All you need to know about the plastic-free, biodegradable and eco-friendly hair care trend for men!
Updated March 7, 2022
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Shampoo bars are becoming increasingly popular, which is great! Women everywhere are ditching traditional shampoos and opting for zero-waste alternatives. They’re eco-friendly, they’re cute, they smell like flowers and gumdrops and unicorns—and some even have glitter and tiny chunks of flower petals. They’re the perfect zero-waste hair care product for women!
BUT WHAT ABOUT MEN?
Men don’t want to smell like vanilla cupcakes or unicorn farts! They can’t have sparkles and flower petals lingering on their sideburns. Their bro friends will never let them hear the end of it. But, they do want in on the zero-waste hair care movement—as long as the products have a masculine scent.
Men deserve to have environmentally-friendly eco-manes just like women. And they can—because men’s grooming products now include shampoo bars.
That’s why we’ve done some research, visited a bunch of manufacturer websites, and chose some of the most ethical hair care brands that make shampoo bars made specifically for men in mind with scents like pine and tar and beer, ….you get where we’re going with this.
We’re talking natural, organic and vegan ingredients, zero animal testing, and plastic free packaging. Plus, some of these companies do pretty rad philanthropic work, which is pretty darn awesome, in our book.
Why Should You Switch To Shampoo Bars?
Traditional shampoos are packaged in plastic bottles, and if you take into account one bottle per person, that’s millions of shampoo bottles laying around in your local landfill…indefinitely. Why? Because as you all know, plastic doesn’t biodegrade.
Shampoo bars, however, are made with plastic-free packaging. In fact, most aren’t even shipped to your house in plastic. What they do get shipped in, is recyclable and biodegradable packaging that you can feel warm and gooey about; because you’re helping the planet.
They are also void of harsh chemicals and ingredients that strip your hair of its natural oils. In fact, when switching to an all natural shampoo bar, you may notice that your hair is not as dry as it normally would be after using traditional shampoo. For many people, this may take getting used to.
Shampoo bars are also suitable for beards and body. That’s right! Whereas traditional shampoo is limited to just the hair on your scalp, shampoo bars can be used for much, much more! In fact, men LOVE the new appearance and texture of their facial hair—stating that “frizz” is down by a considerable percent.
Are shampoo bars Convenient foR travel?
Because shampoo bars are solid, compact, and friendly on the environment, they are excellent for travel and outdoor recreation such as camping. You can easily keep them in a soap bar travel container and not worry about spills or airport security telling you that the bottle you’re bringing on board with you is way to big. Plus, you don’t have to worry about a shampoo bottle going rogue and spilling all your carry-on, and you certainly don’t have to spend extra money buying a whole new shampoo bottle on your trip.
How Do Shampoo Bars Work?
Shampoo bars work just like regular soap bars. You create a lather, and smear it into your wet hair (and beard). Then you just wash as you would with conventional shampoo.
Are you Ready to try one Out?
Then let’s go check them out! Try it, and if you like it, make the switch for good! If not, then go back to what you used before. No harm done in trying something new.
Most bars will save you money because they last as long as 2-3 bottles of shampoo—provided you store them correctly. With that said, keep them on a dish soap (one with holes) so they can dry and prevent them from turning to goo. For recommendations on soap trays that are best suited for shampoo bars, check out our article called “How To Store Shampoo Bars And Soap”.
All the shampoo bars chosen below are Climate Pledge Friendly, which is a sustainability certification. They’re also cruelty free and never tested on animals, just probably on bad employees.
Boss Man
Bossman is a rugged looking, organic 4 in 1 bar. But, despite its manly appearance, it’s actually packed full of soothing nutrients that pamper your hair, face, beard and body! It’s used as shampoo, conditioner, body wash and beard lather. If you don’t have time to watch their video [above], they go over all types of skin issues that this shampoo bar has helped people with—from acne to dandruff and psoriasis. They go on to discuss how a mom has even used it on her baby because of how gentle the ingredients are compared to traditional shampoo and baby body wash. And that is amazing.
The Cowboy Bar
The Apple Valley Natural Soap company is one of our favorite family-owned shampoo bar brands. They are certified cruelty free, and have many cool and unique hand-made shampoo bars for both men and women. They even have a beard soap that you can try. So click on the link and check this small business out. And when you shop at Apple Valley Soap, you can get 10% off of your entire purchase with special code: AVNSDIARIES10 at checkout!
THE RIGHT TO SHOWER
The Right To Shower is a great shampoo bar which an epic mission: each purchase helps flip an old bus into a mobile shower for people experiencing homelessness. It’s hand-made in the U.S. with fair-trade ingredients and produces a creamy lather that’s perfect for an all over body cleanse. They’re available in multiple scents and packaged in recycled cardboard.
FAT AND THE MOON SHAMPOO BAR
This hand-made shampoo bar by Fat And The Moon will give you a gentle, deep clean with all natural and organic ingredients, and without the wasteful plastic packaging. This lil shampoo bar is equivalent to 16oz of liquid shampoo — and a little goes a long way! The rhassoul clay gives volume to locks, and the rosemary reinvigorates the scalp. You’ll literally have a great hair day, every day. This shampoo bar is available on EarthHero and you can take 10% off of your entire purchase with coupon code: ECOMOMDIARIES at checkout!
