Beauty and the Bees Tasmania - Lemon and Chamomile shampoo bar

So today, I shall give my review of Beauty and the Bees Tasmania - Lemon and Chamomile shampoo bar. 

This bar is meant for blonde/silver hair. But since I had it in my sample box and do not know anyone currently who has blonde hair, I decided to try it on myself. 

From the website, the following is the list of ingredients:

Mountain spring water, chamomile infusion, olive oil, coconut oil,soy wax,castor oil, Leatherwood beeswax and honey, seaweed extract,essential oils (Lemon)

And the description is this:

Everyone – especially blondes and silver hair,perfect for people with dandruff, eczema or dry scalp too. Users tell us that their hair is subtly enriched and brightened by the chamomile infusion and natural lemon oil.

This bar smells pleasant. It is light yellow in color, a beautiful lovely color :) It lathers very quick and very well too. Like the other Beauty and the Bees bars. But for me, that is where the good things about this bar end. 

It lathers well in my hair too. The first time I washed my hair with this bar, my hair and scalp felt washed and cleaned. After my hair dried, I usually use a couple of drops of argan oil at the ends. But that day, my hair looked super oily that day. Even after drying, even the next day. I did not wash my hair the next day since I was too tired to do it. Went greasy haired for a couple of days and used the same bar the following time. My hair felt cleaned and not as oily but looked limp :( It was like all shampoo bar transition was condensed into my usage of one bar over a week. And I used so much of them hoping to get rid of the greasy feeling that the sample bar lasted me 2.5 washes. 

It could be that I should not have used a bar meant for gray/blonde hair. It is so strange that a shampoo bar has left me with greasy hair. A first for me since Dr Bronner's I must say. Many others do have really good things to say about this bar. But for me, this bar does not work. Will not repurchase anytime soon hopefully!

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve - Rosemary Lavender shampoo bar

This review is for Chagrin Valley's Rosemary Lavender Shampoo bar. In my search for shampoo bars for dry hair and curly/wavy hair to tackle dryness and frizz, I came across this shampoo bar. For a while now, about 3 years, I have been using rosemary and lavender essential oils mixed in olive/castor and almond oil for hair massages and they seem to make my hair more manageable. 

The website describes this soap so:

Hair loving essential oils along with jojoba and mango butter give hair a nourishing treat. Mango butter penetrates to re-moisturize, revive and repair damaged cells. This all natural shampoo bar is formulated with aloe vera and deep cleansing and stimulating essential oils that nourish the hair shaft, encourage strong, healthy hair and increase manageability and shine. 

And the ingredients have been listed as:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Sunflower Oil infused with Organic Botanicals (Rosemary, Lavender); Organic Babassu Oil; Organic Castor Oil; Water; Organic Aloe Vera; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Mango Butter; Organic Essential Oils of Rosemary, Lavender, Tea Tree; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

This bar smells pleasant. I love the smell of lavender and rosemary too, but lavender more! :) I have tried most of the ingredients listed above - coconut oil (hey, I am from India!), castor oil (from India, castor oil is used on babies too), aloe vera (seriously, helps with frizz) and most of the other ingredients. And this bar works! Trust me. I loved the way it left my hair after drying. Not only was my hair soft and clean, it had beautiful curls at the ends. Like children's lovely curls. That is the way I choose to describe them. And I kept touching my hair so often just to feel those curls! :) Just could not get over the feel. I so wanted to click a snap of them and send over to my mom - next time I use this bar, should remember to do that. My husband used this bar too and has decided to order a full sized bar of this.

Other things about the bar, it does not lather as much as Cafe Moreno. But it cleans well and quick too. So that's not exactly a negative. It does not melt away that quickly either. And did I mention that it left my hair feeling soft :)

To sum up, wonderful bar! Do try if you are testing Chagrin valley and have dry hair. And we ordered full-sized bar of this variety. This bar works!

