I have
written about these soap sheets before. I think they were originally made for backpackers, but now they are a very appealing solution to the constant struggle with the TSA when going through security at airport. And if you are just trying to pack every thing into to one carry-on bag, these see like a great solution both weight and space-wise.
They are now being sold at many stores and online, including Flight 001, Magellan's and Target online (though for some reason they are $9.99 at Target, and 3.95-4.95 everywhere else ????) under the name soap sheets, soap leaves, paper soap, etc.
I purchased the shampoo, conditioner, and body soap sheets at
Magellan's, my new favorite online travel store, and did a trial run at home to see if they work well enough to ake them on my next trip.
Hygiene - Magellan's Travel Supplies| $9.85 Leave the shampoo bottle at home.
First I tried a sheet of the shampoo, with little success, it seemed there was not enough to clean my hair.
| $9.85 Easier to carry than a bar of soap.
With the body soap, I accidentally pulled out a couple sheets, and it worked great, giving me lots of soap after I ran water on the sheets and rubbed them together in my hands. I was finally getting the hang of it.
|
| $9.85 No need to pack a bottle of hair conditioner. One sheet of conditioner did not seem like it was making my hair silky at all.  |
After this first only semi-successful trial, I took a second look at the soap sheet dispensers, in other words, I read the directions on the back. There are amount recommendations. For instance, the shampoo (in yellow) says "Use 1-6 sheets, depending on length and thickness of hair." The 1 sheet i had used for my long hair was not enough.
I did a second trial the next day, this time with varying numbers of sheets, and had much better success. 3-4 sheets for the shampoo (do not expect a lot of suds, since this is environmentally friendly soap), 3 sheets for the conditioner, and 2 sheets for the body soap. Much better outcomes!
My thoughts on this type of product:
The toughest part is to take the sheets out of the dispenser with
dry hands, as it says on the label. This is impossible once you get in the shower unless you take a towel in the shower with you and try to thoroughly dry your hands before extracting each different type of soap. Very tough to do. The obvious solution would be to remove the sheets before you get in the water, but all the sheets look the same, so if you remove them all from the dispensers beforehand, you get in the shower and don't know which is which, plus its not like you can lay the conditioner sheets down while you use the shampoo, they will get wet or drift off with the slightest draft. It would be nice if each product was a different color, but then I guess you are adding environmentally unfriendly additives.
I found the fragrances a bit overwhelming. To be fair, I am sensitive to scents, and usually use fragrance-free products, so this might not be a problem for others. Of course, some time later I saw a
fragrance free version of the body soap at Magellan's. (Arrgh, why is this not on same page as the others?)
The best method for use seems to be to hold the sheets under a small stream of water to wet them, then rub them together in your hands to create a soapy residue to spread on your body and/or head.
Be sure to rinse very thoroughly. Combing through my hair after one of the trials, I found a tiny piece of white paper soap. Not attractive.
All in all, though the hair products do not leave my hair as silky as the home products I use, they will suffice for me on trips when between hotels with complimentary shampoo and conditioner, and when I am out on the trail.
Now I am wondering if I can replace all the liquids in my toiletries case?
Very simple to use. The 
Posted on Mon, Jul 23, 2007 by Sheila
Tips & Tricks