Being Seen, Heard, and Hair-Obsessed on the Be S.H.E. Podcast
When Heidi Schalk invited me onto the Be S.H.E. Podcast to talk about Dip, I knew we were going to get into way more than shampoo bars. Her show is all about women being seen, heard, and empowered, and that is exactly how this conversation felt.
We talked about hair, plastic, fake marketing, motherhood, burnout, and what it really takes to build a sustainable, plastic free hair care brand that actually works on real heads of hair in the real world.
I wanted to share a recap here for anyone who prefers reading or found Dip through Heidi and is curious about the story behind the bars.
Why I Built Dip: Hair First, Plastic Free Always
On the show, Heidi asked the question I get all the time:
Did you create Dip because you had a hair problem, or because you just love hair?
The truth is both.
I am completely obsessed with hair. I have a Pinterest board called Hair Plans that has basically been going for a decade. I have done it all: blonde, silver, purple, micro braids, a purple beehive in New York City with a leather jacket and a white tee. When someone walks in with a great haircut, I instantly want to know everything about them. Hair is personality.
At the same time, back in 2014 I fell down the rabbit hole of endocrine disruptors, microplastics, and what plastic is really doing to aquatic life and human health. That was before “microplastics” became a daily headline. I tried every shampoo bar and conditioner bar I could find and felt the same thing over and over:
They were so focused on being plastic free that they forgot about the people who actually love hair.
The conditioners had no slip, no luxury feel, no joy. I would end up with a graveyard of sad little bars in my shower and then reach for my shiny plastic bottle of Oribe. That disconnect is what birthed Dip.
I did not want to sell sustainability with a side of disappointment. I wanted to create salon quality plastic free hair care that a hair snob would use proudly and repeatedly, not just once out of guilt.
How Dip Is Different From Other Shampoo and Conditioner Bars
On the Be S.H.E. Podcast, we got into what makes Dip different from all the other bars out there.
I worked with a chemist who had formulated for the brands you see in salons and prestige beauty retailers. I asked him to help me build the best plastic free shampoo and conditioner bars we could possibly make, with three non negotiables:
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High performance first
I wanted the same luxury slip you get from brands like Oribe, Kerastase, and Pureology. That silky, “I can rake my fingers through my hair in the shower” feeling. No waxy, sticky residue. No greasy “I just washed it but it looks dirty” finish. Just truly great hair. -
Science plus earth friendly chemistry
Dip is not “all natural,” and that is very intentional. I wanted hair care that works for all hair types, from fine and straight to kinky, coily type 4 curls, while still respecting the planet. I am not scared of smart, modern, biodegradable ingredients. I am scared of people buying a bar once, hating it, and going right back to plastic for the rest of their lives. -
One bar for all hair types
We went through about 40 iterations and tested with a panel of around 400 people with every hair type from 1A to 4C. My goal was simple and stubborn: one conditioner bar for all hair types, in multiple scents, so curly girls are not stuck with whatever “curl” scent a brand decides they deserve.
The result is the Dip conditioner bar that has sort of become my magnum opus. It is intentionally big. For most people, it lasts close to a year.
For me, one bar replaced 12 tubes of Oribe Gold Lust.
If you run the math, that is hundreds of dollars saved on luxury conditioner, plus a whole lot of plastic bottles that never had to exist.
That performance is what helped Dip become Oprah’s 2025 number one pick for curly hair, which still blows my tiny team of seven away.
Plastic Free Hair Care That Fits Real Life
A big theme of our conversation on the Be S.H.E. Podcast was the reality of life.
Women want to do the right thing for the planet, but they also need convenience, performance, and products that feel good in the shower.
So we designed Dip to solve the real life “icks.”
The conditioner that actually lasts
Yes, the Dip conditioner bar is 32 dollars.
Most people only buy it once a year. Some get eight months if they have big curls and some stretch it close to two years. If you are someone who normally buys salon conditioner every few weeks, that is serious savings, both in money and in plastic.
Storage that is not gross
If you have used bar hair care, you know the storage struggle. Messy dishes, soggy bars, weird puddles in the corner of the tub. My husband and I had seen it all.
So we created a patented Dip shower rack system that solves the ick. It is designed to help your bars dry fast, stay clean, and last longer. We even patented it globally because we genuinely think it is the best way to store bars.
We usually tell people to try the bars first, make sure they love them, and then grab the rack when they are ready to fully commit.
Scented and scent free for every situation
We offer seven different scents plus completely unscented options across the line.
The unscented products matter a lot to me. They serve people who are:
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Going through IVF
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Immunocompromised or in cancer treatment
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Working in fragrance free environments such as nurses, estheticians, teachers
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Hunters and others who cannot wear scent in certain settings
On the podcast, we laughed about the fact that I originally created fragrance free hair and body care for fertility and health reasons, then learned we had a niche following among hunters because animals can smell everything.
Real life is wild like that.
Built With Small Stores, Not Fake Influencers
One of the core values I talked about with Heidi is how Dip chooses to grow.
We did not launch with big ad budgets or “as seen on TikTok” hype. We started by putting Dip where plastic free curious shoppers were already going:
refill shops, zero waste stores, and eco minded salons across the country.
When everyone else went digital, I went analog.
I picked up the phone. I walked into stores. I mailed samples. I told retailers, “If these are not the best bars you have ever tried, I will go away. If they are, please put them on your shelves.”
Store owners literally called me from their towel after a shower to say, “I cannot believe the slip.”
That boots on the ground, word of mouth growth is still how Dip spreads. We have sold millions of dollars worth of plastic free shampoo and conditioner bars without relying on the paid ad machine.
And while the world is flooded with fake AI influencers, burner UGC accounts, and digital noise, we stay rooted in:
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Real customers
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Real reviews
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Real small business partners
If you ever doubt whether Dip is as good as I say, you can use our store locator on dipalready.com, walk into a local shop, and ask a real human what they think.
Bootstrapped During Chaos, Built To Last
Heidi also pulled back the curtain on the money question that many people are afraid to ask.
Dip was not created with big outside funding. My husband and I both worked in the beauty industry. During Covid, we found ourselves at home with two little kids, no childcare, and a lot of uncertainty.
We worked at night while the kids slept and consulted during the day. I scraped together 40 thousand dollars, negotiated smartly with our contract manufacturer, and used that to launch Dip.
That 40k turned into a multimillion dollar, plastic free hair care brand that now supports:
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A factory in the United States
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A small team
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Hundreds of independent refill stores and salons that carry Dip and rely on the revenue
Being named New Jersey Mompreneur of the Year felt like a love letter to every late night, every sample batch, and every order packed while a kid asked for a snack off camera.
Where To Listen And Where To Find Dip
Be S.H.E. Podcast with Heidi Schalk.
You will hear us talk openly about:
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Building sustainable hair care without sacrificing performance
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Why one conditioner bar for all hair types can replace a shelf full of bottles
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How to think about your own “icks” in business and solve them before your customers feel them
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Why I believe the future belongs to small stores, honest marketing, and real community
Then, if you are ready to try plastic free shampoo and conditioner bars that are actually salon quality, here is where to go:
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Shop online: dipalready.com
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Find a local store: use the store locator on our site to support a refill shop or salon near you
Whether you are a surfer, a shower minimalist, a curly girl, a runner, a salon regular, or just tired of a recycling bin full of empty plastic bottles, I made Dip with you in mind.
Hair first. Plastic free always.
