My thoughts on Chagrin Valley products so far

So we've used the nettle shampoo bar sample and herb garden shampoo bar sample. My preference between the 2 was herb garden. My hair felt thicker after using it. I have very fine, thin, dry hair. My husband preferred the nettle shampoo bar. He has thick hair. Both lathered well. The nettle bar lathered just a tiny bit more than the herb garden bar did. For my hair I also needed to follow it with a vinegar rinse which I'll put the directions for at the end of this. Every other day I follow-up with a second wash using the castile & calendula baby soap. This is a regular soap bar made with 100% olive oil. It's great as a conditioning bar for your hair. I would not advise using it every day unless you have extremely dry hair.

You should also know that if you are currently using a store bought shampoo, the shampoo bars are going to take some time to adjust to. Your hair is going to feel very different after washing with a shampoo bar. Don't expect it to feel silky like it does with store shampoos. That silky feeling comes from all the gunk the shampoo is leaving behind on your hair. Read the label on your bottle sometime. If you can even pronounce all the chemicals in there you're doing better than I did. Finally be patient! Give the bar time to work it's magic, remove all the chemical goop from your hair before you make a judgment on it.

I've also been using the whipped shea butter from Chagrin Valley Soaps. One word for it...WOW!!! It is amazing stuff. I used to have horrible, itchy dry skin that drives me mad scratching. I've tried just about every single lotion on store shelves with little to no results. Had finally given up and figured I was just going to have to suffer. One time putting the shea butter on was like magic. I don't itch anymore. My skin is silky smooth.

If you have a chance to try the products from them please do.

Vinegar Rinse recipe courtesy of Chagrin Valley Soap website:

1/2 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of water

After shampooing apply the vinegar rinse.

Now you have a few choices. You may rinse it all out if you want, or leave the rinse on your hair. I don't rinse it out. Leaving the vinegar rinse on your hair helps prevent tangles in long hair. Since the vinegar restores natural pH it also helps prevent an itchy scalp. As your hair is drying you will smell vinegar, but once your hair dries, no smell. I was skeptical at first--but this really works!