Love at Second Solid: A Review of Creating Harmony Solid Conditioner

Last year, I fell wildly in love with solid shampoo, and it was a complete game changer in how I pack and how I travel. The only bummer? While Lush’s solid shampoo was solid (get it?), their solid conditioner left a lot to be desired, an opinion I saw echoed many times in the comments section of my post about making the switch. So my search for a companion bar to my beloved shampoo continued.

About six months ago, I finally found my match. When I was back in the US over Christmas, my friend Nadia recommended I give a brand she’d found called Creating Harmony a try. I ordered a sample size of both their solid shampoo and solid conditioner, and crossed my fingers hoping for the best.

Because with tresses touching all the way down to my waistline, finding a good fit was a search I took seriously. As these photos of me goofing around on a recent trip to Aruba show, I’ve got some serious hair to keep conditioned.

The following photos brought to you by the talented Kristin of Camels and Chocolate. Ah, the things I won’t do to make my friends laugh.

#fashion

Why Solids

Why is finding a solid shampoo and conditioner so important to me, instead of just going the easy route with the easily available liquid kind? First of all, for the traveler, there simply could not be a greater invention — the solid bars are insanely compact and lightweight compared to the amount of the liquid versions you’d need to cover the same amount of washes. And there’s no chance they’re going to explode in your backpack after a long flight! Plus, if you’re committed to packing carry on, these babies can sail through security.

Second of all, for the sustainability minded, they are a fantastic choice. They can be tucked into reusable containers and cut down considerably on the amount of plastic you use and then need to find recycling facilities for.

Creating Harmony has great sustainability and community-minded business principles that I as a consumer appreciate.

Creating Harmony Conditioner

The verdict? I love it! While solid shampoo is an easy switch and instantly loveable, I do admit using solid conditioner takes a little getting used to. You have to kind of rub the bar all over your head, and without the lather that comes with shampooing, it’s a little trickier to get it distributed through your hair. I usually give my scalp a quick once over and then use both hands to run the bar firmly along the length of my hair like I would a flat hair brush. However, I very quickly adjusted and when I step out of the shower, the results are the same if not better than what I used to get with liquid conditioner.

Creating Harmony sells two different sizes, a 1oz travel bar and a 3.5oz full size version. I eventually ordered both sizes and I found the full size version a little unwieldy to use and too large to travel with, so am sticking to the travel size.

Room for Improvement

I do have a few minor complaints. First of all, I wish they’d ship the bars in wax paper like Lush does, rather than in plastic bags, as eliminating single use plastics is one of my goals in using solid products. Also, I gave Creating Harmony’s solid shampoo a try, hoping that I’d be able to order both shampoo and conditioner from the same company, but I didn’t love it anywhere near as much as Lush’s shampoo. So while it is a slight hassle and does involve slightly higher shipping costs, I’ll continue to order my shampoo from Lush and my conditioner from Creating Harmony.

What About Storage?

When I first wrote my Lush review, I adored their cute reusable travel tins. In my original review, other Lush fans complained that they found them difficult to open and use. While I didn’t have that problem at first, as time went on I found the tins were prone to being dented and misshapen and did in fact eventually become difficult or impossible to open and close, especially with slippery hands in the shower!

Thankfully, I found a solution — humangear’s ingenious and endlessly reusable Gotubb, which can be easily popped open with one hand. (Creating Harmony sells reusable plastic containers as well, but they are screw-offs, so do require two hands and are a little trickier to maneuver.) Granted, they aren’t as cute as Lush’s little tins, but they’re much more practical for travel. I found a pretty good compromise — I keep my Lush tins for my shampoo and conditioner in the shower in my old bedroom in Albany, and take the Gotubbs on the road with me. Gotubbs come in a few different colors, and I gussied mine up with one of the Creating Harmony stickers I peeled off the plastic delivery bag so I’ll always remember all their info for reordering.

Where to Buy

Creating Harmony solid conditioner can be ordered directly from Creating Harmony or on Amazon in full size or travel size. A 1oz bar is $3.90 and a 3.5oz bar is $12.50, with shipping costs extra.

Gotubbs can also be ordered directly from humangear or on Amazon, where they are conveniently eligible for Amazon Prime. A three pack is $7.99 with free shipping on Amazon.

Curious to hear what you guys think in the comments! Now you tell me, what are your favorite eco-travel products?

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Note: I am in no way affiliated with Creating Harmony and was not paid or perked for this review. As a matter of fact, they didn’t even know I was writing it. I was provided with a set of Gotubb containers for consideration and am excited to be able to share them with you.

I will earn a small commission off any purchases made through the Amazon links in this post, at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Alex in Wanderland!