This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Spring & Vine. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everything is a journey – I’m constantly on a journey of learning and growing and changing and trying new things. Sure, it can be “deep” stuff like my own personal and spiritual journey… but I also mean it when I say it comes to my lifestyle habits, too. I started my journey into ethical and fair trade fashion in 2011 and I’m still a work in progress. Then, in 2013 when I was pregnant with my first child, that’s when I began to transition to clean, nontoxic, safe, and natural bath and beauty products. And over the past few years, I’ve slowly been on a journey of reducing waste and being more environmentally sustainable and friendly in my own home. I still have a long way to go, but little by little progress really does add up!

Did you know that more than 552 million shampoo bottles end up in landfills every year? The number of shampoo bottles thrown out in the United States every year could fill 1,164 football fields and approximately only 1 in 5 people consistently recycle items from the bathroom! That’s SO MUCH plastic waste that could easily be reduced.

So, one way I’ve tried to reduce waste is through using more “refillable” or low waste beauty products that use less plastic. I’ve heard of “Shampoo Bars” – basically they look like bars of soap, but they are, well, bars of shampoo – and I’d always been nervous to try them out. I like a really SUDSY shampoo that I can lather up well and really clean my scalp, so I’d hesitated for a long time trying out shampoo bars because I just thought there’s no way that these will work. Additionally, most of the shampoo bars I had come across were EXPENSIVE and I wasn’t about to drop $20 on a bar of shampoo that I ended up not liking.

Enter Spring and Vine. Spring and Vine is a natural, clean shampoo bar that is available exclusively at TARGET!!

Which means it’s not only accessible, but also AFFORDABLE (read: under $10!) I was really excited to try it out, but also still a little skeptical. The box it comes in is recyclable and the only plastic is the small amount of plastic used to house the shampoo bar… so you’re reducing waste AND using a product that isn’t loaded with artificial or harmful chemicals. They sent me four shampoo bars to try out. Each Shampoo Bar is each crafted with shea butter & essential oils! They are:

• • The Volumizing Bar made with Grapefruit & Rosemary
  • The Moisturizing2 in 1 bar made with Oatmeal
  • The Scalp Soothing bar made with Tea Tree & Mint
  • The Balanced Clean bar made with Lavender & Orange Blossom

How a shampoo bar works:

All you do is get your hair wet in the shower, and then run the bar over your hair. Then, I usually run the bar over my hands to lather it up a little more and get some of the product on my hands. After that, shampoo as normal! Run your fingers through your hair and on your scalp and it creates a great lather and smells so good! Now, something I was really curious about was whether or not the shampoo bar would last as long as a normal bottle of shampoo and the answer is YES, if not longer! The formula is incredibly concentrated so you really aren’t using that much product! I’ve tried all the bars so far and my favorite as of right now is definitely the scalp soothing bar! It’s probably because it is winter time so my scalp needs a little extra TLC this time of year, but it’s so good. My hair is left feeling so clean. You can get the Spring and Vine shampoo bars at your local Target stores and online! Now what about you? Have you ever tried a shampoo bar? Do you use natural shampoo or other natural beauty products? What ways do you try to reduce waste around your house?