For decades, solid beauty wasn’t cool. Nobody wanted to use a soggy, miserable shampoo bar in their beauty regimen.
The priorities of the future are changing. While we’re still not keen on soggy soap, we are more committed to sustainable beauty, reducing plastic pollution and avoiding forest-ravaging ingredients such as palm oil.
Sales of minimally packaged solid products — oil in the form of a solid slab, or a balm that comes as a tablet — increased by 29 per cent to £23 million from January to May this year.
And, tellingly, it’s not just haircare and soap that are being developed as solid products, but sophisticated midlife skincare staples such as wrinkle-busting serums and night creams.
Anna Maxted gives verdict on a selection of eco-friendly beauty bars – including Saving Face Serum (pictured)
As attitudes shift, more luxury brands are joining the solid beauty revolution — such as UK skincare company Sbtrct, which recently launched the first ever solid retinol product. ‘There’s an ever-growing awareness that we need to make significant changes in our lifestyle, says founder Benjamin Grace. ‘It used to be that there were two very clear groups of consumers — the environmentally conscious ones and then mainstream consumers. But now there’s no line between them. The two groups have merged.’
So if we wish to consolidate our eco-friendly beauty arsenal but stay stylish, what’s out there?
COMPOSTABLE SSERUM
Saving Face Serum, £25 for 65g, by NZ brand Ethique. ethique.co.uk
It is what? Unscented, and launched in frustration at the cosmetic industry’s ‘abhorrent amount of waste’, this contains delightful ingredients (100 per cent palm-free) — shea butter, rosehip and pomegranate oils. Previously it arrived as bars in a box, but now it’s in a compostable push-up tube.
Verdict:Outstanding quality, top marks for ingenuity. But good storage is essential as once it dries out, it’s like trying to rub candle wax into your face. 3/5
WRINKLEBUSTER BAR
Sbtrct’s Rejuvenating Night Balm, £25.60 for 24g, sbtrct.co.uk
Anna said Sbtrct’s Rejuvenating Night Balm (pictured) feels richer than mere moisturiser and takes effort to massage in
It is what?This groundbreaking product is the first to contain a mild form of retinol. It also contains moisture-retentive squalane, an olive-derived skin-hydrating compound.
Verdict:The texture is richer than just moisturiser, and it takes effort to rub in. It makes my skin feel plump after hours. 5/5
MAJOR MULTITASKER
Bloom Jelly Serum Bar by Dew Mighty, £34, dewmighty.com
Anna said Bloom Jelly Serum Bar by Dew Mighty (pictured) is water-free and impressive in both style and substance
It is what? A skincare superhero, it apparently does the job of up to eight products (calming redness, adding moisture, smoothing roughness, for example) and certainly contains hard-working ingredients — vitamin C, squalane, blue chamomile oil, magnolia bark extract, jojoba seed oil and liquorice extract.
Verdict: It’s water-free and impressive in both style and substance. 4/5
BALMS IN BOX
The Perfector by Ethique, £26.99 for 65g, feelunique.com
Anna said The Perfector by Ethique (pictured) softens quickly and does a thorough job, feeling silky and protective
It is what?The moisturiser is suitable for mature and dry skin. It contains wax, butters, oil seeds and oils. Strictly speaking it’s a balm, not a cream, and ideally needs an airtight container to protect it.
Verdict: It is very softening and protecting. I am a big fan of the aesthetics. 3/5
SCENT-FREE SOLUTION
Gallinée’s Prebiotic Cleansing Bar, £13 for 100g from gallinee.com
Anna said Gallinée’s Prebiotic Cleansing Bar (pictured) left her skin feeling nicely hydrated
It is what? Perfume-free and soap-free for sensitive skin, it contains lactic acid and prebiotics to support the skin’s microbiome.
Verdict: It left my skin feeling soft and hydrated. 4/5
ANTI-BLEMISH BARB
Buttah Skin Black Gold Polishing Bar £13 for two 109g bars, cultbeauty.co.uk
Anna said Black Gold Polishing Bar by Buttah Skin (pictured) feels like an affordable, everyday sort of luxury
It is what?This bar contains vitamin C and vitamin A to protect your skin from harmful free radicals. It also includes African cocoa butter as well as minerals like activated charcoal powder.
Verdict: This intoxicating scent of musky makes it feel like every day luxury. 4/5
FLORAL FACE OIL
Full of Grace Facial Oil, £10 for 20g, lush.com
It is what? This oil bar is made from Murumuru Butter (a combination of fruit fats found in murumuru nuts), organic coconut oil, and rose oils.
Verdict:The product melts on my skin and absorbs quickly. It feels softening, but not greasy. 3/5
Anna said Full of Grace Facial Oil (pictured) melts onto skin, absorbs well and feels softening but non-greasy