Oily Roots, Dry Ends? A Deep Dive into Our Balancing Haircare Set

When we talk about the ingredients in a shampoo bar, it is very easy to focus only on the more exciting-sounding additions: the oils, botanical powders and essential oils.

But every ingredient has a job to do, and the ingredient doing the real heavy lifting in a shampoo bar is its cleansing base.

Today, I wanted to take you right inside our BALANCING Shampoo and Conditioner Bars (previous known as Dagda)—starting with what actually cleans your hair, before looking at the ingredients that help leave it feeling soft, manageable and balanced.

What does “balancing” mean?

The Balancing range was created for hair that cannot quite decide what it wants to be.

You might find that your roots become oily quite quickly while your lengths and ends still feel dry. Your hair may feel heavy or need washing frequently, but using an overly harsh shampoo can leave it feeling stripped, rough or even oilier again soon afterwards.

The aim of Balancing is not to remove every trace of oil from your hair and scalp. It is to cleanse effectively while including conditioning and softening ingredients that help care for the rest of the hair.

That balance begins with the shampoo’s base.

SCI: the ingredient that actually cleans your hair

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate—or SCI—is the primary cleansing ingredient in the Balancing Shampoo Bar.

SCI is a solid surfactant, which means it allows water to mix with oils, dirt and product build-up so they can be rinsed away. It produces the creamy, generous lather people often do not expect from a shampoo bar.

It is sometimes referred to as “baby foam” because it is known for creating a milder, creamier cleansing experience than many more aggressive surfactants. It allows us to make a concentrated, water-free shampoo bar that cleans properly without being traditional soap.

That distinction is important. Balancing is a pH-balanced solid shampoo—not a bar of soap being used on the hair.

A shampoo that conditions while it cleans

Cleansing is only one part of the Balancing formula. Several ingredients are included to help counteract that stripped or squeaky feeling that can come from harsher shampoos.

Baobab seed oil

Baobab oil is pressed from the seeds of the African baobab tree. It is rich in fatty acids and is included to help soften and condition the hair.

This is particularly useful in a balancing shampoo because oily roots do not necessarily mean that the entire length of the hair needs strong cleansing. Baobab oil helps us care for the drier sections while the SCI cleanses the scalp and roots.

Cetearyl alcohol

Despite the name, cetearyl alcohol is not a drying alcohol.

It is a fatty alcohol that gives the bar structure while contributing slip and softness. It helps the shampoo move through the hair more smoothly and makes the finished formula feel creamier and more conditioning.

Behentrimonium methosulfate

Behentrimonium methosulfate—or BTMS—is a conditioning ingredient. It helps reduce friction between the strands, making the hair feel smoother and easier to manage.

The word “sulfate” within its name can cause confusion, but BTMS is not a cleansing sulfate such as SLS. It is used for its conditioning and detangling properties.

Cocoa butter and stearic acid

Cocoa butter adds richness to the shampoo and helps soften the hair, while stearic acid helps create a firm, long-lasting bar.

Together, they contribute to Balancing's solid structure and its creamy feel during use.

Panthenol

Panthenol is also known as provitamin B5. It is a humectant, meaning it helps attract and retain moisture.

In haircare, it is used to support softness, improve manageability and help the hair appear smoother and shinier. It is one of those less visually exciting ingredients that plays a very practical role in how the hair feels after washing.

The ingredients behind Balancing's identity

Once we have a cleanser that can wash the hair and a conditioning base that helps protect its softness, we can look at the ingredients that give Balancing its distinctive character.

French green clay

French green clay is naturally absorbent. It helps lift excess oil and impurities, which makes it particularly suitable for roots that become oily or hair that quickly starts to feel heavy.

It is not there to aggressively strip the scalp. It works as part of the complete formulation alongside the bar’s oils, butter and conditioning ingredients.

Spirulina

Spirulina gives Balancing its beautiful natural green character and brings a mineral- and nutrient-rich botanical element to the formula.

Because shampoo is a rinse-off product, I am always cautious about making dramatic claims about botanical powders. Spirulina is not a miracle ingredient that transforms the hair by itself. It is one carefully chosen component within a much bigger, properly balanced formulation.

Lemongrass, eucalyptus and tea tree

This essential-oil blend gives Balancing its clean, fresh and uplifting scent.

Lemongrass brings the bright citrus note, eucalyptus creates that unmistakably fresh feeling, and tea tree adds depth to the blend. Together, they make Balancing feel especially refreshing on the scalp without leaving the hair smelling overpowering.

What does the conditioner add?

Although the Balancing Shampoo Bar already contains conditioning ingredients, the conditioner has a different job.

The shampoo’s priority is still cleansing. The Balancing Conditioner Bar is designed to provide more concentrated softness, slip and detangling—particularly through the lengths and ends.

Cetearyl alcohol and BTMS

These form the heart of the conditioner bar.

