What is the Transition Period?

Does hair look dirtier after switching to a shampoo bar?

When switching from a liquid shampoo to a bar, what is the “transtion period?”

If you’ve read about shampoo bars, you’ve probably heard of the transition period. This is when your hair supposedly adjusts to the bar. It can take days or even weeks and during that time your hair might look dirty, greasy, dry, or dirty, greasy and dry. You’re supposed to wait it out until your hair starts looking better.

Now why would anyone go through that? The truth is - I don’t know! A shampoo bar isn’t supposed to leave your hair dirtier than before you washed it. And if you buy the correct bar, it won’t. From the first time you use the bar your hair should look better.

Cheap shampoo bars are usually just soap. They are made with oils like castor oil and argan oil that hair loves, but are held together through saponification. This is a chemical process that happens by adding lye to oil. The problem is, the finished product is not shampoo. It’s still soap. And everyone knows you shouldn’t wash your hair with soap.

A proper shampoo bar like StarBars is made of the same ingredients you would find in a salon formula shampoo. It contains the same cleansers that are in brands like Pureology, Ouai and Olaplex. There is no transition period. Your hair looks great from the first wash to the last.

And after the last wash, there’s no plastic to throw away.