Sophie Edme

Sophie Edme

Switching to solid shampoo – The “Transition Period” – myth or reality?

Can we talk about this so called “transition period” that occurs when someone switches from using liquid shampoo to a solid shampoo version?

The internet is packed full of reports of people experiencing a period of greasy, lank hair when they start using solid shampoo. Over time, it gradually gets better but it can take several weeks or even months before the user is satisfied with how their hair looks and feels.

Surely this transition period to solid shampoo is all part of the process?

The thing is, not all shampoo bars are created equally and the unfortunate reality is that a lot of solid shampoos on the market are actually body soap packaged up to masquerade as shampoo.

There are many soap makers out there who have created a version of their product that they claim is suitable for hair. They use what is known as the “cold-process” method to create the shampoo (the same process used to make standard soap) resulting in a product that has the completely wrong pH level for the scalp and hair.

If you grabbed a normal bar of soap and started using it on your hair, it’s highly probable you’ll start experiencing a transition period. This is because your hair is now struggling to cope with a pH balance that is now completely out of whack. The typical reaction is for your scalp to start over-producing oils resulting in the greasy, lank hair widely reported when going through this transition period.

Because hair is pretty amazing, it will eventually adjust to the new product and altered pH levels but, because you’re using something that’s not really suitable for hair, it’ll do damage over time.

The Good News

The good news is that for every naughty soapmaker passing off soap as shampoo, there is a knowledgeable soapmaker using the right methods and ingredients to create a product that contains the right pH level for your hair. (Btw don’t blame the naughty soapmakers, they probably just don’t know any better!)

Genuine solid shampoo will not cause your hair to go into meltdown. Genuine solid shampoo also does not require you to endure a transition period and genuine solid shampoo will make your hair look at feel just as good (if not better) as when you used liquid shampoo.

“But that must mean solid shampoo contains the same chemical nasties as liquid shampoo!”

Nope!

Solid shampoo can quite happily contain all-natural ingredients and still do as good a job at cleaning your hair and making it look great as liquid versions.

How do I know if it’s a genuine plastic free shampoo or not?

Unfortunately you don’t until you start using it. If you buy a solid shampoo and you begin to experience a transition period, stop using it for your hair and only use it on your body.

Of course, we would never dupe our amazing customers in such a manner. Sophie’s Barn solid shampoo has been processed the right way and therefore has the correct pH level for your hair. It takes countless hours of research and testing to get the formula right for shampoo and we’ve painstakingly created a beautiful solid shampoo that ticks ALL the boxes!

We’re pleased to report that none of our customers so far have experienced any trace of a transition period. Maybe that’s why we keep selling out of the stuff…

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