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148 of 150 found the following review helpful:
 Here's how to use this as a shampoo, among other uses. Jul 17, 2011
By wart
I didn't see many reviews talking at length about using this as a shampoo, so I thought I would add one. Expect my personal experiences and opinion, identified as such, mixed in.
I use this soap for shampoo, body wash, face wash, I put it in my bath, I've used it to clean my counters, I've used it to clean dishes. The peppermint is my favorite, especially for soaking in the bath because it tingles and it's the best scented in my opinion, also for shampoo, again because it tingles.
To clean, I put a little on a damp terry cleaning cloth or kitchen towel and just wipe. I use it on kitchen and bathroom counters, and I dissolve it in water to mop with. I prefer to use the tea tree for cleaning.
As a shampoo, I am puzzled by all the claims I had heard online about castile soap/saponified oil being drying to the hair, and I suspect that many of the people making those claims either haven't tried it and are just perpetuating the general misconception, or maybe they are using it wrong (I'll explain why I think that). This is an extremely gentle product. I have CURLY hair, and it is dyed(with one of those clairol nice n easy super harsh store bought dyes)(#124 natural blue black, if you want to know). Curly hair is generally more dry, and harder to keep conditioned, than straight hair, and mine is no exception. My hair is super fine and super dry, and prone to breakage. I find using this soap as shampoo is actually much LESS drying to my hair than other types of shampoo.
If you are going to use this as a shampoo, you have to keep a couple of things in mind;
-1. Use less than you think you need. Less than what you would use if you were using a normal shampoo. You are not going to get as rich of a lather with this soap. That doesn't mean it doesn't clean as well, and it doesn't mean you didn't use enough soap. A little known fact is that the ingredients that clean your hair in normal shampoos don't lather either. Shampoo manufacturers ADD lathering agents purely for consumer impression. You get the impression as you are washing your hair that you are getting your hair really super clean because you are getting a nice thick rich lather, but in reality, the lather is not what is doing the cleaning, and to a small degree, lathering agents actually prevent detergent agents from working as well as they otherwise would. That's why, in industrial cleaning supplies(not the ones you can find in walmart) they typically don't add lathering agents. Normal shampoos have harsher detergent agents than this soap because of that effect, and because of the types of ingredients in normal conditioners(read on).
-2. Lather, rinse, THEN REPEAT. Shampoo twice, even if you are unaccustomed to doing that with normal shampoos.
-3. RINSE REALLY REALLY WELL. After you have rinsed your hair and the soap is all out of it; rinse it all over again.
-4. Don't use a 'normal' conditioner, pick one without any heavy 'cones' in it. Most conditioners have ingredients whose last four letters end in c-o-n-e (like silicone, amodimethicone, cyclomethicone, etc.). Not all, but many, of these ingredients coat your hair and supposedly make it seem incredibly silky and shiny and beautiful and glorious and on and on (and cone leave-ins really give you this effect), but what they also do is keep the natural oils, from your scalp, and any other moisturizing products you may use, from actually getting into your hair, so you get on this cycle of stripping your hair with a normal shampoo, then coating your hair with a normal conditioner, then stripping then coating then stripping, etc., and your hair is getting drier and drier. Not all cones do this. There are lighter ones and ones that are water soluble that are not doing anything bad, and it's up to you to use cones or not, but...IF YOU ARE USING THIS SOAP FOR SHAMPOO...then I would recommend staying away from it altogether. The harsh detergents in normal shampoos can handle stripping the normal conditioners from your hair with one washing, but this shampoo is much gentler and probably won't. This is what I think people are doing wrong when they think this hair is drying their hair out. I don't know, maybe they are worried it might, so they get what they think is going to be a really good conditioner, but it's a 'normal' conditioner, and as a result they aren't giving this soap an honest chance. They think it's this shampoo, but it's really their conditioner, that is causing their hair to be dry. There are a ton of really good conditioners that don't have cones in them. Dr. Bronner's makes a conditioner, but it's pricey. The thing that makes this soap a great product is partly that it is almost immortal. (My last 16 ounce bottle of the peppermint lasted me 8 years. Admittedly, that was before I tried it as a shampoo, but that would've maybe shaved a couple years, at most, off of the 8.) The Dr. Bronner's conditioner will not last as long, and there are better ones that are cheaper. If you google 'Paula's Choice', you can find a website of the same name that has an outstanding ingredient list, so you can see what the good ingredients are, and there are tons of websites listing cone free conditioners. (Personally, I don't use a conditioner, I wash my hair and then when I am out of the shower I massage a nickel sized amount of light extra virgin olive oil into my hair. Yes, I actually do that. It doesn't make my hair oily, it just soaks right in. I've been doing that for a very long time, even when I was still using normal shampoo, and It has never made my hair feel oily. On days when I don't shampoo which is about 6 days out of 7, I just rinse my hair in the shower and if my hair seems dry when I get out, I will add a tiny amount more. This doesn't weigh my hair down either, like I said, my hair is curly and it still pops up in spontaneous ringlets) (I get my olive oil in a gigantic bottle from walmart that costs me all of around $1.62.)
