The Best Conditioner Bar of 2024
As beauty trends emphasize sustainability more and more, brands have started to come up with creative ways to manufacture, package, and distribute products in a way that decreases environmental effects. One popular way to ditch excessive packaging from shampoo and conditioner is a solid bar.
These bars are a great alternative to hair care in bottles and tubes because they reduce bulky, hard-to-recycle packaging. These self-contained beauty products are simply wrapped in paper and are just as effective as regular hair care formulas. Check out these conditioner bars, including our top choice, the HiBar Conditioner Bar, to help you make the switch.
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Best Overall
HiBar Conditioner Bar
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Most Hydrating
Ethique Conditioner Bar
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Best for Sensitive Skin
J·R·Liggett’s Conditioner Bar
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Most Sustainable
Viori Conditioner Bar
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Gentlest Formula
The Earthling Co. Conditioner Bar
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What Are the Benefits of Conditioner Bars?
Liquid cleansers are more common than bars, but with liquid cleansers, it’s a lot easier to end up using more product than you need each time you wash your hair. Liquids typically come in plastic bottles or tubes that not only take up more space, but also produce a lot of plastic waste that isn’t great for the environment. Bars are a waste-free, environmentally friendly alternative.
The consistency of bars provides greater moisture and decreases waste. I love that their compact size also makes them travel-friendly and easy to pack when I go on trips. Most of them are made of entirely safe, organic, and non-toxic ingredients, so they can be great choices for those with sensitive skin.
One of the best perks about these bars is the number of washes you can get from a single one. A conditioner bar priced the same (or even lower) than a liquid conditioner will last you a much longer time, even if you use it daily.
What to Look For and Avoid in a Conditioner Bar
Hair-boosting elements
Look for bars that contain natural essential oils and henna to nourish dry and damaged hair. These active ingredients will target specific issues in your hair to work toward making your hair stronger, smoother, and healthier overall.
Silicone-free
Silicone will accumulate in the skin on your scalp over time, making the roots of your hair greasy. It will also leave your hair feeling coarse and unruly over time. If you have curls, silicone will flatten them out, which is why you need to look for bars with ingredients like shea butter, emollient oils, and essential oils.
Synthetic preservatives
Silicone and parabens are synthetic ingredients that are typically added to beauty care products because they extend shelf life and aren’t too costly. These ingredients affect the hormonal balance in your body in various ways, which is why many of them are called hormone disruptors. Avoid bars that contain these ingredients.
Sulfate-free
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) are both extremely strong surfactants that are used as thickening and emulsifying agents. They’re commonly found in conditioners and are known to strip your hair and scalp of natural oil. In doing so, they leave your hair looking rough and dull.
Fatty alcohols
You’re going to need some fatty alcohols in your hair. Some useful fatty alcohols include glycerin and cetyl alcohol, which are referred to as “good” alcohols because they serve as natural conditioners. Short-chain alcohols (like isopropyl alcohol) are “bad” alcohols because they dry out your hair. These alcohols should be avoided entirely.
Plastic-free packaging
It’s extremely easy to avoid using plastic when wrapping and packaging conditioner bars. Unlike liquid conditioners, conditioner bars don’t need to be placed in plastic to be stored and delivered. The packaging of these bars should be 100% plastic-free and made entirely of paper that can be recycled and composted.
How to Use a Conditioner Bar
If you’re using it as a daily conditioner, glide it over your wet hair and massage in the cream that forms. Leave it in for one to three minutes before rinsing. If you’re using it as a leave-in conditioner, wet the bar and massage small bits onto your fingers then apply the cream to the ends of your hair. If you’re using it as a deep conditioning hair mask, melt a piece of the bar over low heat and mix in two to three teaspoons of water to create a hair mask. Apply the DIY mask onto your wet hair and leave it in for 30 minutes before rinsing. You can even use the conditioner bar as a shaving bar for a close, super smooth shave!
Comparing the Best Conditioner Bars of 2024
HiBar Conditioner Bar
Pros
- Paraben and silicone-free formula
- Features an ergonomic design
- Adds moisture and shine to hair
Cons
- Citrus oils may be irritating for some
This moisturizing conditioner bar by HiBar comes in a super easy-to-use shape with a rounded bottom that sits comfortably in your palm and a pointed, slanted top that’s easy to maneuver through your hair while also hitting every part of the scalp. It contains moisturizing ingredients like honeyquat and shea butter that add a beautiful shine to dull hair. What’s great about this bar is that it’s formulated without any toxic chemicals like parabens, which is what makes it great for long-term use. It’s also vegan-friendly. This conditioner bar is 100% safe for color-treated hair and will last up to 80 washes. Thanks to its high quality and multiple benefits, we’ve chosen this conditioner bar as our best overall choice.
