Dr. Bronner's Unscented Bar Soap - 5oz

A: Due to the alkalinity of our soaps, they can leave a tangly look and feel. An acidic rinse not only conditions your hair but also can tamp down the cuticles in your hair and give it a smooth and silky after-feel.  Rinsing with our Organic Hair Rinse (after rinsing the soap out) results in a spectacular look and feel! Just stir 1- 2 capfuls of the rinse into a cup of water, close your eyes, and slowly pour while massaging it into your hair. Keep a hand combing your hair until it feels entirely sleek (~30 seconds). Once your hair feels smooth, rinse the hair rinse out well and repeat this process if necessary. Additional rinses are typically only necessary in extra hard water conditions or for those with longer hair.  Please note that washing your hair with our soaps can be a process for some people, as your hair needs to adapt to using a true soap since they are not a shampoo. It can take a fair amount of trial and error and tinkering with what works best for your hair.  Additionally, using our Hair Rinse is optional, and not necessary to wash your hair with our soaps. However, we have found that most hair types do benefit from an acidic rinse.  Lastly, we recommend checking out Lisa Bronner's blog, Going Green with Lisa Bronner, to find more, first-hand usage of our products.  Should you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know! All the best, Myrna

A: Hi Cassie We do not have a specific pH range that we can provide for our Pure-Castile Bar Soap, as pH is not traditionally tested in bar soaps. However, the pH of Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is 8.7 - 9.9. Please let us know if you have further questions!

A: Hi Cassie, Thank you for taking interest in Dr. Bronner's! We do not have a specific pH range that we can provide for our Pure-Castile Bar Soap, as pH is not traditionally tested in bar soaps. However, the pH of Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is 8.7 - 9.9. Please let us know if you have further questions.

A: Thank you for reaching out to Dr. Bronner's! Soap that is labeled “antibacterial” means that active antimicrobial ingredients have been added to it. At this time, none of our soaps or cleaning products contain these specific ingredients; therefore, we do not label them as “antibacterial.” However, the US Food and Drug Administration published a report indicating that soap and water are just as effective at mechanically removing microbes as antibacterial soap is at killing microbes. Also, keep in mind that antibacterial soap can also kill good microbes along with the bad, often containing known toxins such as triclosan. For these reasons, we believe our soap is safer and more effective than an antibacterial agent, even though it is not labeled as such. For more information on this topic, we encourage you to check out Lisa Bronner’s blog post Ditch the Antibacterial: Soap Is All You Need (https://www.lisabronner.com/ditch-the-antibacterial-soap-is-all-you-need/). Should you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let us know!

A: Hi, Thank you for reaching out to Dr. Bronner's! Soap that is labeled “antibacterial” means that active antimicrobial ingredients have been added to it. At this time, none of our soaps or cleaning products contain these specific ingredients; therefore, we do not label them as “antibacterial.” However, the US Food and Drug Administration published a report indicating that soap and water are just as effective at mechanically removing microbes as antibacterial soap is at killing microbes. Also, keep in mind that antibacterial soap can also kill good microbes along with the bad, often containing known toxins such as triclosan. For these reasons, we believe our soap is safer and more effective than an antibacterial agent, even though it is not labeled as such. For more information on this topic, we encourage you to check out Lisa Bronner’s blog post Ditch the Antibacterial: Soap Is All You Need (https://www.lisabronner.com/ditch-the-antibacterial-soap-is-all-you-need/). Should you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let us know!

