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Juniper Plant

What is the difference between soap and shampoo bar?

You will struggle to find a clear answer to that question. To understand the difference you need to learn a few things. What are soaps, what are shampoo bars and what are soaps called shampoo bars?

Solid shampoo bars

What is the difference between soap and shampoo bar?

You will struggle to find a clear answer to that question. To understand the difference you need to learn a few things. What are soaps, what are shampoo bars and what are soaps called shampoo bars?


Understanding soaps.

Soap bar is a solid natural skin detergent created through a saponification process, where sodium hydroxide goes into reaction with natural oils like coconut oil, olive oil etc. The whole chemical reaction is completely natural. The final product, soap, need to curate for at least 4 weeks. Soaps have alkaline pH 8-10. Thanks to the high pH soaps have a strong ability to strip the skin of dirt, excess oil and bacteria. As far as it works fantastic on our skin high pH is not good for our hair.


What about shampoo bars?


Solid shampoos are a mixture of ingredients that once combined together, they solidify and have balanced, neutral pH levels between 5 to 7. That is the best pH for your scalp and your h air structure.


And now what about the soaps called shampoo bars?


To recognise them on the market you need to learn how to read the INCI/Ingredients of the product. We will give you an example later to make it easier. Those shampoos are nothing else but cold processed bars of soap that have been made with oils more suitable for hair. However, those bars still have high ph level, that can be damaging or simply too harsh for some.


Soap based/ lye based shampoos will always have Sodium Hydroxide in their ingredients or oils with ‘sodium’ prefix , examples: Sodium olivate (Olive Oil), Sodium cocoate(Coconut oil).


The one and main difference is pH level.

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