Have you considered going green with your choice of shampoo?
For years, I would choose shampoo by the aroma, luxuriating in the amazing scents available. When our three children were teenagers we had a multitude of shampoo bottles on the go as each family member seemed to have their own favourite. Often when a new bottle of shampoo was started, the old half-used bottle was tucked under the sink. Some of the shampoo never actually served its purpose.
I’d love to have a nickel for every time I would stand in the shower and pour a blob of shampoo into the palm of my hand, then half of it would slip between my fingers and wash away. Or, too much would pour out of the shampoo bottle and spill down the drain. Then there was always a bit of shampoo still in the bottom of the container when it was thrown away.
Travelling with traditional liquid shampoo is a challenge. One must purchase smaller travel containers to fit into their suitcase. If travelling by air, airport security becomes an issue. Cross your fingers in hopes that the 100 milliliters of shampoo you are permitted to carry on board the plane will last the length of your holiday, but won’t leak in your carry-on bag.
Enter bar shampoo. I first discovered this style of shampoo at Lush Cosmetics. Their bar shampoo is roughly the shape of a small hockey puck. At 18 cents per gram it wasn’t cheap! (Price for a 55 gram bar is $10.) The aroma was excellent and it lathered up well. I also purchased the available metal container to carry the soap when we travelled. Unfortunately, this soap would easily “melt” when touched by moisture. One bar became like a soft cream, although I closed the container after each use. Once when travelling, I accidentally left the lid off of the shampoo bar’s container. Water from the shower splashed into the container and overnight that solid shampoo dissolved and became liquid.
My next bar shampoo was purchased online from a U.S. company called Maple Hills Naturals. They offered a shampooing and conditioning bar in a five-bar value pack for seven cents per gram. (Price less than $30 for five 85-gram bars.) When one bar becomes small, open the next bar and press them together. Nothing wasted! With daily use, each bar lasted longer than two months. This bar shampoo does not melt or soften. Each bar was individually packaged in a recyclable cardboard container.
The best bar shampoo to date was found at Victoria’s Health on Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. They offer a shampoo and conditioner bar shampoo for two cents per gram. Made by a Canadian company called The Soap Works, each bar weighs 110 grams and costs $2.29. This bar shampoo lathers very well and holds its shape similar to a traditional bar of soap. I store it (and travel with it) in a plastic soap holder purchased at our local dollar store (as shown in the photograph on the previous page). The Soap Works shampoo bar is phosphate free and does not contain sodium laurel, lauryl or laureth sulphate – harsh detergents included in many over-the-counter liquid shampoos.
I highly recommend you ask for a solid bar shampoo at your local health food store or at any store selling shampoo products. Little or no packaging, no waste. Bar shampoo is easy to travel with as it can double as a body soap. Very convenient to pack into your sports bag for use at the gym, or for the whole family to use when camping. Hockey players in your family would benefit with a bar shampoo in their bag! A small step you and your family can take to help your budget AND help your household go green at the same time.
Wendy Station has lived in North Vancouver for almost 50 years. She enjoys the curious, the unusual and the old fashioned, and loves to share these with her grandchildren.
