bar soap dilemma

I want to like bar soap; I really do. And not just any bar soap: natural bar soap. I had bought some a while back when I had a coupon code to get a percentage off from purchasing from Apple Valley Natural Soap...and subsequently got into a buying frenzy of Groupon and Heartsy to obtain other kinds of bar soap as well. Not only did I want a product that was healthy for the environment, but also did not use containers to store itself in (like the shampoo and conditioner I was using previously).

Finally, I ran out of my old shampoo (Nature's Gate Tea Tree Oil Shampoo, which I do recommend and has been my favorite) and was excited to delve into my bars of natural soap. The first was a tea tree oil one, which I thought would be similar to the liquid shampoo I had previously. After using it the first time, I felt like it left a residue on my hair that I could not get rid of. My hair wasn't as soft and would tangle more easily. However, I did like the bar on my skin. It left it soft, smooth and I didn't need to apply lotion after the shower. Nevertheless, I persevered and continued to use the bar soap as shampoo.

After going home this previous weekend, I used what was available to me at my parents' house. This included Lever 2000 bar soap and Aussie Volumizing Shampoo. As hard as it was to admit, I liked using those products. My hair was soft and full of volume. The bar soap did a good job cleaning as well, although left my skin a little drier.

Today I pulled out the tea tree oil bar and tried it again; same result as before. Tonight I decided to pull out a different one, chamomile and orange blossom. Again, it was nice on the body; lathered nicely, and left my skin soft and clean. In the morning I will be washing my hair and then I will see if I like it better for my hair. I don't want to write off bar soap completely and will try the others I have purchased. If it leaves me feeling gross like the tea tree bar, though, I am going to have to switch back to liquid shampoo.