How to store shampoo bars: ensuring your bars last longer

Use it, drain it, dry it!

How to store your Ethique bars, so you can love them longer

You’ve given plastics the cold shoulder, and welcomed our cute little bars into your life. We know you’ll be so happy together.

To keep your bar in top form – so you get more showers out if it – you only need to do one thing: keep it dry. When your bar is dry it’ll last longer, stay tidy, and be easier to use. Leave it damp and the mush starts to set in – you’ll end up using far more than you need, leave a lot sticking to your soap dish and struggle to handle the slipperiness.

Drying your bar out properly between uses takes only a slight tweak to your bathroom set up – easy. Here’s how.

Get the storage right
We call it the D.A.D. method (I mean, I’m calling it that now, anyway). That’s drainage, airflow, and dry air, and there are plenty of ways you can achieve those three things. For a start, it’s a good idea to find a spot in your shower that’s well away from the stream, or take your bars out of the shower altogether. Choose a storage option that will let water drain away and air circulate – here are our top picks.

1.  Travel Tins

Our Travel Tins are super cute, and specially designed to hold two full-sized shampoo bars or one full size shampoo bar and one full size conditioner bar. I have two – one for shampoo and conditioner, the other for face and cream body cleanser. They’ve got good drainage slats to let the water out and a lid to protect against splashes.  

2.  Shampoo and Soap Saver Bags

Storing your bars in a fabric or string bag gives you a double whammy benefit. Use your body soap bar while it’s still in the bag for extra exfoliation and lather, then hang it up to dry – the fabric will keep the bar contained while absorbing and expelling moisture. They also work wonders for storing your hair care bars in the shower (make sure to take out the haircare bars while using, though!), storing your bars while you’re travelling and even keeping all your smaller bar pieces together to stop them from going down the drain. Our Shampoo and Soap Saver Bags are made from sisal, a natural fibre from the agave plant.

 3. Storage trays – with labels! 

Our bars love swimming in water just as much as we do! But to ensure that they last ages, they should be kept thoroughly dry between uses. If you struggle to tell your bars apart, our storage trays are a great solution for you, as they are cleverly labelled with ‘shampoo’ and ‘conditioner’. If you’re after storage solutions for your face and body bars, we’ve got you covered too.  

4. Use-what-you-already-have Storage trays

Back in the day, your nan was all about the bar soap, which means second-hand stores are always stuffed with the cutest dishes. Just make sure you choose ones with big slats or holes. Plenty of other second-hand finds will work too if you’re creative about it – small baking racks, ridged coasters. A loofa sponge does a good drainage/airflow job, too.

5. Straight on your shower rack

If you’re lucky enough to have built-in shower storage, you might not need anything extra. Just make sure the shelf is far away from the shower flow and has good drainage – a wire rack like this one is ideal. Showers tend to stay quite steamy (especially if you have lots of people using the same shower), so if you notice your bar getting soft, take it out for a good dry a couple of times a week.

Travelling with Ethique Shampoo Bars

Beauty bars are perfect travel companions – you don’t have to lug around all that extra water, you can take it on the plane in your carry-on, and there’s zero chance of it exploding in your suitcase. All you need is an airtight container to keep things tidy: anything out of your reusable container cupboard, really. We’ve seen very cute options like old tobacco or candy tins, too. Just make sure your bars are totally dry before you put them in, otherwise you’ll arrive with a container full of mush. If you’re after an easy in-shower storage solution while you’re travelling, take one of our Shampoo and Soap Saver bags so you can hang up your bars to dry between each use. 

Lots of our customers keep our cute mini bars for trips away, so they’re always dry and ready travel. For quick drying in between showers, lay your bars on a dry flannel or towel.

Speed-drying tips

Even with the best storage, sometimes your bars will get soft – perhaps it’s a humid time of the year, your bathroom fan is busted, or you have lots more people staying and showering. Whatever the reason, giving your bars a good drying out will keep them at their best. Give them some time out of the shower and make like an old-timey pie-baker – leave your bars by an open window to get the air circulating. Just be warned – warm and dry isn’t any good for our moisturiser bars and tubes (they’ll just melt!). To harden your moisturisers up, put them in the fridge.  

Pretty basic right? Keep it drained, keep it dry, watch for mushiness, and you and your Ethique bar will enjoy a long and happy life together.