FOR BUILDUP-PRONE, STRAIGHT & WAVY HAIR
BOTANICALS THAT WORK. NO SILICONES. REAL LATHER.
★★★★★ 4.7/5 | 134,430 reviews
- Cooler tone by wash 3 yellow and brassy tones visibly reduced
- No sulfate dryness cleanses without stripping moisture from bleached hair
- Biotin-supported thickness each wash supports fuller-feeling strands
- Ends feel less brittle rice water amino acids repair dry, damaged fibers
- Scalp stays calm pH-balanced formula does not aggravate a dry scalp
Castor Oil Shampoo Bar for Brittle & Dry Hair
- Free shipping over $40
- Free returns
- 30-day guarantee
Description
If your straight or wavy hair has been snapping instead of bending — dulled by silicone buildup, stiffened by hard water residue, or left brittle by years of heat styling — this bar works at the fiber level, not just the surface. Formulated around Longsheng rice water, a fermented rinse the Red Yao women of southern China have used as their primary hair treatment for generations, it delivers hydrolyzed rice protein and amino acids that strengthen strands from within rather than coating them with slip. Castor oil contributes ricinoleic acid and fatty acids that support scalp comfort and lend each strand a visible luster and flexibility, while chamomile and rose geranium — both present as true essential oils, never synthetic fragrance — keep the wash experience grounded and botanical. The base is sodium cocoyl isethionate, a gentle coconut-derived surfactant that lathers without stripping, so your scalp feels balanced after every wash rather than squeaky or congested. Zero plastic, zero silicones, zero synthetic parfum — a bar built around botanicals, not fillers, that earns its place on your wooden soap dish.
Ingredients
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Longsheng Rice Water, Cocoa Butter, Sodium Lactate, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Shea Butter, Butylene Glycol (Plant-Based), Stearic Acid, Vitamin B8, Vitamin B5, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Broccoli Seed Oil, Bamboo Extract, Rice Bran Oil, Castor Oil, Rose Geranium Oil, Ho Leaf Oil, Orange Peel Oil, Vitamin E, Cedarwood Oil, Patchouli Leaf Oil, Aloe Vera, Rose Chamomile Flower Oil, Jasmine Flower Extract, Rose Flower Oil
Ingredients Explanations
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate — derived from coconut fatty acids; a mild, pH-balanced surfactant that cleans without the harsh stripping associated with sulfates, making it a gentler choice for buildup-prone scalps and color-treated strands. (EWG: 1)
Behentrimonium Methosulfate — plant-derived conditioning agent (typically from rapeseed oil); detangles and smooths the cuticle without silicone coating. (EWG: 1)
Longsheng Rice Water — fermented rinse water from Longsheng, China, used for generations by the Red Yao women; rich in inositol, amino acids, and B vitamins that support strand flexibility and surface smoothness.
Cocoa Butter — cold-pressed from cacao seeds; a rich emollient that seals moisture into dry, brittle strands and supports a soft, pliable feel. (EWG: 1)
Sodium Lactate — the sodium salt of naturally occurring lactic acid; helps maintain the bar's pH balance and supports moisture retention in the hair fiber. (EWG: 1)
Glycerin — plant-derived humectant; draws moisture from the air into the hair shaft, keeping strands hydrated without heaviness. (EWG: 1)
Cetyl Alcohol — a fatty alcohol derived from coconut or palm; acts as a lightweight emollient and texture agent — not a drying alcohol. (EWG: 1)
Shea Butter — cold-pressed from the shea tree nut; rich in oleic and stearic fatty acids that seal in moisture and support scalp comfort, as documented in cosmetic dermatology literature. (EWG: 1)
Butylene Glycol (Plant-Based) — plant-sourced humectant and texture enhancer; helps active ingredients penetrate the hair cortex and keeps the formula feeling lightweight. (EWG: 1)
Stearic Acid — a saturated fatty acid found in shea and cocoa; contributes to bar structure and helps condition the hair surface. (EWG: 1)
Vitamin B8 (Inositol) — a naturally occurring carbohydrate found in rice water; cosmetic research suggests it can penetrate the hair cortex to support smoothness and reduce breakage.
