14 Best Shampoo Bars for Every Hair Type, According to Testing
These eco-friendly solid shampoos will help you ditch the bottle.
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Swapping a shampoo bar in for your favorite shampoo brand is one way to reduce plastic waste in your daily routine. Shampoo bars are often minimally packaged in recyclable cardboard or reusable containers, which cuts down on packaging waste. Not to mention, they're touted as more concentrated than their liquid counterparts.
But can shampoo bars deliver the same performance as your favorite bottled shampoo? The chemists in the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab put that theory to the test. They regularly test shampoos, from thickening shampoos to shampoo for colored hair, hydrating shampoo for dry hair and beyond. To find the best solid shampoos, we recruited 10 testers with a variety of hair concerns — from curly to oily — to try the shampoo bars at home or while traveling.
With that in mind, we found the best shampoo bars and broke down all the ins and outs of how to use them. Our list of recommended picks consists of GH Beauty Award winners, expert-tested picks and staffer favorites.
Garnier Whole Blends Honey Treasures Restoring Shampoo Bar
Pros
- Ample lather
- FSC-certified packaging
Cons
- May break apart in its last few washes
Every GH Beauty Lab expert was impressed with this bargain-priced teardrop-shaped gem from Garnier. This is no small feat as our experts' strands cover a wide range, from oily to dry, thin to coarse and unprocessed to bleached. "The lather is lush, it smells amazing, and it leaves hair feeling fully clean yet not dry," said GH Beauty Director April Franzino.
We also like that it is cruelty-free certified by Leaping Bunny and packaged in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified cardboard, meaning that the packaging is not only recyclable curbside but is also obtained responsibly from well-managed forests. A couple of shoppers online noted that once the bar reached its last few washes, it started to crack and break apart.
• Key ingredients: Honey, beeswax
• Fragrance: Honey and musk
• Number of washes: Up to 70-75
• Size: 2 oz.
Pros
- Enriched with nourishing plant oils, butters and extracts
- Fragranced with essential oils
- Great at detangling
Cons
- May need a separate frizz-fighting product
Cleanse and condition with Good Juju's shampoo bar for dry, curly hair. Think a rich blend of conditioning ingredients, including natural butters and oils — sacha inchi oil, broccoli seed oil, snow mushroom extract and shea butter — to soften and reduce frizz in curly hair.
Former GH Analyst Jodhaira Rodriguez raved about this bar for curly hair, saying it "lathered up really well" and "the scent is very pleasant and light." While shoppers appreciated its detangling powers, others thought it wasn't as great at fighting frizz.
• Key ingredients: Coconut oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, cocoa butter
• Fragrance: Sweet orange and patchouli
• Number of washes: Up to 75
• Size: 2.5 oz.
Pros
- Great for sensitive skin types
- Won't strip skin
- Body cleanser, too
Cons
- Melts quicker than expected
Gentle enough for children and adults with sensitive skin, this unscented cleansing bar uses a mild mix of olive oil and avocado, a.k.a., ingredients that are less likely to dry out skin. A GH Beauty Lab analyst appreciated that the shampoo lathered up easily and cleansed hair well.
"I like the leaf shape of the bar. It is easy to hold and lather up without it slipping from my hands," our expert added. Amazon reviewers agreed, but some reported that it melted faster than expected, lasting about three weeks.
• Key ingredients: Avocado oil, olive oil
• Fragrance: Unscented
• Number of washes: Up to 75-80
• Size: 2.64 oz.
Sunniemade Mighty Mango Moisturizing Shampoo Bar
Pros
- Pleasant fruit scent
- Intuitive for first-time shampoo bar users
Cons
- Gets small quite quickly
Packing a pleasant citrus punch, Sunniemade's shampoo bar impressed our testers with its refreshing (not overly sweet) scent. It even made a believer out of a first-time shampoo bar user, GH Engineer Alec Scherma, who liked that it's pretty simple to use.
"I just lathered it in my hands, and it smelled great," he said. "[It] gave me just as good of a lather as my usual shampoo. My hair didn't feel weird afterward like it does with some new shampoos either!" One caveat is that it got much smaller quickly after continuous use.
• Key ingredients: Coconut oil, cocoa butter, panthenol
• Fragrance: Mango
• Number of washes: Up to 75
• Size: 2.1 oz.
