About Our Shampoo Bar
What's the difference between body soaps and shampoo bars?
Skipping Stone's body soaps and shampoo bars are both cold-process soap. Our body soap produces great lather, cleanse gently, and leaves the skin supple and soft. Our shampoo bars are specially formulated with premium oils known to be good for hair such as avocado oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil and argan oil. Unlike many shampoo bars on the market, our bars are made only with natural ingredients yet gives great results. Shampoo bars can also be used as facial/body bars.
How do you use a shampoo bar?
Just like using a liquid shampoo, get your hair wet first and massage the wet shampoo bar against your hair in a circular motion to create a rich lather. Work the lather into your scalp and gently massage with fingers. Rinse immediately and very thoroughly. As mentioned above, our shampoo bars can be used on face and body as well. You can spread the lather to your face and body, then wash and rinse well. Especially convenient when travelling or camping. You need to take only one shampoo bar with you.
Do I need to use a conditioner after?
When you switch from regular liquid shampoo to our solid shampoo bar, for the first week or so you may find using the shampoo bar leaves hair dry, greasy or frizzy. Everyone's hair is different and some people are totally fine but a few may experience undesirable condition. If that's the case you may want to try using an "apple cider vinegar conditioner" which you can make in your kitchen. In a spray bottle put 1/2 cup water and 1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice if you don't like the smell of vinegar). After shampooing and finishing taking shower, towel dry your hair and spray the cider conditioner and massage into the hair using fingers from roots to the ends. Leave it and let it dry. This should make your hair manageable and the vinegar smell will go away as it dries. (Alternatively, you can pour the conditioner over your hair in the shower, massage, then rinse as you would normally do, if you prefer. You may want to add more water in the bottle depending on the length of the hair. Make sure to rinse off the soapy suds from your hair, body and the shower walls first. If not, the acidity of the rinse will react to the soap and the shower becomes very slippery!) After a week or so you should not need to use the conditioner.
I tend to have dry frizzy hair and apple cider vinegar rinse doesn't provide enough conditioning. What can I do?
To manage dry hair, we recommend using hair-friendly oils such as jojoba oil, argan oil, olive oil, and coconut oil. Apply a few drops to your palm, rub your hands together and distribute evenly on your damp or dry hair, avoiding the roots.
Which shampoo bar should I choose for my hair type?
Every hair is different and reacts differently to haircare products. We don't list hair types for our shampoo bars. All of our shampoo bars are similar since all are soap-based shampoos which is slightly alkaline and don't contain synthetic detergents like sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium coco sulphate. Bayside Shampoo Bar and Arctic Rain Shampoo Bar are formulated differently from the rest of our shampoo bars; they contain less hard oils (oils that are solid at room temperature) and produce lighter texture.
It’s not just our soap. All natural soaps sting eyes. It’s due to the pH level of soap being slightly alkaline. When washing your face or shampooing, keep your eyes closed! The good thing about using natural soap is that when it happens to get in eyes, you or your kids will likely tear and tears will wash out the soap. That’s our body’s natural defence mechanism. When your kids use a tear-free body gel or shampoos which are usually synthetic detergent with toxic numbing agent, your kids’ eyes won’t react when it gets in their eyes (senses are numbed) and the dangerous chemicals stay in your children’s eyes much longer.
Here are some tips you may want to try:
Tip 1. Use a regular shampoo to clear excess oils. (I know it is counter-intuitive but it often works) Then go back to the shampoo bar next time. When it becomes greasy again, try clarifying with regular shampoo. This should become less frequent.
Tip 2. Strip the build-up with baking soda solution. In a spray bottle or squirting bottle, mix 1 cup warm water with 1 tsp baking soda, and let it finish fizzing. Spray or pour some on your hair in the shower, massage gently throughout, then rinse thoroughly. Then finish with apple cider vinegar rinse. I would only do this no more than once a week.
Tip 3. The hardness of water can affect the efficiency of shampoo bars (and all other soap products). The harder the water, the less effective the shampoo bars become. A shower head filter (usually about $25-40 at Amazon or home centres) can help remove chlorine and minerals to soften the water. Soft water would improve the overall shower and shampooing experience.
I have an oily hair and the scalp is prone to dandruff. Which shampoo should I use?
Tip 1. Use a regular shampoo to clear excess oils. (I know it is counter-intuitive but it often works) Then go back to the shampoo bar next time. When it becomes greasy again, try clarifying with regular shampoo. This should become less frequent.
Tip 2. Strip the build-up with baking soda solution. In a spray bottle or squirting bottle, mix 1 cup warm water with 1 tsp baking soda, and let it finish fizzing. Spray or pour some on your hair in the shower, massage gently throughout, then rinse thoroughly. Then finish with apple cider vinegar rinse. I would only do this no more than once a week.
Tip 3. The hardness of water can affect the efficiency of shampoo bars (and all other soap products). The harder the water, the less effective the shampoo bars become. A shower head filter (usually about $25-40 at Amazon or home centres) can help remove chlorine and minerals to soften the water. Soft water would improve the overall shower and shampooing experience.
Our Lemonade Stand shampoo bar contains ingredients such as lemon essential oil, unpasteurized honey, coconut oil and sweet almond oil, all of which are known to help control dandruff naturally. Soap-based shampoo bars won't strip the hair of its natural oil. Continue using it for 2-4 weeks and give the scalp some time to adjust to the new product. Also, you may want to consider using an apple cider vinegar rinse. Apple cider vinegar can help remove dead skin cells, balance the pH level of the scalp, wash away build-up on the scalp and hair, and help close the cuticles for shinier hair. You can use ACV rinse twice a week. Please see top of this page for directions.