Do you use your bathsoap for your hair?

Chennai, India
October 4, 2011 6:54am CST
Whey I was young, I've seen some people use bathsoaps for their hair. We were using a hair care powder, (shikakai, also known as Acacia concinna), as it was the cheaper than shampoos. Now, we switched to shampoos for ease. It's really not handy to buy those shikakai, dry them in sun and then get them ground. Do you use Bath Soap or Shampoo for your hair? Or do you use any special thing?
1 person likes this
15 responses
@francesca5 (1344)
4 Oct 11
recently i was looking at the products on sale in my local oxfam shop and they have a few "green" beauty products, and they had some soap that was for both body and hair, and i looked at the ingredients, and it was nothing like as nasty as the stuff you get in a bottle of shampoo, and i am quite concerned about the amounts of chemicals i use, so i thought i'd try it and see. the first time i did i was a bit scared, as i thought it might turn out badly, but actually it works, i was amazed. so i have used it ever since, and am very pleased. but it was a soap especially for hair and body, i wouldn't use any old soap.
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• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
That's interesting to know. A soap for body and hair. How long it lasts?
4 Oct 11
i actually only use it for hair, as i have another more perfumed one i use for my body, so i don't use much of it, so its lasting quite a long time, its still almost the same size as when i bought it.
4 Oct 11
the soap i have been using is a neem oil soap, and its funny, i love the idea of not having to use shampoo, but thats because we have had no alternative in the uk for so long, i might try some shikakai powder, i just had a look on amazon. i just love the idea of using a more natural product.
@umabharti (3972)
• India
4 Oct 11
Hair is a sensitive one,we should use mild shampoos and not any thing we get in our hand or in the shop,when we dont take care for the hair then we had to suffer for that,bathsoap or a detergent soap are made for such and such purpose so we should never use those soaps for hair wash. As u said those herbal ones ,they were good for the hair however no one have such time for that,as this is a speed generation.we get herbal shamppoo like meera shampoo which is just like a shikai ,but any thing made at home is always good for us.Because it never has preservatives or any chemicals which can harm us.
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• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
Yes, but in villages people either use the shikakai powder (mostly) and soaps only due to their financial constraints. Shampoo is a costly affair for those people as they live together as a family. Earlier we used Meera Shikakai paste too, but that was not effective. Though shikakai was one of the ingredients, there was some other thing that remains on our head later becomes dandruff. (Or it makes our head so dry so that dandruff forms.) Now we use Dove shampoo and conditioner, which work fine so far, but not better than home made shikakai powder.
@nitin_hec (1096)
• India
4 Oct 11
I use Shampoo. In 10 year ago my mother tend me to use Kesh Nikhal Soap for hair.
1 person likes this
• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
Oh..The name itself tells it's a haircare soap.
• Philippines
4 Oct 11
I don't use soap in my hair especially if it is harsh and not organic. Soap tends to dry the hair more making it so sticky to the strands of hairs so I don't use soap. That is why there are shampoos available in the market for people to use.
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• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
Still in some villages, few people use soaps for their hair. But that's rare people. Mostly they use Shikakai. Shampoo is a luxury thing for them, particularly when there are more members in a family.
@sanofer (525)
• India
4 Oct 11
i never use soap for hair.it will make our hair looks sticky.shampooing gives better looks to hair.i use bodyshop shampoo which contains less chemicals compare to other shampoo.
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• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
Yes. I used soap for my hair once or twice. When I did so, my hair really looked sticky and lifeless. We're using dove shampoo and conditioner, which is working fine so far.
@viney17 (688)
• Philippines
4 Oct 11
i nver really use bathsoap for my hair, i use regular shampoo, cause bathsoap is kind of for the skin, and skin and our hair have different structures, it's kind of like using your shirt as your pants. I have a different soap for my face and another for my body and shampoo or conditioner for my hair..
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• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
Have you seen anyone using soap for their hair? I've seen. Even I have used once or twice, long back, since either shampoo or shikakai powder was exhausted. But, soap makes our hair sticky and dull.
@Lxandra79 (1535)
• United States
5 Oct 11
I use lots of products, I know its not good for my hair, but Im addicted. I use Pantene Conditioner because it untangles my hair really good (I got natural curly hair) for shampoo I use this 3 in 1 I can use it for shampoo, body wash, bubble bath. I also use mane n tail that makes my hair grow (they use that for horses). If you have hair that is falling use mane n tail, that will surely grow your hair fast! they have it on Shampoo and Conditioner.
@Lxandra79 (1535)
• United States
10 Oct 11
of course, they have it especially for humans.
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Yes, recently I am developing hairfall. I use Dove Hairfall Rescue shampoo and conditioner. Mane n tail, I didn't come across that name. I'll search on internet for availability in my country. However, you said it's used for horses. Is it good to use it on humans? Thank you.