-5. You don't need to wash your hair every day. That's not really about this particular shampoo, just in general. If you don't believe me, ask your stylist. Just, when you take a shower, rinse it and condition it, if you choose to use a conditioner. As I stated above, I really only wash mine once a week. Trust me; nobody will be able to tell.
A little note about the different scents I've tried; Peppermint smells heavenly but has a noticeable tingle, that's good if you like and want it, bad if you don't. Lavender is my second favorite, it's a strong lavender scent. I mean it, this is not lavender for the weak of heart, this is not 'glade plug ins lavender fairy-farts', this is not a freaking fabric softener with a baby teddy bear on the label, this is hardcore hippie tree hugger lavender (love for the hippie tree huggers). If you've never smelled lavender the actual herb, and you've only ever smelled lavender scented products (even the organic ones, because, of the ones I've tried, the organic products that are lavender scented are still not as strong as this one), then you might possibly want to buy the 4 ounce size first to try. I like the little 4 ounce bottle anyway because I can refill it from the big bottles and use it on trips, so then you'll have the bottle. Tea Tree is strong too, if you like tea tree (I do, I liked this one) you'll really love it, if you don't like tea tree you'll REALLY hate it it, if you aren't sure if you like it, then you should definitely buy the tiny bottle first and try it, you don't want to be stuck with a product that lasts as long as this one does if you don't like it. Tea Tree also seems to me to have a very light tingle to it. Lastly, Rose. ROSE. UGH. I read online and thought people who didn't like this scent didn't know what they were talking about about this scent being so bad, and I bought it anyway because I trust this company and I was a moron to do it. Really, honestly, trust me, it smells nothing like a rose, or even remotely floral, it smells like what I imagine rancid gummy bears might smell like if it were possible for gummy bears to rot, and it is so sickeningly strong and so sweet smelling that when you smell it it makes your teeth hurt. I use mine to clean my bathroom and pray longingly for the day when I'll run out of it.
30 of 31 found the following review helpful:
Wonderful natural soap Feb 04, 2008
By Dharma
"Dharma Wild"
The reviews that say this smells like tar, I'm puzzled by.
Anyone buying tea tree oil soap, one would think, is buying it because of its antiseptic properties, in which case, one would think that you would know that tea tree oil smells strongly. I dont understand why people would buy the tea tree oil soap expecting it to smell like flowers... thats just silly.
I dont know about "tar" though. It smells like tea tree oil, which is sort of minty, strong smell, I dont find it unpleasant, myself.
I like the smell of tea tree!
Anyway, I bought this soap to be an antiseptic soap to wash my piercings and keep them clean and free of infection, and thats what this soap does. Its Gentile, cleansing, and it kills germs, what else do you need soap to do?
This soap is very thin, but dont be fooled! a little goes a LONG way. I use a tiny drop to wash my hands, and a Qtip to wash my ears. It lathers a lot, and you dont need a ton of it. You could even dilute it if you wanted, but its so thin I chose not to.
Good product, great price, arrived super early.
Plus the weird religious cult writing all over the bottle makes for humorous bathroom reading :x
15 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Best cleaner for leather goods!! Oct 12, 2009
By Shining Star
This soap not only smells wonderful, but this and all castile soaps are the best leather cleaners in the world!! I use this on my saddle, bridle, and leather boots. The reason it cleans leather so well is because it doesn't strip any natural oils from the leather or add unwanted extra oils either!! Plus, it doesn't leave leather goods too sticky!! Oh yea, and because it's all natural, you can use it to wash other things, and use it as a back-up horse shampoo, without worry of harming your horse (or yourself)!!!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Love Dr. Bonners Mar 08, 2007
By Todd Smyth
We've used Dr.Bonners for years now. And we've used it for just about everything from personal care to housework and doggie baths. Predominately though it stays in the shower. Down here where it can be so hot/humid one must take an active role in the summer to prevent rashes. Anything from persperation, to a little soap residue can irritate the skin and once a rash gets started w/the heat it can get ugly. Dr.Bonners is the best. It washes away any foriegn matter, dirt/pollen, persperation, etc. and it rinses off thoroughly. This time of year when showers are twice a day it is also very mild. Plus, lets not forget you can wash your hair, your teeth, your shower, your dog, your dishes, your clothes, your car,bike, baby toys...what value!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Best soap ever. Jul 10, 2006
By M. Ross
I love this soap because it is all natural, clean-rinsing, non-drying, smells lovely, and you use very little water with it. It has many other uses as well, depending on the dilution ratio.
I recommend Dr. Bronner's other products as well. The tattoo balm is the best I've ever used, and the lotions are wonderful, too!!!!!!!
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