The ladies from Bar Up

Words by Katie Harris

Lauren and Charlotte at the Nifty Markets

Climate change is pretty scary. And with sea levels rising faster than our student loans it often feels like you can’t make a difference. Across the nation- and the world, students are rising up and taking a stand for the environment. When even mother earth can’t save us, it can all seem pretty overwhelming.

But there is hope.

Despite the barrage of negative news, each day there are new eco-friendly initiatives and businesses popping up. Conscious ladies Lauren Dennehy and Charlotte Skelton are the dynamic duo behind Bar Up. The pair have made a conscious decision not to resign themselves to inaction and instead focus on making eco-friendly, economical.

They girls create sustainable shampoo bars at student-friendly prices.

Shampoo bars are a nexus of practicality and sustainability. These humble little blocks of bubbles have recently exploded in popularity. However, like many sustainable products, the price of shampoo bars can make them seemingly unreachable for the average consumer. After dabbling in Shampoo bars for six months the pair decided to create their own. Lauren had recently completed a soap making course in Bali, and with Charlotte on board, the pair began making their own.

Lauren and Charlotte didn’t set out to start a company, but after their first few batches the duo already had orders coming in. “Then we just thought about selling them to our mates as well to fund our shampoo bars, we’re not making crazy profits or thinking about quitting out of our degrees to make shampoo bars,” Charlotte said.

Alongside reducing plastic waste, shampoo bars are extremely concentrated, therefore requiring less water to produce. Traditional shampoo contains around 80 to 90 percent water. They’re not just trendy, they’re economical. Shampoo bars last up to three times as long as a standard shampoo bottle. “We just want to encourage more people, who are at uni like us, who don’t have a lot of money but do care about the environment to get on board and make the switch.” Said Charlotte.

Bar Up shampoo cost $6 a bar or two for $10. Comparatively, Ethique, another New Zealand based ethical beauty brand, sells their shampoo bars for $22.

One thing is clear, if you’re not already using a shampoo bar- you should be.