Natural Shampoo Bars

What is a natural shampoo bar?

A natural shampoo bar, is shampoo that is not liquid, but has a solid form. A shampoo bar is packed in a cardboard packaging and so you can say goodbye to dozens of plastic bottles per year. Shampoo bars often contain natural vegetable oils, coconut butters and essential oils. Plastic-free shampoo Bars look like old-fashioned soap bars, but contain all the nourishing ingredients a shampoo needs and foam just as well as regular shampoo. Shampoo bars are, just like regular shampoo, available for different hair types. These zero waste shampoo bars are the ideal replacement for conventional shampoo in a bottle.

What is the difference between shampoo bars and hair soap?

Shampoo bars are available in many different shapes and sizes and are also called hair soap mentioned. But be careful: shampoo should not contain soap, because soap is harmful to your hair. Soap often has a pH value of 9 to 10 and is therefore basic. Our skin, on the other hand, is a bit more on the other side with a pH value of around 4.5 to 5.5.

Hair soap can therefore cause the pH value of your hair to become unbalanced. Soap can cause the natural oils that protect your hair to disappear, making your hair feel dull, dry and tangled after washing. So not all shampoo bars that are zero waste, natural and vegan are also good for your hair. Which ingredients should you avoid exactly? These ingredients, among others, indicate that you are dealing with hair soap instead of a natural shampoo bar and are therefore best to avoid:

Sodium Cocoate
Sodium Olivate
Sodium Castorate
Sodium Hydroxide

What ingredients are (not) in a zero waste shampoo bar?

All shampoo bars that you can get at Zo Zero contain natural ingredients. Normal shampoos (but also many shampoo bars) contain aggressive ingredients such as SLS or SLES. SLS strips your hair and skin of its natural oil layer, making your hair and skin extremely dry. Each shampoo bar has its own working ingredients, but none of the shampoo bars contain ingredients that are harmful to your hair.

None of our shampoo bars contain animal ingredients or are tested on animals and all of our vegan shampoo bars are of course free from microplastics, palm oil and sulphates.

Do I want Sodium Coco-Sulfate in my shampoo bar?

Many natural shampoo bars contain sodium coco-sulfate as a replacement for SLS. Sodium coco-sulfate is a mild surfactant made from plant-based lauric acid and sodium. Chemically, both ingredients belong to the same family and both ingredients are relatively cheap, which is why they are so widely used. Both SLS and Sodium coco-sulfate are derived from coconut fatty acids, but the big difference is in their aggressiveness. Sodium coco-sulfate is a lot milder than SLS, but it is and remains a sulfate that we would rather not have in our hair. Sulfates are just a little too good at cleaning your hair and also ensure that your hair is stripped of all its natural oils. This can cause your scalp to become dry and irritated.

That is why all shampoo bars on our website are free of sodium coco-sulfate.

How do you use a shampoo bar?

Washing your hair with a shampoo bar is actually very simple. You first wet your hair and the shampoo bar and then spread the natural shampoo over your hair.You can do this by rubbing the shampoo bar between your hands and then applying it or by rubbing the bar directly over your wet hair. After that, the plastic-free shampoo works exactly the same as shampoo from a plastic bottle. Massage the shampoo in and rinse your hair thoroughly.

To ensure the shampoo bar lasts longer, let it dry thoroughly after each use, preferably outside the shower.

Do you need conditioner in addition to a shampoo bar?

The answer to this is very personal. Some people like to use a natural conditioner because it makes their hair very soft. Other people like to not use conditioner so that their hair retains more volume.

What are the benefits of a shampoo bar?

A shampoo bar is plastic-free and therefore more environmentally friendly than conventional shampoo
Shampoo bars last much longer than regular shampoo and that's good for your wallet
You stop paying for water, one of the standard ingredients in conventional shampoo
Shampoo bars contain only natural ingredients
Shampoo bars take up much less space, both in your shower and in your toiletry bag
You can easily take shampoo bars with you in your hand luggage, because it is not a liquid
This also means there is no chance of leaking or exploding bottles in your bag.

What is the best shampoo bar for you?

Are you looking for the best vegan shampoo bar for your hair? At Zo Zero you will find shampoo bars for different hair types, from normal to dry hair to oily and fine hair and from curly hair to people with a sensitive scalp. In addition, you will find shampoo bars with calendula, aloe vera and even banana. Now you are probably thinking: banana? That's right! A crazy idea perhaps, but the shampoo bar smells delicious and became my favorite in no time.

Are your shampoo bars Curly Girl proof?

Chey Ciani, the founder of Chey Haircare, has a beautiful head of curls herself. For this reason, she has only developed products that meet the Curly Girl method. The 2in1 shampoo + conditioner from Zero Waste Path is also Curly Girl proof. View this page for all products that meet the Curly Girl method.

Which shampoo bars can't you find at Zo Zero?

As mentioned above, not all shampoo bars contain only good natural ingredients. Soap can be damaging to your hair and also many brands use sodium coco-sulfate in their shampoo bars and at Zo Zero we are not fans of sulfates.

For this reason, for example, we do not sell shampoo bars from the brand HappySoaps. We often get asked why we don't sell HappySoaps shampoo bars. We are very happy that HappySoaps doesn't use plastic, but we don't sell these vegan shampoo bars because they contain sulfates. Fortunately, we have a lot of other shampoo bars on our website without sulfates.

The complete range of shampoo bars at Zo Zero

At Zo Zero you will find shampoo bars from the brands Zero Waste Path and Chey HaircareThese two brands have been two real favorites since the beginning.

In addition to natural shampoo bars, you will also find at Zo Zero natural conditioner bars, natural hair styling products such as volume powder, hair gel and hair wax and sustainable hair brushes and hair elastics. And look here for an overview of all our sustainable hair care products.

Do you also want to make your entire care routine more sustainable? Then take a look at all our natural care products.