Ethique The Guardian

I bought a bulk of solid shampoo body and conditioner bars recently and received two of these. One is past it's.useby date by a lot and the other was best before January this year which we are now into. Comparing them there wasn't a huge difference between them the older one is a bit lighter in colour and the newer one has still got a bit of peppermint scent to it. I'm new to solid bar shampoo and conditioner bars and this is the first I've tried from this particular brand. I used to not like peppermint untill I discovered the heath benefits. I find it's good for head and neck aches. I like how this also works as a shaving, body wash bar and in shower moisturizer. This is a refreshing bar and the green box matches the colour of the bar which is a square shape. The peppermint can have a cooling effect in scalp and skin but it's not over powering or burning. My hair felt clean soft and not weighed down or all dry after using I don't have super frizzy hair so I can't comment on that. Not as easy to use as a regular conditioner but I like the idea of using less plastic I can't be sure if it equals to 5 bottles of conditioner but I did like trying this brand and decided to grate the old one to melt into new conditioner bars with another unscented brand and add my own fragrance and essential oils. When grating I did smell the peppermint. Noticed this brand is on special at the supermarket currently. Am looking forward to trying some of the other items I got from this brand in my bulk buy.

My first experience with a bar format and can say I'm overly impressed. I don't feel it did much in terms of easing frizz or making it feel or look hydrated in comparison to other brands around that price point. I felt like I had to use a lot of it to cover all my hair and it definitely didn't last the same amount of time than 5 bottles of conditioner. I kept it in a container (out of the shower when I could remember but not always) but still found that it disintegrated quickly and turned slimy. I did enjoy the scent and the mive away from plastic packaging though.

While I love Ethique, this is probably my least favourite of their products. Mostly because I found it damn near impossible to get the product to actually swipe onto my hair, or feel like it was anyway. After rinsing it out and my hair drying it was obvious I had used a conditioner as opposed to nothing at all, but the sheer frustration of swiping a gazillion times to feel like I'd done something was enough to put me off. I also found their other conditions gave me better results so I'll stick to them. One benefit it does have over the other conditioners is that it not being as creamy or moveable, means that it dries out much faster in your shower and lasts longer. I definitely recommend buying a sample size first like all Ethique products to see which one is right for you.

I love this conditioner. It leaves my hair so soft and shiny. I love the fragrance too. My only down side is that it actually takes a bit of effort to get it through my hair. And also when the bar gets down to the last bit it snaps into little pieces which makes it really hard to use. However, the bar lasts for a long time, so you definitely get your moneys worth.

I love this conditioner, it's my go-to. My hair is dry and frizzy and this conditioner leaves it softer and less frizzy than any other product I've tried, including expensive salon ones.

The bar lasts me AGES and I love that there is no plastic rubbish.

This is the only conditioner I ever buy.

I have never found solid conditioners work on my hair. This one, however, does! Don’t get me wrong, it’s no deep conditioner but it works just as well as any standard store brand conditioner.

This, I have to say, smells pretty good – but not overpowering. It feels really nice when applying it to your hair and this feeling remains as you wash it out. It doesn't weigh down my fine hair nor does it leave any oily residue. Just leaves my hair looking and feeling great!

Though I have yet to try it, I have seen it suggested that these can be used as a leave in conditioner if you rub them through damp hair. Shall give that a try at some stage when I’m feeling brave!

The only thing I don’t like about this is that the bar is almost half the size of the shampoo bar. And although it supposedly will last a while, as someone with dry/curly hair I know that I always use something like double the shampoo amount of conditioner. But that alone won't stop me repurchasing this!

I've had Ethique's Wonderbar for a really long time but this winter I really wanted to add the Guardian to my collection as well. I first got to try it in a cute small heart shaped sample and then I bought the full size of someone second hand. One thing that love about Ethique's haircare bars is that they last for ages, already the shampoo bars last me months and the conditioner bars last me even longer. Yes, the only brand I have come across where the conditioner outlasts the shampoo. In addition to that the conditioner has heat protectant added which stays in till the next time you shampoo your hair, which is just ingenious as it becomes a 2-in-1 because of that I use it on my scalp as well. I also really like that althougth the Ethique bars aren't completely made of natural ingredients they are free of nasties. This is fantastic for me because although I have dyed and permanently straightened my hair and my hair isn't sensitive my skin is and can easily get red and irritated this helps to keep down the irritation on my back when I wash my hair. I have hip length hair and I like to use this on the lengths and then the Wonderbar on the scalp so that way my hair gets the benefits of the heat protectant. I almost always wash my hair at night and after years of going to bed with wet hair and waking up with less wet hair, I have gotten fed up of having a wet pillow. I used to use a fan during the summer to dry my hair, until I got tired of waiting for hours for it to air dry. So for the past months I've been using a hairdryer every time I wash my hair. I don't have an additional heat protector on hand and I use the second heat setting on my hairdryer to speed up drying. The second heat setting is pretty hot but it takes about 20-30 minutes to dry all my hair and my hair doesn't have any signs of heat damage. I'm really impressed with the conditioner and hair care bars from Ethique in general and when I use this bar up I'm going to repurchase although that would probably be in about a year since the shampoo bars last me for months and the conditioner bars last me even longer.

This is a really lovely solid conditioner with a delicious lime scent. The scent isn't overpowering or cloying, and doesn't linger much in your hair, but is really lovely while you're using it.

It's a rich, silky conditioner that feels thick and heavy (in a good way!) in your hair but rinses out to leave your hair feeling light and soft. I have very fine hair and it doesn't leave it feeling weighed down or heavy.

It's also the best shaving lotion I've found, particularly for more delicate areas. I was always battling ingrown hairs and other bumps but using The Guardian as a shave bar has been an absolute skin saver.

And despite daily use (as a shave bar one day and conditioner the next) a single bar lasts me easily 6 months!

I bought this after my Wonderbar finally got used up after over a year of using it every 3 day. No reason, I just wanted a different smell and sometimes I straighten my hair so a heat protectant is great to have.

The Guardian smells like lime, so delicious and tropical. It's easy to use and you can feel it in your hair when you use it, it's not as slippery as normal conditioner though.

When you rinse it out your hair does feel as though you have used your generic conditioner, so nice and silky. I think my hair also tends to try quicker, not sure why though.

Ethique's conditioner bars are terrific value for money as they are so solid you don't use a heap of product. I'm expecting my Guardian to last me a year as well, I've been using it for two months and have hardly made a dent in it.