What's in our solid shampoo for Men?
Our ingredients at a glance
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Coconut oil*, Sweet Almond oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Aqua, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate†, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Limonene‡
*Organic †From vegan-friendly source ‡Naturally occurring in the essential oils used in the bars.
Our ingredients promise
All of the ingredients used in our shampoo bars are organic and vegan-friendly.
We source them from suppliers who are ensuring their production processes are as sustainable as possible.
Where possible we are also working to reduce the carbon footprint of our supply chain to reduce the overall impact our shampoo bars have on the environment. You can read more about our efforts here.
Our ingredients in more detail
Each ingredient that we add to our solid shampoo bars is there for a very specific reason.
Our philosophy at Tidy is to do more with less. So anything that doesn't really add to our bars, doesn't make it in. For example: we don't add any colouring to our bars as while colourings may help the bars look nice, they don't add to their cleaning capability or usefulness.
Organic Olive oil
Yes, the stuff you cook with, drizzle over your salads, mix with vinegar and dip bread in, etc.
Extracted from the flesh of olive tree fruits this oil is used in our shampoo bars to help make the other oils lather. On its own it doesn't produce many bubbles, but when combined with other oils that do it enhances their bubbling qualities and helps make our bar's lather more bubbly and easier to rinse off your hair. It also helps condition your hair and scalp.
Olive oil has been used in soap and shampoo making for hundreds of years, so we're following in well worn footsteps including it in our shampoo bars.
Organic Coconut oil
Extracted from the white meat found inside the coconuts you think of when imagining a palm lined beach on an island somewhere. Coconut oil is used in our shampoo bars to enhance their lathering properties.
Organic Sweet Almond oil
Extracted from nuts from the Almond tree this oil is used in our shampoo bars for its gloss enhancing effects. It helps lubricate the hair to improve manageability during lathering and styling. It doesn't lather much itself, but does stabilise the lather other oils in our bar produce.
Organic Jojoba oil
Extracted from the seeds of the jojoba plant this is a liquid wax. It's included in our shampoo bars for its deep conditioning properties that help both your hair and scalp.
Organic Shea butter
Extracted from the nuts of the African Shea tree this butter is firm at room temperature and has to be melted to be mixed into our shampoo bars.
It's included in our shampoo as it helps make them firmer (and therefore last longer) and is a very good lather enhancer, adding a thick creamy feel to our bar's lather.
Water (H2O)
Doesn't really need an introduction, but it's a key ingredient in our shampoo.
We use distilled water mixed with sodium hydroxide to make the lye that is needed in the shampoo making process.
Using distilled water ensures that there are no dissolved minerals present, which in turn means we can be sure the chemical composition of our shampoo is consistent and safe.
Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)
Sodium hydroxide is dissolved in water to form sodium hydroxide solution, commonly known as "lye" (or caustic soda). This is then mixed with oils to cause a chemical reaction that creates soap (and our shampoo).
It's a highly reactive chemical that should not be handled without taking proper precautions.
The lye is carefully mixed with the different oils we use to make shampoo. The process is a relatively simple chemical reaction, but does take careful planning and execution to ensure that the potentially dangerous sodium hydroxide is fully combined with the oils and a safe shampoo is made as a result.
Once mixed, while still liquid, the shampoo is poured into moulds where the chemical reaction continues for up to 6 weeks while the bars cure (or set). Once set the bars are tested to ensure all the sodium hydroxide has been converted to shampoo before they are packaged and sent to our customers.
Sodium lactate
We use a small amount of sodium lactate solution in our shampoo bar recipe. It is produced by our supplier by the process of fermentation of a sugar and it is dairy-free.
It's added to our shampoo bars to help them make them harder (so they last longer) and to help boost their lathering properties.
Organic essential mint oil
Pure organic peppermint oil is added in small quantities to our shampoo bars to give them a refreshing fragrance. Mint has the added benefit of giving a slight cooling sensation when used.
Organic essential tea tree oil
Pure organic tea tree oil is added in small quantities to our shampoo bars to give them an extra refreshing fragrance boost. It also enhances the natural cooling sensation that the mint oil adds to our bars, combining to help wake you up in the morning.