Vitamin B5 (Panthenol) — provitamin derived from pantothenic acid; binds to the hair shaft, adding moisture and supporting strand flexibility. (EWG: 1)
Hydrolyzed Rice Protein — rice protein broken into smaller peptides that can bond to damaged areas of the hair cortex; supports tensile strength and helps reduce breakage, consistent with findings in cosmetic hair science literature (Cruz et al., 2016). (EWG: 1)
Broccoli Seed Oil — cold-pressed from broccoli seeds; high in erucic acid, which gives hair a silicone-like smoothness and shine without any synthetic coating. (EWG: 1)
Bamboo Extract — derived from bamboo stems; a natural source of silica that supports hair structure and adds body to fine or straight strands. (EWG: 1)
Rice Bran Oil — pressed from the outer bran layer of rice; rich in gamma-oryzanol and vitamin E, it contributes luster and helps protect the hair surface from environmental stress. (EWG: 1)
Castor Oil — cold-pressed from the castor bean; ricinoleic acid content supports scalp comfort and contributes to the luster and flexibility of each strand, with shine and conditioning properties supported in cosmetic research literature (PMC12978418; PubMed 35816075). (EWG: 1)
Rose Geranium Oil — steam-distilled from Pelargonium graveolens; contributes the bar's soft, floral-green scent note — present as a true essential oil, never synthetic fragrance. (EWG: 1)
Ho Leaf Oil — steam-distilled from the leaves of Cinnamomum camphora; a clean, linalool-rich essential oil that contributes a light, woody floral note as part of the bar's botanical fragrance profile. (EWG: 1)
Orange Peel Oil — cold-pressed from citrus peel; adds a bright, fresh top note to the scent and contributes antioxidant properties to the formula. (EWG: 2)
Vitamin E (Tocopherol) — a natural antioxidant derived from plant oils; protects the formula's oils from oxidation and supports scalp comfort. (EWG: 1)
Cedarwood Oil — steam-distilled from cedar wood; contributes a warm, grounding base note to the scent profile as a true essential oil. (EWG: 1)
Patchouli Leaf Oil — steam-distilled from Pogostemon cablin leaves; adds an earthy, grounding depth to the botanical fragrance — the kind of scent that smells like a garden, not a perfume counter. (EWG: 1)
Aloe Vera — cold-pressed gel from Aloe barbadensis leaf; a lightweight humectant that supports scalp comfort and adds slip to the lather without heaviness. (EWG: 1)
Rose Chamomile Flower Oil — distilled from chamomile and rose; contributes soft, calming floral notes to the bar's botanical scent profile as a true essential oil, not a synthetic parfum. (EWG: 1)
Jasmine Flower Extract — derived from Jasminum officinale blossoms; adds a soft, natural floral depth to the scent profile as a botanical extract, not a synthetic parfum. (EWG: 1)
Rose Flower Oil — steam-distilled from Rosa damascena petals; rounds out the floral scent signature with a true botanical rose note — the kind Willa recognizes immediately as the real thing. (EWG: 1)
How To Use
1. In a warm shower, wet your hair thoroughly — the more steam, the more the bar's botanical oils will open up and lather.
2. Hold the bar between your palms and rub gently to build a creamy lather, or glide the bar directly from root to mid-length two to three times — avoid dragging it repeatedly to the ends to prevent tangling.
3. Work the lather into your scalp with your fingertips using slow, circular movements, letting the sodium cocoyl isethionate lift buildup without stripping your scalp's natural balance.
4. Rinse thoroughly with warm water, then finish with a cool rinse to help close the cuticle and encourage the shine castor oil and broccoli seed oil are there to support.
5. If you are transitioning from a silicone-heavy liquid shampoo, allow 3–4 washes for your hair to recalibrate — this is your scalp, finally unburdened of synthetic coating, finding its own rhythm.
6. Store the bar on a draining soap dish between uses to extend its life and keep it from softening — a dry bar lasts significantly longer than one sitting in pooled water.
REAL RESULTS, REAL CUSTOMERS
Hair That Moves Like It Used To
From brittle and dull to soft, flexible strands — without a single silicone or synthetic fragrance in sight.
