I received my all-natural, handmade soaps from Ida http://chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com/index.html

Chamomille and Calendula soap
Sweet Basil soap
Honey, Beer & Egg shampoo bar
Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo bar
Rosemary Lemon & Aloe sample sized soap (for free)
Three butter lotion bar (for free)

I was served well and the shipping overseas was very speedy and cheap

So, I opened the herbal smelling envelope (Rosemary, Lavender & Aloe seems to be the source of strongest scent) and liked immediately the ecological & elegant packaging. Three butter lotion bar had suffered a little during long journey, but it's still usable, and the soaps arrived in top condition. I'm not good in conversions, so it was a pleasant surprise to receive generously sized soaps. Her prices are very good!

Then it was time for first testing.
I've had the flu for past few days and haven't washed my hair during that time- I was well past my usual washing time. I don't remember when my hair has last been this long unwashed. Challenging situation to start the test, but I was too eager to try my new stuff.
     I tried first Honey, Beer & Egg shampoo. Because my hair was so dirty, I decided to vinegar rinse it after shampooing. Otherwise, I wanted to get a good result and decided to skip my usual conditioning and leave-in. Using solid shampoo felt weird, but not difficult. It didn't lather massively, just enough to be comfortable to use. I also liked the mild, nice smell- nothing like beer, just mild and "clean".  I lathered the soap and rubbed it to my scalp just like I proceed with my normal shampoo. It felt very strange first- my hair felt almost instantly stripped- "squeaking clean". But when I applied the vinegar rinse, that feeling disappeared and my hair started to feel just like other people in LHC have described- somehow more substantial and thicker. I quite liked the feeling! I'm in middle of shedding season and shed worse than my rabbit- no difference there. My hair isn't still completely dry, but where it is driest, it feels incredibly soft and lovely. It does not feel like missing conditioner at all!

Summa summarum:  I really like this shampoo. Using it is much simpler than my regular CWC routine, and with vinegar rinse, my hair seems to respond well. Even though I'd experience some adjusting difficulties, I'm going to stick with this stuff. If a simple natural shampoo and vinegar rinse make my hair feel so good, why make matters more complicated?

I also tried Sweet Basil soap in lieu of my regular shower gel. My skin is very delicate and dry, and during winter it has been a real problem. It becomes so thin and dry that I get small wounds in it very easily, and after a shower it has itched horribly until next day, though I've tried to use gentlest and most moisturizing products available and never forgot to use a body butter (the only stuff that has seemed to help at all).
Sweet basil soap has herbal scent that is clear, but not disturbing. It also made my skin squeak, which made me a bit wary.
Then, wonder of wonders!  This is the first time for as long as I can remember, when I haven't returned from shower with itching and tight-feeling skin. It didn't start itching and feeling awful as soon as it dried a bit. It feels just clean and soft and wonderful and so normal. I can almost hear it singing praise to Ida.  I am going to throw away all my drying shower gels. I'm convert.

All in all, I'm very pleased and will definitely order again. 

ok, their basis is saponified coconut ... sounds nice!! and so cheap!! what did you pay for posting? wow, this has to be tried out! 

i placed an order too, but the beer one was totally sold out slif snif, so i ordered the one for oily hair (chamomile & citrus) and the herbal one (does the rosemary one leave a powerful smell in the hair too? cuze that one freaked me a bit out so i didn't order it). i also hope to get the new carrot one too since apparently they can be bought before the "ready date" which is actually the date you can start using the bar (ida explained me those bars get milder by aging and the lather gets richer so one must wait to use them for about six weeks after preparation.
i read reviews in the loom and many people found it indeed weird at first and most of all they felt overconditioned despite  vinegar rinsing. i suppose they should use less lol.

next time i'll order, i'll go for the sweet basil too cuze i like the smell a lot!

How is the Three Butter Lotion bar?  My DH gets cracked, dry skin from eczema especially in the winter.  Getting a good lotion to keep his hands from cracking has been almost impossible. The PR for the lotion bar looked promising.

