Welcome to StarBars Part 2
Hi! Thanks for reading part two! Let’s go back to 2020 when I started thinking about shampoo bars….
I started Googling “shampoo bars,” and it turned out they actually did exist. I was super excited to try them. I bought a set of shampoo and conditioner bars and omg, I LOVED them. Well, I loved the shampoo. I thought the conditioner was a little weird.
Since I was between careers (this was during the pandemic), I contacted the shampoo bar company to see if maybe I could be some kind of rep or work for them remotely. They said no thanks. That’s when I decided to find out if I could make my own bars, and maybe even sell them at some point.
With absolutely no idea where to start, I hit the Google again and began reading everything I could about hair, soap, shampoo ingredients, surfactants, the pH of your hair and scalp. I watched You Tube videos on how to make shampoo and conditioner bars at home. I read every blog post on make-your-own sites. I hunted up scientific papers on hair and shampoo. I went to the bookstore in Portland (with a mask on of course) and bought a couple of books on making cosmetics. After looking at pretty much every on-line formula, I was ready to try to make my own shampoo bar. I made a list, and bought the ingredients I needed to start.
I wish I had taken a photo of my first attempt. Actually, I think I did but I’m too embarrassed to share it. I made a few gray-ish hand rolled logs. I passed out a couple to my closest friends (who have great hair, unlike mine), and kept one for myself.
Well, it was like washing my hair with dish detergent. Which is why I ended up washing my dishes with it. I told my testers to wash anything but their hair with it.
But I didn’t stop trying. I just kept making small batches of shampoo until they started turning out a little better. I read more articles and started understanding them. I tried making conditioner formulas. I passed out samples to absolutely everyone I knew to get feedback from them (including my sister’s dog - the only animal testing I did.) I joined Facebook groups, I talked to hair stylists and salon owners. I met with a counselor from the Small Business Development Center. I bought equipment from Craigs List and garage sales. My kitchen was half devoted to food, half to shampoo and conditioner.
My husband happens to be a chemical engineer. He helped me make spreadsheets, taught me how to write formulas, and researched the ingredients. He was also my main guinea pig.
The bars got better and better. People started asking for them! Even people I didn’t know, who had just heard about the bars were interested. It turns out a lot of people are looking for a great product that is plastic free. I just kept passing out free samples and asking for feedback.
And that gets us to today, two years later. I think my shampoo and conditioner bars are AMAZING and I’m proud to stand behind them. My hair is longer, softer and thicker than it’s ever been. My part has filled in, and there’s almost never broken hair in the sink after I dry it. The gentle ingredients I use are so much better than anything I’ve found in bottles. Besides the fact that they work better than anything I’ve found in a bottle, I feel great because they are plastic free.
And that bald spot? It’s gone.