"My straight hair was snapping at the ends every time I brushed it — I thought I just had fragile hair. Three weeks in, I'm not finding broken strands on my pillow anymore. It lathers like something real, rinses completely clean, and my scalp finally feels unburdened instead of congested."
"I live in a hard water area and every bar shampoo I tried left this waxy film I could actually feel. This one rinses out clean — no residue, no mineral buildup, just hair that catches light instead of lying flat and dull. The chamomile and rose geranium scent in a hot shower is the ritual I didn't know I needed."
"I was terrified of the transition period. I switched slowly — one wash a week at first — and honestly, I never hit the greasy adjustment phase people warn about. By week two my wavy hair had more movement than it had in years. It smells like a garden, not a perfume counter, and I actually recognize every ingredient on the label."
VERIFIED REVIEWS
When the Botanicals Are Real, You Can Feel It.
From women with straight and wavy, buildup-prone hair who wanted a bar built around botanicals — not fillers.
THE PROBLEM
Your Bar Is Leaving Something Behind.
Most shampoo bars promise clean — but the formula tells a different story.
The Waxy Film Problem.
Conventional bar shampoos built on high-pH soap bases react with hard water minerals to leave a residue that sits on each strand — not buildup you can see, but a dullness and weight you can feel every wash.
Labels That Still Disappoint.
You've read enough INCI lists to know that 'natural' on the front means nothing without the back panel — and silicones, synthetic parfum, and PEGs have a way of hiding inside even the bars that look right at first glance.
Flexibility Lost at the Fiber Level.
When a strand has lost moisture from within, surface conditioning can only do so much — the strand still bends and breaks because nothing has addressed what's happening beneath the cuticle. That's a formula question, not a finishing-product question.
THE ANSWER
Botanicals, Not Fillers.
A bar built around what your hair actually needs — and nothing it doesn't.
The Viori Castor Oil Shampoo Bar starts where conventional bars fall short: a base of sodium cocoyl isethionate, a gentle coconut-derived surfactant that cleans without the high-pH soap residue that reacts with hard water minerals and leaves strands feeling coated. Into that foundation, Longsheng rice water — the same fermented rinse the Red Yao women of southern China have used for generations — delivers hydrolyzed rice protein and inositol into the hair fiber. Cosmetic research suggests inositol penetrates the cortex, while hydrolyzed rice protein is associated with reduced breakage and improved tensile strength from within (Cruz et al. 2016). Castor oil contributes ricinoleic acid and fatty acids shown to add luster and flexibility to the strand (PMC12978418), while shea butter and aloe vera support scalp comfort without the heavy emollients that congest a normal scalp. The scent is grounded and botanical — rose geranium, chamomile, patchouli, and cedarwood from essential oils only, free from synthetic fragrance — because you read the label, and this one holds up. No silicones, no synthetic fragrance, no petroleum derivatives: a bar so full of botanicals there's simply no room for the ingredients you've been quietly editing out.
See the full system
Backed by the science
WHY IT WORKS
Three ingredients, three mechanisms — each one addressing a different layer of what helps hair bend rather than break.
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Repair from the inside out
Hydrolyzed rice protein peptides — small enough to slip past the cuticle — fill micro-gaps in the hair cortex, supporting tensile strength, elasticity, and breakage resistance. Inositol (Vitamin B8) works alongside them; cosmetic research indicates it can penetrate the fiber and remain there after rinsing, acting as a resilience agent rather than a surface coat. Panthenol (Vitamin B5) draws hydration into the shaft itself, so strands bend rather than fracture under tension.
Cruz et al. 2016 — Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (primary peer-reviewed literature on hydrolyzed protein and hair fiber) -
Luster without the film
Castor oil's ricinoleic acid content supports a calmer scalp environment while coating each strand with light-reflecting fatty acids — a mechanism documented across multiple peer-reviewed reviews as the basis for castor oil's improvement of hair luster and shine. Because this bar is built around sodium cocoyl isethionate — a gentle, coconut-derived surfactant recognized by cosmetic dermatologists as a non-stripping alternative to sulfates — it rinses clean without the mineral-reactive waxy residue that conventional soap-base bars leave behind in hard water. The result is straight and wavy hair that catches light and moves, rather than lying flat under a silicone or soap film.
