Update to Sustaina-Mini: Shampoo Bar Edition
Updated: Sep 11, 2022
A few months ago, I posted about shampoo bars - a great little invention that helps reduce plastic waste and the amount of water (in regular shampoo/conditioner) that gets shipped from factory to store to your shower. In today's sustaina-mini, I'm comparing two conditioner bars. I included the Lush conditioner bar in the original post as well, but thought I'd provide a recap for ease of comparison.
Before getting into the differences between the products, I have a tip that applies to conditioner bars in general:
Rather than trying to lather a conditioner bar between your hands, rub the bar directly into your hair.
While I tend to lather up shampoo bars between my hands, conditioner bars don't bubble up into a lather the same way; they dissolve into more of a creamy texture. I've had much better results rubbing them directly onto my scalp or along the length of my hair.
Here are my impressions of the two conditioner bars I've been using:
1. Lush's American Cream Pressed Conditioner
$15
made in Toronto, ON & Vancouver, BC
This bar has a mild sweet and creamy scent reminiscent of strawberry milkshakes. It contains strawberry juice, lavender oil, clary sage oil and fair trade agave syrup. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to dissolve the product into a creamy texture and actually work it into my thick hair. With a bit of patience and a few extra minutes in the shower, this conditioner worked really well, leaving my hair silky smooth.
Bonus Tidbit: While its scent didn't seem to linger on my hair, I've also used this bar as shaving cream, and noticed that it left a trace of its dreamy smell on my legs afterwards. Ahhh!
2. Habitat's Conditioner Bar* (Re-Branded as Long Wknd's Unscented Conditioner Bar)
$14-17
made in Kelowna, BC
I came across this conditioner bar at Change Lifestyle & Apparel in St. Jacobs, Ontario. It is completely unscented and features a short ingredient list that includes cocoa seed butter, sunflower oil and aloe. This bar dissolved into a creamy texture that coated my strands almost as easily as a typical liquid conditioner. This product felt nourishing and left my hair moisturized and tangle-free. I would highly recommend this conditioner bar to anyone with long and/or dry hair. Next time I purchase a conditioner bar, I may opt for something scented like their citrus and eucalyptus Balance Conditioner Bar.
*Note: Recently, the Habitat brand was purchased by Pela and re-branded as LNG WKND so the packaging has changed a bit since I took this photo.
I hope this post was helpful! As always, the best way to learn about eco-friendly personal care products is to try them out and see which ones work for you and your lifestyle.
Related Posts:
Sustaina-Mini: Shampoo Bar Edition