Hairy Jayne : Floral Shampoo Bar

Hate having to pack heavy bottles of shampoo and conditioner for your trips away? They always take up far too much space, and if decanted for hand luggage, they’re too small to last the holiday! At The Amazing Blog, we’ve abandoned our regular liquid shampoos to try out the solid bars for a while. Today we’d like to share another of our latest #amazingfinds with a very travel-friendly sulphate-free Floral Shampoo Bar by Hairy Jayne; it’s gentle on hair and, best of all, won’t leak all over your clothes!

Hairy Jayne all began when hairdresser Jayne Rutland started getting raw hands from washing clients’ hair with mainstream and professional shampoos. This was when she decided it was time to investigate making her own natural hair care and went on to train at the cosmetics workshops Plush Folly. It inspired her to start experimenting and creating shampoos and conditioners using only natural plant oils. Jayne wanted a vintage-style name that everyone would remember, and ‘Hairy Jayne’ was born; it also rhymes with Mary Jane (shoes), which she says makes people laugh. She formulates and oversees the making of all her refillable and zero-waste hair care products, which are Vegan Society certified and cruelty-free. All ingredients are naturally derived and sustainably sourced. Jayne explained, “Unlike a lot of other zero waste beauty brands in the UK, we live, breathe and specialise in hair care. We only make hair care. We believe that living a sustainable lifestyle shouldn’t mean compromising how lovely your zero-waste shampoo and conditioner makes your hair feel.” Sustainability is also of paramount importance to Hairy Jayne; therefore, the packaging is either plastic-free, biodegradable or comes in refillable bottles. They also reuse packing materials wherever possible and plant a tree for every product sold with Ecologi to help reduce carbon emissions. The brand is probably best known for its sulphate-free Shampoo Bars, which have certainly made their mark as a Gold winner at the Free From Skin Awards 2020 and, more recently, as a Commended Winner in 2022, the Beauty Shortlist Awards.

Let’s talk more about The Shampoo Bars; these are ‘sydnet bars’, a made-up word that combines ‘synthetic’ and ‘detergent’. The detergent they use (sodium cocoyl isethionate) is derived from coconut oil. Jayne tells us, “The sulphate-free detergents we use in our solid shampoos are very mild and hair softening and won’t damage the hair like a traditional soap would. Syndet bars work better in hard water than soap does, too.” The brand offers a chart under ‘Is This The Right Product For You?’  showing the type of shampoo bar and the best option for each hair type. Jayne explained her reasoning for creating the Shampoo Bar, comparing herself to soap bars, “Unfortunately, there are a lot of products on the market that say ‘shampoo bar’ on the label, but they are actually bars of natural soap with added hair-friendly ingredients. These soap bars give solid shampoo bars a bit of a bad name when the user is left with hair that feels waxy and dull.” It’s because a simple natural soap isn’t the right pH level to use in the hair. Something to note is that shampoos need to be acidic (compared to soaps which are very alkaline) because the pH level of hair is between 4.5 and 5.5, which is acidic on the pH scale. pH-balanced shampoos don’t strip your hair and scalp of natural oils and protect it from dryness, frizz and damage. A slightly acidic shampoo also seals the hair cuticles keeping it strong and shining.

The Shampoo Bars come in four different fragrances:  Floral, Citrus, Musk and Herbal. Colour coded for hair types (see about ‘chart’ above), these are sulphate-free Shampoo Bars contain many ingredients as the liquid sulphate-free shampoos. We tried the ‘Floral Shampoo Bar’, which has three key essential oils, geranium, bergamot and vanilla, to give it its fragrance and restorative properties. The geranium also targets the scalp; and controls dryness, excess oil, and sebum production. Bergamot is rich in fatty acids and conditions and tames frizz. Lastly, vanilla strengthens hair and induces blood flow to the scalp.

The core ingredients in each Shampoo Bars are sulphate-free cleansers, mango seed butter, olive oil, aloe vera, green clay, palm-free stearic acid, detangling agent, and essential oils. The sulphate-free cleansers are sodium cocoyl isethionate, derived from the fatty acids in coconut oil that attract oil and water in the formula making it blend together; and disodium cocoamphodiacetate is a foam booster, that also conditions and improves dry, or damaged hair by replenishing moisture. The mango seed butter seals moisture and reduces breakage giving hair its elasticity. Olive oil provides softness and shine, and aloe vera controls greasy and helps an itchy scalp. Green clay anchors the essential oils allowing the scent to remain strong within the shampoo bar; it’s also effective at eliminating dirt and toxins while balancing oil production. Finally, the stearic acid is vegetable-derived and here as an emulsifier, stabiliser and thickener. 

What we like about this Shampoo Bar is the absence of water, and the concentration of ingredients, which means that it lasts longer than its liquid counterpart. Hairy Jayne gives three eco-friendly packaging options: recyclable cardboard box, reusable aluminium tin or no outer package (naked). To use the Shampoo Bar, they recommend saturating hair and massaging the Shampoo Bar directly onto the scalp, then rinsing away. Edwina, who tested this Shampoo Bar for the Awards, has very long, fine curly hair and gave it the big thumbs up. It lasted over a month, smelt amazing and was very gentle on her scalp and hair. In fact, it left her scalp nourished and with no irritation, unlike some other liquid sulphate-free shampoos. She also used Hairy Jayne’s multi-award-winning liquid Treatment Conditioner in tandem with the Shampoo Bar, and recommends it as a conditioner for optimum results - i.e. tangle-free hair!