Pros
- Contains fine sea salt for scrubbing
- Uplifting summery scent
Cons
- Not as great value
Famous for its next-level bath bombs, Lush's Seanick Shampoo Bar brings the beach to your bathroom with bits of real seaweed and fine sea salt granules to refresh those with oily hair.
A GH tester wrote, "I like its rough texture; it feels like I'm actually scrubbing away dirt." She also praised the fresh scent, saying the bar "makes my hair and the shower smell like an ocean breeze." For $15, however, the bar is quite small.
• Key ingredients: Lemon oil, seaweed, sea salt
• Fragrance: Citrus, mimosa and jasmine
• Number of washes: Up to 70-75
• Size: 1.9 oz.
Blue Dunes Tangerine Dream Shampoo Bar
Pros
- Great lather
- Fresh, subtle citrusy scent
- Improved the appearance of shine
Cons
- Leaves hair with a squeaky feeling if not paired with conditioner
- Pricey
Blue Dunes offers a citrus-infused lather with its Tangerine Dream shampoo bar. While first skeptical of its effectiveness, our tester was quickly blown away by its performance. "It lathered and foamed so quickly, even quicker than my regular shampoo," she said. The palm-sized bar glides easily across the scalp.
After rinsing, it did leave a strange squeaky feel on hair, but its matching conditioner bar helped make it silky again. "Once my hair air dried, it felt very light and clean with a nice shine to it," added our tester, who has dry, damaged hair from heat styling. Plus, the jar packaging, per the brand, is made of compostable and biodegradable material.
• Key ingredients: Cocoa butter, coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil
• Fragrance: Orange, grapefruit and palmarosa
• Number of washes: Up to 70
• Size: Not listed
Pros
- Moisturizing
- Made to treat scalp eczema and psoriasis
Cons
- Hair gets dirtier faster than washing with bottled shampoo
Haircare brand Ethique offers a wide range of shampoo bars to target different hair types and concerns. Its calming option is formulated with karanja oil, which is used to treat scalp conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Testers also appreciated its "fresh scent."
One tester who has a dry scalp said the bar left her "hair and scalp feeling moisturized even before conditioning. I air-dried my hair, and it looked very voluminous after using this shampoo." However, compared to her normal shampoo, she needed a wash by day four rather than her typical day five.
• Key ingredients: Oatmeal, karanja oil, neem seed oil
• Fragrance: Kiwi
• Number of washes: Up to 80
• Size: 3.88 oz.
Love Beauty and Planet Coconut Water Shampoo + Conditioner Bar
Pros
- Long-lasting
- Doubles as a conditioner
Cons
- Thick, coarse strands may still require a separate conditioner
Thanks to coconut oil in its formula, this Love Beauty and Planet pick both cleans hair and leaves strands with enough lubrication to double up as a conditioner. It's a favorite of former GH Analyst Jamie Spain who said, "I've used this bar for about a year, and it still isn't done, so I love that it truly has a lot of product."
Made with sulfate-free surfactants, this bar is formulated for fine hair, so those with thicker hair may want to follow it with a conditioner.
• Key ingredients: Coconut oil, coconut water
• Fragrance: Creamy coconut and delicate floral notes
• Number of washes: Up to 80-85
• Size: 4 oz.
L'Occitane Intensive Repair Solid Shampoo
Pros
- Leaves hair feeling soft
- 100% recycled paper used in packaging
Cons
- Scent intensity may lessen with use
If your hair is dry, brittle and parched for moisture, consider this nourishing pick from L'Occitane. Their sulfate-free bar claims to treat damaged strands with oat amino acids, sunflower oil and olive oil.
GH Beauty Lab experts were impressed by how it left hair feeling soft and shiny. They also love that it comes in a 100% recycled cardboard box. Others online thought the scent's intensity wore off the bar when kept out of its package.
• Key ingredients: Vitamin B5, sunflower oil, amino acids, olive oil
• Fragrance: Lavender, ylang ylang, sweet orange and geranium
• Number of washes: Up to 70-75
• Size: 2.1 oz.
HiBAR Moisturize Shampoo Bar
Pros
- Ample lather
- Helps tame frizz
- Shaped to reach roots
Cons
- Strong scent
A favorite among reviewers with thick hair, HiBar's shampoo bar is molded into an asymmetric bullet shape, which allows for easy lathering and reaching the roots of thick strands. Plus, the conditioning formula with rice protein leaves hair "shiny and hydrated," according to a GH tester.
