Bledlow Bees shampoo bars are a 'soap based' shampoo, with a slight alkalinity which is achieved by adding organic apple cider vinegar. They do not contain sulphates or silicones of any kind, nor do they contain artificial fragrances or colours. If you are looking for a natural and additive free, environmentally friendly option to wash your hair then these are a great option. or, if you're just looking to reduce the plastic and packaging in your life, then this is a great place to start.

How To Use A Shampoo Bar

It can take some getting used to using a bar on your hair, after all, we've spent a lifetime so far squeezing that blob of chemical filled liquid into our hands.

Wet your hair, wet the bar and rub the bar onto your hair starting with the length if you have long hair. Don't be afraid to give it all a good scrub.You may find that you need only a few rubs of your bar.

Do this twice and rinse well both times. You should find no need for conditioner, the bars contain conditioning oils that do the job. Comb through gently with a wide tooth comb and style as normal :) 

Why does my hair feel greasy or waxy after using a shampoo bar?

The majority of people can switch to hard shampoo bars smoothly, but what can you do if you are one that experiences the transition period? After all, no one wants waxy or greasy hair! As detergent shampoos strip away the natural protective oils, your scalp produces more oil to compensate. Your scalp becomes conditioned to this vicious cycle of excess oil production. As you transition to a natural shampoo bar, your scalp needs time to rebalance scalp oil production. During this transition period, hair may feel and look extra greasy or heavy.  Commercial liquid shampoos and conditioners contain synthetic silicones and silica that coat your hair, to make it feel nice, but leave a residue in your hair. We want to rid our hair of those. You are basically teaching your hair to stand on its own two feet.......

If you are someone who experiences these issues during the transition period, replace your conditioner step with an apple cider vinegar rinse. This helps balance the pH level of the scalp and aids transition. Even when your hair is used to the bar we recommend an occasional rinse with diluted apple cider vinegar to balance the pH level of your scalp. 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in half pint of warm water is sufficient.

If you live in a hard water area, or if apple cider vinegar is not working for you you may want to wet your hair FIRST with a spoonful of bicarb in warm water - why? It can help your bar foam better. And then after washing twice with the shampoo bar use more bicarb in your final rinse. And rinse, rinse, rinse. This can help the transition phase where apple cider vinegar is not quite doing the trick.

Since starting selling our shampoo bars, we have done lots and lots of research on transitioning, and talked many customers through the process. A small handful have given up of course, but for those who have stuck it out there are no regrets, finding the benefits of less chemicals on the scalp, and of course no more plastic bottles.  

Ultimately, the trick is to persevere; your hair and scalp will thank you for moving away from liquid shampoo so please don't give up. It can sometimes take a week or two but you'll get there. We also recommend not swapping back to liquid shampoo 'every now and again', and only start this change when you're really ready. We even take our bar to the salon and our stylist is always very happy to use it there for us.