Best Zero Waste Shampoo & Conditioner

Best Zero Waste Shampoo & Conditioners

Editor's Note:

The Hydrating One Shampoo Bar and The Fragrance Free One Conditioner Bar  left my hair feeling so light, soft and bouncy, it's no wonder they're multi award winners. My partner has also just started using The Sensitive One as he suffers with a flaky scalp, and so far so good! I find The Hydrating One lathers really well for me as I live in a soft water area (Cornwall), so if you're in a really hard water area, I'd recommend The Rebalancing One as it's made with this in mind. I also love that Kind2 have full transparency on their formulas with a complete ingredients list so I could find all the information I was looking for.

Ethique Shampoo Bars

£12

110g / 10.9p per g / equivalent of 1.7p per ml

2. Ethique

Originating in New Zealand, Ethique are a climate positive Certified B Corp who donate 2% of sales to charity, and are Orangutan Alliance Palm Oil Free Certified. They stock a wide range of solid shampoo, conditioners including concentrates (that make liquid shampoo and conditioner) plus special formulations for babies and pets. All UK orders are dispatched from their plastic free distribution centre in Leeds.

p&p £4 / free £30+

Editor's Note:

I love Ethique and their range of bars, I've tried a fair few of them and swear by the Tone It Down Shampoo & Conditioner Bars as my plastic free purple shampoo alternative to keep my blonde hair looking ashy without brassy tones. It also doesn't dry it out as much as other purple shampoos i've tried (Fanola and Osmo). The conditioner bars are also ah-maz-ing they effortlessly nourish and detangle but don't leave it weighed down. I highly recommend the Wonderbar Conditioner.

Editor's Note:

My sister just recently tried their shampoo and said its a really easy to handle mousse texture and left her hair feeling really clarified and soft. I love that you can return to the pots to be refilled and you get 20% off refills. They'll email you a freepost label (or you can handwrite it) to send your pot back to be refilled. You can also send back multiple empties at one time if you use other products from them.

Editor's Note:

I love that Life Supplies use upcycled ingredients in the formulas and that they are naturally fragrance-free which is a rarity in haircare, as many people like the option of unscented. Theres nothing to stop you adding a couple of drops of your own essential oil if preferred. I've yet to try their Refillable Shampoo & Conditioner Duo, but the 5 star reviews speak for themselves. I also love that the refill boxes are kerbsite recyclable so you don't need to worry about posting them back.

Editor's Note:

I've tried the Pink Grapefruit + Aloe Vera Eco Hair Shampoo and it smells so invigorating and fresh. It's also clarifying, lathers extremely well, and left my hair feeling squeaky clean and light as a feather. I was really impressed with it and will definitely be refilling it with a 5L, which works out at just over half a pence per ml - so a really affordable option.

Editor's Note:

I've looking at switching to Bower Collective from after I use up the rest of my Fiils shampoo and conditioner (they are now sadly closed). I will use these to refill my bottles which I keep in the bathroom for guests and to use in between my shampoo bar washes. Just remember to return your refill sachets to be properly recycled (they'll send you a free prepaid envelope).

Editor's Note:

I've not tried Dot & Lola yet, but they have very impressive sustainability credentials. I love that their formulations have over 75% organic ingredients and 99.05% naturally derived ingredients. They have also won 2 Lux Life Health, Beauty & Wellness Awards for Best Natural Plant-Based Skin Care Company.

Editor's Note:

I use Hairy Jayne's plastic free dry shampoo which is an absolute STEAL at £12 a refill for 90g and has lated me ageeees, it adds texture, fragrance and volume to hair between washes - job well done! I've also tried the shampoo and conditioner bars in 'Musk - Neroli, Vetiver & Patchouli' which smell amazing.

None of their products contain palm oil and as far as they know, none of the ingredients they source are palm oil derived. The stearic acid they use in the solid shampoo bars is specifically palm free. They source ingredients from UK suppliers wherever possible, too.

