If someone told you they washed their face with soap, you would be right to be concerned. After all, soap can be extremely stripping and skincould end up feeling dry and sensitive. However, there's a new wave of solid cleansing bars, that promise gentle yet effective cleansing, as well as providing a far more sustainable alternative to traditional packaging.  Here's everything you need to know as well as our selection of the very best cleansing bars available. What is a cleansing bar? A cleansing bar...

Calling all skeptics! Making the switch is a great idea for the environment (and your locks). Until recently, I’d never even heard of a shampoo bar, except something I vaguely remember using on an outdoor education camping trip in my teens — and the effect wasn’t pretty. I’m one of those people who’s secretly obsessed with their hair, and I pretty much rely solely on salon hair products. But a friend mentioned she’d been using hair shampoo bars for nearly a...

Solid shampoo is here to save you money - and the planet. But when it comes to properly washing hair and giving you soft, shiny strands do they do the job? Beauty editor Kelsey Ferencak explains how they work and the eight bars you need to try.  By now it’s likely you’ve seen shampoo bars popping up everywhere. From the grocery aisles to the pharmacy and even your favourite online beauty store. But are they just another beauty gimmick, or can they really give...

When you see lovely little bars of lemon-thyme or lavender hand soaps on the rim of a sink, you know they are there to make you feel as fresh as a gardenia-scented daisy. We all know washing our hands is important, but, like washcloths and towels, can the bars of hand soap we use to clean ourselves become dirty as well? Soaps are simply mixtures of sodium or potassium salts derived from fatty acids and alkali solutions during a process called...

You've probably spent your entire life believing bar soap is only for hands and bodies, right? Well, what if I told you shampoos also came in solid form? Yep, the sudsy hair wash has exploded onto the market with new brands and formulas jumping on the bar trend. And it's not just the novel texture that's cool—bar soaps are travel-friendly and more sustainable to produce, thanks to their minimal packaging and formulations. Bars work just as well as traditional shampoos—maybe even better. While...