How I Do 'Poo. (Shampoo, That Is.)

Full Disclosure: This post is a product review.**

I have a confession to make.

I don't wash my hair all that often.

No, really. I don't.


About six months ago, I read an article about going "No 'Poo," and thought that I'd give it a shot. Fewer chemicals than traditional shampoo, cheaper... I was all for it.

If you don't have the time to read the article, I'll give ya the Cliff Notes version of the "No 'Poo" plan:

Basically, instead of washing your hair with shampoo, you use a water and baking soda mixture in your (wet) hair, scrub, rinse, and then rinse with a vinegar solution.



I really wanted it to work.

But after about three days of "No 'Poo," I just couldn't take the grease anymore. I had to go back to my (well, Trevor's) regular old shampoo. And then I tried it again... and three days later was back to shampoo again.

So I started alternating days- on day one I'd shampoo, day two just a rinse with water, day three the baking soda mixture, and then back to shampoo. It was working... but wasn't ideal.

Enter Shack on the Rock.

I contacted Shack on the Rock about a bar shampoo- one with less chemicals than shampoo, and more soap than, well, baking soda. 

Like I've shared before, I really like buying products from real live people (rather than giant corporations) as much as possible. And Shack on the Rock is real live people.

Well, and these ladies:

Shack on the Rock specializes in goat's milk soaps, primarily, but they made an exception and tried their hands (and udders) at making some bar shampoo for me to try out.


The first thing I noticed about the soap was the scent- such a nice, clean, vibrant fragrance! I couldn't wait to try it!

But my Trevor showered first, and used my new shampoo (without permission, I might add) before I did. His opinion?

"My beard isn't tangled. Feels nice."

And there you have it.

Then it was my turn.

I was very impressed with how much the soap lathered up- I wasn't expecting so many bubbles! I just wet my hair and rubbed the soap right on top, and then scrubbed around a bit. My hair felt very clean afterwards, and I liked the lingering smell. And, a bonus, my hair dried pretty quickly, too.

After about a week using the bar of shampoo, I noticed that I was getting a little bit of a waxy feeling on my hair. I did a little research, and found out that a waxy feeling is usually associated with having hard water (which, yep, we have). They suggested using a little vinegar rinse to balance it out.

I used the vinegar rinse and kept up with the bar of shampoo for another week, no troubles. But by the end of week two, I felt pretty greasy (sort of like I did after 3 days of the baking soda stuff), and I gave in and shampooed with liquid shampoo again.

So- my final remarks?

Pro's: 

Fewer chemicals

Supporting a real person
Great smell
Not very much packaging
Would be great for travel (no exploding shampoo bottles!)
Takes longer to get all greasy than with baking soda

Con's: 

Waxy feeling with hard water
Eventually, hair got greasy

The consensus? 

I am really glad I found this shampoo bar. While I still am not going full on "No Shampoo," and I am still using 'real' shampoo about once every two weeks or so, I'm still greatly reducing the amount of chemicals I'm using on my body by using this shampoo bar the majority of the time.

Overall, a great experiment, and a great product!!


Not ready to try out bar shampoo? 

Try any of Shack on the Rock's other great products! The goat milk soaps are of great quality-- I've already got the Lavender soap and the Spearmint soap on my Christmas lists! (Hint, hint.)

**Product Reviews? This is a personal blog, and as such, I don't receive any monetary compensation for product reviews. All of  my reviews represent the opinion of the author of the blog-- me-- based on my own personal use and results. I may have received a free or discounted product to try out and review, but my opinions don't change because of any discount or complimentary product. I only review products that I would (or have) purchase(d) for my home or my family, and all opinions are mine (and/or my husband's).