@ 13bodies i suppose one has to know certain things about using soaps since with the arrival of cheap detergents, they somehow became diabolized (at least around here, everything is called soapfree as if it's a hell of a lot better that way and nicely replaced by sulfates). soaps as mild as they can be tend to bind to certain other chemicals (residues of shampoos etc.) and to minerals (hard water!). so if the latter is the case, i suppose you always better rinse afterwards with good old acv. or, you prewet the hair before soaping with distilled water (or at least filtered).

i am really hoping to get mine soon (galadriel how many days did it take to arrive?)

aaaaaah, counting down!! wow, i finally checked out their body soaps ... it will take me years to test all of them ... i just can't choose! but i have a certain interest in the one with the pink clay and rose.  8)

I used the Herb Garden shampoo bar last night and it worked really well.  I used a lavender/ACV rinse (recipe is in my journal) and my hair is ultra soft today and smells like lavender    My hair is fuller with more body when I don't use the ACV rinse, though it is a bit tangly and sticky when wet; I have to comb it more carefully than usual, but I like the extra body.  I cut the bar lengthwise into thirds before using.  It was easier to handle that way.

The Shea Rose Clay soap is a bit drying to my skin.  I won't use it to shave with (makes my legs dry) but it'll be nice come summer when my skin is oiler.

My Honey Beer & Egg, and Nettle bars are on their way!

Styg, I've heard that soap-based products act weirdly if water is hard. How's your water?

BTW, I tried Rosemary Lavender Aloe and discovered that shampoo bars are too mild to remove oil from oil treatments...So I have to save my gentlest detergent- based shampoo for those occassions. Hairwashing day's tomorrow, so after that I'll make a proper review of it.

Aw...that sounds bad. 

Well, here's my review of Rosemary Lavender Aloe shampoo bar & Rose Petal Geranium soap. The latter I got from new shipment that came here today (yes...it means more reviews in near future).

Rosemary Lavender Aloe was responsible of most smell in the shipment where it came, but now that it's sat for a while in my bathroom, the scent has become milder. Now I'd describe it just "clean" smell. It worked just like Honey Beer & Egg: lathered well, caused some squeaking that went away with ACV rinse. I don't know if it's still the oil treatment or this shampoo, but right after shower when I combed the hair, I noticed that it was incredibly soft- even when wet.  Now that it has dried, it's silky soft like my rabbits' fur. Just wonderful!

Rose Petal Geranium soap doesn't resemble at all any of the rose soaps I've smelled before. Rose can be recognized in the scent, but it is very strong and herbal- somehow "fresh". But, the scent it leaves on skin is nice and mild, and I stepped out of the shower with soft skin that didn't itch a bit. Worth of my money.

Another thing worth mentioning is, that among the soaps that go to my mother, was Lavender Oatmeal Spice soap that gave out totally amazing smell- like cinnamon. Next time, I need to order a bar for myself. Too bad, that there's a long time until next shipment as I think that I've ordered enough soap for a year! 

i like the rose clay one, causes more or less no itching on me (less than my palmolive shea that is) but it's not overly creamy like i suppose sweet basil. i partly washed my scalp with it as well, but my hair isn't dry yet lol.

i was sniffing samples and i wonder if it's the geranium that gives the funny campari smell! rose petal has it, and so does primrose complex i think.  8)

strange, i think it smells very nice, like rose rather. but i never used it and never will on my hair. i stopped using the shampoo bars, my scalp just doesn't like anything close to detergents or soaps. the beer one seemed rather soft though, i used it once and even on my body but it also made my scalp itch. the nicest i find about those soaps is really their smell, even the rather spicy/herbal ones. just too bad they don't seem to leave ANY smell on me. i even think after starting to use the rose clay on my face i have a bit less pimples  8)
and our corridor smells divine (mostly like the geranium stuff, oh i would have never though i'd like that odor).
and those soaps seem to last an iternity!

When I got my new shipment of Chagrin Valley soaps I cut each bar into thirds lengthwise.  After I cut them I could see that the middle was softer than the outside of the bar.  I let them sit for a couple of weeks and I think cutting them really made a difference.  They lather more readily and they're easier to handle.

I had to give away the Honey, Beer, and Egg shampoo bar.  It overconditioned my hair and made it limp and unmanegable.  The Nettle bar, however, seems to work well, which makes sense as it's for oily hair.  It has a stong smell but it does not linger.

