Shampoo bars are a category that continue to be of particular interest to me since I’ve embarked on reducing my single use plastic waste.
There are so many aspects that can make or break a shampoo bar experience. Does it glide over hair smoothly, or will it contribute to making hair knotty and unmanageable? Will it lather sufficiently, or will it feel like rubbing a pretty useless pebble over my scalp? Will it be easy to keep a grip on or will I find myself chasing it around the shower tray / bathtub and subsequently wasting much of the product?
By this stage, I had already tried a small number of shampoo bars with varying degrees of success, so I was starting to have a pretty clear idea of what I was looking for.
I was introduced to Gruum by my sister, who very kindly sent me a bar to try out. The bar was the Gruum Har Nourishing bar, which according to their website is designed for all hair types and makes hair shiny and smooth due to the key ingredient being coconut oil.
Gruum provide a range of shampoo bars for all manner of hair concerns, take a look! hår Natural Coconut Shampoo Bar | Hair care supplies | grüum (gruum.com) Their products are all cruelty and paraben free, vegan friendly and any ingredients that include palm oil are certified as contributing to sustainable palm oil production. Gruum also produce their products in the UK.
First impressions…
When the bar arrived, I was pleased to see that Gruum are true to their claim of not including unnecessary packaging. The shampoo bar arrives in a small cardboard box with no plastic wrapping. Excellent, I love to see it!
Once unwrapped I immediately noticed the subtle, but definitely noticeable coconut scent, which honestly, smelled delicious. I just hoped it didn’t dilute over time or while in use. It reminded me of the smell of holidays, in a more sophisticated and less cloyingly sweet way.
The bar had a slightly “waxy” feel and was easy to hold as it wasn’t so big that it was unwieldy, nor so small it was awkward to hold with wet hands, although this last point would obviously change over time as the bar became used up.
The bar weighs 50g and according to Gruum’s website, provides approximately 60 washes at a cost of £8 per bar. It goes without saying that the longevity of the bar would be impacted by whether consumers performed a single or second cleanse each time they washed their hair. Luckily, I very rarely have to perform a second cleanse, so I was looking forward to seeing how long the bar lasted. For reference, I try to wash my hair as minimally as possible to avoid both breakage and stripping the colour from my hair (No one wants to spend good money having their hair coloured for their shampoo to wreak havoc with it!). With this in mind, I tend to wash my hair approximately three times per week and rely on my trusty friend dry shampoo for the rest of the time (thank goodness for working from home!).
Final Thoughts…
There is a lot that I like about this understated little bar!
Firstly, the bar didn’t snag uncomfortably on my hair while using it. A few swipes resulted in a luxuriously thick lather which I found to be incomparable to all other bars I have trialed to date. I was very impressed! I found that this meant I had little reason to perform a double cleanse, meaning the bar lasted a good while before it needed replacing.
After using the bar, my hair felt clean but not stripped, soft and shiny. This was true after the first wash and after all subsequent washes.
With regards the scent, it was still very prevalent while using the bar, and I found the confines of a shower actually intensified the scent, creating an even more luxurious experience. I would describe the smell as being coconut-forward with an underlying sweetness. Yum!
Truth be told, I can’t think of anything that I didn’t particularly like. Testament to this, I have ordered a replacement! Maybe in time I will branch out and try some of the other bars, but the scent and luxurious experience of this one has secured a space in my heart.
If you’ve tried the Gruum Har Nourishing shampoo bar, or any of Gruum’s other shampoo bar offerings, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Links
hår Natural Coconut Shampoo Bar | Hair care supplies | grüum (gruum.com)