Ayurvedic Shampoo Bar - Certified Organic
$9.95
Radico Organic Shampoo Bar is a true soap — organic oils treated with alkali until they saponify, milled with bhringraj, amla and brahmi. Net weight 125 g (4.4 oz).
It does two jobs: everyday washing on hair in good condition — we use it daily ourselves — and the wash before a plant colour.
If your first plant colour did not take, this is usually why
Henna and indigo bind to the keratin in your hair. They have to reach it first. Conventional shampoos and conditioners leave a film behind — silicones, styling polymers, oils — and that film sits between the pigment and the surface it needs to attach to. The colour goes on, sits there, and rinses away paler than it should.
Nothing is wrong with the colour. The hair was still wearing the last product.
Soap cleans thoroughly. Before you colour, that is exactly what you want.
What it takes off
- Silicones. Dimethicone and its relatives are in most conditioners and many shampoos. They coat the strand deliberately and are not water-soluble; a mild wash does not shift them.
- Styling polymers. Anything that holds a shape leaves a film, and it builds up.
- Oils. Coconut, argan, leave-in treatments. Useful otherwise; a barrier here.
- Hard water minerals. Calcium and magnesium deposit on the strand over time.
If you have never used silicone products — if you have been washing with plant powders, or with a silicone-free shampoo — you may not need this step before colouring. We would rather you knew that than bought a bar for a job you do not have.
We measured it at pH 9.35
Soap is alkaline by definition. It is made by treating fat with alkali, and what comes out carries that character — a bar of soap typically sits around pH 9 to 10. This one is no exception, and we would rather show you the number than call it “gentle” and leave it there. The alkalinity comes from the soap-making, not from the herbs — amla, if anything, is acidic.
| Product | pH | What follows from it |
|---|---|---|
| Shikakai powder | 2.1 – 3.0 | Acid. Lets the cuticle lie flat |
| Hair Treatment Powder | 3.2 – 3.5 | Acid. A wash or a mask |
| Reetha powder | 4.54 – 4.90 | Acid. A wash |
| Hair’s own surface | 4.5 – 5.5 | For reference |
| This bar | 9.35 | Alkaline. Everyday washing, and before colouring |
Hair’s own surface sits at 4.5 to 5.5. This is well above that, and it is why soap-based shampoo largely disappeared — alkaline conditions lift the cuticle scales, and lifted scales catch on each other, so hair feels rough. Every other product we make sits on the acid side for exactly that reason.
So we will not call it gentle on the strength of a pH number. What we can tell you is what we see: we wash with it every day, and our hair stays in good condition. It cleans; it does not repair, and no wash undoes damage that is already there.
The exception we hear about is small: hair that is already heavily damaged — bleached, chemically straightened, very porous — can come out dry or rough. If that is your hair, follow with an acid rinse, or wash less often. Earlier versions of this description told you not to use the bar daily; that was more cautious than our own experience, and we have changed it.
The part we are less sure about. You will read that an alkaline wash opens the cuticle so pigment can get in. Alkaline conditions do lift the cuticle scales — that much is established. Whether a lifted cuticle measurably improves how much pigment binds, we do not know: we have not found a study that tests it, and we have not run one. What we are confident about is the residue, and residue alone is reason enough.
It lathers, and that is not a contradiction
Our reetha and shikakai powders produce almost no foam, and we say plainly on those pages that foam is not what does the cleaning. Both things are true.
Lather is what happens when a surfactant traps air. Cleaning is what happens when it surrounds oil. A surfactant can do one well and the other barely at all. Saponins clean without foaming much; soap does both.
There is no SLS in here, and no foam booster. That is not only our word for it: COSMOS ORGANIC prohibits both, and this bar is certified on its own file. Soap foams because of what soap is — fatty acid salts hold air well — not because anything was added to make it.