Why not invest in this for gentle hair care for home use, or for your next trip away? To purchase the 50g Floral Shampoo Bar (which can last up to 2-3 months) for only £9, see here. Or, if you’re looking for a hair care bundle, they start at £15 here.

Grüum: Shampoo Bars

The shampoo you use can make or break your hair (literally!), and when it comes to chosing your haircare, there are so many factors to consider. With many choices available on the market, at The Amazing Blog we tend to gravitate towards natural and eco-friendly products with simple ingredients that we can recognise. Today, we’re highlighting the natural brand Grüum and four types of their shampoo bars. 

Grüum is a Manchester-based brand founded in 2016 by four friends Andy Shaw, Bethanie Sleigh, Simon Leonard, George Lagonikas. During a trip to the supermarket, they realised how there was a lack of good natural skin and haircare products for both men and women at reasonable prices. Determined to create affordable and straightforward everyday skin, hair, and grooming essentials, the friends quit their jobs, invested their savings, and launched Grüum. Inspired by Scandinavian ideals, they launched Grüum based on the three core principles of “Simplicity, Honesty and Fairness,” to reflect each of their products. They created inclusive products, and developed a single skincare range suitable for anyone regardless of age, gender, or race. Grüum products are free from toxins and contain natural ingredients, and the brand does not use EDTA, parabens, or artificial colours. We were also happy to find that Grüum never tests on animals nor sources ingredients from suppliers who do, and almost all of their products are vegan! Grüum is also eco-friendly: they make their products in the UK, reducing transport emissions and use only space-efficient and minimal packaging with recyclable materials. They are the first UK brand to offer a shaving razor recycling system. 

We were sent four of Grüum’s Shampoo Bars, which are a solid form of shampoo. While liquid shampoos contain detergents that can often strip the hair of its natural oils, shampoo bars contain solidified oils, butters, conditioners, and cleansers that don’t lead to breakage or dry hair out over time. Grüum uses Sodium Coco-Sulfate, a palm-free alternative to the traditionally-used sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) detergent extracted from coconuts. Shampoo bars also contain less water than liquid shampoo, meaning that the shampoo is more concentrated and potent with ingredients. Because they’re solid, shampoo bars also reduce plastic waste, and are travel friendly. The first of these bars that we tried was Grüum’s Shine Boost Bar with henna and juniper extracts . While most of us associate henna with the dye used for skin and hair, this extract from the Henna flower also helps seal the hair cuticle, making it less susceptible to breakage and increasing its shine. Juniper extract has astringent qualities, meaning that it tightens pores, strengthens hair roots, and increases hair growth. Because of henna extract it makes this bar best for darker and dyed hair. The second bar that we tried was Grüum’s Revitalising Bar for dull hair. The key ingredient in this bar is cocoa butter, a butter rich in antioxidants and fatty acids extracted from cocoa beans. Because of its nutrients, cocoa butter offers many benefits for hair: It moisturises hair, strengthens the hair shaft, prevents hair loss due to breakage, replenishes oils, and repairs damaged hair strands. The cocoa butter, along with the coconut oil in the bar, left our hair feeling squeaky clean but smooth and moisturised at the same time. The third bar that Grüum sent to us was their Brightening Shampoo Bar with lemon and sweet almond oil.  The lemon juice contains citric acid, which acts as a natural bleaching agent and on the hair. As a lightener, lemon juice is the most effective for dark blond to light blond hair, so it’s best used to maintain the brilliance of hair that’s already light. Unlike other almond oils, sweet almond oil is free from toxins and contains high concentrations of vitamin A and E, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc. The oil moisturises both the scalp and the hair, preventing breakage, split ends, itchy scalp, and dry roots. The final bar that Grüum shared with us was the Nourishing Shampoo Bar with coconut oil. A natural and straightforward bar with only five ingredients, the main star of this shampoo bar is its coconut oil. The fatty acid found in coconut oil is lauric acid, giving it a long structure that is easily absorbed into the inner layer of the hair shaft and helping to reduce protein loss. This protein retention allows hair to become more moisturised, smooth and shiny. With its simple but effective ingredients, it’s no wonder that this shampoo bar is suitable for all hair types! This was our favourite, with our long and also curly hair this worked the best out of the four, as it left hair clean and not too tangly. To use any of these bars, wet your hair and swirl the shampoo bar between your hands or over your hair to create a lather. Then, massage into your hair and rinse. However, we would like to mention you DO need conditioner with these shampoo bars, they are not a 2-in-1. Grüum do a Conditioner Bar, but sadly didn’t send it to us.

If you’re interested in making the switch to Grüum’s shampoo bars, you can find all four bars mentioned above on their website in 50g bars for £8.00 for a one-time purchase or £5.00 if you sign up for one of their subscription services. Best of all, these shampoos are long-lasting and offer up to 60 washes per bar! The Shine Boost Bar with Henna and Juniper is available here, and the Revitalising Bar for Dull Hair is available here. You can purchase the Brightening Shampoo Bar with Lemon and Sweet Almond Oil here and the Nourishing Shampoo Bar with Coconut Oil here.