The Top 6 Shampoos For Alopecia: An Honest Review
March 6, 2019
38 Comments
If you’ve followed Lady Alopecia for a while, you’ll know I prefer natural products to chemical-filled topical treatments, or steroid creams with their dodgy side effects. Because I’ve tried both kinds in search of something for hair loss and I’ve found that when you go natural, you’re providing the optimal environment for regrowth. No itchiness, flakiness or inflammation. Yay!
It’s a shame really, because we’re conditioned to look for popular brands with “a great lather” – and usually, to get that lather, those brands include a bunch of parabens and sulfates that don’t do your skin – or your hair – any favours.
So when I came across nude beauty products, and I tried out the body soaps and shampoo bars, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did the soaps lather up well and leave my skin/hair super moisturised, they don’t rely on chemical additives to do so. nude beauty asked me to trial a few of their most popular soaps, which I’ve been doing over the past few months.
So without further ado…Welcome to my honest nude beauty review!
Emma’s ‘not a doctor’ disclaimer
Hi there, I’m an alopecian, I’m not a doctor! Any advice I give is based on my own research and personal experiences. This site is however reader-supported. When you buy through external links, I may earn a tiny affiliate commission. Learn more here.
I came across nude beauty a couple of months ago when I met the founder, a lovely guy called Andrew, in my hometown of Hoi An, Vietnam. Andrew’s background is in hospitality and, sick of seeing all those plastic bottles with chemical-laden soaps in even the fanciest of hotels, he set out to create a new solution: an option that would be kind to the skin and the environment.
nude beauty is now a successful Australian brand with a love of all things environmental. Its vegan soaps are 100% natural, plus USDA and EU organic-certified. And when I say ‘vegan’ they’re actually vegan – they don’t use palm oil as a base, like many so-called eco-friendly brands. Rather they’re more environmentally conscious by using pure coconut oil to give your skin a sweet moisturising kiss. Mwah.
I love my essential oils and it’s clear that nude beauty does, too! Andrew assured me that the oils they use in each soap are USDA-certified and the blends they create are designed to treat, cleanse and exfoliate your skin – and scalp! – in the gentlest possible way.
When Andrew asked me whether I’d be interested in trying out some of these soaps for Lady Alopecia, I jumped at the chance. Not only would I be supporting this small business with a big vision, I’d be using some of my favourite natural ingredients, too! 🙂
nude beauty has a wide range of soaps, for different skin types, scent preferences and colour palettes! This includes a breakout control bar with activated charcoal to relieve fungal infections, plus a cleansing control bar with tea tree oil to reduce redness and maintain a healthy glow.
The body bar range includes some exfoliating options, with skin-invigorating ingredients like caffeine and ginger. There’s also separate hypoallergenic shampoo bars, shaving bars, lip butters… you name it!
I tried the following 5 products – and here’s how I got on…
The first nude soap I tried, and we were off to a good start! I like the vibrant colour of this soap, although I’d hoped for more ‘oomph’ in the scent. But I can’t fault the ingredients – green tea and its compound EGCG is, after all, one of the things I love most about popular hair thinning shampoo Shapiro MD. When used on hair, it’s said to prolong the anagen phase (the ‘growth phase’) of the hair cycle. It’s also a natural DHT blocker – the hormone linked to hair loss.
Green tea’s great for your skin, too. In fact, it’s been used in traditional medicine for ages – including in the treatment of conditions like psoriasis or eczema (with which many hair lossers with irritated scalps might be familiar).
LA Says: I used this soap as a body bar and shampoo bar in one. I loved how soft and shiny it left my hair, and how moisturised my skin felt afterwards. I would’ve liked a stronger scent, though!
Second to be tested, and still in the lead for my favourite nude product, is this exfoliating ginger body bar. Its blend of ginger, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon essential oils reminded me of Christmas. Plus, I’ve written about the benefits of ginger for hair growth before – and sesame seed, which the soap also contains, is another recommended treatment for thinning hair.
Ginger has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, particularly for its immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory effects. It’s also packed with antioxidants – over 40 of them, in fact – with an anti-aging effect that’ll have you Benjamin Buttoning it in no time. 😉
P.S. I’m currently trying out two other exfoliant bars in nude’s range: the charcoal and black pepper bar and the coffee scrub bar. I LOVE the scent of the coffee one (which smells more like a creamy mocha) and after just a few days’ use, have noticed that the charcoal and black pepper one has tackled my blackheads and blemishes. The jury’s still out on whether either will beat Ginger Spice as my favourite member of the band, though!
