Lye In Shampoo: How to Tell If Your Shampoo Is Actually Soap

At HiBAR we are all about ditching plastic bottles in favor of solid soap and shampoo bars and solid conditioner bars. But sometimes when you buy a solid shampoo bar in a store, you might actually have soap for hair that is masquerading as shampoo. Why is that a bad thing? Well, washing hair with soap can strip your hair of natural oils and doesn’t condition. This can leave your hair thin, damaged, cause dry skin, and make it unmanageable. So if you’ve ever wondered, “can you wash your hair with soap?”—the answer is, you shouldn’t. The same is actually true if you’re asking, “can you use bar soap on hair?” or “can you use soap as shampoo?”—all of these lead to the same drying results. It’s even worse if you’re thinking, “can you wash your hair with bar soap?” or “can you use hand soap as shampoo?”, as these are formulated for skin, not hair. And while some ask, “can I use bar soap on my hair?”, the truth is it’s far better to stick to a proper shampoo bar.

So how do you identify if you’re looking at soap?

1. All soaps use lye to turn oils into soap. Look on the ingredient label. If you see the word “lye", that’s a dead giveaway that you’re looking at a soap. Lye can also go by its scientific names, “Sodium Hydroxide,” or “Potassium Hydroxide.”
2. Sometimes lye can be hidden on the label by listing oils as saponified. To saponify oils means to convert into soap by reacting with lye. Look for the word “saponified” on the ingredient label as well. This chemical reaction is what transforms the oils into actual soap.
3. Alas, “Saponified” can be hidden too when saponified oils have already gone through the process of reacting with lye. Sodium cocoate is an example of this. That’s the scientific term for coconut oil after it’s been reacted with lye (i.e., saponified). The following is a list of common ingredients and the scientific name they get after being saponified:

Almond Oil → Sodium Almondate
Apricot Kernel Oil → Sodium Apricot Kernelate
Babassu Oil → Sodium Babassate
Beef Tallow → Sodium Tallowate
Borage Oil → Sodium Boragate
Canola Oil → Sodium Canolate
Castor Oil → Sodium Castirate or Sodium Ricinoleate
Cocoa Butter → Sodium Cocoa Butterate
Coconut Oil → Sodium Cocoate
Grapeseed Oil → Sodium Grapeseedate
Hazelnut Oil → Sodium Hazelnutate
Kukui Nut Oil → Sodium Kukuiate
Macadamia Nut Oil → Sodium Macadamiate
Mango Butter → Sodium Mango Butterate
Neem Oil → Sodium Neemate
Olive Oil → Sodium Olivate
Palm Oil → Sodium Palmate
Palm Kernel Oil → Sodium Palm Kernelate
Rice Bran Oil → Sodium Ricate
Safflower Oil → Sodium Safflowerate
Sesame Oil → Sodium Sesamate
Shea Butter → Sodium Shea Butterate
Stearic Acid → Sodium Stearate
Sunflower Oil → Sodium Sunflowerate
Sweet Almond Oil → Sodium Almondate

See any of these scientific names on the right on an ingredient label for a solid shampoo bar? Yep, that’s soap. And in the shampoo vs soap debate, soap will almost always be harsher on your hair. We know, that’s a lot of ingredients to avoid on an ingredient label. And many commercial shampoos—especially liquid shampoo—use these types of saponified oils along with other additives to extend shelf life. Some people even ask, “can you use shampoo as soap?”—technically yes, but just as with washing hair with bar soap, the results aren’t ideal.

So here’s an even easier way to avoid putting soap in your hair or on your face. Use HiBAR. Our solid shampoo bars, solid conditioner bars, and solid face wash bars contain zero soap (and of course zero plastic), and never include synthetic fragrances. That way, you never have to wonder, “can I wash my hair with soap?” or “soap vs shampoo—what’s better?” because you’ll already be choosing the right one. And for those curious, “can I wash my hair with bar soap?”, the answer will always be no when HiBAR is an option. You’ll be confident that when you’re doing a solid for the planet, you’ll look great doing it—with only the best natural ingredients.