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| Photo by That Weird Girl Life |
I've been on a quest now to be more eco-friendly and sustainable, thanks to people like my friend Julie, over at Dark Blue Journal, who have opened my eyes to the state of the environment and world today. I'm trying to limit my plastic use and find better, more sustainable alternatives to try to stop the pollution of our earth and its oceans, and one of the first things I decided to try was because of the very product I was using was running low: my shampoo!
After reading Julie’s blog, which prompted me to do my own research, I discovered the world of shampoo bars! Basically shampoo in soap form, they do away with the plastic bottles, usually wrapping them in either paper or sometimes even in reusable jars or canisters, plus, most tend to tout more natural ingredients in their items (no crazy chemical sulfates, which I learned aren’t a great thing!). Though I did learn another thing that came with a more natural, earth-friendly: the price tag!
Oof! I was NOT expecting that! I guess I was just used to my store brand Head and Shoulders shampoo! But after doing a good amount of research, the first shampoo bar I tried was Love Beauty and Planet’s rose shampoo bar, which I loved using (and it was pretty cheap compared to the other ones on the market!). Unfortunately, while I did enjoy the product, I kind of forgot in my excitement to finally be using a shampoo bar and not buying another plastic bottle, I need a shampoo that would help with my dandruff. And sadly, the Love Beauty and Planet one did not. (But I still use it as a soap and it’s lovely!)
So I was back to doing more research, and one brand I kept seeing on so many lists was this company called Ethique. They are a New Zealand based company that uses all natural products in their line (they have shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, and other products- all in bar form!) and are determined to help stop the pollution of the ocean from all of the plastic that’s being produced. I loved their message and the fact that their products come in compostable boxes.
I found that they sold them directly from their site (via New Zealand. Shipping = expensive!), but that they also sold them at Target stores in my state (just not in my city. And they also can’t be delivered to my zip code. What??), and that Amazon sells them (yay!). So I decided to try them via Amazon, despite the pretty pricey- well, price. It was about $16 for one shampoo bar, but it’s supposed to be the equivalent of three bottles of shampoo (at least as far as plastic usage). Compare that to the almost $5 I was spending on my either generic or name brand Head and Shoulders shampoo (times three, of course!) and the price actually isn’t too bad. If it lasts as long as three bottles of shampoo, that is!
So I’m here to unbiasedly (because I bought it with my own money, remember?) review Ethique’s Heali Kiwi shampoo bar for itchy scalps to see how it works, how the bar holds together, and how long the bar lasts, and finally, to see if the product is worth the price. I love the idea of Ethique and their other products, and they sound like a great company to support, especially if you want to start using less plastic, but will the shampoo bar be worth it and would I buy it again? Let’s find out!
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| Photo by That Weird Girl Life |
Just a disclaimer (I know, another one): since I’m trying to wash my hair less, but am out of the habit, I am currently washing my hair every other day (my hair can get very greasy if I don't wash it often enough!). I’m hoping to increase that to every two days, and so on. Obviously in the hopes that it will help my hair and scalp health, but also to prolong the life of the shampoo bar.
(Yet) Another disclaimer: I was honestly planning on waiting to write this review until I had used up the whole bar, but as you will see later on, that might take quite a while! So I decided to post my review now, after three months, which is honestly a lot longer than most reviews I’ve seen about shampoo bars. (Most just post their review after just one wash!)
First Experience and Impressions:
The box and shampoo bar were definitely smaller than I expected! But we all know we can’t judge everything by size! (Get your minds out of the gutter, people) The instructions on the box (which is also compostable! Cool!) say to swipe the bar down on your wet hair four times, and then lather in until it’s foamy, and then rinse out. I made sure to really massage my scalp as I washed my hair (you know, to get rid of the flakage). It honestly felt pretty nice and lather-y while I was washing my hair, and after rinsing, my hair felt clean, and I had a lot less flakes! No feeling of waxiness (which I’ve heard can be a problem with shampoo bars), plus the kiwi scent (which smells great from the shampoo bar) in my hair was almost non-existent (but if I sniffed my dry hair afterwards I could smell the faintest trace of it). I then dried off the bar and it (thankfully) didn’t fall apart and was exactly the same size. I read some complaints on the reviews for this shampoo bar that it fell apart pretty easily, so I made sure after I used it to carefully tap it dry it with a washcloth, let it air dry for a few minutes, and then wrap it up with another dry washcloth, and store it under my bathroom sink to avoid the moisture from the shower. I don’t have a special case for it (though Ethique does sell biodegradable ones!), but this seems to be working so far!
