I recently received another awesome Korean beauty box by Sophie (watch the unboxing here). This box focused on getting clean, which of course includes hair.
I’ve been pondering switching to shampoo bars for some time, because using them saves a lot of water (during manufacturing) and plastic (packaging). So imagine my delight when the box included not one, not two, but three different Arencia shampoo bars!
I wash my hair every other day, and sometimes every day if needed, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to try these out. Below are my thoughts on each one - Sunny Baby, Wild Fig, and Go Green - as well as some general impressions of the trio. They are available individually or as a box set on the Arencia official site. A couple of them are also on Amazon: Go Green, Fig.
My hair: fine, straight, color treated with henna at home on a monthly basis. Oily scalp and dry shafts. I’m very much into hair products - check out this video for some of my favorites.
As I mentioned, I’ve been wanting a good shampoo bar. Each one of the Arencia ones can replace 4-5 bottles of regular shampoo. They take significantly less space and do not come in plastic packaging. And if travel ever resumes for us, these would be a lot easier to take along.
How to use a shampoo bar:
Wet your hair and hands
Rub the shampoo bar in your hands until lather forms (like you would with hand soap)
Apply the lather to your scalp and massage (same as you would with regular shampoo)
Rinse off
Follow with conditioner and / or your usual hair care
Arencia Sunny Baby Shampoo Bar
When choosing which bar to use first, I decided on Sunny Baby, because I love how it smells. The fresh citrus scent and the bright, happy yellow color really stood out to me. It is made with turmeric, lemon oil, and sunflower seed oil. Arencia recommends this shampoo bar for sensitive scalp.
Arencia Wild Fig Shampoo Bar
This bar is made with fig, baobab and apricot oil and is marketed for damaged hair. Out of the three, it has the mildest (but very pleasant scent).
Arencia Go Green Shampoo Bar
A very refreshing shampoo bar with green tea and tea tree oil. Great for people with dandruff, oily scalp, and those who like a minty smell. I think if my husband got his hands on this bar, I would never see it again. I love the fresh cooling sensation on the scalp during and after using this shampoo. And the smell is absolutely delightful.
My impressions:
Overall, I really like these. Some of the benefits I noticed:
My hair stays clean longer, even without dry shampoo. This is true for all three bars, but especially for the Arencia Go Green Shampoo Bar
More volume at the root. I air dry my hair and don’t use any styling products on my roots. My guess is that regular liquid shampoos have certain ingredients that may weigh the hair down.
One thing to note - your hair will feel different when you are rinsing these off vs when you are rinsing off regular shampoo. It’s a little more “squeaky” clean. Not overly dry, but not as slippery as it is with liquid shampoos. Again, it’s likely because of some extra ingredients in traditional shampoos that are absent in these bars. I always use a conditioner after shampooing, so this doesn’t bother me. And I haven’t noticed any frizz or breakage. Still wanted to mention that in the spirit of full disclosure.
For me, these are a win. I will keep using them until they run out, and then will probably buy more.
Find me on Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, and in my private Facebook group. Subscribe below for blog updates via email (and never spam).
These products were sent to me as a gift. This is not a sponsored review.
This post contains affiliate links.
Arencia Sunny Baby Shampoo Bar ingredients:
Soap Noodles, Turmeric Leaf Powder, Pumpkin Powder, Sunflower Seed Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Lemon Oil, Glycerin, Sodium Coco Sulphate, Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids, Citric Acid
Arencia Wild Fig Shampoo Bar ingredients:
Soap Noodles, Adansonia Digitata Fruit Extract, Feigen Fruit Extract, Tomato Fruit Powder, Apricot Kernel Oil, Olive Oil, Glycerin, Sodium Coco Sulphate, Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids, Citric Acid, Feigen Fragrance Oil, CI 16035
Arencia Go Green Shampoo Bar ingredients:
Soap Noodles, Camellia Seed Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Olive Oil, Green Tea Powder, Glycerin, Sodium Coco Sulphate, Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids, Citric Acid, CI 19140, CI 42090