Skincare Saturday: Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve Shampoo Bar Selection Reviews

In preparation for my month abroad, I decided I needed some shampoo bars. I didn't want to pay Lush prices, especially since their bars contain SLS, and a quick Google search led me to Chagrin Valley, purveyors of shampoo and soap bars, among many other bath and body products. I ordered a few generously-sized samples, decided on the shampoo bar I wanted to bring with me, and then evidently never hit the order button, leading to a frantic search for shampoo bars in Eugene. Fortunately, it's a hippie town, so I was able to find one without issue (Camanu Rosemary Nettle, if you're curious), but I really liked the Chagrin Valley stuff in general and thought I should review it! Starting with the shampoo bars today and the soaps I've tried next week.

Solid shampoo is a great choice when traveling, as it's not subject to the TSA's ridiculous 3 oz limit on liquids. It's also nice for hair that doesn't fare well with traditional shampoo ingredients like SLS (sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate) and coco betaine. I have fine, curly hair that I dye, so I try to steer clear of ingredients that strip my hair––there are a number of liquid shampoos/cleansing conditioners that I find work well for me (I can talk about those later if anyone's interested?), but I like shampoo bars for their ease of transport.

One thing to note about solid shampoos, and SLS-free shampoos in general, is that it takes some time for your hair to adjust to them. I started with As I Am Coconut Cleansing Conditioner, a cream from Sally Beauty, which was a nice in-between step, so my shift to shampoo bars was pretty painless, but if you're going straight from traditional shampoos to natural shampoo bars, it could take a couple of weeks before your hair stops being grouchy.

As with normal shampoo, you have to concentrate it at the roots of your hair; I like to rub it around my hairline (face and neck) and up the top of my head, then thoroughly massage it over my scalp, gently spreading it down to the ends of my hair, then thoroughly rinsing. It takes 2-3 minutes for the whole process, as I try to make really sure I've gotten it all out, and if you live in a place with very hard water, shampoo bars might not be the right thing for you, as such water can be ineffective at rinsing it out, leading to limp, coated hair (gross). I luckily live in an area with very soft water (PNW ftw!), but you can check yours here; see also Ida's (Chagrin Valley's founder) discussion and suggestions here. Even in areas with soft water, she suggests doing a baking soda/ACV rinse every month or so, but I'm too lazy for that; instead, I just use a shampoo with SLS every few weeks to get rid of any and all buildup.

Good lord, that's a lot of background. Now, to the reviews!

Quick Reviews: Updated Haircare Routine

Suave seems to have discontinued my previous haircare products, so I decided to try venturing out and trying something new.

image via Drugstore

For shampoo, I picked up the new Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion Color Care Shampoo, which I actually really, really like. It's got a very mildly sweet smell (like nice department store perfume, actually––very pleasant in a shampoo), it foams like crazy, I only need a little bit to get my hair clean, it rinses out easily, and it helps reduce frizz.

image via Drugstore

It works really well with my current conditioner, Herbal Essences Totally Twisted, which is intensely moisturizing (less is more with this stuff, since if I use too much, it weighs my hair down) and very effective for keeping my curls bouncy. Unfortunately, it smells like synthetic froot, but I guess you can't win it all! Both run around $3 at drugstores, less if you wait for a sale. I recommend both; I think the shampoo would work for just about anyone who has issues with frizz and dyes their hair, and the conditioner would obviously work best for those with curly hair (keep in mind that my hair is very fine, so it may not work  as well if yours is really thick, though who knows, it could work even better!). 

My Hair Routine: Suave Color Protection Shampoo and Captivating Curls Conditioner Reviews

I've been working on a big post summarizing my beauty collection (arsenal?), and while linking to the reviews I've done, I realized I've never actually written a post on my shampoo and conditioner! (The only other styling product I use is Suave Captivating Curls Mousse, which I reviewed here.)

images via Suave

Borrowed Products: Mini Reviews

While I was on the East Coast, I had to resort to the generosity of the people I was staying with for bath supplies, since I couldn't bring my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and shaving cream on the plane with me (at least, not without paying to check my bag, and I wasn't about to do that!).  The one really nice thing about it, though (besides how nice my housemates were), is that I got to try some products I wouldn't have otherwise.  I'm just going to do all of them in this post, because I'm too lazy to do detailed reviews for each of them, but if you want more deets, leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!

Aussie Moist Shampoo and Conditioner

This is one of those products that is really well liked by huge volumes of people.  It's lightly moisturizing but doesn't weigh hair down, which makes it a good choice for many types of hair.  My hair, however, being fine and curly, goes crazy in humidity, and this shampoo-conditioner combo just didn't cut it.  I found the shampoo didn't lather as much as I like, and I had to use a lot of the conditioner to detangle (that's pretty much always the case, though).  I wish it had more heavy moisturizers, honestly, because my hair tended to grow 3 sizes whenever I stepped outside.  On the upside, it was nice and soft, but still: '80s-style poodle puff isn't my best look.  $3-$5 for 13.5 oz, from drugstores

L'Oreal EverPure Moisture Shampoo Review

I dye my hair every couple of months, because I have some grey clusters on my head that I'm not ready to succumb to (I'm only 22!  I don't want to have a big skunk streak in my hair!).  While I use a conditioner aimed at curly hair most of the time (when I'm not using my Aussie), I try to use shampoo designed for dyed hair in an effort to prevent fading.  The one I've been using for the past few months is L'Oreal's EverPure Moisture shampoo, which is sulfate-free.  I don't put much stock in the sulfate and paraben avoidance craze, because there hasn't been any research that shows a definitive link between them and cancer––the most anyone has said is that they may contribute to cancer, but that can be said about many things (microwaves, cell phones, sunlight, puppies, chocolate...okay, I may have made some of those up, but you know what I mean).  I have re-bought this shampoo, but I think I'll try branching out when I run out, because it has some issues.

image from L'Oreal