PLUM BRILLIANCE APOTHECARY CHARCOAL SHAMPOO BAR
If dandruff is a issue, than try this charcoal and rosemary shampoo bar by Plum Brilliance Apothecary. Handcrafted with castor oil, tea tree, and bamboo charcoal – this shampoo bar comes without any extra plastic packaging or nonsense for your most minimal experience. The charcoal promotes hair growth, while the tea tree removes excess oil, and the castor oil helps balance your scalp’s pH and undo damage. This shampoo bar is available on EarthHero and you can take 10% off of your entire purchase with coupon code: ECOMOMDIARIES at checkout!
PROFESSOR FUZZWORTHY’s shampoo BAR
The Professor Fuzzworthy’s brand is well known for their awesome solid beard wash bars, but now they’ve jumped in the ring with a shampoo bar, and men are really enjoying it. Their beer shampoo bar in particular is unscented and made with actual beer from small local breweries in Australia. It also contains flecks of hops which nourish the scalp and effectively help clear up scalp conditions like eczema and dandruff. Men say it even works great for massive beards. Choose from unscented or scented options!
& BETTER FEELS SHAMPOO BAR FOR MEN
& Better Feels is a shampoo bar formulated just for men and dads who live a busy lifestyle. This shampoo bar is formulated with organic and fair-trade ingredients with a subtle citrus scent that add volume to hair and gently strip away dirt without drying out your hair. The main ingredients in this shampoo bar consist of organic shea butter, organic coconut oil, oat protein and apple cider vinegar.
Grown Ass Man
These Grown Ass Man shampoo bars consist of organic and vegan ingredients. The founders of this shampoo bar decided women shouldn’t have all the fun when it comes to eco-friendly hair care, so they came up with an epic product that has an epic name! These shampoo bars contain essential oils, as well as conditioning oils that are great for both hair and beards. Each bar lasts as long as 2-3 bottles of shampoo.
Mane Man
Mane Man shampoo bar is a three in one cleanser that can be used for hair, beard and body. The company sources local ingredients that are all natural and organic. The bar itself comes in compostable and biodegradable packaging to prevent plastic waste.
Duke Cannon’s Shampoo Puck
Duke Cannon’s shampoo puck is an awesome shampoo bar made of vegan ingredients. The puck comes in eco-friendly tin packaging that you can use for travel. The company also does philanthropic work; they donate 5% of all net profits to US veterans on a yearly basis. We also like this brand because they have a sense of humor: “we never test on animals, only on bad interns”.
The Shampoo Man Bar
If you love the refreshing smell of tea tree and mint, then you will love the “shampoo man bar” which creates a rich frothy lather (according to many testimonials). It’s especially great for dandruff, as tea tree contains anti-fungal properties that eliminate yeast and other skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.
J•R•Liggett’s Shampoo Bar
JR Liggett’s is a small all natural shampoo bar that is the equivalent to a 24 oz bottle of liquid shampoo. And with a blend of rich oils like Virgin Coconut, Aloe Vera, Almond Oil, and Mango Butter, it nourishes your hair and leaves it incredibly soft. In fact, the manufacturer claims that you will no longer need conditioner.
CHLOE MASON SOAP COMPANY
This hand-made shampoo bar by the Chloe Mason Soap Company is made with goat milk, apple cider vinegar and turmeric—two key ingredients that fight dandruff and oily hair. It’s also works great as acne treatment because of turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties. You can find this artisan-made shampoo bar in the hand-made corner of amazon!
Eco Mom Diaries 
Oooh, these sound like a treat! I love a good smelling man so I may need to add a few of these to my cart lol
Loved these. Thankfully someone has thought about men. Will try some for my husband
Thank you for sharing these bars! I need to convince my husband to try one!
We all have been talking about woman products and things. Gald to see an article for men. This shampoo bar looks nice, I’ll suggest my brother to give it a try.
Men deserve good products too. And if thise products besides being of good quality are also zero-waste, that’s even better. I love the Mane Man one, hehe.
I love zero waste products. Although I didn’t know there are shampoo bars. Lols, I feel like I am not from this age already.
I think I’ll prefer the bars too. Sound awesome.
These are awesome and I bet they would not only make awesome gifts for that hard to buy for guy but also they’d be easy to travel with!
My husband shaves his head completely, so I think I will buy him one of these bars as a prank. He has a lovely, thick beard which I absolutely love, so jokes aside, I think I might try the coconut one if it smells great!
Lol! These are actually awesome for use on beards! Men use these to take the frizz! 😀
Oh, my goodness. My husband will love these. He gets excited when I buy him regular bar soap. LOL. Thanks for finding the best bar shampoo for men. You saved me a lot of trouble.
You are welcome! Thank you for considering these!
So cool! My husband would love some of these!
I do operation Christmas child boxes and I always try to do a lot of boys 10-14 boxes because they’re the least selected. I think these bars would be awesome to include in them!! I’m adding them to my list.
That is so wonderful of you to do care boxes (especially for that age). That’s something I want to participate in this year! Thank you for this idea!
thanks for sharing thesd environmentally friendly shampoo ideas. my husband started keeping his hair and he is so concious about what he uses. these sound like a great idea. will purchase some for him
Thanks for sharing! Good to see that men are catered for too. The shampoo bars would make a great gift for my brother.
I never even knew these existed, I’m going to show this to my husband. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for sharing these wonderful products for men.
I’ve seen these as they gain popularity. I think my husband would really like these and valentine’s is coming. Thanks for the great ideas.
Great article! Thanks for giving these suggestions!