Cetearyl alcohol provides body, creaminess and softness, while BTMS coats and conditions the hair. Together, they help reduce friction and make wet hair easier to detangle.

This combination is why a solid conditioner can feel silky on the hair even though it may not create a thick, visible coating in your hands.

Castor oil

Castor oil is a rich, heavier oil used here for conditioning and shine. It helps soften the hair and is especially useful on dry or coarse ends.

The conditioner should be applied mainly through the mid-lengths and ends, so you can benefit from that richness without weighing down roots that become oily more quickly.

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter adds further softness and helps protect the lengths and ends from feeling dry.

It also contributes to the solid structure of the bar, allowing us to create a concentrated conditioner without packaging it in a plastic bottle.

Coco-caprylate/caprate

Coco-caprylate/caprate is a lightweight emollient that improves slip and helps the hair feel smoother.

It is sometimes used in natural formulations as an alternative to the silky feel people associate with silicones. It helps the conditioner spread through the hair without making the finished result excessively heavy.

Oat kernel flour

Finely ground oat kernel flour is included for its soothing, softening character. It complements the richer oils and butter while contributing to the gentle feel of the conditioner.

Panthenol

Just as it does in the shampoo, panthenol helps support moisture, softness and manageability. Including it in both steps makes sense for hair that needs effective cleansing at the roots without neglecting drier lengths and ends.

Who is the Balancing range set for?

The Balancing Shampoo and Conditioner Set may be a good choice if:

• Your roots become oily faster than your ends
• Your hair feels heavy or develops build-up easily
• Your lengths still need softness and conditioning
• You want a fresh, clean-smelling haircare routine
• You need effective cleansing but dislike a harsh, stripped feeling
• You have not used shampoo and conditioner bars before and don't know where to start, the Balancing range is nearly guaranteed to give you a good first experience.

If your hair and scalp are extremely dry or sensitive to essential oils another set may suit you better. The Balancing range contains lemongrass, eucalyptus and tea tree oils, so our unscented Calming range may be the better place to begin if fragrance is a concern.

How to use the set

Wet your hair and the shampoo bar thoroughly. Glide the bar over the roots a few times, then use your fingertips to work the lather through the scalp.

You do not need to scrub the shampoo bar into the ends. When you rinse, the lather will travel through the lengths and clean them without unnecessary rubbing.

Follow with the conditioner bar, concentrating mainly on the mid-lengths and ends. Glide the wet bar directly over the hair, then work the conditioner through with your hands. Leave it for a moment before rinsing well.

If your roots become oily easily, avoid applying the conditioner directly to the scalp.

More than a few hero ingredients

The Balancing range contains French green clay, spirulina and baobab oil, but no single ingredient is responsible for the finished result.

It works because the entire formula has been considered: SCI to cleanse, clay to help with excess oil, conditioning ingredients to improve softness and slip, and carefully selected oils and butter to look after the lengths.

That is what “balancing” means to me—not stripping all the oil from your hair, but giving each part of it the care it actually needs.

Complete the routine with the Balancing Body Wash

If you love the fresh lemongrass and eucalyptus scent of the Balancing haircare set, you can now carry it through the rest of your shower with our matching Balancing Body Wash Bar.

The body wash has its own formula created specifically for cleansing the skin. Unlike our pH-balanced shampoo bar, it is a traditional handmade soap made by combining carefully selected oils and butters with lye through a process called saponification. Once that process is complete, the oils have been transformed into soap.

Olive oil

Saponified olive oil forms the gentle, conditioning foundation of the bar. It produces a softer, creamier lather and helps prevent the finished soap from feeling unnecessarily harsh on the skin.

Coconut oil

Saponified coconut oil contributes cleansing power and helps the bar produce its generous, bubbly lather. It is carefully balanced with the more conditioning oils and butters in the formula.

Shea butter

Shea butter adds richness and creaminess to the soap. Once saponified, it helps create a firm bar with a more conditioning feel during washing.

Castor oil

Castor oil supports the lather, helping to make it creamier and more stable rather than allowing the bubbles to disappear immediately.

Sweet almond oil

Sweet almond oil complements the olive oil and shea butter, contributing to the mild, conditioning character of the finished bar.

Spirulina

Spirulina gives the Balancing Body Wash its naturally distinctive green colour and connects it with the botanical identity of the matching shampoo bar.

The finely powdered spirulina also gives the bar an ever-so-slight natural texture, creating a gently invigorating, scrub-like sensation as the bar moves across the skin—without making it a heavily exfoliating body wash.

Lemongrass and eucalyptus

Lemongrass and eucalyptus essential oils create the same bright, clean and refreshing fragrance found throughout the Balancing range.

The result is a complete lemongrass-and-eucalyptus shower routine, with each product formulated for its own particular job: shampoo for cleansing the hair and scalp, conditioner for softness and detangling, and body wash for cleansing the skin.