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve - Cafe Moreno Shampoo bar

So after testing this bar a couple of times, I am ready to offer my opinion of Chagrin Valley's Cafe Moreno Shampoo bar. I ordered a sample of this in one of my previous orders. So many users seem to love this bar and how it leaves their hair feeling soft and lovely! So I was tempted to try it out, and did!

As described by many others, it may be made of coffee and perfect for brunettes, but it smells strongly of cloves. Not that I mind the smell, I am not a coffee lover myself, I just wanted to note that about this shampoo bar :) The shampoo is dark brown in color, as would be expected of  a soap containing coffee. And this bar is made of all organic ingredients. 

The ingredients stated on the website are:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Clove Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Organic Babassu Oil; Organic Virgin Shea Butter; Organic Fair Trade Coffee; Organic Avocado Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Castor Oil; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Essential Oils of Clove, Patchouli, Ylang Ylang, Lavender; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

And this bar is described as:

Brunettes have been pouring fresh brewed coffee on their hair for centuries to help transform flat brown tones to into shiny, rich color and maybe even do away with some of those pesky gray strands. Made with cloves, to enhance warm tones and fresh brewed coffee, which enriches brown hues and adds luster to dry hair. Nourishing oils and butters create a natural shampoo that moisturizes and softens dry, dull, damaged hair to help improve luster and manageability.

Something that is apparent, but I would hate to admit is, *taking a deep breath*, I do have quite a few gray hairs. I henna them once in two months and wear them proudly  even if the roots are showing. Not that I was looking for a miracle in this sample bar, but I wanted to see if it would make any difference in the four times I used it. Speak of hoping for a miracle and optimism overload!

Onto my take on this bar, I loved the smell. It lathers super quick, much quicker than the other Chagrin valley bars I have used so far. And it washed my hair very quick and left my hair shinier than the previous Chagrin valley bars. My hair feels lighter and nicer, I must admit. The smell of the soap does not linger in my hair though. Hair fall was normal and I did not have the issue of my scalp getting oily quick. Somewhere else, it was mentioned that long term coffee use on scalp reduces chances of baldness too and clove oil encourages hair growth in balding spots too apparently! Yay for all these! And wonderful idea to put together a soap like this with ingredients that complement each other.

The thing I did not like about this soap, its pretty soft and melts much quicker than many other bars. So I am not certain to its longevity when I buy a full sized bar. The sample size did last me 4+ washes plus a couple of washes by my husband (he did not like the fact that this bar decreases in size so quick). That is my biggest issue with the bar. Apart from that, I would love to use this bar again in the future. May be not right away, but the next time I want to order from Chagrin valley. So I would call this bar, it works!

Chagrin Valley Babassu Marshmallow shampoo bar

This review is for the Babassu Marshmallow bar from Chagrin Valley. 

The list of ingredients is:

Ingredients: Organic Babassu Oil; Organic Sunflower Oil; Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Avocado Oil; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Mango Butter;  Water; Organic Shea Butter; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Marsh Mallow Root; Organic Castor Oil; Organic Walnut Oil; Organic Aloe; Organic Essential Oils of Ylang Ylang, Lemon, Ginger; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract 

And this product is defined as:


A natural shampoo bar made with nourishing babassu oil, a great hair care oil for thick, coarse or kinky hair. Babassu oil moisturizes and restores hair strength and elasticity, for shiny, healthy-looking hair. Marsh mallow root softens, soothes and hydrates the hair and scalp, providing relief from scalp irritation. A natural moisturizer, marsh mallow helps detangle hair for increased manageablilty.


The smell and such details: Out of the packet, it smells herbal. Nothing more distinct, just herbal. All of the samples smelled the same to me actually. But when I warmed it up in the shower, I could smell the rich coconut oil in the soap. And the other distinct smell, ginger! I love ginger, I use it regularly in my cooking, my tea. So I loved the smell of ginger in the shower. Ginger apparently promotes hair growth in balding areas. I cannot attest to that with my trial but I loved the smell. By my fourth wash from this bar, the smell of ginger was no longer that strong, but just a hint of it was left. It lathers rich, not as quickly as the Beauty and the bees bars do. The lather is good and cleans fairly well.