The bar earned overwhelmingly positive reviews across our consumer surveys. A tester who struggles with frizziness was pleasantly surprised by how smooth and soft it left her hair. One small con that online reviewers noted is that its orange scent is strong.
• Key ingredients: Coconut oil, rice protein, vitamin B5
• Fragrance: Citrus and ginger
• Number of washes: Up to 80-85
• Size: 3.2 oz.
Pros
- Soft, fluffy lather
- Rinses easilly
Cons
- Divisive scent
Suds up hair with the soft, fluffy lather of this BRIXY shampoo bar. Its combination of coconut oil, argan oil and vitamin B help clean without leaving hair feeling stripped. "It works well on my curly hair, and it rinses cleanly," said Deputy Editor Sarah Wharton.
She added: "The eucalyptus-mint scent is so refreshing in the morning. I've been using it for months, so I can say it's reasonably long-lasting (though disclaimer that my hair is pixie short!)." Those who shopped the bar online were more divided on the scent, with some not smelling the coconut or vanilla.
• Key ingredients: Coconut oil, argan oil, vitamin B
• Fragrance: Mint eucalyptus
• Number of washes: Up to 80-85
• Size: 4 oz.
Pros
- Built-in loop for hanging up anywhere
- Travel box available for purchase
- Good value
Cons
- Lather in hands first to avoid waxy residue
Rising to the top in a test of bar shampoos carried out by our sister lab at Hearst Institute in the UK, this Foamie bar won praise for leaving hair smooth and being great for travel. The brand offers a novel travel box that can be purchased separately. Its built-in cloth loop makes it easy to hang it up to dry wherever you are, and the travel box ensures the bar arrives at your destination mess-free.
The bar's shape is also easy to hold, preventing accidental drops. One online reviewer recommends lathering up the bar first, then applying it to the hair; otherwise, applying directly to hair may leave a waxy residue on hair ends.
• Key ingredients: Hibiscus extract
• Fragrance: Tropical hibiscus
• Number of washes: Up to 70-75
• Size: 2.8 oz.
Pros
- Refreshing scent
- FSC-certified packaging
Cons
- May not be as long-lasting
HiBar's fragrance made from citrus oils will please every family member. It's a favorite of GH Director Dan DiClerico, who enjoyed that this bar "has a nice, neutral scent and leaves my hair feeling clean." Another tester echoed that sentiment and added they "liked the sustainability [aspect] of the product."
A past winner of our Sustainable Innovation Awards, the bar comes in a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)–certified paper pouch wrapped in a soy wax-coated inner pack to help maintain the bar's integrity during shipping and storage. Our consumer tester was just unsure that the bar would last as long as the packaging claimed because they used up quite a lot in a few short washes.
• Key ingredients: Shea butter
• Fragrance: Lime, orange, lemon, grapefruit and ginger
• Number of washes: Up to 75-80
• Size: 3.2 oz.
Ethique Pinkalicious Uplifting Solid Shampoo Bar
Pros
- Helps smooth frizz
- Leaves hair feeling nice and clean
Cons
- Our testers found the bar tasking to hold
Fine hair types, rejoice! Ethique's Pinkalicious shampoo bar lathered well and left hair feeling nice and smooth after each wash. Our tester with fine hair and frizziness appreciated its light grapefruit scent, noting that it wasn't "overwhelming or overly perfumey."
The bar is molded into a thick, square shape designed to be rubbed directly onto wet hair. However, our tester flagged that it made it a tad difficult to hold and thus, she applied it to her hair in sections.
• Key ingredients: Coconut oil, grapefruit oil, creamed coconut
• Fragrance: Pink grapefruit, vanilla
• Number of washes: Up to 80
• Size: 3.88 oz.
Other shampoo bars we tested
In our research, we also considered the Ethique Volumizing Shampoo Bar. A GH tester appreciated its lather and how it made hair feel clean even after a day at the beach. However, they noted that their hair was harder to brush out than when washing with a bottled shampoo. Most notably, they found that the product stung if it gets into your eyes.
