have fine hair, you’ll likely be interested in a shampoo bar that can help add some volume to your hair. That’s why you’ll love this HiBAR Volumizing Shampoo Bar.

The African dates and vitamin B5 help control frizz and add body and fullness to thin and fine hair. Plus, this vegan shampoo bar contains no sulfates, parabens, phthalates, palm oil, or silicone.

When you properly store this shampoo bar, it will last just as long, if not longer, than a 16-ounce bottle of liquid shampoo.

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These other shampoo bars can also help give your fine hair more bounce and volume:

3. Best Shampoo Bars for Dry, Itchy Scalps

Ethique Heali Kiwi – Calming Solid Shampoo Bar for Dry, Itchy, Flaky, and Oily Scalps and Hair – Vegan, Eco-Friendly, Plastic-Free, Cruelty-Free, 3.88 oz (Pack of 1)

You don’t have to suffer with a dry and itchy scalp when you use one of these top shampoo bars. The best shampoo bar for dandruff is this Heali Kiwi shampoo bar.

This vegan and cruelty-free shampoo bar is packed with ingredients known to help combat itchy scalps, including oatmeal, neem oil, kiwifruit oil, coconut oil, and karanja oil.

If you decide to get the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar, don’t forget to pick up an in-shower storage container for it. These storage containers are designed to fit this size shampoo bar.

Not only are the storage containers incredibly convenient for traveling, but they also help keep your shampoo bar dry in the shower, which will extend the life of your bar.

Other good shampoo bars to help fight dry and itchy scalps include:

4. Best Shampoo Bars for Oily Hair

If your hair tends to be oily, you need something that can gently cleanse without making your hair too dry. That’s why you should choose the Suds & Co. Lotus Shampoo Bar.

This all-natural shampoo bar uses biodegradable cleansing agents to deeply clean your hair and scalp while remaining gentle on your skin. Best of all, this vegan and cruelty-free soap isn’t tested on animals and is completely free of palm oil.

It also doesn’t contain any SLS, silicones, parabens, fragrance, or artificial colors. Each bar is equivalent to 3 shampoo bottles and should last you at least 75+ washes.

In addition to the Lotus Shampoo Bar, Suds & Co. has a variety of other options for curly hair, dry hair, gray hair, sensitive scalps, and all hair types. All shampoo bars are available with a convenient subscription service so you never have to worry about running out!

If you have oily hair, you can also try these top-rated options:

5. Best Shampoo Bars for Dry Hair

Help soothe and moisturize dry hair by using this HiBAR Moisturizing Shampoo Bar. It uses coconut oil and rice protein to correct moisture deficiencies, improve manageability, hydrate, and nourish your hair.

This vegan shampoo isn’t tested on animals and doesn’t contain any palm oil, sulfates, phthalates, parabens, or silicone.

You can also consider one of these good options to help clean your dry hair:

6. Best Shampoo Bars for Color-Treated Hair

Even if you have color-treated hair, you can find one of the best shampoo bars to suit your needs. The HiBAR Maintain Shampoo Bar uses shea butter and honeyquat to gently remove product buildup from your hair while protecting your color.

The vegan shampoo bar isn’t tested on animals and is 100% safe for cleaning and refreshing color-treated hair. It also doesn’t contain any phthalates, sulfates, parabens, palm oil, or silicone.

If you have color-treated hair, these shampoo bars are also good options:

7. Best Shampoo Bars for Hair Loss

Ayurvedic Herb Shampoo Bar from Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve

Ayurvedic herbs have been used for centuries to help prevent hair loss and promote healthy hair. So if you have issues with your hair falling out, this Ayurvedic Herb Shampoo Bar from Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve is a fantastic option.

This shampoo bar contains beneficial Ayurvedic herbs such as shikakai, neem, bhringaraj, tulsi, reetha, and amla that may help strengthen hair, increase bounciness and silkiness, and stimulate hair growth.

Plus, since Chagrin Valley is committed to healthy people, healthy skin and a healthy planet you can rest assured this shampoo is zero waste. It’s packaged in a recyclable box and doesn’t contain any plastic.

Additionally, this shampoo bar doesn’t have any synthetic ingredients, fragrance oils, dyes, sulfates, silicones, or preservatives. Instead, it’s made with biodegradable, certified organic, non-GMO, cruelty-free, sustainably produced, and ethical ingredients.

Here are some other good options to consider if you have thinning hair:

8. Best Shampoo Bars for Kids and Babies

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve baby soap bar

You’re not the only one who can eliminate plastic shampoo bottles and enjoy all of the benefits of a shampoo bar. You can also find some of the best shampoo bars for kids and babies.

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve Company makes a Milk & Honey Baby Soap that can work as both a shampoo and a body wash. It’s so gentle and soothing on sensitive skin that it’s ideal for anyone who suffers from eczema.

Even better, when my son was young and suffered from cradle cap, this shampoo immediately cleared it up and it has never come back.

Oaty Delicious is another mild shampoo bar that’s good for babies, kids, or anyone else with sensitive skin.

Another Zero Waste Option

Are you not ready to try a shampoo bar, but you still want to reduce your waste? You have another option: refillable shampoo!

You might think refillable shampoo is only available if you have a local zero waste shop, but you can actually purchase it online. This refillable vegan shampoo comes in a 16-ounce aluminum bottle.

When you order it for the first time, choose the option that includes the pump. When you’re ready to order more, select the refill option and you’ll get a bottle without a pump. The company then has a form you can fill out to receive a shipping label to send your original bottle back to be reused.

Choosing the Best Shampoo Bars

If you’re searching for a great alternative to that plastic shampoo bottle, a shampoo bar is the perfect option. Thanks to this helpful guide, you now know the best shampoo bars to suit the needs of your hair.

More Eco-Friendly Living Tips

Now that you know the best shampoo bars for your hair, are you ready to make even more simple swaps for natural and zero waste personal care? Then be sure to check out some of our other popular posts: