Best Zero-Waste Shampoo Bars For Men No One Talks About

I had the same haircut for eleven years — It was super short. It was so short that I could just run hand soap through it to keep it clean. But for the past two years, I’ve been growing it out. And hand soap just doesn’t cut it anymore. I need real shampoo, awesome shampoo. 

And for me, the worst is to stand there in a supermarket aisle and just stare at a thousand shampoos that all seem to be offering the same thing. They all have different names, offer something slightly different from each other, and come at wildly different price points.

Plus I want something that isn’t going to be bad for the environment, I don’t want to throw away a big lump of plastic when I’m done and don’t want to flush any nasty chemicals down the drain.

So if you’re at all like me, and looking for some advice about how to find the best shampoo for men among the thousands of options, while also being kind to the environment, this article is for you.  

What Shampoos to Avoid

I don’t generally like speaking badly of eco-friendly products, environmentalism is super important to me and I’m a huge fan of any company that’s trying to produce something while making a genuine attempt to care for our world. Having said that, as a consumer it’s really important to know who is making a good product and who isn’t so I can make sure I spend my hard-earned pennies wisely. 

With that in mind here are four eco-friendly shampoos for men that haven’t quite got their recipes right yet. Let’s cross our fingers that they’ll soon tweak what they do so soon we’ll have a few more choices and even more people can go eco-friendly and zero waste.

Old Fashioned Shampoo Bar It’s possible this bar could work for some people, hair varies a lot from person to person after all. However, in my experience, and the experience of plenty of people reviewing it, it made my hair super oily & waxy. If you have naturally very dry hair it might be worth looking into, otherwise probably best to avoid.

Solid Shampoo Bar – Smell is a funny thing, I love the smell of a strong cheese, but it makes my partner want to reach for the trash can. Personally, I found the smell of this one to be so bad I could barely bring myself to wash my hair with it.

Yuve Natural Solid Shampoo & Conditioner Soap Bar – With the opposite problem to the Old Fashioned Shampoo Bar mentioned above, this eco-friendly bar dried out my hair really badly, apparently stripping it of all its natural oils. Something you might want to look into if you have a problem with excessively greasy hair but otherwise, best to be avoided. 

Peppermint Shampoo Bar – This peppermint bar smells fantastic but left my hair with a waxy, greasy feel that lasted for ages. Again, maybe one to check out if you have super dry hair, but otherwise you should probably stay clear.  

What Zero Waste Shampoo Bar Should I buy?

As I said above, what shampoo works best for you will depend on if you’re more greasy or more dry, so unfortunately there can be no substitute for just trying out different shampoos until you find something that works well for you.

However, here is my advice about what has worked well for me and other people and hopefully it will be useful for you to choose what to go for first. 

Bossman Men’s Bar Soap 4-in-1

There’s something so good about being able to use the same bar as a shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and beard shampoo, and the great thing about this bar from Bossman is that it can do all of them. So not only does this mean I only have to have enough of one thing, instead of worrying about keeping four different products stocked up in my bathroom, but it means that when I travel all I need to do is put one of these bars in a soap box and I’m good to go! 

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Ethique Eco-Friendly Solid Shampoo Bar

There are two things I really like about these Ethique shampoo bars. First off they take their environmental credentials really seriously, going out of their way to make sure their bars are packaged in recyclable materials and they don’t use any plastic in their distribution chains; as well as that they have a ton of product variations, so if you have dandruff or oily hair, or you want a shampoo for your kids they’ve got something for you. Plus they all smell great.

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Ecoroots Zero Waste Shampoo Bar

I have nothing but good things to say about this Colorado-based zero waste online store. They carry all kinds of sustainably and ethically sourced products for your home, from sanitizer spray to cutlery to candles, but their shampoo is what I want to talk about here. It’s vegan, palm oil-free, plastic-free and they donate part of their profits to ocean conservation charities. Definitely worth checking out.

The Breakaway Bar All-in-1 Men’s Shampoo Bar

The thing that makes this shampoo bar unique is the way it’s designed to break up into five different baby bars, so you can keep a few at home and pack a few into a travel bag to take away with you. It uses a mixture of shea butter; tea tree and hemp seed oil; aloe vera; fatty acids; vitamins and antioxidants to create a solid bar that isn’t full of plastics and chemicals. Plus it can be used to clean your hair, then lather up and use as a shave gel!

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Good Cube 5-in-1 Shampoo Bar

Determined to go one better than everyone else, this shampoo bar from Good Cube can do absolutely everything, from body wash to beard shampoo to shave gel. Plus they’re sulfate-free, paraben-free, silicone-free, and dye-free. 

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

So What Should I Get?

I’m a big fan of shampoo bars for a whole load of reasons: I can take them on a plane in cabin baggage; I just need to buy one product instead of four or five, and best of all they’re much better for the environment than buying single-use plastic that usually can’t be recycled when I’m done with them. Having said that I’m a little dubious about any shampoo that claims it’s perfect for all hair types – people who have naturally greasy hair need something that will remove the excess oil, whereas people who have dry hair need a mild shampoo that will allow the natural oils to build-up without stripping them all out. 

As men, we often aren’t taught much about looking after our hair and bodies when we’re young, and trying to figure these things out as an adult often feels like you’re running to catch up. Hopefully, this article will give you somewhere to start and some things to begin to look into but at the end of the day there can be no substitute for trying different things out and seeing what works best for you.