Today I want to talk to you about one of my discoveries of the last decades which marked a before and after in my conception of hair hygiene: the solid shampoo.
Nowadays its use is very widespread, but when I discovered it it was much harder to find and in most cases you had to move heaven and earth to find one. Today it is different since there are very good accessible and durable models that benefit the health of the hair and the scalp.
They range from artisanal or do-it-yourself options to professional products designed to get the best results for your hair, like those from Dr. Tree, the line of certified natural cosmetics for the whole family with its 2-in-1 product line. 1 natural solid shampoos (Nutrition, Strength and Frequent Use) certified by COSMOS Ecocert® that cleanse and revitalise.
Contents
What is a solid shampoo and why is it better than a liquid?
The solid natural champú is neither more nor less than the indica number: a jabón for the cabello that has a difference in the way that it is only used in pastilla or block, as much as the types of jabones for washing the ropa or for the hygiene of hands.
Among its many weight advantages for its use are the following:
You don’t need a container (no more plastics in our life), it can be sold in a paper envelope, boxed or in bulk, which is much appreciated by all who are actively alert to the invasion of plastics and microplastics that are drowning our seas and waste in general. .
Solid shampoo is generally organic, natural and sulfate-free. Many, if not most, liquid shampoos are made up of a lot of environmentally unfriendly products (let’s never forget that our showers end up in water purification systems and from there into rivers, seas and groundwater groundwater) or with our bodies.
To begin with, the sulphate-free solid shampoo frees us from these salts. The most used in liquid hair soaps are sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) and sodium coco sulphate (SCS), which are responsible for lathering and cleaning, eliminating the necessary fats to healthy skin and hair, leaving that feeling of dryness in her. Moreover, when dioxane and ethylene oxide are added in the different processes, additional contaminants are added which are not very friendly to health and environment.
the siliconesalso present in many shampoos to give a certain softness, will end up in aquatic systems and in the stomachs of marine animals, altering their health and the food chain.
Another widely used ingredient in shampoos is parabens, which are added to prevent the formation of fungi and other microorganisms over time since the opening of the product. These are attributed to allergic reactions to dry skin. Additionally, there are those who attribute, given the ability to penetrate the skin and act like estrogen, a relationship with the increase in breast cancer.
In the case of shampoos labeled “paraben-free”, it is very likely that we will find another not-so-friendly ingredient instead: paraben-free. methylisothiazolinone. This preservative with biocidal activity is linked to various types of allergies, in addition to contaminating drinking water.
How to use solid shampoo
The organic and natural solid shampoo is used like a bar of soap. The best way to activate its foam is to wet your hair and then rub it over it, this can be under running water in the shower, for a few seconds.
Then it is convenient to leave the shampoo bar aside and away from water, so that it does not soften much and lasts longer. We massage the already soaped hair with the fingers, as we would with a classic shampoo, the time necessary according to its duration and we rinse. It no longer holds any secrets: simple and healthy!
Benefits of solid shampoo without sulphates, ecological and natural
Among the many benefits of natural solid shampoo we can highlight, to summarize:
- less plastic packaging. In countries like Spain, 50% of packaging ends up in landfill, according to recent studies by Greenpeace. In many countries, it will be more or less the same numbers, or even worse. Whereas they arise 500 billion parcels per yearand that according to the journal Science Advances, 79% of these containers are not recycled and ends up in landfills and in the sea.
- There is no problem to travel. One of the most common restrictions we encounter at airports is liquid shampoos, a problem we avoid with the shampoo bar.
- Less polluting for the environment. As we have already seen, many components of liquid shampoos are pollutants.
- Less aggressive for our body. By using an organic solid shampoo we reduce exposure to polluting products that affect our health.
- More durability. 80% of liquid shampoo is water, so by opting for bar shampoo, you have a product that can last more washes in proportion. With each bar, if taken care of (as we advised before, keeping it away from water), it can last between 80 and 100 washes.
- They are not tested on animals. One of the biggest boycotts in cosmetics history was waged (and still is waged) by shampoo makers for the cruelty with which experiments are conducted on the skin and eyes of rabbits and other animals.
These are some of the compelling reasons to switch to solid shampoo, which is more natural and ecological than its liquid brother. What other reasons can you think of to encourage its use? Leave it in the comments!