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The best shampoo bar has some real advantages. Of course, bar soap vs. body wash is one of those age-old rivalries, like Michigan vs. Ohio State, Montague vs. Capulet, Alien vs. Predator. But luckily, whichever side you take in this liquid-against-solid detergent debate, you usually win regardless—assuming the product’s formula works well. That’s at the heart of a new debate that’s dividing shower aficionados nationwide: Liquid Shampoo vs. Shampoo Bar. And no, the latter does not involve rubbing a brick of soap against your head. The best shampoo bar does resemble an everyday bar of body soap, but they're made to actually do a good job washing your hair, which plain-old soap will not. And because they don't need plastic packaging, they're much better for the environment. And they're also much easier to get onto a plane.
Given all of those advantages, we rounded up the very best shampoo bars on the market right now.
How to Use a Shampoo Bar
Get your hair wet in the shower. Then, take the shampoo bar in your wet palms and build a lather just as you would with a bar of body soap. Some people like to massage the bar onto their hair directly, but we only suggest doing this if you have really short hair, to avoid any pulling and unnecessary friction (especially since hair is most fragile when wet).
Once you have the lather forming in your hands, it should transfer easily to your hair, which is then the opportune time to multiply it, as you massage the scalp and evenly distribute the product throughout all of your strands.
Rinse cleanly, follow with a conditioner, and repeat use every 2-3 days or as needed.
The Best Shampoo Bars
If you are try-curious about shampoo solids, then consider these bars first.
Bravo Sierra hair and body soap
Bravo Sierra's unscented hair and body bar should last a month or three, while building a lather on its base of nourishing coconut, cushioning shea butter, and soothing oat extract. It's available in four delicious scents, too, but your conditioner will likely overpower those anyway.
$7Amazon
superzero hair thickening shampoo bar
Perfect for fine or thinning hair, superzero's shampoo bar builds a scalp-balancing soap-free lather, which creates an optimal growth environment for strands. Chase it with the brand's conditioning bar for a truly densifying finish.
$19Amazon
Snow Fox hair, body, face bar
An 8-oil blend combines with sandalwood and black clay to nourish hair and scalp alike, while also purifying and balancing the scalp. This one is a terrific hydrating beard wash, too, thanks to all of those same ingredients.
$26Snow Fox
Hermès H24 hair, body, face bar
Botanic-fresh H24 is giving Terre d'Hermès a run for its money as the pillar men's fragrance at Hermès. This hair-to-toe bar soap is one of a few H24-scented products to launch of late, delivering a luxe lather that ensures your aroma is aromatique no matter what.
$39Hèrmes
DermaHarmony peppermint and 2% pyrithione zinc shampoo bar
For dandruff- and dermatitis-prone domes, this bar soap neutralizes fungus, itching, scaling, and the likes, while also balancing the head's pH levels.
$12Amazon