Can Shampoo Bars Damage Hair?
Think a Shampoo Bar Ruined Your Hair? It Probably Wasn't a REAL Shampoo Bar!
If you're worried that switching to a shampoo bar has damaged your hair, don't panic - it’s likely that the product you used wasn’t a real shampoo bar but a soap bar disguised as one. Let's dive deeper into how shampoo bars and soap bars differ, and why choosing the right bar matters for healthy hair.
Understanding Hair Care and the Role of pH
Our hair naturally produces sebum, an oil that coats the strands to keep them healthy and moisturised. The challenge for any shampoo - whether in bar or liquid form - is to clean away dirt and excess oil without stripping the hair of all its natural oils. This balance is crucial because over-cleansing can leave hair dry and damaged.
One key factor in maintaining this balance is the product’s pH. Hair and scalp thrive in a slightly acidic environment, with a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. When hair is exposed to high pH products, it causes the cuticle (the outer layer of the hair strand) to open, leading to frizz, dryness, and tangling. This is one of the major problems with using soap bars on hair.
Soap Bars vs. Shampoo Bars: Why the Difference Matters
Soap bars are typically made by saponifying fats and oils with lye (sodium hydroxide), resulting in a high-pH product that can be extremely drying for hair. The alkaline nature of soap bars can raise the cuticles on your hair strands, making your hair rough, tangled, and prone to breakage. Soap residue can also build up over time, leaving your hair dull and lifeless.
On the other hand, shampoo bars are specifically formulated for hair. They use mild surfactants (cleaning agents) that cleanse without disrupting your hair's natural moisture balance. Quality shampoo bars are pH-balanced for hair and contain nourishing ingredients to improve its health and appearance.
5 Reasons Why Soap Bars Are Harmful to Your Hair
If you feel like a shampoo bar has damaged your hair, it’s likely you were using a soap bar instead. Here’s why soap bars can harm your hair:
-
High Alkalinity: Soap bars have a pH of around 9 to 10, which is far too alkaline for hair. This high pH causes the hair cuticle to open, leading to roughness, tangling, and long-term cuticle damage.
-
Strips Natural Oils: Soap bars strip away the hair’s natural oils, leaving it dry, brittle, and prone to breakage. Over time, this can weaken the hair shaft and make your hair feel stiff and unmanageable.
-
Residue Build-Up: Soap leaves behind a residue, often called “soap scum,” which can coat your hair and scalp, making it look dull and feel heavy. This residue can be particularly problematic if you live in an area with hard water.
-
Difficult to Rinse: Soap doesn’t rinse out as easily as shampoo, especially in hard water, leading to build-up that can aggravate conditions like dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis.
-
Tough on the Scalp: Using soap bars on your scalp can disrupt its natural pH, leading to irritation, dryness, and even an overproduction of oil as your scalp tries to compensate for the loss of its natural protective barrier.
How to Tell If Your Shampoo Bar Is Actually a Soap Bar
The market is flooded with products that claim to be "shampoo bars," but many are just repurposed soap bars. To avoid this, always check the ingredients. If the list includes saponified oils like Sodium Olivate, Sodium Palmate, or Sodium Cocoate, you're looking at a soap bar, not a real shampoo bar. These ingredients are created through a process called saponification, which produces a product with a high pH that is unsuitable for hair.
Additionally, steer clear of bars that contain harsh detergents like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), which can strip hair of moisture and cause irritation.
What Should a Proper Shampoo Bar Contain?
A real shampoo bar is carefully formulated with gentle, sulfate-free surfactants like Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate or Decyl Glucoside, which cleanse without over-drying. These ingredients, derived from coconut oil or sugar, are mild and effective for all hair types.
Look for conditioning agents like BTMS (Behentrimonium Methosulfate), which helps detangle and soften hair, along with moisturising ingredients like Pro-Vitamin B5, natural oils, and butters. These components not only cleanse but also hydrate and protect the hair.
Try our super foaming natural shampoo bars with gentle, lathering surfactants and plant-based foam booster to reduce build-up and leave your hair shiny and clean.
How to Restore Hair That’s Been Damaged by a Soap Bar
If you’ve been using a soap bar and your hair feels damaged, don’t worry - you can still restore its health. Here’s how:
- Clarify: Use a clarifying shampoo to remove any soap residue that may have built up on your hair and scalp.
- Deep Condition: Apply a deep conditioning treatment to help restore moisture and repair any damage caused by the high pH of the soap.
- Switch to a Real Shampoo Bar: Choose a shampoo bar formulated with gentle, pH-balanced ingredients that will nourish and protect your hair. The Solid Bar Company offers a range of eco-friendly, natural shampoo bars that are specially designed to cleanse and condition your hair without causing damage.
Why Choose Shampoo Bars?
Switching to a properly formulated shampoo bar comes with numerous benefits:
- Eco-friendly: Shampoo bars are plastic-free and reduce the need for water and packaging waste.
- Travel-friendly: Compact and lightweight, shampoo bars are ideal for travel without worrying about leaks.
- Long-lasting: A little goes a long way - shampoo bars are highly concentrated, meaning they last longer than liquid shampoos.
Conclusion: Don’t Blame the Shampoo Bar - Blame the Soap!
If you feel like a shampoo bar has damaged your hair, chances are it wasn’t a real shampoo bar but a soap bar in disguise. Real shampoo bars, like those from The Solid Bar Company, are formulated with the health of your hair in mind, using gentle ingredients that cleanse without stripping or damaging your hair.
For a natural, eco-friendly, and effective solution to hair care, explore The Solid Bar Company’s range of pH-balanced, nourishing shampoo bars and all natural conditioner bars. Use the code THANK YOU at checkout to enjoy 10% off your order.
(Please note: this post has been updated for 2024)
5 Responses
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Rebecca
November 13, 2024
Hello ‘Jim’,
Thank you for your question. Quite simply because the damage has already been done.
Extensive scientific research shows that a citric/vinegar/acidic rinse after using an alkaline bar, such as soap on hair, doesn’t stop or revert the damage the soap bar has already done to your hair, i.e. weakening and damaging it permanently.
The only way to prevent this would be to add a pH neutraliser to the bar during the actual formulation phase, such as citric acid.
This isn’t possible with soap, and most shampoos bars with alkaline surfactants don’t include this and are therefore, unfortunately, just as damaging as soap.