(Yet) Another disclaimer: I was honestly planning on waiting to write this review until I had used up the whole bar, but as you will see later on, that might take quite a while! So I decided to post my review now, after three months, which is honestly a lot longer than most reviews I’ve seen about shampoo bars. (Most just post their review after just one wash!)
First Experience and Impressions:
The box and shampoo bar were definitely smaller than I expected! But we all know we can’t judge everything by size! (Get your minds out of the gutter, people) The instructions on the box (which is also compostable! Cool!) say to swipe the bar down on your wet hair four times, and then lather in until it’s foamy, and then rinse out. I made sure to really massage my scalp as I washed my hair (you know, to get rid of the flakage). It honestly felt pretty nice and lather-y while I was washing my hair, and after rinsing, my hair felt clean, and I had a lot less flakes! No feeling of waxiness (which I’ve heard can be a problem with shampoo bars), plus the kiwi scent (which smells great from the shampoo bar) in my hair was almost non-existent (but if I sniffed my dry hair afterwards I could smell the faintest trace of it). I then dried off the bar and it (thankfully) didn’t fall apart and was exactly the same size. I read some complaints on the reviews for this shampoo bar that it fell apart pretty easily, so I made sure after I used it to carefully tap it dry it with a washcloth, let it air dry for a few minutes, and then wrap it up with another dry washcloth, and store it under my bathroom sink to avoid the moisture from the shower. I don’t have a special case for it (though Ethique does sell biodegradable ones!), but this seems to be working so far!
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| Photo by That Weird Girl Life |
Other Subsequent Washes aka Months 1-3:
Still some flakes after the first shampoo (I mean, I did have a month’s build up, so it’s not like the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar can knock ‘em out in one wash!), but after a few more washes, the dandruff was pretty much gone! Also, thankfully, the shape of the bar hasn’t changed at all (except to get slightly smaller, obviously and I keep to my gently-drying-the-bar-then-using-a-washcloth-to-keep-it-in routine), and my hair feels so fresh and lovely. I honestly look forward to my hair washing days! (And not just because my hair gets greasy if I don’t wash it! Well, that’s partly one of the reasons I look forward to washing my hair) I really like using this shampoo bar and now I’ve added a (non Ethique) hair conditioner to my wash routine as well (just for the lower half of my hair. My greasy roots do NOT need any more moisture!). But here come the big questions that need to be answered:
So… How Does the Ethique Heali Kiwi Shampoo Bar Hold Up And Is It Worth Buying?
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| Photo by That Weird Girl Life |
Yes! I also love that the bar uses natural ingredients to fight dandruff, instead of all of those chemicals doctors have given me in the forms of potions and lotions (which I have needed at times when my psoriasis was bad, but no one wants to willingly use tar shampoo! That smell...). As I mentioned above, after the first few washes, my dandruff was still there, but as I used the shampoo bar more and more, my dandruff disappeared! It seems to work on keeping it away, since I can go about two days without washing my hair (you know, until it gets super oily again) and I will rarely find a flake between those days!
Does the bar hold together?
For me, it totally did! The bar is small (about 2 ¼ inches in length on each four sides, so basically a perfect square, and is about 1 ¼ inches thick) but has kept its shape and hasn’t gotten too much smaller, and I think it’s because of me being extra diligent in keeping it as dry as possible between washes. Like I mentioned before, people online have complained about it disintegrating, but I think that’s because it has oatmeal in it, which of course, is famous for being an anti-itching remedy for chicken pox in the form of oatmeal baths. Obviously if you’ve ever had a bowl of oatmeal before, you know that oats get mushy, so that makes sense that some people might have issues with this bar and keeping it solid. But for me, my bar was fine and my air dry/small towel technique seems to have worked in keeping it from falling apart! (The corner of one part did get slightly smooshed when I put it against something under the bathroom counter when it wasn’t quite dry, but it was only a little dent!)
How long does the bar last?
So far, I’ve been using this bar for about three months, starting with using it every other day for the first month and then to every two days in months two and three. (Listen, my hair is very, very oily, and if I go without washing my hair for more than two days, I look like a 1950’s greaser guy, but gross and with much longer hair. I'd love to wash my hair less, but what can you do?) Right now the bar is only slightly smaller, measuring in at 2 inches in length on all four sides and and the bar is now just over an inch thick. So really only slightly smaller despite my frequent use! It’s still square in shape, only now it has an inverted dented dome at the top from where I swipe it down my hair when I use it! I’m hoping since it’s lasted three months and has only gone down in size just a smidge, it’ll at least last me a year! (Fingers crossed, knock on wood!)
