ABOUT
A super-concentrated solid shampoo that promotes a healthy scalp and soft, shiny hair.

HAIR & SCALP SUITABILITY
Suitable for all hair types. Suitable for all scalp types, except very sensitive.

Those with very sensitive scalps might like to try our very mild, one ingredient!, Gentle Shampoo Powder (for use with water). 

DIRECTIONS

For best results, read in full before first use.
Don’t worry, its actually very quick and simple once you get the hang of it!

1. Wet your hair and wet the solid shampoo bar.
2. Apply the shampoo to the hair by EITHER:

• Gently passing the bar over the head a few times in different areas* – ‘scalp lathering’
• Lathering the bar up in the hands and then applying this lather to the scalp – ‘hand lathering’
  Particularly if your water is hard, you might need to do this a few times.

In both cases, remember that the shampoo bar is very concentrated and you are likely to need to use a lot less than you expect.

*If your hair is long, try to do this in one direction, from front to back, to prevent tangling.

3. Gently work the shampoo well into your hair and scalp with your fingertips (and enjoy that lovely scent and lather!)**

This is an important step and will encourage the shampoo to rinse away cleanly.
It is particularly important not to skip this step if you live in a hard water area.

**If your hair is long – to prevent tangling, we recommend starting out by NOT washing the ends and seeing how you go. These should be sufficiently cleansed when you rinse out the shampoo.

4. Rinse and rinse again.

Really we just mean to make sure that you rinse very well. The shampoo bar is formulated to be as clean-rinsing as possible – even in hard water areas – but good rinsing will help you achieve the best possible results.

5. OPTIONAL – Lather up again and repeat if you feel like your hair/scalp needs it.
6. OPTIONAL – Follow up with an acidic rinse (instructions below).

COMMON SENSE PRECAUTIONS
Avoid contact with the eyes, and do not eat.

ACIDIC RINSE

Why you might want to do an acidic rinse

One of the main reasons people don’t get on with all natural, solid shampoo bars is because the water they are using to wash their hair with is ‘hard’, or has a lot of minerals dissolved in it.

The minerals in the hard water can react with the solid shampoo and deposit on the hair leaving it feeling ‘unclean’ or ‘waxy’, unless measures are taken to mitigate against this reaction.

Many years of research and the kind help of numerous testers has enabled us to develop what we believe to be the best totally natural, solid shampoo bar possible for use in both hard and soft water.

Our testers have commented on how surprisingly ‘clean rinsing’ our shampoo is, even in hard water, and we hope you find this too.

However, if you find that hair does not feel as you would like after using our shampoo, may we suggest you try using an acidic rinse as a final step. It’s very cheap, simple, and will add lovely shine.

How to do an acidic rinse

1. Grab a 1 litre jug, put 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar in it, and take this into the shower with you.
2. Fill the jug up with water from the shower.
3. After shampooing, pour the entire contents of the jug over your hair, making sure to avoid the eyes.
4. Rinse hair again with plain water.

Tips & Info

• Any kind of vinegar will do. Apple Cider Vinegar seems to be the most popular choice of late, but white wine vinegar or lime juice will also work just fine.
• No – you shouldn’t be able to smell any vinegar on the hair after washing.
• In general, more vinegar = more conditioning, but only up to a point. Use less vinegar on oilier hair and NEVER apply neat vinegar to the hair.
• Some people prefer using a spray bottle to apply the vinegar-water to the hair.

FAQ

Do I need to use a conditioner after using this shampoo?

That will depend on your hair type. Those with dryer hair and/or hard water might wish to do an acidic rinse as a final conditioning step (see above). Alternatively/in addition, you might like to try applying jojoba/olive oil to your ends.

Can you wash your body and face with this shampoo?

This shampoo is suitable for use on the face, body and hair.
However, being a ‘shampoo soap’, and therefore formulated with a lot of castor oil, you are likely to find that it reduces in size faster than our standard soap bars.

Can I use this shampoo on colour treated hair?

Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to test all eventualities here. We have had mixed tester feedback in this regard, so would always recommend a patch test. If you know your colour is particularly finicky, you might like to try our milder Gentle Shampoo Powder (for use with water).

Will there be an adjustment period when using this shampoo?

It depends. In formulating this shampoo, we’ve done our utmost to try and reduce this possibility.

Some people will have no problem using this shampoo right away, others will go through an adjustment period while their hair gets used to a kinder way of washing that doesn’t strip all the oils (wanted and unwanted) from their hair.

Those with short hair, in soft water areas, or who have been washing/styling their hair WITHOUT silicones for some time are likely to experience the shortest – or no – adjustment period.

If you experience excessive dryness, oiliness or gumminess, your hair COULD be going through an adjustment period, or you might simply need to adjust your washing technique. Be sure to lather and rinse really well, and if your hair still feels ‘off’, add in an acidic rinse to your routine.

Then, if you’re still not happy with how your hair feels once dry (remember there are no silicones in the shampoo so that familiar ‘slip’ won’t be there in the same way when wet), then your hair might be adjusting to this natural washing method.

You might help speed up the transition by removing much of the buildup from your hair with a bicarbonate of soda rinse. (Exactly the same as the Acidic Rinse above, but replace the vinegar with 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda and do the rinse BEFORE shampooing. A patch test is advised on coloured hair).

In many cases though, it is simply a matter of time. The transition can take, on average, anywhere from 1 wash to 1 month of washes, and you might experience quite different hair from one wash to the next.

Other methods that can help speed the process along are regular brushing with a Boar Bristle hairbrush, and rinsing with filtered water/or installing a shower filter.

If you are not getting on well with our solid shampoo/don’t want to wait for your hair to adjust, you might like to try our Gentle Shampoo Powder (for use with water). Our testers reported no adjustment period when switching to this from less natural shampoos.

More questions/feedback?

We’d love to hear from you!
Please do get in touch with us on 01480 860 137 or at [email protected].