I think all the trouble I had in the beginning with the sticky, poofy hair was from the soap binding to shampoo residue.  It's been a month now and I've had no further problems.  I'm hooked. 

My newest shipment has arrived.  Mostly soap, except their new Lavender Spice shampoo.

Lavender Spice shampoo has the same yummy smell as Lavender Oatmeal Spice soap- a sweetly spicy scent that reminds me of gingerbread biscuits and spice cakes.
Yum! It lathered very well and left my hair shiny and soft. ^^

The only soap I've tried so far is Chocolate Almond. It's creeeeaaamy, and leaves skin feeling exceptionally soft. It has a mild scent, bitter almond and dark chocolate.

To your questions:

1) Yes, I think my hair is in better condition. It is very shiny and super soft. I can't tell if it's because of just shampoo bars, but I've noticed that during this time, the amount of split ends has decreased. My hair feels very "nourished"- not greasy or anything like that, just extremely healthy.

2) No, the bars work alone for me. But I prefer to use ACV rinse every time because it gives my hair extra slip and makes it feel even better. I haven't noticed any adverse effects with that, I use well diluted ACV and rinse thoroughly afterwards. I should tell though, that people are different: some want to conditioner after using shampoo bars, some (like myself) don't conditioner but ACV every time, and some don't do anything but the wash with shampoo bars. You'd need to test, what variant suits you best.

3)No! And it's one of the reasons why I love my shampoo bars. Using them is super simple compared to CWC. I just step into the shower, wet my head, wash my scalp with shampoo bar (lather just once), rinse the lather out, pour ACV rinse, rinse some more and that's it. These bars don't strip the hair and are very moisturizing, so I don't need any regular conditioner. My hair is naturally a bit on the dry side, so this is something that would be impossible for me if I used regular shampoos. Again: shampoo bars are in every way different from regular shampoos, they don't only clean the hair but also seem to deposit good stuff in it! I deep condition once or twice a month. I also prefer to rotate my bars and alter between more nourishing (like Honey Beer& Egg) and lighter (like Rosemary Lavender Aloe) ones.

Trying shampoo bars is quite risk-free. I recommend that you order a few sample sized bars first and see how you like them and what you like best. The samples are generously sized and cost less than $2 apiece. And, in case they don't work for your hair, they still make an excellent body soap.

If you decide to try, let us know what you ordered and how it went!

It is nice to see that so many of you have had good experiences with these! I just love them too and have switched my DH and Grandson to using them as well.  My men seem to like that it is easy to use the shampoo bar.  I just love the clean and fresh scents, and the way they make my hair feel clean and soft.  My favorites are the Sunshine Summer Shampoo Bar and the Honey Egg and Beer.  I also just love the soaps.  I've tried a bunch of them, and can't be sure what my favorites are.  Grandson likes the Chocolate Almond, probably because it looks so kool!  And Ida is a joy to work with.  Fast shipping and always reasonable.  These are definitely keepers in my house!!

I would also ad that I think this has improved the condition of my hair after 3 months use.  It is much less dry, less splits, and just overall seems better.  Great stuff!!

Oh, that's too bad...it makes me hesitant to try it, I was really hoping it would have worked well for you.  I still may order up a few of the sample sizes, that way not too much is lost if I don't care for them.  We'll see...

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I think the hard water issue is definately a factor for the bars.  I think I'm going to bring one back to school with me and try it again.  It just felt like I couldn't wash any of the soap out of my hair when I used it.  My hair did not dry completely, and felt rubbery when I braided it.  The residue leaves my hair in 'chunks.'  I reaaaally want them to work out, so if anyone has any ideas on using the bars or rinses, let me know.  ACV afterwards causes my hair to get too dry.

That's a pretty good idea, Galadriel.  I only used the ACV to "cut" through the filmy buildup.  We'll see if my school has softer water.

That's a darn good idea, mag.  I truly want these bars to work.  They smell great, and they lather so well.  It's just the rinsing that seems to be the problem.  I was reading the comments on the pages before it and it sounded like Styg and someone else had a tricky time with them.  I wonder if they got the product to work for them.