How We Make StarBars
Our shampoo and conditioner bars are handmade in Hood River, OR. If you are wondering how we make the formulas, I’m happy to share that information with you!
The first step is research. I read for hours about different ingredients and their effect on hair. There are so many amazing choices. Extracts can be fruity like blueberry and rosehip, herbal like ginger and rosemary and chamomile, and even exotic like sea buckthorn and bamboo. Oils can be light or heavy, and encompass everything from the well known ones like jojoba and argan to the more specialty oils like babassu and marula. Next I look at proteins like rice, quinoa, or oat. Finally, there are the butters like cocoa or shea or mango.
Then I make a spreadsheet of what ingredients will go together. When I’ve narrowed it down, it’s time to go shopping! I always buy sample sizes. I love when the package shows up and I get to see what each ingredient looks like. That’s when I hand the ingredients off to Ron, the chemist, and he makes a few different formulas using different amounts of each new ingredient.
I always make a tiny batch, just one bar, to see how the new ingredients work together. I have a little tabletop warmer that has three compartments so I can make three different bars at a time. I use a different color and fragrance for each one and take careful notes so we don’t get confused which is which. The bars only need to set overnight, and then they are ready for testing. I usually cut them into four to six pieces so I can have a number of testers.
Plenty of my friends and neighbors are happy to be my test subjects. Some of them will wash their hair with two different bars - one on each side - to see the difference. I only try one at a time; I prefer the experience of just seeing how they behave overall with my hair and scalp. Then we judge them on shower feel, compatibility, and the way the hair looks when it’s dried and styled.
As you can imagine, I have probably 12 to 18 pieces of shampoo and conditioner in my shower at all times! There are some that I definitely prefer, but I think even the rejects are better than most bottled shampoo and conditioners.
I am always developing new formulas. We hope to have a whole line of bars in the future, from haircare to skincare, all with no plastic packaging.