Editor's Note:

I've not yet tried Beauty Favours, but I love that all their bars are handmade and that the business was started by a wife and husband duo with the goal to create something that they would want to buy themselves without compromising on ethical or environmental standards. Their Champagne & Roses Argan Oil Shampoo Bar is racking up the 5 star reviews with lots of comments on the rich creamy lather and how it leaves hair so soft that you may not even need a conditioner.

Editor's Note:

I like their simple product range which has 2 shampoo bars for Dry & Coloured Hair or Oily Hair along with a Conditioning Bar for all hair types. Lastly, their Pre-Wash Conditioning Treatment Bar is to give your hair that extra boost of elasticity, nourishment and strength. They only use RSPO certified palm oil in one ingredient (their Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate). The Isethionate (surfactant) is from coconut oil, as is the glycerine, and the vegetable oils are from olive and sunflower.

Editor's Note:

For those who have the most delicate dermis, Rowdy Kind recommend their Just Plain Cheeky Hair & Everywhere Bar for sensitive skin. Now you may be thinking natural scents are more gentle than synthetic, however some essential oils can actually be quite skin sensitising which is why they use a combination of natural and synthetic so they smell amazing but are completely allergen free.

Editor's Note:

I've not tried Nereus (yet), but I'm impressed with their offering. Their award-winning Detoxing Shampoo & Hydrating Conditioner have a natural fragrance of Australian Buddha Wood & Bergamot Oil and contain pomegranate, sea kelp, witch hazel, goji-berry, jojoba and coffee arabica extract. All these high-performing ingredients have a purpose for restoring and caring for your hair and scalp. The founders say you will not need to use as much as a normal shampoo or conditioner, as a little goes a very long way.

Editor's Note:

I've only used their 'Oh So Silver' Shampoo Bar which left my hair feeling lovely and soft, and does a good job at keeping brassiness at bay if used as your regular shampoo. Most of their formulas are palm oil free. However they say if palm oil is used in the processing or manufacturing of raw ingredients they make sure it is from a sustainable source that is RSPO certified.

Editor's Note:

If you're looking for liquid shampoo or conditioner it's definitely worth checking out if you're near a Faith in Nature refill station, as you can take any empty bottles to be refilled! None of their products directly contain palm oil, but some of them contain a trace amount of palm oil derivatives. They says they agonise over its use, and are committed to tracing even those trace amounts. All of their palm oil derivatives are RSPO approved.

Editor's Note:

If you're looking for an ethical and plastic free alternative to the apple scented version of Head & Shoulders, you won't get closer than KinKind's anti-dandruff shampoo.  KinKind are also incredibly transparent with their ingredients both on their website and when I reached out to them and asked about being SLS free. *They said 'we cannot say they are 100% SLS free, even though it is not added as an ingredient. It could potentially be present. It’s all to do with up-stream indirect ingredients.' I have great respect for this level of honesty, and if you read my section above on sulphates it's certainly no cause for concern.

Editor's Note:

The Little Soap Company have great ethics, and are playing a big part of the wider ongoing debate on palm oil use. They do use RSPO certified palm (which is what helps to make this so affordable), however they work closely with the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) in breaking the link between palm oil and the destruction of orangutan habitat. They do not believe that boycotting palm oil is the answer – instead, they want to play a part in transforming the industry. You can read their entire Palm Oil Statement here.

Editor's Note:

Love the concept of hanging the bars up so you don't need any dishes. From what I can see they are the only ones on the UK market offering this option. Their surfactant (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate) is made from hydrogenated vegetable oils - specifically a blend of sustainably sourced sunflower and rapeseed oils. They use palm oil derivatives which are all from RSPO certified sources in their Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate and Glycerine.

Editor's Note:

I like that this shampoo is gentle enough to use every day, with soothing ingredients like aloe and quinoa. Laverana, manufacturer of Lavera natural cosmetics, has also been a member of RSPO, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil since 2018.