Solid shampoo - have you tried ?

mcem, have you tried Lush recently? I used to be the same as you but I think they have realised how off-putting the smell was so it is no longer the same. They have the air filtered.

I have used Lush bar shampoo for a while now but when I tried a Neem product from Funky Soap Shop, I just couldn't get on with it. Right now I am going through all the unfinished shampoo bottles before returning to Lush.

In 1972 when travelling in Southeast Asia I bought a detergent bar to wash clothes. I have still got it and use it for every hand wash. Very effective, ultra cheap, no plastic ever involved and space saving.

Looking on the internet I see such bars are available still and even bars for washing up which I must try. Definitely going to try Lush shampoo bar. Thank you for this post

Interesting - I shall look out for solid bar shampoos. I have used bar soap now for several years due to nagging from a VERY green friend; it is lovely and has no SLS, made entirely from vegetable ingredients. I buy about 24 bars at a time and stack them in the airing cupboard - one bar lasts far longer than a bottle of shower gel.

I've started using a solid shampoo bar from Lush - again it's a bit expensive but works very well. I'm not sure how many plastic bottles it'll save for myself but it all adds up, I expect.

As for the slivers of soap debate ...I never end up with any of those as I press the wafer thin almost used bar into the new one, turn it upside down in the soap dish so the new bar is pressing down, and by the next day it is firmly welded. (Just as my Mother did).

I always use bars of either Palmolive original, Imperial Leather original or occasionally, Dove.
I got rid of the huge selection of shampoos and conditioners I had and replaced with 1 x 500ml L'Oreal shampoo and use a cream pre-conditioner the night before my weekly hair wash.
I buy loose veg and take a small Primark paper carrier to put them in and always wash and recycle aluminium foil, glass and plastic and paper taking all labels off jars and detergent bottles.
Can do no more.

Just to add another suggestion - I’ve been using an EcoEgg instead of washing machine tablets/gel/liquid and it is brilliant. It washes everything clean with no froth and comes with several bags of little pebbles to refill it with. Waitrose have just started to stock it and Lakeland have done so for years.

Will look this up

Always used to use bar soap in the bath/shower but found it was blocking the drain as I think it re- solidifies when it gets cold, much like fat. Had to go over to shower gel.

Where else can you get it besides Lush?
I really can't stand the overpowering stink of those shops! Our local branch contaminates the air for quite a way beyond the shop.
And do you need a separate conditioner? I can't do without conditioner (I use an all in one) since my hair is very fine and flyaway.

Dh and I still use bar soap, have never really used shower gel.
We still have a huge stash of natural olive oil soap. A BiL who was in Marseilles at the time found a traditional olive oil soap factory that was about to be closed down. ?. He bought up a couple of huge blocks (weighed a ton!) which we cut up and are gradually using up. It's a sludgy green colour but is a lovely gentle soap. I've used it for hand washing some delicate items, too, when I've run out of delicate wash.

Ps Dove bars are particularly bad for blocking the drains as they are so soft

Holland & Barrett do solid shampoos, though I haven't tried them. There's a H&B on many high streets so it's a bit more accessible than Lush.

I have never used soap in a bottle - always use Dove block soap. However, as for block shampoo I’m just not sure. It takes me ages to find a shampoo that suits my hair and my various allergies, that I think this would be a step too far.

I have just come back from may monthly visit fro the Green Shop and refilled my glass bottle with liquid soap, an old body wash container (plastic) with body wash and refilled my oil bottle and vinegar. Mike my own cleaner stuff for work tops with bicarb, lemon, vinegar and water. Works a treat. Recycle everything we can, make paper bricks for the fire and keep a compost bin. Thats my bit for the planet.

Has anyone tried the purple daddy ‘o’ shampoo bar from lush? Did it get rid of brassy tones please?

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I make my own soap and when giving as a gift I include a hand crocheted soap sock.

This doubles up as a washcloth/flannel with the soap inside and is also useful for holding the the ends of soap bars that accumulate therefore no waste.

SueDonin I tried Holland & Barrett in Harrow and they didn't have any. I might try it again next time I am near. I can't remember when I last looked.

Mcem I agree. The aroma in those shops is overpowering!

I collect up all the little pieces of soap, grate them into a bowl, add warm water and stir to make a thick jelly. Add a few drops of essential oil to smell nice and I keep a bowl by the wash hand basin.

Lush shampoo bars do contain SLS. Probably why they lather well.
Not for me, just walking past the shop nearly chokes me.
Smells very synthetic.

Best to avoid SLS, I have been told. It's not intrinsically harmful and is there to make lather, but it strips the skin of oil - even a lot of baby stuff has SLS, and some prescription creams for dry skin contain it too! Seems quite mad - it is very hard to find anything without SLS in the ingredient list.

I like the Friendly Soap Lavender Geranium shampoo bar. It's vegan, cruelty free, no parabens or palm oil etc. Not expensive either.

If bars of soap were so great why did we ever change to the liquid form in plastic bottles?

Sounds a good idea, but we cannot get solid shampoo here in Denmark, or across the border in Germany, as far as I know.

I had never even heard of it, I hope it turns up in our shops soon.

Don't buy Dove products! They contain palm oil which is a threat to the existence of orang utans!