What is in it
Five organic oils, saponified. Three Ayurvedic herbs, milled in. Liquorice root, sunflower seed oil, lavender oil and tocopherol.
| Ingredient | What it is |
|---|---|
| Sodium cocoate | Saponified coconut oil |
| Sodium castorate | Saponified castor oil |
| Sodium olivate | Saponified olive oil |
| Sodium sesamate | Saponified sesame oil |
| Sodium almondate | Saponified sweet almond oil — a tree nut |
| Eclipta alba leaf powder | Bhringraj |
| Emblica officinalis fruit powder | Amla |
| Bacopa monnieri leaf powder | Brahmi |
| Glycyrrhiza glabra root powder | Liquorice |
| Helianthus annuus seed oil | Sunflower |
| Lavandula angustifolia oil | Lavender — a known contact allergen |
| Tocopherol | Vitamin E, as an antioxidant for the oils |
What we will not tell you is that the herbs survive saponification unchanged, or that they deliver vitamins into your hair from a bar you rinse off in two minutes. Saponification is a hot, strongly alkaline reaction, and we have not found work establishing what comes through it intact. They are in the formula, they are organically grown, and that is what we can say about them. All three are also sold on their own, where the chemistry is worth going into properly.
Two allergens, named plainly
Almond oil. One of the five oils saponified into this bar is sweet almond. Almond is a tree nut. If you have a tree nut allergy, do not use this bar.
That is worth stating clearly, because elsewhere on this site we point out that reetha — the soapnut — is not a nut at all despite its name. This bar genuinely contains one.
Lavender oil. A known contact allergen: its compounds oxidise on exposure to air, and the oxidation products are among the fragrance allergens the EU requires to be declared. Most people are fine with it. Some are not. It is in the product’s registered name — we are not hiding it in an ingredient list.
Patch test on the inner forearm 48 hours before first use, and stop use if irritation develops. If you have a diagnosed allergy to either, speak to your doctor first.
Certified, and independently listed
This bar holds COSMOS ORGANIC, audited by ECOCERT Greenlife.
COSMOS ORGANIC certifies products, not brands. Every formula is audited on its own file — where the ingredients were grown, how it was made, what is and is not in it. This bar has its own. So does each of our twenty-four colours, and each of our single herbs.
You do not have to take our word for any of that. COSMOS publishes a searchable register of every certified product in the world. Ours are listed under Radico — forty-five of them at last count, this bar among them, registered as Certified Organic Lavender Hair Shampoo Bar.
Look us up in the COSMOS product register →
Three things to keep in mind
- Not after colouring. Henna and indigo keep developing for up to 72 hours, and a strong alkaline wash inside that window will take some of the result with it. Wait two to three days.
- If hair feels dry or squeaky, add an acid rinse. On hair in good condition, daily use is how we use it ourselves. On heavily damaged hair — bleached, chemically straightened, very porous — it can leave hair dry; follow with our Hair Treatment Powder, or wash less often.
- Contains almond oil and lavender oil. Do not use this if you react to either. Keep it out of your eyes.
What we will and will not claim
That soap is an anionic surfactant, that it is alkaline, and that alkaline conditions lift the cuticle are all established chemistry rather than health claims. The pH figure is our own, on a handheld meter, and it is a number you can check yourself.
What we have not measured is whether washing with this before a plant colour produces a measurably better result than washing with something else. We are confident about the mechanism — residue blocks binding, and soap removes residue — and we have not run the comparison.
We are not claiming this bar treats any scalp or hair condition, that it promotes hair growth, or that it delivers nutrients into the hair. In the United States a cosmetic may not make those claims, and we have not found evidence that would support them here in any case.
Radico Organic Shampoo Bar is a cosmetic product for external use on hair and scalp. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Contains almond oil and lavender oil.
All items on Radico USA website ship for a flat-rate to any address in the continental US for just $4.99.
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If you are unsatisfied with the result, please contact us for a free replacement of the color of your choice. Returns within 30 days receive a full refund.
Ingredients
A true soap: five organic oils saponified, with bhringraj, amla and brahmi milled in, alongside liquorice root. Net weight 125 g (4.4 oz). COSMOS ORGANIC certified by ECOCERT Greenlife, on its own product file. No SLS, no synthetic preservatives, no foam boosters. Mixed with water, our own reading was pH 9.35 — alkaline, and the only alkaline product we make. The alkalinity comes from the soap itself, not from the herbs.
