Ethique vs HiBAR Shampoo Bars

	Ethique	HiBAR
Price per bar	$14	$14.95
Bar weight	110 g / 3.9 oz	Not stated
Published washes	Hydrating: 80+ average	Not published
Cost per wash	Hydrating: $0.175 or less	Not published
Bottle equivalent	As long as three bottles	Two big bottles (copy); at least 16 oz or 24 oz (FAQ)
Fragrance-free bar	Gentle (no added fragrance or essential oils)	Fragrance-Free Moisturize
Curl bar	Curl-Defining (lemongrass and coconut scent)	Curl (unscented version offered)
Packaging	Home-compostable	Recyclable cardboard, no plastic
Sulfate wording	Hydrating and Clarifying lists include Sodium Coco-Sulfate	States no sulfates

Verdict: Ethique if you want the weight and wash count to compare against. HiBAR if the exclusion list matters most to you.

• Price and size: $14 for 110 g, which is $12.73 per 100 g. HiBAR's per-gram price cannot be calculated.
• A single published wash average: 80+ for the hydrating bar, enough for a per-wash figure of $0.175 or less (cost per wash).
• Breadth: the bars checked cover hydrating, curl-defining, clarifying, purple and fragrance-free needs, each with a full ingredient list on the page.
• Packaging claim: home-compostable, stated on the Hydrating page.

• Exclusions: HiBAR lists what its bars omit: sulfates, parabens, phthalates, PEGs, ethanolamines, silicone, synthetic fragrance, artificial preservatives and dyes.
• Unscented options: a fragrance-free Moisturize bar, and an unscented Curl bar.
• A volume bar for fine hair with a published assay cited (up to 20% more volume after one use, Jan 2024, per HiBAR).
• Trial and travel: a shampoo bar sampler at $10.95 and a travel pouch at $8.95.

The two brands phrase it differently, and the difference is visible in the lists.

• HiBAR states no sulfates on its Moisturize, Volumize and Fragrance-Free pages (the Curl page says without harsh sulfates), and the Moisturize list contains none.
• Ethique's Hydrating page says the bar is free from sulfates in its description, while its published list includes Sodium Coco-Sulfate; the Clarifying list includes it too. Its Gentle, Curl-Defining and Purple lists do not.

If avoiding sulfates matters, read the full list before buying rather than a headline. Soap-based vs syndet explains how the surfactant base is usually described.

Ethique: 80+ average washes for Hydrating; as long as three bottles for other bars. HiBAR: its Moisturize page gives two big bottles in the copy and at least a 16 oz bottle in the FAQ; its Curl FAQ says at least a 24 oz bottle; its Fragrance-Free page says two 24 oz bottles. On a break-even basis, HiBAR's range is $7.48 per 24 oz bottle at best and $14.95 per 24 oz bottle at worst. Ethique's is $4.67 per bottle at its three-bottle claim. See how long a shampoo bar lasts.

Add Kitsch for rice protein and a published wash ceiling (Kitsch vs Ethique, Kitsch vs HiBAR). Add Chagrin Valley or J.R. Liggett's for soap-based bars at lower prices per 100 g. See best shampoo bars.

The ingredient lists show where the two brands diverge beyond sulfates. Ethique's lists lean on stearic acid, cocoa and shea butter, betaine, behentrimonium methosulfate and, on some bars, sodium cocoyl glycinate. HiBAR's Moisturize list leans on coconut oil, stearic acid, cetearyl and cetyl alcohols, behentrimonium methosulfate, polyquaternium 7, panthenol and glyceryl stearate. Both use sodium cocoyl isethionate as a base. The difference is on paper only; neither brand compares its bar against the other.

Both describe their bars as vegan and cruelty-free on the pages reviewed. Ethique states home-compostable packaging on its Hydrating page. HiBAR states recyclable cardboard packaging and says it makes the bars at its own facility, naming St. Paul, MN on the Moisturize page and Minneapolis on the Curl page, so check the current address if provenance matters to you. HiBAR publishes no bar weight on the pages reviewed, while Ethique gives 110 g.