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Ready to make your beauty routine more eco-friendly?

In the UK, we throw away 520 million bottles of shampoo every year. And while we’re not saying we need to stop our haircare rituals altogether, making the switch to a plastic-free shampoo bar can make a real difference, while still taking care of your hair.

It’s not just packaging waste these bars will help to reduce either. If you look at the ingredients list of your current shampoo, "aqua" will normally always be at the top of the list.

In fact, the average shampoo is made up of 75-80% water. And despite how much rain we seem to get in the UK, water wastage is a huge issue. According to the WWF, a third of the world’s population experience water shortages.

Shampoo bars are game changers, as by adding the water yourself, less is used and wasted. Yet they still produce the foamy lather we all know and love, and are formulated to be less stripping than traditional soap. You can even get conditioning bars to match, which deliver some serious hydration.

Not sold just yet? Find out what our 530 testers thought of making the switch, when they put 35 shampoo bars to the test.

These are their top picks at a glance:

The base formula is similar to a body wash bar but hair care ingredients and extra foaming agents are also added. These ingredients help leave the hair feeling soft and allow the product to spread more easily too.

Pre-shampoo, prep your hair by getting rid of tangles and knots and then wet it. Apply the shampoo in one of two ways:

You could lather the bar between wet hands and apply the lather to your wet hair (as you would with a liquid shampoo). Or you could wet the bar and apply it to wet hair, rubbing in circular motions down the hair strands.

Rinse out and repeat as needed. We’d always suggest doing a double shampoo.

Yes, using a conditioner after a shampoo helps replenish moisture and smooth down the hair. The shampoo step has already washed out excess residue and build-up, but conditioner helps the conditioning ingredients soak in.

There are some conditioning shampoo bars available, as well as conditioner bars, if you don’t want to use a standard liquid conditioner.

- Keep the bar out of direct water flow - Place on a dish or rack - ideally one with holes to allow the bar to dry - Allow to dry in a well-ventilated space, out of direct sunlight

Our panel trialed 35 brands of eco-friendly shampoo bars for six weeks to find our winners.

They judged them on ease of use, how well they cleaned hair, and how good they were at adding moisture and smoothness.

Meanwhile, in the Good Housekeeping Institute lab, we used a Dia-Stron machine – which analyses single hair fibres – on wet hair to measure the smoothness of the hair after washing with each shampoo bar.

Lush is proof that you don’t need fancy packaging to make a great product. This bar eliminates waste but still managed to give 92% a thorough clean, leaving softer, nourished lengths.

It didn’t cause any irritation and lasted well throughout the six weeks, with one tester describing the yummy honey scent as "divine".

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Packaging-free Size: 55g

This diddy bar claims to hold the same amount of product as three liquid shampoo bottles, saving quite a bit of plastic!

It was easy to distribute over the head and left 92% happy with how well it cleansed hair. It was extremely powerful when it came to smoothing frazzled strands in our lab test and left 85% with better-looking hair.

Key specifications Fragrance free: No Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable and plastic-free Size: 75g

You don’t have to invest in an expensive bottle of shampoo to keep your colour in tip-top condition. This boosted the vibrancy of 85% of our testers’ colour-treated strands, leaving everyone content with the deep clean it provided.

All felt it would last them longer than their usual bottle too, while it also improved softness and hydration for 85%.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable and recycled Size: 80g

Small but mighty, this bar aims to last up to 50 washes. It didn’t crumble, managing to keep its shape throughout the entire test, and impressed all testers with how refreshed it left scalps feeling.

It was a winner in our lab for leaving ends silky-smooth too, while 71% were impressed with how great their hair felt after use.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable and plastic-free Size: 50g

Not only is the packaging 100% plastic-free, recyclable and biodegradable but it’s also vegan and cruelty-free – all for under a fiver.

The bar itself turned up the shine and eliminated dehydration for 60%. Lengths looked softer and more nourished for 73%, with one tester loving the “swishy” results.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable, plastic-free and biodegradable (soap and packaging) Size: 100g

This travel-friendly shampoo comes with the option to purchase a 100% water-tight case that helps drain out excess water to keep your bar in immaculate condition.

It was brilliant in our lab test for smoothing, with one noting how much easier it was to brush through their hair after use. The end result? 73% reported softer, more moisturised, better-looking hair.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable and plastic-free Size: 80g

Enriched with sustainably sourced honey, this 97% biodegradable formula aims to restore frazzled locks to their former glory.

Although some would have preferred a string or tin to help store it, everyone agreed it lasted them throughout the test, leaving 85% with refreshed lengths. It also worked wonders for those with colour-treated hair, boosting vibrancy for 77%.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable and plastic-free Size: 60g

For those that are prone to frizz no matter the weather, this should be your top pick. Our lab test showed it was powerful at smoothing hair, with 71% of testers noticing softer, more nourished lengths.

One tester even noticed less fall out after switching to this bar, while the eco-friendly compostable packaging will earn you some sustainable brownie points.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable, plastic-free and compostable packaging Size: 50g

This mango-scented number came out on top in our lab test for smoothing frazzled strands, while still creating a rich lather.

It was predominantly irritation-free and left one of our testers with hair that "had never looked better". It was so impressive, the majority said they'd ditch their current plastic bottle for this bar.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable packaging and biodegradable formula Size: 80g

Those with curly hair might be sceptical of a shampoo bar being able to treat their kinks and coils, but this blend of natural oils and emollients did an excellent job.

The formula features a sulphate-free foaming agent to gently cleanse scalps, which testers found made their hair more manageable to style. Almost everyone was happy with the condition it left their hair in and it was a top pick for testers struggling with frizz.

Key specifications Fragrance free: Yes Sulphate free: Yes Sustainable packaging: Recyclable and plastic-free Size: 90g