As for did I like this bar, not as much as I wanted to. I was looking for well moisturized hair but my hair didn't exactly feel so. I used quite some ACV mixture too to balance the pH. Somehow, after using this bar, the first day, my hair feels pretty smooth but by the second, it begins to feel dry already. I may have to try with a lot more of the acv rinse in my hair to see if that helps, but that has been my observation. Or should I be using much lesser ACV in the mixture? Back at square one looks like! My hair does not look frizzy exactly, but feels dry. Not that well conditioned feel any longer. By the fourth day, it feels quite dry. Like I need some oil on my hair to make it soft. Not the feeling I was hoping and looking for. So, I will not be using this bar again. Onto another bar then!

Beauty and the Bees Tasmania - Rosemary & Mint Shampoo bar

So, today I shall write about my experience with Beauty and the Bees - Rosemary & Mint shampoo bar . I bought this sample box a couple of months ago when I decided to start with my shampoo bar experiment. I wasted more than a sample in figuring out how to use a shampoo bar on my hair, the ACV mixture balance and other such details.

One thing I could say in general about the samples from Beauty and the Bees is that they make my hair look shiny, very shiny like I used gooseberry or fenugreek on my hair. I tried the Moroccan Mud shampoo bar initially and I was yet to nail down the way to use it. So the second bar I decided to try was Rosemary & Mint.

I like this bar, really like it. It made my hair shiny, as with the Moroccan Mud bar. Also, I noticed less hair fallout, less itching, hair did not feel dry, was soft and manageable and over all I was pretty happy with it.
This bars lathers very quickly and a lot too. Hair felt pretty clean after using this bar. and I got about 3 washes out of a sample bar of about 20g for my long hair. I use the soap on the lengths of my hair too because I oil it a little before shampooing. It gets the light oil out too. So yay! an overall winner for me!

I always thought mint was more for oily hair and may dry out my usually dry hair all the more. But I was pleasantly surprised to find it working fairly well for my hair type. I did try it out without any oil on my hair too. So the verdict stands!

About my hair routine, when I read that I should use less ACV, I translated it to being using a little of the mixture. Boy was that a mistake! It made my hair seem matted, quite poofy (I liked the volume, I admit) and I could not exactly get my hands through my hair. I decided to muster courage and pour a lot more of the mixture one day and my hair seemed a lot more straighter and manageable. That is when I corrected my interpretation and have been using about a third of a cup of 1:4 ACV mixture. So far, so good. I lather the shampoo bar typically in my palms and use the later on my hair and scalp. This seems to work better than rubbing the shampoo bar directly on my hair.

Up next, Chagrin Valley Babassu Marshmallow shampoo bar.

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve - Extra Honey Beer Shampoo Bar

My first product review...actually Mr T's experience. I am still noting it here.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered the Extra Honey Beer Shampoo bar from Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve among other samples. I ordered this for dry hair, my kind of hair, to help infuse it with some moisture. The ingredients sounded great:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Avocado Oil; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Water; Organic Castor Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Beer; Organic Cocoa Butter; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Honey; Organic Mango Butter; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

And the product is defined as:

A moisturizing natural shampoo made with nutrient rich honey that nourishes and revitalizes hair. A natural humectant and emollient, honey is a great moisturizer and conditioner that imparts a lustrous shine to dull, dry hair. Its antibacterial and antifungal properties help soothe scalp irritations and may help thinning hair. The vitamin B complex and natural sugars in beer add body and shine to hair.

As mentioned earlier, Mr T's been experiencing some flaking for a while actually. More than an year now. His hair is medium brown with a slight wave. He likes to keep it short, low maintenance he says.

He had been using Dr Bronner's peppermint liquid shampoo and I suspected that it may not be the best product for his hair. So I suggested that he try this bar. He being a beer lover was quite enthusiastic. No, he did not expect it to smell like beer :) Just the idea of a shampoo bar being made of beer was quite interesting. 

