Q: I'm not too familiar with shampoo bars; how do you use these things?
A: Wet your hair, and then wet the shampoo bar. Next, lather up a regular nylon bath puff with your shampoo bar; you'll only need to scrub the bar across the puff 2-3 times to clean a head of fairly thick, medium-to-long hair. Work the product into a lather on the puff with your hands, and then lightly apply the sudsy puff to your hair, making sure to thoroughly rinse out both your hair and the puff afterward. As with all our products, a little goes a very long way, so while it may seem at first like that tiny amount couldn't possibly be enough to clean your whole head, it really is plenty! This method cleans and lightly conditions your hair without the greasy buildup that's a common complaint among shampoo bar users, and it has the added bonus of extending the life of your bar. (Hey, we love cost-effective luxury!) However, if you happen to find excessive residue cropping up after a period of time, just mix up 2 tablespoons or so of lemon juice in a cup of warm water. Rinse the lemon/water mixture through your hair a few times, and the residue should be gone after a quick wash under the showerhead. Voila!

Q: Are La Vida Dulce products color-safe?
A: La Vida Dulce products are usually gentler on hair and colorants than most sulfate-based commercial shampoos. As far as preserving artificial hair color of any shade, no shampoo in the world is going to keep your hair color salon-pristine. While washing in general is going to strip your hair of color eventually, La Vida Dulce products generally are gentle enough to slow the process more than most.

Q: How can I make my shampoo bars last longer?
A: Natural/handmade shampoo bars and soaps melt more quickly than their synthetic detergent counterparts due to the fact that they naturally have a very high glycerin content. (It's one of the only downsides; while the glycerin is a great moisturizer/conditioner, it makes the bars very, very quick to disappear under a hot tap.) However, a wire soap dish that allows your shampoo bar to properly drain between uses really will extend the life of the bar, and will prevent it getting goopy and squishy on the bottom. (Which we pretty much guarantee will happen if your shampoo bar is allowed to sit on a shower ledge/non-draining soap dish.)

Q: How are these shampoo bars different from regular handmade soaps?
A: Regular handmade soaps tend to incorporate various plant butters (i.e. mango, shea, and cocoa butter) into their formulas to nourish your skin. They do a great job in that respect, but they don't rinse away as cleanly when they're used on hair. Our products are specifically formulated for haircare, so you can expect a gentle product that avoids the pitfall of excessive residue.

Q: Okay, so you don't use sulfates, surfactants, or detergents. Do you use any other common harsh and wacky ingredients that the bigger companies use, like parabens, ammonia compounds (-amines,) copolymers, petroleum-based ingredients, propylene glycol, etc.?
A: Absolutely not. All of our ingredients are clearly listed underneath the description of each product on our website, and our labels list the ingredients, as well. We use natural oils and organic oils when available. If you have any questions, please shoot us an e-mail. We'd be glad to answer any questions you might have to the best of our ability!

Q: You say you don't use any funky chemicals, but what's sodium hydroxide used to make shampoo bars?
A: Sodium hydroxide is the chemical formula for lye, and you can't make soap without it. Sodium hydroxide is a very safe soapmaking agent when used correctly, and in the right proportion to your other ingredients. In fact, if you measure the correct proportion of sodium hydroxide to your soapmaking oils, no trace of lye whatsoever should be found in the finished product. For the record, we scrutinize our measurements extensively to ensure your safety. This is the saponifiying process of soap.

Q: Okay, so what about your fragrances and essential oils  What's the story?
A: We use only 100% pure essential oils in our products. A few of our in-store and special order bars contain small amounts of phthalate free fragrance. All of our ingredients are safe. no artificial preservatives, sulfate free, gluten free, no sodium chloride, parabens, MEA, DEA, or dyes.

Q: Are you ever going to make liquid shampoo?
A:   We do have a liquid shampoo line.

Q: I run a salon and would like to use your products, but I can't use the same shampoo bar on different customers' heads for public health reasons. Is there a way to get smaller slivers of your products that would be suitable for just a single use?
A: Yes, absolutely. E-mail us, and we'll be glad to send you a box of 30 single-use samples in up to 3 different scents. (This is the equivalent of 3 regular shampoo bars, and the price is $15.00.) Simply tell us how many boxes you'd like and which scents you'd prefer, and we'll be glad to accommodate you. Also, if you agree to tell customers about our products and request our brochures in order to promote our site, we'll give you a 5% salon discount on any regular order. Just give us the name and address of your salon in your e-mail, along w/a statement of intent to use and promote La Vida Dulce products, and we'll deduct 5% off your total order price once you've decided which products and scents you'd like. (We'd also be glad to mention your business in our links section for a bit of free advertising!) As a side note, in order to disinfect nylon puffs between uses on different clients' heads, we recommend placing the used puffs in a microwave for 30 seconds.

Q: When should I expect my order? Do you ship internationally?
A: We ship at least once a week, and we'll notify you via e-mail when your package goes out.

Standard shipping typically takes a week or less from the date it goes out, but occasionally that timeframe will be longer during busy mailing seasons like Christmas. International orders are a different ballgame, (yes, we'll be glad to ship anywhere in the world,) and as a result can sometimes take 3 weeks or more to be delivered. This all depends on your distance from the US and the reliability of your country's postal service. Please plan accordingly for gifts, etc. Thanks!