A: Thank you for reaching out to Dr. Bronner's! Our Pure-Castile Bar Soaps work very well to wash clothing by hand and in a washing machine. However, please note that we do not recommend using our bar soap in HE (high-efficiency) washing machines. Although none of our products are HE-certified, we do receive a lot of positive feedback from our customers who use our Pure-Castile Liquid Soap or Sal Sud Biodegradable Cleaner in HE washers. There are a couple of methods for using our bar soap in your regular washer, just note that we only recommend washing with hot or warm water when using this product. The most common method is to grate your bar soap (preferably with a food processor) and combine the whole grated bar with 4 cups (960 mL) of baking soda. Then use ¼-⅓ cup (60-80 mL) of your mixture, depending on the load size. Another option is to make a soap cream out of your bar soap. For instructions on how to make this, please reference Lisa Bronner's Bar Soap Dilution Guide (https://www.lisabronner.com/bar-soap-dilutions-cheat-sheet/). Once made, just use ⅓ - ½ cup (80-120 mL) per large load. We also encourage you to add ½ cup (120mL) of baking soda to the wash cycle for additional brightening and deodorizing. Regardless of which method you choose to use, we always recommend using vinegar to act as a natural fabric softener and to prevent any soap scum from building up. To do so, just add ¼ - 1 cup of vinegar (distilled white vinegar is our preference) to the rinse cycle or fabric softener compartment. If you have any delicate or luxurious garments such as silk, vintage items, or even waterproof materials, we recommend doing a spot test first, to make sure this product will be okay to use. Our products are intended for general use and can be used for many different purposes. However, because they are not specifically formulated for laundry, we have not tested them for all types of fabrics. When washing items by hand you may add a few drops of soap as needed. To find all this information and much more, check out Lisa Bronner’s blog post, Green Laundry Care With Dr. Bronner’s (https://www.lisabronner.com/green-laundry-care-with-dr-bronners-video/). Additionally, while our products, vinegar, and baking soda work very efficiently and safely in most laundry machines, we always recommend checking with your machine manufacturer if you have any concerns about potential damage. Should you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

A: Thank you for reaching out to Dr. Bronner's! Unfortunately, at this time, we don’t have a definitive answer for you. Some customers report that our soap tends to strip out hair coloring, while others report that their hair coloring remains intact when they use our soaps to clean their hair. It likely depends on numerous factors, including what sort of hair dye is used and what type of hair you have. One thing you can try is to wash a small portion of your hair and see whether the coloring holds or not. Please also keep in mind that we encourage using an acidic rinse after washing with our soaps, which may not be ideal for some hair dyes. To learn more about shampooing with our soaps, please check out our definitive guide on drbornner.com or Lisa Bronner’s amazing blog post, From Shampoo to Soap – My Story. (https://www.lisabronner.com/from-shampoo-to-soap-my-story/) With that said, we have noticed that our soaps are great for hair that has been highlighted and have no lowlights, however, as mentioned above, this can vary. If you have highlighted hair, you may find Lisa Bronner’s blog post on color-treated vs. highlighted hair useful. Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know!

A: Hi, thank you for reaching out to us and for your interest in ingredient sourcing. We share your concern! Dr. Bronner’s believes that all animals should be treated humanely and with respect for their well-being. Shifting to a more plant-based diet is not only more humane to animals but also good for the planet as factory farms that raise thousands of animals generate huge amounts of manure that pollute the soil, water, and air. All of our products, with the exception of our Organic Lip Balm, Organic Magic Balm, and Organic Balancing Skin Softener, are certified vegan under Vegan Action. Vegan Action ensures that our products do not contain any ingredients from animals or animal by-products and that no animal products are used in the manufacturing process. While we do not manufacture any products that contain animal fat, dairy, or eggs, our Organic Lip Balms and Organic Magic Balms contain beeswax, and our Organic Balancing Skin Softener (only sold in Japan and Korea) contains honey. Rest assured that these products are not produced on shared equipment with our other Vegan Action-certified products. Should you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to let us know!

A: Hey, Great question! The Dr. Bronner's Unscented Bar Soap is suggested for all ages! It has a rich lather that leaves skin feeling soft, smooth and moisturized. Use on your face, body, or hair! For all your future beauty questions, get real-time answers using the “Chat with a Virtual Beauty Consultant” button, found on every product page.

A: Hey, Great question! Yes, with no added fragrance and double the olive oil, our Baby Unscented Pure-Castile Bar Soap is good for sensitive skin & babies too (though not tear-free!). For all your future beauty questions, get real-time answers using the “Chat with a Virtual Beauty Consultant” button, found on every product page.

A: While our Pure-Castile Soap can be used efficiently in salt water, we would consider it to be hard water due to the high amount of minerals present. Hard water contains dissolved minerals in the form of calcium and magnesium. All true soaps, such as castile soap, will react with these minerals to form insoluble stearates, which are visible as a whitish precipitate. This effect can interfere with foaming capabilities and may leave soap scum on surfaces. This whitish precipitate builds up primarily on surfaces where water is left to dry, such as sinks and showers. It is typically not an issue on floors, counters, or other hard surfaces where the castile soap is diluted for cleaning and standing water is mopped or wiped up. We recommend checking out the following link to Lisa Bronner's blog, where she addresses the issue of hard water and soap scum. https://www.lisabronner.com/using-soap-to-test-for-hard-water-video/