My Favorite Nomad Hack Of 2023: A Conditioner Bar

So I’m 3 years into my retirement and my nomad journey and I’m still constantly trying to improve things – I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t 🙂 . Living out of a 40L backpack is a constant learning process as I decide what I love and what I don’t even use that needs to be left behind.

I’ve gone over a bunch of my nomad tips on this blog (see below), but today I’m tackling something I’ve never touched on before.

• These Are My Favorite Nomad Travel Tools!
• My Favorite Nomad Travel Tools (Part 2)
• Nomad Tech Necessities: A Peek Inside The Bag Of A Full-Time Traveler
• Nomad Coffee Supplies: How To Make Great Caffeine Anywhere
• Saalt Cup Review: Period Cups Are Life Changing!

The Problem

Liquids in US airports! The TSA only allows 3.5 ounces of a liquid to get through an airport. Some countries don’t have this rule, which isn’t surprising given how we in America seem to love ineffective, security theater:

But I digress 🙂 . Going through US airports with TSA pre-check makes this a little easier because while I do have to stick to the 3.5 ounce rule, I don’t have to remove my liquids (or laptop…or shoes…or jacket 😉 ) when going through the security line. As a result, I’m usually done with security in seconds while my partner waits in a much longer line *insert evil smile* (don’t worry about him though – his Global Entry/Pre-Check application is almost approved).

So it’s nice that I don’t have to take these liquids out of my bag in the US, but I’m going to more and more international airports these days that don’t allow me to do that if they have the same liquids rule. And on top of that, planning on how to have only 3.5 ounces of each liquid I need in life in my backpack before flying somewhere, has started to feel more and more inefficient to me. Having to estimate how much of something I can buy and use before leaving a location so I don’t waste it, was taking up more of my brain space than I wanted (which was 0% 🙂 ).

The Solution?

A few nomad friends recommended I try a conditioner bar a few years ago and I looked into it and couldn’t find any highly recommended bars for black, curly hair that likes moisture. It was all for other textures of hair so I decided conditioner bars weren’t currently for me.

Well earlier this year, I was back doing research to see if anything had changed and it had 🙂 . I found a conditioner bar that was recommended for my type of black hair and that was raved about in the reviews.

However, I was still skeptical. “How can a bar of conditioner moisturize my hair as well as liquid?” I thought. I had a hang up since my only experience with bars was cleansing, (usually de-moisturizing) soap.

Then I discovered something that pushed my curiosity over the edge: not only would this conditioner bar replace my 3.5oz conditioner, but it can also be used as a leave-in conditioner after your shower – that’s TWO 3.5oz containers I don’t have to bring with me anymore! To go even further, it can also be used as a weekly hair mask by leaving it in for an hour before washing. They’re saving me all kinds of extra work here!

So what was this mythical product? I give you – Ethique’s “Too Delicious” Intensive Solid Conditioner Bar:

The Experiment

So how did it do? During my first time using the bar, I planned to do an experiment (of course) and use the new conditioner bar on one half of my head and my regular, beloved Aussie Moisturizing Conditioner on the other side.

Aussie has been my hair product pal for a while because I found that it deposited the most moisture in my hair and helped out a lot after I would do all the bleaching that luscious purple hair requires.

I wasn’t certain how to use the new conditioner bar even though I watched videos, but after messing around, I got the hang of it. The bar took a while to lather after I wet it and started rubbing it on my hair (AKA it wasn’t instantaneous – I am impatient, yes 😉 ).

I found that the best technique for my curly hair was to grab the bar firmly (it’s a little slippery unsurprisingly) and move it down my hair from crown to roots over and over. Previously I had tried a circular motion and that seemed to aggravate my spirally hair.

So I basically looked like Ariel from The Little Mermaid running something strange over her hair. I did that until my hair felt saturated with conditioner like it did with the liquid version that was on the other side of my hair. I then finger combed my curls until there were no tangles and then let the conditioner sit a few minutes while I went about the rest of my shower business.

After that was done and a few minutes had passed, I rinsed out both conditioners. Once I was out of the shower and had dried my hair, I took the bar and did a quick swipe over the top of all my hair for a leave-in conditioner effect. And then I went about my day air-drying my hair like usual.

The Results

So I did this experiment and was legit SHOCKED at the results. After my shower, the hair that had the conditioner bar was noticeably softer – I even had people (with permission) touch my hair to confirm my findings and they agreed! The side with Aussie was soft, but the conditioner bar was an easy winner in this experiment. My mind was officially blown!

Also, Let’s Save The Planet!

So that experiment put aside all my worries about trying this new form of conditioner, but I also discovered that there are even more reasons to lean away from liquid conditioner besides the ease for travel and awesome results. Ethique’s projects are plastic free, climate positive and the company plants a tree or mangrove for every order placed! I didn’t see that coming 🙂 . A better product that also helps save the planet – sign me up!

The Price

So how much will this new product set me back? It has an $18 price tag and is good for 120 washes so almost half a year of daily use, which sounds great to me. To put this into more perspective compared to my usual liquid conditioner purchases – those are usually $6-10 and last one month for me. Cash savings on top of everything else? You spoil me 🙂 .

Conclusion

I’m sorry it took me so long to get on the bandwagon, but as with a lot of things (like period cups…), I finally got there and my nomad life is WAY easier because of it. And to top it off, this research has led me to discover all kinds of more planet (and travel) friendly products!

Ethique alone has all kinds of bars for body wash, lotion and even facial cleanser among many other things. When I try those things I’ll be sure to let you know what I think. If you’d like to try out Ethique feel free to use this link to get 20% off your order. Until next time!

What’s something that made your travels easier lately?