Gavazzoni Dias et al. 2022 — PubMed systematic review (PMID 35816075) -
Sulfate-free cleansing preserves moisture in porous hair
Bleached hair is highly porous — it absorbs and loses moisture faster than untreated hair. Sulfate-free cleansers remove buildup and oil without disrupting the lipid layer that keeps moisture locked inside the shaft.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology — sulfate-free formulations and hair moisture
Our Story
THE STORY BEHIND THE BAR
From the rice terraces of Longsheng to your shower — the most powerful, clean haircare you have ever used.
How To Use Videos
WHAT MAKES VIORI DIFFERENT
Everything you want to know — answered in 30 seconds or less.
Build Your Bundle
BAR, DUO, OR THE FULL SYSTEM.
Start with the bar, or build a ritual that works from scalp to ends.
The Bar
The Castor Oil Shampoo Bar, doing exactly what it was made to do.
- Sulfate-free cleanse with sodium cocoyl isethionate — coconut-derived, not harsh
- Longsheng rice water and hydrolyzed rice protein strengthen brittle strands from within
- Castor oil and shea butter leave hair pliable, not stripped or coated
- Rose geranium, chamomile, and cedarwood — essential oils only, no synthetic fragrance
- Zero plastic — one bar replaces one bottle
The Duo
Pair the shampoo bar with its matching conditioner bar for a complete, plastic-free wash ritual.
- Shampoo bar cleanses gently; conditioner bar seals and softens without silicone buildup
- Botanical ingredients work in sequence — cleanse, then nourish at the fiber level
- Formulated without ingredients known to leave waxy residue — a noticeably lighter feel, even in hard-water areas
- Consistent scent story from wash to rinse — floral, grounded, not perfume-counter sweet
- Two bars, one wooden soap dish, no plastic in sight
The Full System
Three products, one cohesive ritual — for the shelf you have been building toward.
- Shampoo bar, conditioner bar, and scalp or treatment step working in concert
- Addresses brittle strands, scalp balance, and lasting moisture in a single routine
- Every formula free from sulfates, silicones, parabens, and synthetic fragrance
- Longsheng rice water runs through the system — sourced, storied, and purposeful
FAQ
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY.
It tones. The cool-toning pigment neutralizes yellow and brassy tones the same way a traditional purple shampoo does — the difference is the delivery system. Because the formula is sulfate-free, it corrects the tone without stripping the moisture that bleached hair can barely hold onto. Most people notice cooler, less brassy color within the first few washes.
No. Sulfate-free cleansers do not disrupt the lipid layer that keeps moisture inside the hair shaft. The Longsheng rice water in the formula adds amino acids and inositol that repair dry, porous fibers with every wash. Most customers with bleached, brittle hair report noticeably softer ends within the first week.
Most purple shampoos use sulfates to open the cuticle and deposit pigment. On bleached hair, that means solving the tone problem while making the dryness problem worse. This bar delivers the same toning result in a sulfate-free base, and adds rice water repair and biotin support — so you are not trading one problem for another.
For most people with bleached hair, 2–3 times per week works well. If your hair is very porous or has visible brassiness, you can use it at every wash. If you find the tone going too cool (slightly violet), reduce to once or twice a week and alternate with a moisturizing bar.
The shampoo bar cleanses and tones. The conditioner bar seals in the moisture and amino acids from the rice water and protects the cuticle between washes. For bleached hair — which is porous and loses moisture quickly — using both gives you the full repair benefit. The shampoo bar alone is a meaningful upgrade over a sulfate purple shampoo, but the duo is where the real difference shows.
Yes — most people need 2–3 washes for their hair to adjust from liquid shampoo to a bar formula. During that time your hair may feel slightly different as it clears out residue from previous products. Bleached hair typically adjusts faster than untreated hair because the cuticle is already more open. Stick with it past the first wash.
Each bar lasts 60–80 washes, which is the equivalent of 2–3 bottles of liquid shampoo. The bar stays dry between uses when stored on a bamboo holder with airflow drainage, which extends its life significantly. If you are washing 2–3 times a week, one bar typically lasts 5–8 months.