We’ve been working to make our home a less wasteful place. One of the places I looked to decrease waste first was the bathroom. It seemed like an easy place to start. There are only a few things that needed a change, unlike the kitchen, and it would have a moderate impact on our waste, unlike say a bedroom that might not have a huge impact immediately.

To do so I needed products or DIY substitutes that would replace the mainstream items I was already using. Not only would these replacements need to be mostly waste free, they also needed to be both non-toxic and work.

So I tried a lot of things, mainly shampoo bars, natural deodorants, and toothpaste. Some of them were great, other were down right terrible. I started keeping a list, and then figured if I was already doing most of the work, why not turn it into a blog series? Maybe that way you won’t have to try as many things as I did to find something that works for you.

Ethique Heali Kiwi Review

Review Methodology: I picked items to review,  because I wanted to try them for myself, in hopes of finding the best product for my own home. My selection process involved looking at top hits on Amazon and Etsy, suggestions from friends, and also cool things I saw on Instagram. Probably not all that scientific, but especially for shampoo and deodorant, I tried a lot of things. I also decided that to be as fair as possible, that each  review would include an affiliate link to the product, whether I decided it was the one for me, or I wanted to set it on fire and dance widdershins around it. Thus, this post contains an affiliate link. Also, many personal care products work for some but not all people, these reviews are simply my experience of the product, yours may vary widely.

And now, on to our first Zero Waste shampoo review!

Ethique’s Heali Kiwi Solid Shampoo Bar is meant for itchy or sensitive scalps. I really enjoyed the tactile experience of solid shampoo, which carried on through most of the rest of my testing, but since this was the first solid shampoo I ever tried, I might be a bit biased. I thought they would be awful to use (I actually hate bar soap), but in the spirit of zero waste was going to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use, and how long most of the bars lasted.

Research Methodology: I’m using each product every other day for two weeks with my normal once a week conditioner routine. With solid shampoo, I’ve followed the directions on the packaging, or if there aren’t any, I’ve swiped the wet bar from root to tip of my hair and then rinsed. With liquid shampoo, I have shampooed as normal. My hair is 1B, very straight and super thick (I once donated over a pound of hair), and tends to get oily.  I used the sample size Heali Kiwi which comes in a small heart shaped bar, which was basically gone at the end of two weeks (that’s why it’s not in the picture above, I tried this one before I decided to do real reviews that would benefit from pictures).

Ingredients: If you go to the end of Ethique’s Heali Kiwi page, you can click on each ingredient for an explanation of what it is and why it is in your shampoo, which I thought was a nice touch. Free of SLS and palm oil, not tested on animals. It does contain a coconut based surfactant.

Scent: Very mild, so mild I struggled to figure out what it smelled like, maybe a creamier kiwi?

Feel: I used the sample size bar, and had no problem applying it to my hair, it lathered well, and because it was solid, I actually had an easier time of getting it to my scalp and not just on the top layer of hair.

The next day: Still going strong. My hair doesn’t feel greasy, and still feels nice to run my fingers through.

The end of the week: No build up or any other side effects noted, and while my scalp isn’t normally itchy, I feel like it is even calmer than normal. My hair looks and feels very nice and has a great sheen. 

Eco-ness: Ethique was New Zealand’s most sustainable business in 2015 according to Business Insider. All of their products come in compostable biodegradable packaging. I did, however, order these from Amazon, and so there was a bit of plastic packaging from their end. I know there is a way to get less plastic packaging from Amazon, but I haven’t tried that yet. Ethique claims one full shampoo bar is equal to 3 bottles of shampoo, and while I can’t substantiate that claim, the sample lasted the full two weeks. 

Rating: 4 ½ stars for Ethique’s Heali Kiwi Solid Shampoo Bar. This was only my third shampoo bar to try, but I may buy myself a full size bar. I only wish there was more of a scent.