The Turmeric Shampoo Bar: a really gentle wash for damaged hair and sensitive scalps

“Everything I use makes my scalp feel tight.” I hear this a lot in the salon, often from the same clients whose lengths are dry and fragile from lightening, heat styling or years of box dye. Their scalp wants the mildest wash possible, and their hair cannot take anything harsh either.

The Turmeric Shampoo Bar is the one I made for them. It is a really gentle wash, with a creamy lather, a short ingredient list and one of the warmest scents I make.

I also want to be upfront about the name. Turmeric is the ingredient people notice first, but it is there to give the bar its golden colour and character, and I will not tell you it treats the scalp. The gentleness comes from the formula as a whole, and I will take you through all of it.

What it is and who it is for

The Turmeric Shampoo Bar is a 100g soap free solid shampoo, golden yellow in colour, with a scent of sandalwood, orange and lemon. It comes with a shampoo bar bag.

It suits:

• sensitive scalps that feel tight or uncomfortable after stronger shampoos
• damaged hair, including hair that is lightened, coloured, heat styled or breaking at the ends
• fine or wavy hair, as it has no heavy butters and rinses clean
• normal hair that simply needs a gentle everyday wash

If your roots get oily quickly, the French Green Clay Shampoo Bar is the better choice. If your lengths are very dry and you would like more conditioning in the wash itself, the Coconut Shampoo Bar is a good alternative.

What is inside, and why I chose it

Sodium cocoyl isethionate (SCI). The main cleanser, made from plant fatty acids. It gives a creamy lather and cleans the scalp without the tight feeling that soap can leave, which is exactly what a sensitive scalp needs.

Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (SLSa) and cocamidopropyl betaine. Two more mild cleansers. SLSa boosts the lather, and betaine, which is partly plant derived, makes the wash feel softer. Together the three give a thorough, gentle clean.

Rice starch. A fine powder from rice that helps absorb excess oil at the roots, so hair feels fresh and light after washing.

Carrageenan. A thickener derived from seaweed. It gives the lather a soft, cushioned feel, which is a big part of why this bar feels creamy rather than foamy.

Castor oil. A thick plant oil. In a shampoo, a little goes a long way. It adds slip, so hair feels softer and is easier to rinse and comb through afterwards. For damaged hair, less tugging while you rinse and detangle means less stress on lengths that are already fragile.

Turmeric root powder. Ground turmeric root. It gives the bar its golden colour. That is its role in this formula, and I would rather tell you that plainly than borrow claims that a shampoo cannot back up.

Sandalwood, orange and lemon essential oils. These give the bar its scent: warm and woody underneath, with fresh citrus on top.

Water and a preservative. A little water helps bring the ingredients together while the bar is made, and a gentle preservative system (gluconolactone and sodium benzoate) keeps the bar safe, as it gets wet every time you use it.

What makes it different

This is one of the shortest ingredient lists in my shampoo range, and that is deliberate. When a scalp is sensitive, fewer ingredients means fewer things that might not agree with it. There are no butters, no conditioning agents and nothing designed to coat the hair.

The cleansers are mild, the carrageenan makes the lather soft and cushioned, and the bar rinses away completely. The result is a scalp that feels clean, calm and comfortable rather than tight, and lengths that have not been roughed up by the wash.

A note on colour

Turmeric is a strong natural yellow pigment, so this is the question I get asked most. As a colourist, it was the first thing I checked too. The bar does not colour your hair, whether it is blonde, grey or dark.

What it can do is leave a temporary yellow mark on some surfaces. White bathroom tiles, grout and pale soap dishes can pick it up, and so can a French manicure, as the white tips are the first place you would notice it. Rinse tiles and dishes with water after use, and if your nails are freshly done, lather the bar between your palms rather than holding it in your fingertips.

How to use it

1. Wet your hair thoroughly with lukewarm water.
2. Rub the bar between your hands to build a lather, or glide it over your hair two or three times.
3. Massage the lather into your scalp with your fingertips.
4. Rinse well and follow with conditioner on the mid lengths and ends.
5. Rinse your shower tray or soap dish, then hang the bar up in its bag to dry.

My tip from the chair: use the pads of your fingers, never your nails. Work in small circles from your hairline back to the nape, and spend a full minute on it. Then rinse for at least as long as you lathered, lifting the hair at the roots so the water runs through to the scalp. When I see a scalp that still has shampoo left on it at the back, it is almost always because the rinse was rushed, not because the shampoo was wrong.

What it is free from, and why

This bar contains no SLS or SLES, no soap and no silicones.

SLS and SLES are not dangerous, but I prefer milder cleansers for hair that is washed often, as they clean without leaving the lengths feeling stripped. Silicones are not harmful either, but they can collect on hair over time, and leaving them out means this bar rinses clean every wash.

As the scent comes from essential oils, the bar contains naturally occurring fragrance components such as limonene, linalool and citral. They are listed on the label so anyone sensitive to them can check. If you know your skin reacts to citrus or essential oils, try the bar on a small area first.

Looking after your bar

Keep it out of standing water and let it dry fully between washes, hung up in its bag, on a draining rack or in the aluminium Shampoo Bar Box. Choose a dark or metal holder if you can, as the turmeric can mark pale plastic.

Try it

If your scalp feels tight after washing, or your hair is damaged and you want the gentlest possible clean, the Turmeric Shampoo Bar is where I would start. Pair it with the Deep Conditioning Conditioner Bar for damaged or lightened ends, or the Chocolate Conditioner Bar for a lighter finish.

You will find the full ingredients list on the Turmeric Shampoo Bar product page. If you are not sure it is the right bar for your hair, send me a message.

Eliz, colourist and founder of ECBEAUTYLAB