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
I use shampoo for my hair. After shampoing it, i would put conditioner and leave it on my hair for at least 5 minutes. While i leave the conditioner on my hair, i wash my undies and scrub my body well. That way, my hair gets conditioned well. It becomes so soft and easy to comb, once i am done.
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Have you heard about Shikakai? It's a natural herbal powder we use for hair wash. But, recently more and more people switch to shampoos as get the herbal powder prepared involves lot of work and people don't have time to do that. I too do the same thing with conditioner. Additionally, I do it with a face wash too. Apply it, leave it for a while, wash other parts of the body and finally rinse.
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
No i haven't heard of that yet. I guess, that's only in your country. It pays to take good care of our hair because it is after all our "crowning glory".
@shanemae (1025)
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
before when i was like 6 or 5 years old? my mom would use bath soaps for our hair. when our hair would dry up it becomes stiff. it's hard to comb it. but now, i have these products separated for my hair use and another product for my body use and another for my face. it's a good thing we have these various products now that we could use for the different areas of our body. with this we can take care of our body well.
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Yes. Though we knew soap was not ideal for hair, I had to use it, for the herbal powder would have run out. But that was when I was young. Now, as you said, we use different products for taking care of different parts, like facewash, shampoo, conditioner, moisturising bar etc.
@shanemae (1025)
• Philippines
6 Oct 11
that is true, now we don't have to let our hair suffer!
@yskaps (233)
• India
4 Oct 11
in my opinion,some shampoos and bathsoaps are very bad for your hair health.i using only cocunut oil
1 person likes this
• Chennai, India
4 Oct 11
Ok. You use coconut oil. But while washing your hair, what do you use? Earlier we used Shikakai, now we're using Shampoos and conditioners. At least they are better than soaps.
@glowin100 (124)
5 Oct 11
I think I can remember using this type thing. It will dry your hair. We used it because in those days we did not get leisure items like that. It was considered that when I was a teen. glowin100
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
I too had to use soaps when we run out of the herbal powder, when I was young. Now we don't use soaps on our hair anymore. We buy adequate shampoos and conditioners.
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
Sometimes I use my bath soap for my hair, because the oldies suggests that it is far better than shampoo. Well I guess they're right! You should try it too.
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Is it? I can't say yes. When I used soap on my hair, I really felt my hair was dull and sticky. Soap is for skin and shampoo is for hair. So, I think shampoos only can be better than soap.
@besssia (94)
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
Bath soap makes our hair dry. I don't think it's a good idea to use soap to wash our hair because it can roughen the texture and even make our hair brittle and coarse. Shampoo is more appropriate to use. :)
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Yes, now I know. But when I was young, I didn't know and I had to use soap on my hair. But that was very rare. Generally we used the herbal shikakai powder. When we run out of it, I used soap. May be once, or twice.
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
That's good. Our hair is our crowning glory and it's important that we take care of it also. :)
• Philippines
5 Oct 11
When I was a little kid, I used bath soap for my hair - everyday. Shampoo was only a luxury and I was only allowed to use it once a week. Sometimes, the supply of shampoo wouldn't last and it would take weeks for my mom to buy another bottle. So I had to go for weeks using soap only for my hair. According to my mom, using shampoo would make me go bald, and soap is the mild alternative to shampoo. I didn't know where my mom got that idea, but what I know now is that both soap and shampoo can cause baldness - if not rinsed off properly. Products with Sulfates are to blame. I've seen from online databases of ingredients that Sulfates can cause irritation and baldness when left to the skin for too long. So as much as possible, I try to avoid products with those ingredients. I never liked using soap for my hair. When I became a teenager, I stopped using it and switched to shampoo. Soap had made my hair very dull and sticky. I also got a lot of dandruff when I use soap.
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Oh..it's the sulphate that causes the hair fall. I think some hair colours also have sulphates. Now I understand why my hairfall started. Although I stopped using the hair colours, I wouldn't think of buying it anymore.
@rollylolly (2843)
• India
4 Oct 11
I used soap nut (reetha) and Shikakai sometimes during my chilhood . It was just once or twice a month but mainly shampoo and conditioner . I used to apply hair packs of heena , shikakai and reetha with egg yolk earlier but I don't get so much time . So now only shampoo , conditioner and sometimes hair serum . I have never used bath soap to wash my hair. It makes the hair lifeless and sticky .
• Chennai, India
5 Oct 11
Oh.yes. The combination of soap nut and shikakai is wonderful. Earlier we were using only shikakai powder. Though it was fine, it didn't have the effect of foaming. After we started using the combination, it was wonderful. But now, as you said, we rarely find time to prepare those natural things. So we too switched to Shampoos. Better than soap but not better than natural shikakai. Cheers.