What Shampoo is Best for Travel and Camping?

Travel and camping shampoo can be categorized into 4 different types, based on form factor:

1. Traditional bottled shampoo (e.g., Head & Shoulders, Dove)
2. Natural bottled shampoo (e.g., Dr. Bronner's, The Honest Company)
3. Shampoo bars (e.g., LUSH, Ethique)
4. Shampoo tablets (e.g., EarthSuds)

In this article, we'll rank those 4 form factors based on 4 main criteria that most shoppers consider:

• Performance (quality of ingredients, feel after use)
• Environmental impact (biodegradability, packaging, resources to make)
• Portability (convenience, size, weight)
• Price (average cost per wash)

Performance

Traditional bottled shampoo provides a familiar feel but is loaded with synthetic ingredients that can cause long-term damage to your hair. Natural bottled shampoo and EarthSuds shampoo tablets are made using high-quality natural ingredients that leave your hair feeling soft and moisturized. Some shampoo bars also use good ingredients, but the application method can leave you hair feeling strange. 

Environmental Impact

Bottled shampoo consumes massive amounts of resources along the entire product lifecycle. It starts with the production of plastic bottles which requires oil, water, energy, and emits high levels of CO2. Then, the bottles are filled with liquid shampoo which is over 80% water and is heavy to ship across the world, therefore emitting more carbon dioxide. When the bottles are used, microplastics seep into the environment. For disposal, most shampoo bottles can't be recycled due to the low quality plastic and the leftover soap, so over 5 billion bottles are sent into our landfills and waterways annually. Most bottled shampoos are not biodegradable whereas most shampoo bars and tablets are.

Portability

Shampoo tablets are far lighter per wash than bottled shampoo, given they're made without water. They also don't pose a risk of spilling during transit as their form factor makes them inherently spill-proof. One major benefit of shampoo tablets and bars is that they pass TSA restrictions regardless of the quantity, whereas bottled shampoo needs to be under 100mL. Shampoo bars are a mess after you use them as they leave a slime along the surface, whereas shampoo tablets are single-use so they're far more convenient for travel and camping.

Price

Given the average person uses 10mL of liquid shampoo per wash and shampoo bars yield 25-50 washes per 1.9oz bar, traditional bottled shampoo is the cheapest ($0.20-0.50 USD per wash) and natural bottled shampoo is the most expensive ($0.40-1.20 USD per wash). Shampoo bars ($0.30-0.60 per wash) and EarthSuds shampoo tablets (~$0.47 per wash) fall in the middle on price.

Overall