Ethique Conditioner Bar
Pros
- Provides excellent hydration for dry hair
- Made of naturally-derived ingredients
- Free of artificial preservatives
Cons
- Difficult to apply to long hair
This vegan conditioner bar by Ethique is great for extremely dry hair that has a little curl to it. It's deeply hydrating and can also be used as a once-a-week treatment for your hair. This conditioner bar contains hemp oil, shea butter, and grapefruit, all of which act together to hydrate and freshen your hair to make it healthier overall. Each bar provides you with as many washes as you would get with five bottles of liquid conditioner, depending on the length and volume of your hair. The container is entirely plastic-free, which makes it environmentally friendly. Plus, this bar is produced sustainably. The ingredients list consists of only naturally-derived ingredients that leave your hair looking and smelling wonderful. It does not contain any kind of synthetic preservatives like parabens or sulfates.
J·R·Liggett’s Conditioner Bar
Pros
- Contains olive, castor, and coconut oil
- Contains essential oils for fragrance
- Free of artificial preservatives
Cons
- Not very long-lasting
The J.R. Liggett’s conditioner bar contains saponified olive oil, castor oil, and coconut oil, alongside some additional ingredients like rose, lavender, and spearmint essential oils. It has a rich, lathering, natural formula that is made the old fashioned way without the addition of any preservatives, detergents, or synthetic oils. This makes the bar suitable for all skin and hair types. This conditioner bar is non-GMO and its packaging is 100% biodegradable. While being environmentally friendly, the packaging also helps retain the fragrance of the bar and extends its shelf life. Alongside other natural ingredients, this bar also contains organically-grown alfalfa grass, which acts as an antioxidant to restore the natural shine to your hair. Each bar is hand-cut and no two bars are exactly alike.
Viori Conditioner Bar
Pros
- 100% vegan-friendly ingredients
- Free of parabens, sulfates, and phthalates
- Includes fragrant essential oils
Cons
- May leave hair feeling slightly waxy
The Viori bonditioner bar comes in a variety of fragrances, including a musky, vanilla scent and floral garden. The bar is hand-crafted with natural ingredients. It's entirely free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and is produced in a cruelty-free manner. The bar also has a balanced pH and is 100% vegan, sustainable, and ethically sourced. Some of the natural benefits of this conditioner bar include moisturization, strengthening, rejuvenation, volumizing, repair, and adding natural shine. The Longsheng rice in the ingredients list is of particular importance because of its renewing, rejuvenating, and repairing properties. Other ingredients in the bar include cocoa and shea butter for softening and moisturizing hair, rice bran oil and rice protein for strengthening hair, and aloe vera and bamboo for increasing shine.
The Earthling Co. Conditioner Bar
Pros
- Vegan and cruelty-free formula
- Comes in four fragrant scents
- 100% compostable packaging
Cons
- Not ideal for very dry hair
This 100% vegan conditioner bar by Earthling Co. comes in four scents: simple fresh, citrus sun, cool breeze, and vanilla coconut. The formula contains cocoa butter, rapeseed, and jojoba oils. If you’re looking for volume and a bit of a lift at the roots, all in a gentle and plastic-free formula, this conditioner bar is the right choice for you. This bar is ultra-concentrated with the active ingredients your hair needs to lock in nutrients and moisture. It has everything your hair needs, minus all the things that harm it. Thanks to the nourishing ingredients, the moisture and nutrients will penetrate into your scalp and hair, leaving your strands feeling super smooth and silky.
People Also Ask
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Q: How long does a conditioner bar last?
A:Even though these bars are small, they are very concentrated. Each bar provides 40 to 50 uses, which means one bar will last you anywhere between four to eight weeks depending on how regularly you wash your hair.
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Q: Do conditioner bars lather?
A:No, they don’t lather. They become activated when they come into contact with water and form a silky kind of cream that you can massage into your hair.
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Q: Can I use a conditioner bar as a leave-in conditioner?
A:It depends on the product you’ve purchased. Most of them can be used as leave-in conditioners for extra hydration.
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