Zero Waste, Zero Toxicity | Plastic-Free Conditioners
Hello Everyone,
I hope all is well! In today’s episode of Tress Code, we’ll be diving into plastic-free conditioners—because beautiful, nourished hair shouldn’t come at the cost of the planet. Billions of conditioner bottles end up in landfills every year, yet conditioning is one of the most important steps in haircare. The good news? You don’t need single-use plastic to get silky, healthy strands.
Plastic-free conditioners deliver all the hydration, slip, and softness your hair needs—without leaving behind waste.
Product Spotlights
Ethique GENTLE Conditioner Bar (Fragrance-Free)
Formulated for sensitive scalps, this fragrance-free bar blends cocoa butter, babassu oil, and glycerine for lightweight hydration and smoothness. One bar replaces up to five bottles, and it comes in compostable packaging.
🪮 Porosity Match: Ideal for low-porosity hair or anyone prone to buildup, since it conditions lightly without weighing strands down.
HiBAR Moisturize Conditioner Bar (Fragrance-Free)
Made with coconut oil, rice protein, and cocoa butter, this bar delivers deep hydration—perfect for dry, frizzy, or color-treated hair. Vegan, cruelty-free, and free from silicones, parabens, and sulfates, each bar lasts as long as 2–3 liquid bottles. Packaged in compostable cardboard with vegetable-based inks.
🪮 Porosity Match: Best for high-porosity hair, which tends to lose moisture quickly and benefits from richer, replenishing formulas.
Plaine Products Refillable Conditioner
Housed in sleek aluminum bottles with a refill-return system, Plaine Products offers a plant-based conditioner made with aloe, shea butter, mango butter, and fruit extracts. Their refill loop eliminates single-use plastic while keeping your hair soft, smooth, and tangle-free.
🪮 Porosity Match: Suits medium-porosity hair or mixed-porosity routines—hydrating enough for dry ends, but not too heavy for balanced strands.
Everist Deep Conditioning Concentrate
Packaged in a sleek recyclable aluminum tube, this paste-like formula activates with water in the shower, creating a rich conditioner that feels like the traditional kind—without the plastic. Enriched with castor oil, shea butter, and aloe vera, it’s specifically designed for extra hydration and repair. Biodegradable, vegan, cruelty-free, and silicone-free, one 100ml tube replaces up to 3 bottles of liquid conditioner.
🪮 Porosity Match: A strong choice for high-porosity hair or strands needing intensive care (heat-treated, bleached, or very dry).
Tress Code Tip
Conditioner = Deep Conditioner
In my post Tress Code | Are A Conditioner and Deep Conditioner the Same Thing?, I explained that the difference isn’t the formula—it’s the method.
Quick rinse (1–2 minutes): everyday conditioner
Extended leave-in (10–15 minutes): deep conditioner
That means your plastic-free conditioners can double as deep treatments. One product, two routines, zero extra waste.
Porosity 101 Refresher
Not sure what “porosity” means? It’s all about how your hair absorbs and retains moisture:
Low Porosity → Cuticle layers are tight, making it harder for moisture to penetrate. Works best with lightweight formulas that won’t sit on top.
Medium Porosity → The “balanced” state—hair absorbs and holds hydration fairly easily. Most conditioners work well here.
High Porosity → Cuticle layers are more open (from genetics, heat, or color treatments), so hair soaks up moisture quickly but also loses it fast. Needs richer, reparative formulas.
Matching conditioner type to your porosity can maximize results—and help you get the most out of your plastic-free swap.
🔗 Want to dive deeper? Check out Tress Code | The Quench and Seal Duo for Your Porosity for a full breakdown of serums and oils that support hydration and retention.
Final Thoughts
Switching to a plastic-free conditioner is a small swap that creates a big impact. From solid bars like Ethique and HiBAR to refillable systems like Plaine Products, these options prove that you don’t have to choose between healthy hair and a healthy planet.
Have you tried a plastic-free conditioner yet? Drop your experience in the comments—I’d love to hear what worked for your hair type and porosity. If you found this episode helpful, don’t forget to share it with a friend who’s ready to make the switch. And for more deep dives into sustainable haircare, subscribe so you never miss a Tress Code update.