We also tried the popular Kitsch Shampoo Bar. Our consumer panel enjoyed how easy it is to use and its pleasant scent. Their caveat was that its texture felt "waxy and sticky" on hair. "When I washed out my hair and dried it, my hair was less frizzy, but overall felt more dry than I would have liked," a tester said.
How we chose the best shampoo bars
Each year, the GH Institute tests hundreds of products, including shampoo bars, during our Beauty Awards and Sustainable Innovation Awards. When evaluating shampoo bars, we look at their lather quality, whether they leave hair feeling clean and soft and whether they last a reasonable amount of time in shower conditions.
Our list of recommendations also includes shampoo bars that our beauty editors love and use regularly at home. Most recently in 2024, we gathered a group of 10 testers who each completed a survey on their at-home experience. Our editors then sifted through those 120 data points and included the top-performing picks.
What to look for when shopping for a shampoo bar
Here's how to choose the best shampoo bar for your hair and needs, according to hair experts:
✔️ Pick one that's formulated for your hair type. Shampoo bars, like liquid shampoos, are formulated with both cleansing surfactants to wash away dirt and conditioning ingredients to leave hair soft and manageable. Bars for curly or thick hair will be more conditioning, while bars for fine hair will be lighter on conditioners to prevent weighed-down strands. Some brands also have bar conditioners to go with their shampoos for those who need more conditioning.
✔️ Check the ingredients to avoid soap-based bars. "Know what is in your bar," advises April Kayganich, a hairstylist, hair educator and hair texture expert in Austin, Texas. Shampoo bars might look like bars of soap, but they won't perform the same on your hair. For the best results, avoid soap-based shampoo bars. These may list ingredients such as saponified vegetable oils, sodium palmitate, sodium cocoate or sodium hydroxide. While not harmful, they might cause unpleasant dryness, dull strands and a feeling of residue on the hair.
Are shampoo bars better than bottle shampoo?
Shampoo bars aren't necessarily better for your hair than traditional shampoos, but they can be just as effective at cleansing strands. "Bar shampoo formulations have gotten quite sophisticated since they first appeared in the market and now there are variants that can possibly meet the needs of all sorts of hair types and textures," says Birnur Aral, Ph.D., the former GH Institute Beauty, Health & Sustainability Lab executive director. "It is more of a preference for the consumer and less that one type is better for hair than the other."
"With any new shampoo your hair will take time to adjust," Kayganich says, so give yourself some time. "Most people take about one to two weeks to see an adjustment in how their hair feels, especially when it comes to sebum, the natural oil your scalp produces."
Are shampoo bars damaging?
They shouldn't be: Well-made shampoo bars like the picks on this list contain similar gentle surfactants as those in liquid shampoos. The main ingredients found in the bars on our list, such as sodium cocoyl isethionate and sodium lauryl- or coco- sulfate, are very common cleansers in liquid shampoos. Just as in liquid shampoos, these do a great job at cleaning hair without leaving residue.
Are shampoo bars good for the environment?
Shampoo bars have a few eco-friendly advantages over bottled shampoos:
✔️ Many shampoo bars boast plastic-free packaging, which means you can reduce the plastic waste created by your routine. "Their cardboard boxes are more likely to end up being recycled once being collected at the curbside since there is more value in recycling cardboard than recycling plastic," Aral explains. Overall, "bar shampoos are less likely to contribute to waste that goes to landfills," she says.
✔️ They're lighter-weight and take less energy to ship. "The main difference between liquid shampoos and bar shampoos is the water content in the two formulas," says Aral. "Whereas liquid shampoos may contain as much as three quarters or more water, solid bar shampoos contain much less," she adds. That means a solid shampoo bar can also give you the same number of washes as a bottle, but in a lighter format. Thus, as Aral notes, less energy is required to ship bar shampoos compared to liquid shampoos.
Chiara (she/her) is a reviews analyst in the Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she conducts hands-on testing of health and beauty products. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Columbia University. Before joining GH in 2022, she worked as a cosmetic chemist, formulating skincare products for a variety of brands and learning to decode ingredient lists, evaluate ingredient efficacy and scrutinize product claims.
Jacqueline (she/her) was a commerce editor for Good Housekeeping from 2021 to 2024. Prior to joining GH, she was a style and beauty reviews fellow at Insider, testing viral trends, reviewing sustainable brands and more. She's a graduate of the University of Florida's School of Journalism, with a specialty in magazines and mass communication.
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