The Chocolate Conditioner Bar: an everyday conditioner that smells like a treat

When I ask clients what conditioner they use, a surprising number tell me they skip it. Their hair is not especially dry, it is not lightened, and conditioner just feels like an extra step. Then I comb through their hair at the basin and meet the knots.

Every head of hair benefits from conditioner, not only damaged hair. Shampoo cleans the scalp, but it also roughs up the surface of the lengths a little. Conditioner helps smooth that surface again, so hair feels soft, tangles less and looks shinier. The Chocolate Conditioner Bar is the one I made for that everyday job.

What it is and who it is for

The Chocolate Conditioner Bar is a 75g solid conditioner with a warm chocolate scent. It glides on easily and rinses clean.

It suits:

• normal hair that needs everyday softness and easier detangling
• dry feeling lengths that are not lightened or heavily damaged
• wavy hair, which tends to frizz without enough conditioner
• fine hair, used in a small amount on the ends only

If your hair is lightened, bleached or very dry, the Deep Conditioning Conditioner Bar will give you more. You can also keep both: Chocolate for everyday, Deep Conditioning once a week.

What is inside, and why I chose it

BTMS (behentrimonium methosulfate, with cetyl alcohol). The main conditioning ingredient. It has a slight positive charge, so it is drawn to the parts of the hair that are most worn, usually the ends. It gives the bar its slip and makes detangling easier.

Cetearyl alcohol. A fatty alcohol, not a drying one. It gives the bar its creamy feel on the hair and adds softness.

Cocoa butter. The heart of this bar, and where its name comes from. Cocoa butter is a rich plant butter that leaves the lengths feeling soft and smooth.

Olive oil. A classic plant oil for softness. Together with cocoa butter, it helps dry ends feel more supple.

Hydrolysed wheat protein. Helps hair feel smoother and look more polished. If you are sensitive to wheat, please check the full ingredients list.

Panthenol (provitamin B5). Helps hair hold on to moisture, so it feels softer and looks shinier.

Fragrance and preservative. The fragrance gives the bar its chocolate scent, and a gentle preservative system (phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin) keeps the bar safe, as it gets wet every time you use it.

How it differs from the Deep Conditioning bar

People often ask me which of my two conditioner bars to choose, so here is the simple version.

The Deep Conditioning bar is built almost entirely around the conditioning ingredient. That gives maximum slip and detangling, which is what lightened and damaged hair needs.

The Chocolate bar uses less of it and more cocoa butter and olive oil. The result is a softer, more everyday conditioner. It is lovely on normal and dry hair, and it will not feel like too much if your hair is in good shape. Both are silicone free, so you can swap between them without anything building up.

How to use it

1. After shampooing, squeeze the excess water out of your hair.
2. Glide the bar down your mid lengths and ends, or rub it between your hands and smooth it on.
3. Work it through with your fingers until the hair feels slippery.
4. Leave it on for a few minutes.
5. Rinse thoroughly.

My tip from the chair: match the amount to your hair, not to habit. On fine hair, one glide down the ends is often enough. On thick or wavy hair, split the hair into two sections and glide the bar down each. Start with less, because you can always add more, but you cannot take it away without rinsing. If your hair feels flat or greasy the next day, use less next time and keep it further from the roots.

What it is free from, and why

This bar contains no silicones and no added water.

Silicones are not harmful. They give a quick smooth feel, but they can build up on the lengths over time and leave hair feeling coated, especially fine or wavy hair. I wanted an everyday conditioner you can use every wash, where the softness comes from the butter, oil and conditioning ingredient and rinses away cleanly.

Because it is a solid bar, there is no plastic bottle. A 75g bar does the job of a bottle of liquid conditioner.

Looking after your bar

Keep it dry between uses, on a draining rack or in a tin. Conditioner bars go soft if they sit in water, and a dry bar lasts much longer.

Try it

If you have been skipping conditioner, or your hair just needs a little more softness every wash, the Chocolate Conditioner Bar is an easy place to start. It pairs well with the French Green Clay Shampoo Bar if your roots get oily, or the Coconut Shampoo Bar if your lengths feel dry.

You will find the full ingredients list on the Chocolate Conditioner Bar product page. If you are not sure which conditioner bar suits you, send me a message.

Eliz, colourist and founder of ECBEAUTYLAB