I tried these heart-shaped shampoo and conditioner bars from Ethique—a sustainable, plastic, palm oil and cruelty free brand. Here’s what I thought!
What is Ethique?
Ethique, the French word for ‘ethical’ was founded in 2012. On their website it says that Ethique is “on a mission to rid the world of plastic waste”. They started their revolution when founder Brianne West began making natural beauty bars “as an alternative to the 80 billion plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles thrown out globally each year”. Ethique is now an award-winning international beauty brand that has developed over 40 products.
Another thing is that Ethique believes strongly in honest trading (also known as Fair Trade). They accomplish this by putting fair prices back to communities, having less of an environmental impact and help families learn the processes of economic investment and buy equipment, then offer the support they need to succeed. They believe in true transparency—they can visit these families and see the working conditions and farming practices for themselves.
All in all, I think these points make Ethique a good brand to invest in. But how about their products?
Here’s what I thought…
Let’s start at the beginning: the packaging. All made out of compostable material, this packaging is very eco-friendly. On the side it says what bars are inside: there are three shampoo bars and two conditioner bars. I haven’t had the best experiences with conditioner bars—they usually don’t do what they proclaim they do. But I’m diving in without any expectations, so let’s give it a go!
First of all: all bars smell amazing. They have a fresh, sweet smell that lifts me up even before trying them out! There’s one thing that’s worrying me: the “Heali Kiwi Shampoo Bar” contains, as the name suggests, kiwi. As I get an allergic reaction from consuming kiwi, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to use this on my skin. After doing a patch test I found that my skin isn’t irritated so I’ll just give it a go and wash my hair with it as well.
The shampoos
The packaging gives us a little instruction on how to use the shampoo: “Swipe bar down wet hair several times from root to tip. Lather shampoo in well, then rinse.” The soap foams nicely and can be well distributed on my hair. It feels so luxurious! My favorite shampoo bar is definitely the St Clements, “Orange & Lime oils to Cleanse & Refresh”. Very refreshing indeed! I find that it really cleans my scalp without irritating it.
The conditioners
Just as with the shampoo bars, the conditioner comes with a little instruction as well: “After shampooing, swipe bar down our hair from root to tip. Massage in, then rinse”. Okay, I can do this. When massaging in, the conditioner doesn’t exactly feel like conditioners mostly do, but as soon as I start rinsing it out, my hair feels amazingly soft. I love this product! I think the “Wonderbar”, made with coconut & cocoa butter, is my most favorite. It really nourishes the tips of my hair.
Rating
Would I recommend this product to you? Oh, hell yes! Not only because it smells nice and leaves my hair shiny and clean, but also because it’s plastic free, palm oil free, and cruelty free. The Ethique vegan shampoo and conditioner bars should definitely be on your shopping if you are looking for a sustainable alternative to bottled shampoo. And you’ll have to realize that this was just the hair sampler; I can’t wait to try more Ethique products!
Kitchenoflion 