Ethique Trial Pack for Dry Skin & Hair Review: Solid Beauty Bars

Solid beauty is one of the biggest beauty trends lately and rightly so as it’s meant to help reduce the level of plastic which we use and in turn benefit the planet as a whole. One brand that has been paving the way is Ethique - all of their formulas are plastic free, palm oil free, cruelty free, contain no petrochemicals and are vegan friendly. I’ve mentioned Ethique previously in a review of their Gingersnap Sugar Scrub and have since gone on to purchase Ethique Trial Pack for Dry Skin & Hair to try out more of their products. Read on for my review of this starter kit…

Ethique’s Trial Pack for Dry Skin and Hair

This dry skin and hair pack contains four solid, concentrated and naturally derived minis in bars not bottles. The pack includes a solid face cleanser, solid butter block (moisturiser) as well as a solid shampoo and solid conditioner bar.

Ethique Bliss Bar Solid Face Cleanser

Made with creamed coconut and clay, this solid face cleanser gently cleanses skin. I like that it's 100% soap free, doesn't strip my skin and is fragrance free. It's like washing your face with a super lush natural soap bar without it being harsh on the skin. This cleanser is perfect for all skin types including normal, dry or sensitive skin.

Ethique Jasmine & Ylang Ylang Solid Butter Block

Next up the solid butter block is a great solid moisturiser, it's water free and melts beautifully on contact with skin. If you like ylang ylang you'll like the fragrance of this beauty bar. The formula includes nourishing cocoa butter alongside lecithin, babassu and coconut oils and ylang ylang and jasmine essential oils. I use this mainly on my legs and hands (perfect for adding moisture back into hands with all the hand washing of late…). I do find this melts quickly where the temperature has been warmer so in terms of storage I keep in a paper wrapper which it came with and away from sunlight but you can also pop it in the fridge for a few hours for it to harden up.

Next up are the shampoo and conditioner bars. I was particularly intrigued by these Ethique beauty bars because I hadn't tried a solid shampoo bar or solid conditioner bar on my natural 4c hair previously. 

Ethique Frizz Wrangler Solid Shampoo Bar

This soap-free, solid shampoo bar is made with samoan coconut and cocoa butter and formulated for dry and or frizz prone hair. In terms of how to use a solid shampoo bar, Ethique recommends:

1. Wetting hair thoroughly then swiping the bar through the roots of your hair three to four times.

2. Put the bar down and then work the lather through hair.

3. Rinse and follow with a conditioner if you need to.

I apply the product in this way and have found that Ethique Frizz Wrangler Solid Shampoo bar works well - just a few slides was enough. However, this feels more like a deep cleanser to me as it leaves my hair feeling squeaky clean. There is a sodium coco sulphate (SCS) in the formula which is a mix of all the fatty acids from the coconut oil which offers a mild lather (it’s not as harsh as other sulphates notably SLS or SLeS). It wasn't as moisturising as I would have liked but done the job at removing build up. I continued to use this as more of a clarifying cleanser on my natural hair but it does take time for hair to get used to solid shampoo bars.

Ethique The Guardian Solid Conditioner Bar

Lastly, The Guardian Solid Conditioner bar contains cocoa butter, coconut oil, vitamin b5 and lime oil to leave dry and frizz prone hair looking frizz free and smooth. In terms of usage, simply follow the steps below.

1. After shampooing with the solid shampoo bar, slide the solid conditioner bar over ends of hair.

2. Put the bar down and massage the product into your hair.

3. Leave for 1 to 2 minutes then rinse.

It felt slightly odd using a solid rather than cream form conditioner but Ethique solid conditioner bar has great slip (probably due to the coconut oil). When I first used it, the solid conditioner bar left a waxy film on my hair so I followed with a quick apple cider vinegar (acv) rinse before proceeding to the next steps of my washday routine. Please note the waxy film could have been down to hard water (or even me using too much). My natural afro hair did feel better and film free after the acv rinse. I’ve since reused the conditioner and it worked fine as a standard rinse out conditioner. Both the solid shampoo and conditioner bars do take some getting used to as it’s a new way of washing hair and they are very concentrated.

Final Thoughts on Ethique Trial Pack for Dry Skin and Hair

I think this Ethique starter pack is a great way to test out and see if the products work for you before committing to buying the full sized versions. Initially I thought these tiny bars won’t be enough but I was pleasantly surprised that you can get quite a few uses out of them. Plus, they’re perfect for travel and help limit waste. 

In terms of storage as mentioned above you can store the solid body block in the fridge in warmer temperatures. With the solid shampoo, solid conditioner and solid face cleanser, it’s best to remove them from the shower area in between uses to allow them to dry out and prevent them becoming soggy. Alternatively you can store solid shampoo and conditioner bars in a bamboo or glass soap dish.

Aside from the starter kit for dry skin and dry hair types, Ethique has two other trial kits with minis. Try Ethique Trial Pack for Normal Skin & Hair (with the Pinkalicious solid shampoo bar, Wonderbar solid conditioner, Bliss Bar solid face cleanser and a Sweet Orange & Vanilla Solid Butter Block) or Ethique Trial Pack for Oily Skin & Hair (contains a St Clements solid shampoo bar, Wonderbar solid conditioner, In Your Face solid face cleanser and Gingersnap solid face scrub).

Have you tried Ethique solid beauty products before or any solid beauty bars? Let me know in the comments. Also let me know if you have any questions about the products in this starter kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

Krista x

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