Is the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar worth the price?
Overall, I really love this shampoo bar! I feel like it’s helped control my flakage, and I really do love the smell. It smells like real kiwis, not an artificial or strong smell, but very pleasant and fruity. You can barely smell it on your hair after you wash and dry it, but I don’t mind, honestly. My hair looks and smells clean!
So far, I’ve been using this bar for about three months, starting with using it every other day for the first month and then to every two days in months two and three. (Listen, my hair is very, very oily, and if I go without washing my hair for more than two days, I look like a 1950’s greaser guy, but gross and with much longer hair. I'd love to wash my hair less, but what can you do?) Right now the bar is only slightly smaller, measuring in at 2 inches in length on all four sides and and the bar is now just over an inch thick. So really only slightly smaller despite my frequent use! It’s still square in shape, only now it has an inverted dented dome at the top from where I swipe it down my hair when I use it! I’m hoping since it’s lasted three months and has only gone down in size just a smidge, it’ll at least last me a year! (Fingers crossed, knock on wood!)
Is the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar worth the price?
Overall, I really love this shampoo bar! I feel like it’s helped control my flakage, and I really do love the smell. It smells like real kiwis, not an artificial or strong smell, but very pleasant and fruity. You can barely smell it on your hair after you wash and dry it, but I don’t mind, honestly. My hair looks and smells clean!
I love that Ethique is filled with natural ingredients (though there is some controversy over a natural sulfate used in their shampoo bars) and is dedicated to cutting down on plastic use and waste. So for me, it makes me feel better that I’m not buying shampoo in a plastic bottle that will probably not be recycled, even though I always try to recycle my plastic items (if the plastic can even be recycled, that is!). Plus, it makes my bathroom look less cluttered without all of the plastic bottles hanging around the shower!
Really, my only issue with Ethique is the price! I get that natural ingredients will be more expensive than chemical and artificial ones, and these are being made and shipped from New Zealand, but yeesh! Maybe I’m just used to buying cheap, generic shampoo and will have to get used to buying more expensive, but natural and eco-friendly items that last longer. If they could lower their prices a tiny bit, or have sample sizes of their products available in America (they have sample size packs of shampoos/conditioners, face washes, etc. But they are about the same price as one Ethique shampoo bar!), I think I would definitely want to recommend them more to people, as the price wouldn’t be so intimidating to people! (It certainly took me by surprise when I first saw it!) But to me, if this shampoo bar lasts a year or more, it’s worth the high price because it’s eco-friendly and sustainable and I get flake-free hair!
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| Photo by That Weird Girl Life |
All in all, I’m really impressed with Ethique and the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar! My hair feels great, my flakes are at a minimum, and the bar is holding up! I don’t know if it will last as long as three bottles of shampoo, but I like the fact that I’m not using plastic and this is better for me and the environment. But the bar itself is certainly still big and I hope I can get a lot more washes out of it! I’d love to try more Ethique products, such as their hair conditioners (would be interesting to see how it goes with the Heali Kiwi bar!) and the deodorant (I’m still on the lookout for a good, natural deodorant that actually works in the desert heat!).
Would I recommend this to people with itchy and flaky scalps? If you have the money, I would say go for it! I’m sure there are other, possibly cheaper shampoo bar alternatives for dandruff-prone hair, but this bar came with such good reviews, that I really wanted to try it out and so I splurged (plus I had an Amazon gift card, so that helped with the price!).
If you want to give the bar a try, you can find it over on Amazon or by clicking on this link to buy it:
Very Special Link: Buy the Ethique Heali Kiwi Shampoo Bar on Amazon
And that was my (long-winded) review of Ethique’s Heali Kiwi Shampoo bar! I have to say, I actually really like this shampoo bar! I’ll definitely buy it again (with the help of an Amazon gift card). Have you used any eco-friendly/sustainable shampoo bars or conditioners? What brands did you try (any Ethique) and did they work for you? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear some brand suggestions and stories! Also, should I do an update on the Heali Kiwi shampoo bar later in the year to see how it’s still holding up?? I kind of want to report on how long this bar lasts!
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