If, like me, you live in a hard water area, then you know that this can cause problems with various products. So I have looked into the question, whether there are shampoo bars for hard water very carefully.
People in hard water areas experience issues when it comes to laundry detergent, dishwasher tablets, soaps, cleaning products and shampoos.
This means, when you want to swap from liquid shampoo to a solid bar, you might encounter some challenges.
But you should know that having hard water won’t prevent you from using a solid shampoo and reduce your plastic waste. In this article, I will tell you if there are shampoo bars for hard water.
Our Top-Rated Shampoo Bars That Work With Hard Water:
| Shampoo Bar | Value For Money | Range | Results | My Rating | Full Review | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
 | Outstanding | Good | Excellent | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
 | Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
Why Is There A Problem With Hard Water?
Hard water, as opposed to soft water, contains a considerable amount of minerals. While this has shown to have some benefits for your health, these minerals can cause issues.
One problem is that limescale (which consists of the minerals in the water) builds up quickly on taps, in kettles, and on sinks. Which makes it more difficult to keep these areas clean.
A quick build-up of limescale is also a sign that you live in a hard water area. But if you want to be sure, you can check on the Anglian Water website. Just pop your postcode in, and it will tell you what type of water you have if you are with Anglian Water, or where you can find out.
When the minerals in the water come in contact with the ingredients of any cleaning product, such as a shampoo bar, a chemical reaction starts.
This chemical reaction can reduce the effectiveness of the solid shampoo. You might notice:
- your shampoo bar doesn’t lather up
- the shampoo doesn’t rinse out easily
- your hair feels waxy and greasy after the wash
The latter is caused by a residue that covers your hair, almost like limescale on your taps.
Does this mean that there aren’t any shampoo bars for hard water? No, just because you have hard water doesn’t mean you can’t swap to a solid shampoo and reduce your plastic waste.
By the way, if you live in a soft water area, but your natural shampoo leaves you with a greyish residue, then you might be in a transition period. Find out more about this in our article about shampoo bars and the transition period.
Find The Shampoo Bar For You That Works With Hard Water
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The Ingredients Are Key
You might wonder why liquid shampoos work fine with hard water. This is due to the ingredients.
There are ingredients that will act as cleansers and will be able to wash off the residue formed by the minerals. The result is, no matter what water type you have, your hair will be clean.
Soap-Based Shampoo Bars
Most shampoo bars don’t use such cleanser ingredients, because they are soap-based. This means they will use ingredients like olive oil (sodium olivate), coconut oil (sodium cocate), shea butter (sodium shea butterate), etc.
The names in the brackets will be what you find on the actual ingredient list of your solid bar.
The advantage of soap-based shampoo bars is that they normally use natural ingredients, which will be better for your hair and skin.
Especially, if you have sensitive skin, you might prefer natural ingredients.
But because these aren’t able to cope with the large amounts of minerals in hard water, the bar will be less effective and can cause you issues.
Surfactant-Based Shampoo Bars
A surfactant is a cleanser that helps wash away any dirt, including mineral residue.
The most commonly used surfactants in shampoos are Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). Both are known to cause skin irritations, especially for people with sensitive skin.
They are both synthetically derived chemicals that help shampoos to foam up well and clean away any dirt.
And while some shampoo bars may contain one or the other, there are many solid bars that use a natural derived equivalent. These are mostly extracted from coconut or palm fruits and are classed as natural ingredients.
Natural surfactants include sodium cocoyl isethionate, sodium coco sulfate, disodium lauryl sulfosucciante, etc. To prevent these from causing irritation, some shampoo bars contain more than one of these, but in lower quantities.
So natural shampoo bars can also be surfactant-based and as a result, work well with hard water.
One thing I prefer about many shampoo bars is that they use naturally derived surfactants instead of petroleum-derived ones. This is much better for our environment. Many liquid shampoos aren’t good our environment because of the ingredients they use.
Our Top-Rated Surfactant-Based Shampoo Bars:
| Shampoo Bar | Value For Money | Range | Results | My Rating | Full Review | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
| Outstanding | Good | Excellent | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
| Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
The pH Also Plays A Part
Everything has a pH level, including your skin and your hair and of course shampoo bars and hard water.
If you mix something with an acidic pH level with something with an alkaline pH level, they will influence each other.
Your scalp has a lower pH level, which means it’s acidic. Soap-based shampoo bars and hard water have a higher pH level, which means they are alkaline.