CONTAINS ALMOND OIL, A TREE NUT, AND LAVENDER OIL, A KNOWN CONTACT ALLERGEN. Do not use if you react to either. Patch test on the inner forearm 48 hours before first use. Keep out of the eyes. Do not use within 72 hours of a plant colour application. If hair feels dry or squeaky after washing, follow with an acid rinse such as our Hair Treatment Powder. This is a cosmetic product for external use on hair and scalp; it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition.
FAQ
For two things. It is an everyday wash — we use it daily ourselves, and on hair in good condition it leaves hair clean and in the condition it started. And it is the wash before a plant colour: henna and indigo bind to the keratin in your hair, and conventional shampoos and conditioners leave a film — silicones, styling polymers, oils — that sits between the pigment and that keratin. That film is the most common reason a first plant colour comes out paler than expected, and soap cleans it off thoroughly.
Yes, on hair in good condition. We use it every day ourselves, and our hair stays in good condition. Earlier versions of this page advised against daily use; that was more cautious than our own experience, and we have changed it. The exception we hear about is small: hair that is already heavily damaged — bleached, chemically straightened, very porous — can come out dry or rough. If that is your hair, follow with an acid rinse such as our Hair Treatment Powder, or wash less often.
Our own reading was 9.35, on a handheld meter. Every true soap is alkaline — it is made by treating oils with alkali — and a bar of soap typically sits around pH 9 to 10. Hair's own surface sits at 4.5 to 5.5, so this is above it, and alkaline conditions lift the cuticle scales. It is the only alkaline product we make; everything else sits on the acid side.
No. The alkalinity comes from the soap itself — the coconut, castor, olive, sesame and almond oils after saponification. The bhringraj, amla and brahmi do not make it alkaline; amla on its own is acidic.
No. It cleans; it does not repair, and no wash undoes damage that is already there. What we can tell you is that on hair in good condition, regular use keeps it as it is — that is our own experience of using it daily. On hair that is already heavily damaged it can feel drying, so pair it with an acid rinse.
Yes, and it is the alkalinity: the cuticle scales are standing up, and standing scales catch on each other. Some people find their hair feels smooth straight out of this wash and others find it squeaks — the difference is your hair rather than the bar. The fix is acid. Following with our Hair Treatment Powder, which reads pH 3.2 to 3.5, brings the scales back down. Soap and an acid rinse is how hair was washed for a very long time before pH-adjusted shampoo existed.
Yes, but not within 72 hours of colouring. Henna and indigo both keep developing for up to three days after application, and washing with soap inside that window will take some of the result with it. Plain warm water is fine. After that, wash as you normally would. Any wash slowly fades a plant colour over time, indigo first, so shampooing less often helps the colour last between applications.
Because they clean by different chemistry. Lather is what happens when a surfactant traps air; cleaning is what happens when it surrounds oil, and a surfactant can do one well and the other barely at all. Saponins — what reetha and shikakai use — clean without foaming much. Soap does both. There is no SLS or foam booster in this bar; COSMOS ORGANIC prohibits both, and the bar is certified on its own file.
Yes. One of the five oils saponified into this bar is sweet almond, listed as sodium almondate, and almond is a tree nut. If you have a tree nut allergy, do not use this bar. It is worth being clear about, because elsewhere on this site we point out that reetha — the soapnut — is not a nut at all despite its name. This one genuinely contains one. The bar also contains lavender oil, a known contact allergen.
Let it drain and dry between uses. A bar left sitting in water softens and dissolves away, so a dish that drains will roughly double how long it lasts. Keep it out of the direct spray in the shower, and do not store it sealed while wet. There are no synthetic preservatives in it — COSMOS ORGANIC prohibits them, and proper soap does not generally need them because the pH and low water content see to that — but it does need to dry.
- ・100% Pure Plants, No Synthetic Chemicals
- ・Free from Additives, Artificial Fragrance & Harsh Preservatives
- ・Crafted with Traditional Ayurvedic Herbs
We create products rooted in nature and tradition.
Made with certified organic plant ingredients and no synthetic chemicals, our formulas support naturally healthy hair and skin—without compromise.