The shampoo bar smells herbal. Actually to me, all the samples I had ordered smell herbal. No distinct smell otherwise. I have read that some of them have a more distinct smell once warmed up in the shower. I am yet to notice that. I shall the next time I use it.

He has been using it for a couple of weeks now. And would you believe it! His flakes have disappeared! Magic! His hair looks shiny, not as flat any more. We see some volume in it and the disappearance of those flakes has made him a happy customer :) So yay to that! He has decided to use it until the sample bar is mostly done and is more than likely to reorder the full size bar for regular use.

I am yet to try this bar. I actually did try it once but I had not washed out the previous day's shampoo out right, so I decided to wash my hair two days in a row. My dry hair was not very happy. It did not tangle or go crazy but I could feel the dryness. It could be because I washed my hair two days in a row. So, I shall give it another try and then give my verdict. But for now, we have one happy user of this amazing bar.

The first adventure - Dr Bronners

Three years ago, my husband and I decided to give shampoo bars a shot. My husband, Mr. T, went online, looked around and suggested Dr Bronners liquid soap. That it is all natural, no SLS, oil based soap looked like a very good starting point.

So the first time, I do my typical thing. I oil my dry hair, quite heavily, let it soak in before I shampoo my hair. I was genuinely surprised to see it so runny but lather quite well. I use it twice in one shower, that's how I usually shampoo and rinse it off well. It felt like all the oil had not washed away, but decided to let it dry before I gave the verdict. Well, after my hair did air dry, it looked like a greasy mess! Like I had not washed my hair at all! Like all the oil I had massaged it somehow managed to stay in my hair and with water on top of it, looked gross! :(

I was disappointed, honestly. Being a soapnuts gal for a long time, it was not my first oil-still-in-my-hair-after-washing moment. So, I decide to wash another time with the same Dr Bronners liquid soap, we used the peppermint back then. It was summer of 2011. Warm days called for peppermint, we thought. Anyways, the second time around was no better. It was still oily. Not just the scalp but along the strands all the way down my back. Arghh! I just did not like it. The worst thing was, every time I ran my hands along my hair, I felt more than a couple of strands coming out. And that did not stop all day along. Stressful!

Mr T, after seeing me so upset and hearing to my complaints, found this link: http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=256 and we promptly ordered the rinse and the leave in conditioner. I persisted on with the liquid shampoo in the meanwhile. Looking like a greasy head at work :( Not my favorite moment.

Once we received the rinse, I tried it. Followed the instructions to the T. When I ran it along my hair and used my fingers to work it in, I pulled out quite a few strands! It helped with the greasy head situation a little but not a great deal. The leave in conditioner felt good for a second but very quickly looked greasy. I had to tweak the amounts and let my hair get used to it, I thought. And kept at it for another couple of weeks. I could not handle the dirty scalp for long. So I went back to my Giovanni tea tree shampoo and felt happier than ever! Some people opined that the shampoo bars were better than the liquid shampoo but I could not muster the courage to go through it all again. And decided to stick with semi-SLS and almost-no-SLS shampoos. Same old story, first couple of washes, find it great! Then it either would dry out my hair like crazy or weight it down by day 2. And the search continued without much practical application.

Looking back, I may have quit while my hair was yet to adjust to the new routine and turn into that movie star like tresses. But I freaked out, no other reason. I was struggling with hair loss and crazier looking hair freaked me out. That's all.

After much thought, time and browsing the net, I came across various blogs that discussed what would happen when switching to a more natural hair care routine. Some links: http://www.overthrowmartha.com/2014/03/shampoo-bars-are-they-better.html, a product website http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/idascorner/shampoo-hair/success-with-shampoo-bars/my-hair-is-having-trouble-adjusting-to-the-shampoo-bars and many others google would come up with. So I decided to take the advice and give it a more earnest shot.

And oh, Mr T stuck with Dr Bronners and discovers more uses for the liquid every now and then. But he has had a persistent flaky scalp. After much prodding, he has agreed to try some other products.