When brought together, the alkaline shampoo will change the chemistry of your skin and this can cause irritations. The soap will also react with the water, which will leave a residue that can damage your hair.
To counteract this, you have to restore the pH level of your hair and scalp. And this can be done with an acid rinse.
Most people get told to rinse their hair with vinegar to adjust the pH level of their hair.
For this, the most common vinegar used is apple cider vinegar, and it’s necessary to dilute it with water at a ratio of 1:3.
This will have to be done regularly, as it will not solve the problem permanently. Because the chemical reaction between the shampoo, water and your hair will happen every time you wash your hair.
And the use of an acid rinse can dry out your hair, so it’s not an ideal solution.
If like me, you don’t like the sound of rinsing your hair with smelly vinegar, you might ask if there is another way or aren’t there shampoo bars for hard water.
Shampoo Bars For Hard Water
OK, so let’s get to the key question: are there shampoo bars for hard water?
The answer is yes. As we have seen, shampoo bars that contain one or more surfactants, will work very well with hard water.
This is the route I went down, because I didn’t like the idea of a vinegar rinse.
And as we have already seen, there are natural alternatives, so even if you want a natural shampoo bar, you can still get one that is surfactant-based.
Here are three brands I have tried and whose shampoo bars worked with my hard water.
KinKind
KinKind is a UK-based, family run business, which first attracted me to them. They have a good range of zero-plastic products, including shampoo and conditioner bars.
Because they use a natural surfactant, sodium coco sulfate, their shampoo bars work well with hard water.
The shampoo bars lather up beautifully and my hair feels clean and soft afterwards.
Faith In Nature
Like the other two brands, Faith In Nature is also a small, UK-based firm, which makes shampoo bars for hard water.
They use two types of natural surfactants, sodium cocoyl isethionate and disodium lauryl sulfosucciante, which are plant derived.
While the shampoo bar doesn’t lather up as well as with the other two brands, it does still work well with hard water.
After using their solid shampoo my hair is clean and feels soft.
I tried their Shea & Argan shampoo bar, which smells lovely. Unfortunately, the smell doesn’t last very long. But I guess that just shows that they use natural ingredients.
Read our Faith In Nature shampoo bar review to find out more.
However, if you have a sensitive scalp, then even natural cleansing ingredients could irritate your skin.
I would recommend trying a natural shampoo bar that is made for a sensitive scalp that uses natural surfactants.
KinKind offers such products.
Bottled Water And Water Filter
If these don’t work, and you have to use a soap-based natural shampoo bar but don’t want to use a vinegar rinse, I have some suggestions.
While there are shampoo bars for hard water, they won’t be suitable for everyone. Therefore, it might be necessary to solve the problem at the other end: the water.
I’m not suggesting you move to a soft water area, that would be a rather drastic step.
But you can use bottled water to rinse your hair, rather than using water from your shower or tap.
While this might seem awkward, it will solve the problem. And if you have a bottle of water handy in your bathroom, you will soon get used to this new routine.
Of course, it does mean to introduce a plastic bottle into your bathroom, when your goal is to reduce the use of plastic in your house.
I have heard of people using rain water. They collect it in a clean container and use it when they wash their hair. Not only is this a cheap option, it’s also a sustainable option.
But you would be reliant on rainfall, and with climate change and all, rain isn’t as plentiful as it used to be.
That’s why the other option might appeal to you more: filter your water. You can get shower heads that soften the water.
I have never used one myself, but from talking to people who have, it sounds like they work at first, but after a while they stop working.
A friend bought three different ones before she gave up. Instead, she got a home water softener system installed.
While this isn’t a cheap option, it can cost between £500 to £1,500, it will solve the problem once and for all and not just for your shower.
It will also help extend the life of your washing machine and dishwasher as well as preventing the build-up of limescale in your kettle, sinks and on your taps.
And of course, by turning your hard water into soft water, you will be able to use any shampoo bar that suits your needs, regardless of their ingredients.
So there you have it, there are shampoo bars for hard water, you just have to be willing to try out different brands until you find the one that works for you.
Our Top-Rated Shampoo Bars For Hard Water:
| Shampoo Bar | Value For Money | Range | Results | My Rating | Full Review | Official Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
| Outstanding | Good | Excellent | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
| Excellent | Great | Outstanding | 4.90 | Read Review | Visit Website |
