Plastic-Free, Sulfate-Free Shampoo Bar 3-Pack, Vegan – J.R. Liggett's

The Original Zero-Waste Shampoo

J.R. Liggett's has been making this bar in Cornish, New Hampshire since 1982, long before "zero-waste" was a phrase, and the appeal is its simplicity.

It is a true soap, saponified olive, coconut, and castor oils with no synthetic detergents, no SLS, no petroleum-based cleansers, and no synthetic preservatives, hand-cut in small batches. Because it is a solid bar, there is no plastic bottle, and because it is concentrated, each 3.5-ounce bar is roughly the equivalent of a 24-ounce bottle of liquid shampoo, so a three-pack lasts a long time. It is vegan, biodegradable, gluten-free, and GMO-free, and it travels beautifully since it does not count against your liquids.

For anyone wanting to get plastic bottles out of the shower with a product that has four decades of trust behind it, this is a natural starting point.

The Honest Tradeoffs

Two honest points worth understanding before you switch.

1. First, because it is a true soap, it has a higher pH than the acidic liquid shampoos most hair is used to, which can leave some people's hair feeling dry, tangled, or coated, especially in hard water. The fix is simple and traditional, a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse smooths the cuticle back down, and most hair goes through a short transition period while the scalp rebalances. 

2. Second, this three-pack is scented with essential oils like tea tree and peppermint, so it is not fragrance-free, even though some listings describe it that way. Tea tree oil is an essential oil, which is fragrance, so the label is misleading on that point. If you want a genuinely unscented bar from this brand, their Moisturizing (Coconut and Aloe) formula is the fragrance-free one to look for.

True Shift Score: 8.0 / 10

This is our own assessment, not a lab result or a certification.

It scores well as a simple, plastic-free, sulfate-free true soap made from a handful of saponified oils, vegan and biodegradable, handmade in the USA for over forty years, and concentrated enough that a three-pack lasts a very long time. It sits in the 8s for honest reasons: as a true soap it has a higher pH that can feel drying and often needs a vinegar rinse and a transition period, and it is scented with essential oils like tea tree, so it is not fragrance-free despite some listings saying so. For a plastic-free, sulfate-free shampoo bar, it is an excellent choice.

Building the Routine

• Many people find a good soap-based bar cleans well enough that they need less conditioner, but if your hair likes one, pair it with the silicone-free Innersense Hydrating Cream Conditioner or, for a fully plastic-free routine, the Ethique Curl Conditioner Bar.

Browse the Non-Toxic Hair & Oral Care collection for more.