LA Says: Although I love this exfoliant, and the other two I’m testing now, I appreciate they may not be for everyone. Particularly for those with very sensitive skin, these bars might be a little too intense. So do a test patch first and don’t use them too vigorously!
Admittedly, I don’t exactly have a whole lot of hair to shave to justify buying a shaving bar! But luckily, this doubles up as a regular body and shampoo bar if you like. And you can draw many other benefits from its star ingredients!
I absolutely love aloe vera for all things skin and hair related. It’s what I always recommend when people write to me about an itchy, irritated or red scalp, or when they feel there’s a lot of inflammation present. Aloe vera is joined by lovely shea butter, which holds fatty acids to further lower inflammation and lock in moisture.
Mint is another wonderful ingredient for dealing with hair loss in a more natural way. In fact, animal studies have shown it to be just as effective as topical minoxidil for boosting hair growth! (Without the bad side effects. Phew.) Together, you’ve got a calming, revitalising body bar that’ll give you a refreshing, post-shave tingle. Lovely.
LA Says: Like other soaps in the nude range, this creates a great lather and is super-moisturising – so I highly recommend getting rid of your usual can of foam in favour of this eco-friendly bar!
I love the idea of shampoo bars. I like that they’re kinder to the environment, reducing the need for plastic bottles. I like that you can double up to use them as your shower cream, too. And I like that they eliminate the need for conditioner – if you find one that’s moisturising enough.
I’ve kissed a few frogs during my quest to find the prince of shampoo bars, though. For instance, the neem bar I used last year turned mouldy in my shower and spread green goo everywhere! (I thought it best to stick to neem oil instead!)
So I wasn’t sure how I’d rate nude’s shampoo bar, one of its newest offerings. Luckily, it didn’t disappoint. For starters, I was in no danger of it stinking out my bathroom – not when it’s got coconut oil, shea butter and chamomile oil to brighten my morning! Those deeply nourishing ingredients mean you won’t need a conditioner (although nude is bringing out conditioner bars soon, too). Plus, it didn’t leak all over the place, although the thickness of the oils did clog up my shower drain for a while. But hey, better clogged with soap than hair, right?!
LA Says: I really like this shampoo bar as it’s suitable for all hair types: oily or dry, curly or straight, full head of hair or patchy alopecian! But if you’ve got a particularly sensitive scalp, I’d recommend trying the next – and final – product on this list first.
Many alopecians will also suffer from scalp conditions like dandruff or seborrhoeic dermatitis. And sometimes, this damaged scalp environment can actually be the thing causing hair loss; in many cases, preventing hair from growing back.
That’s why I highly recommend switching to gentle, nourishing products whenever possible. Things that won’t strip your scalp of its essential oils, but can still clear any build-up or bacteria that could be triggering your condition. And this unscented hypoallergenic bar is as natural as you can get.
LA Says: I’m still newish to this shampoo bar but I can happily report: so far, so very good! If you’re missing out on having any scent, and you have a favourite essential oil that you know is safe for your scalp, go ahead and add 2-3 drops over the surface of the bar. Allow them to soak in for your next use!
Or, to quote the company’s slogan: “be you, go nude!” I’m happy to recommend these products. I love how natural they are, that they still smell great and create a decent lather without needing harsh chemicals and that they’re eco-friendly, too.
There’s plenty of options to choose from, whatever your skin or hair type – and you don’t need to worry about causing damage or suffering harsh side effects if you choose ‘the wrong one’. Because they’re all highly moisturising, with great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties!
The only downside I can think of is they’re perhaps a little too thick and moisturising; hence my clogged up shower drain. (But just clean it out regularly and you’ll be fine!) The bars last for around 2 weeks of daily use…so not super long but I guess that’s what you get when you use all-natural ingredients as a base.
If you want to find out more about nude beauty, or to check out the products I haven’t mentioned here, head on over to their website.
Love & hugs,
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Alopecian. Yoga Teacher. Copywriter. Here to share information, offer support and show people the adventures that can lie in hair loss. I’m proud to have alopecia and I want to help others embrace their baldness, too!
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I’m Emma. I’ve had alopecia for 24 years and I’m here to inform/hopefully empower people like me! Read my full story here. But I’m not a doctor, so any advice here is based on my own research and experience. I’m also in a few affiliate programs – see my disclaimer page for more. Or contact me here. Also, why not join a thousand fellow alopecians and get my-semi regular hair about life with irregular hair?
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