If you’re looking to make the switch to shampoo bars, you may also want to add conditioner into the mix. Conditioner bars go hand in hand with shampoo bars and come in many varieties for all hair types. Besides being good for your hair, conditioner bars are cost effective, typically lasting much longer than a typical bottle of liquid conditioner. Bar shampoos and conditioners tend to be better for climate change too, because they weigh less and use less energy to ship than liquid hair products.
Currently, about 8 million metric tons of plastics end up in the ocean every year. Conditioner bars help reduce plastic waste, because many come in recycled paper, eco-friendly paper boxes, or even package-free. Conditioner bars are also great for travel, as you don’t have to worry about exceeding the liquid-ounces limit or a leaky bottle.
Check out our suggestions for the best conditioner bars below, all of which are made with natural, safe ingredients.
EcoRoot’s Moroccan oil conditioner bar is top pick because it’s vegan, good for nearly all hair types, and made with a robust list of natural and plant-based ingredients. A blend of argan oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter help to nourish and moisturize hair. It’s made in the United States, and it comes in recyclable or compostable paper packaging. One bar is good for about 55 uses.
Best Overall
EcoRoots Moroccan Oil Zero Waste Conditioner Bar
EcoRoots is a woman-founded brand that specializes in low-waste an eco-friendly products. As a member of 1% for the Planet, the company donates a portion of all sales to environmental non-profits.
Price at time of publish: $13
It’s creamy, hydrating, and washes and conditions all in one step. Lush’s Avocado Co-Wash is great for defining curls and keeping frizz at bay, and its bergamot scent (made from bergamot oil) is a cheerful, fruity mood lifter. Made with avocados, cupuaçu butter, fair-trade organic cocoa butter, and cider vinegar, this bar moisturizes and shines without stripping out natural oils.
Best Shampoo and Conditioner
Lush Avocado Co-Wash
Pinch off a chunk of the bar and work it into a lather in your hands, or run the bar over wet hair and let it do its magic for clean, shiny, nourished locks.
Price at time of publish: $19
Made to be a cross between a lotion bar and a shampoo bar, this conditioner bar is the just the right amount of hydration. After shampooing, apply the conditioner bar to the driest areas of the hair strand–like ends–to help with frizz. Babassu oil, coconut oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter provide moisture, while coconut milk helps to soothe dry scalps and manage frizz.
Best for Damaged Hair
Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve Co. Butter Bar Conditioner
This bar is free of sulfates, silicone, and parabens, and comes in green packaging. It has earned an impressive array of third-party certifications, including one from the Rainforest Alliance. Want to try before making the commitment? Chagrin Valley offers this bar in a 1.7 ounce sample size.
Price at time of publish: $10
Packed with moisture-locking ingredients like coconut and shea butter, the Bar None conditioner bar helps soften hair and tame frizz while adding shine and silkiness. It leaves curls more defined, nourished, and healthy.
Best for Curly Hair
Bar None Hydrating Conditioner Bar
Added bonuses: The plastic-free packaging is compostable, and a commitment to naturally-derived ingredients means you’ll only find a cruelty-free, vegan bar with no parabens or SLS.
Price at time of publish: $12
Yes, technically this is a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner bar, but for those with fine hair that tends to fall flat and look a bit greasy, this is the bar for you. Organic coconut water combined with mimosa flower moisturizes hair and leaves you with strong, balanced strands.
Best for Fine Hair
Love Beauty and Planet 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner Bar
Fine-hair fans love it for the added volume, and environmental advocates will love it for its clean ingredients: organic coconut oil, ethically-sourced mimosa flower, and naturally-sourced coconut water. It leaves out many of the ingredients people have concerns about: silicones, parabens, dyes, and sulfate cleansers. Love Beauty and Planet products are affordable and widely available at drugstores.
Price at time of publish: $5
This plastic-free bar uses avocado oil, cocoa butter, camomile oil, and hemisqualane, which is a popular hair-care ingredients derived from fermented sugar cane. It’s formulated to soften and smooth without weighing hair down. The recipe is sulfate- and paraben-free, as well as vegan and safe for color treated hair.
Best for Oily Hair
Superzero Conditioner Bar for Normal/Oily Hair
Superzero is certified climate neutral by Climate Partners, which means the carbon emissions associated with the manufacturing are off-set through investments in clean energy projects. The company is also a member of 1% for the Planet.
Price at time of publish: $20
We found that HiBAR will leave hair feeling soft and manageable. This conditioner bar is 100% safe for color-treated hair, and does not contain sulfates, silicone, or phthalates. Essential oils like lime, orange, lemon, grapefruit, and ginger root oils give the bar a fresh, citrus aroma that isn’t too overpowering. Fans love the shape of the bar, which helps provide a no-slip grip, and enjoy the company’s commitment to cruelty-free products.
Best for Color-Treated Hair
HiBar Maintain Conditioner
Price at time of publish: $15
Surprisingly, one of the best natural treatments for dandruff is beer. Due to its high vitamin B and yeast content, beer helps hair become bouncy, shiny, voluminous, and flake-free. Beauty and the Bees is raising a glass–er, a bar–to this with its beer conditioner bar.
Best for Dandruff
Beauty and the Bees Tasmanian Real Beer Conditioner Bar
Using beer brewed naturally from small breweries in Tasmania, Australia, this conditioner bar moisturizes and conditions without leaving hair heavy. Leatherwood beeswax, honey, mango butter, and Tasmanian hop-infused certified-organic raw coconut oil provide nourishing essential oils as well, leaving hair full of bounce without weighing it down.
One caveat: If you’re a vegan who chooses not to use beeswax or honey, this product is not for you.
Price at time of publish: $18
No stranger to the conditioner bar game, Ethique offers multiple options based on your hair type. Added bonus? From the beginning, Ethique has committed to vegan and cruelty-free products, which means that not only does Ethique not test on animals, but it only uses ingredients that have not been tested on animals or that are derived from animals.
Best for Dry Hair
Ethique Too Delicious Conditioner
Ethique is triple-certified cruelty-free and vegan by CCF AU and PETA. The company steers clear from palm oil and palm-oil derivatives, an ingredient used across the beauty industry but is associated with tropical forest destruction. Try the Ethique The Guardian for normal to dry hair or the Too Delicious bar for intense hydration, or the Tone It Down bar for blond or silver hair.
Why Trust Treehugger?
To make this list, we reviewed the ingredients lists of dozens of conditioner bars, searched for plastic-free packaging, and also considered user ratings, editor reviews, and price. We also looked at manufacturers commitments to sustainability and ethical workplaces to find the most effective and sustainable options on the market.
Our top pick for most hair types is the Moroccan oil conditioner bar from EcoRoots, for its robust list of plant-based ingredients. If you have particularly dry hair, consider Ethique’s Too Delicious Super Hydrating bar.
Amanda Ogle has written for National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, OZY, Women’s Health, Greatist, and other publications. She loves writing about sustainability and believes it is important that we all strive to be as environmentally friendly as we can.
