Wholesale shampoo bars for salons, spas and hotels: what to check before you order

Solid shampoo bars used to be a niche product. Now they sit on salon counters, in spa treatment rooms and in hotel bathrooms, for a simple reason: there is no bottle. Several US states have banned the small plastic bottles hotels used to leave in every room, and salons and spas want a retail product that cannot leak in a client's bag.

This guide covers what to check before you buy in bulk, what each type of business needs, and how we supply Saebom bars.

Why hotels are moving away from small bottles

• California: since 1 January 2023 for hotels with more than 50 rooms, and since 1 January 2024 for all others, lodging establishments cannot provide small plastic bottles of shampoo and other personal care products, except on request.
• New York: since 1 January 2025 for hotels with 50 rooms or more, and since 1 January 2026 for smaller ones, small plastic bottles under 12 ounces are banned.
• Illinois: since 1 July 2025 for hotels with 50 rooms or more, and since 1 January 2026 for all hotels, small single-use plastic bottles of personal care products are banned in rooms; guests can still ask for them.

Refillable dispensers are one answer. Solid bars are another: nothing to refill, and no bottle at all.

What to check before you order

1. The price per bar, delivered and duty paid. It is the only way to compare two suppliers, because shipping and import duties can change the real cost.
2. The minimum order. Ask for it in bars, not in cartons.
3. The full ingredient list (INCI) and the product documentation, before you pay. Spas and salons need it for clients with sensitive scalps.
4. A sample. Use it yourself for a week before you put it in front of clients.
5. The lead time, in writing. A date on the quote beats an estimate on a call.
6. The packaging. Boxed bars sell on a shelf; unboxed bars suit a treatment room.
7. Shelf life and storage. A dry bar keeps for years, but any solid bar softens in standing water, so plan a draining dish wherever it is used.
8. Your branding. Can your name go on a card or on the box, and from how many units?

Salons and barbershops

A bar is an easy add-on at the counter: one product, one size, nothing to spill in a handbag. It sells best when the stylist shows it at the basin and explains the routine in one sentence: lather it in the hands, massage the foam into the scalp for two minutes, rinse. Clients who like the wash buy the bar on their way out.

Spas

In a treatment room, the bar is lathered in the hands or in a foaming net, then massaged into the scalp. After the treatment, the same bar can be offered for sale, so the client takes the ritual home. A draining dish next to the basin keeps it firm between clients.

Hotels

Be honest about the format. A 120 g bar at 12 to 15 USD is a retail-size product. It fits suites, spa rooms, welcome gifts and the boutique shelf better than a one-night amenity in every room. Guests can take it home, it travels as a solid, and it leaves no bottle behind.

Supplying salons, spas and hotels with Saebom

Saebom makes a solid scalp-care shampoo bar, 120 g, with 17 botanicals, made in China by a specialised cosmetics laboratory. For wholesale orders:

• From 50 bars, at 12 to 15 USD a bar depending on quantity, delivered and duty paid.
• Your card printed and included from 50 units; the box in your colours from 500, with six weeks from artwork approval.
• A firm quote within one business day, valid 30 days. Half to confirm, half before shipping.
• Delivery by air in 12 to 15 days, duty paid, with nothing to pay on arrival.
• One sample bar, posted at our cost.
• The full ingredient list and product documentation, sent on request before you order.

We already deliver to 17 countries. For salons, we are building our salon programme with a handful of partners: ask us.

See wholesale terms · Questions: wholesale@trysaebom.com

Questions we get

Can hotels still provide small shampoo bottles?

Not in rooms in California, New York and Illinois, where small plastic bottles of personal care products are banned; California and Illinois still allow them on request. Check the rules in your own state.

What is the minimum order for Saebom wholesale?

50 bars. From 50, your card goes in each box; from 500, the box itself carries your colours.

Can we see the full ingredient list before ordering?

Yes. We send the full ingredient list and the product documentation on request, before you order.

How should a salon or spa store shampoo bars?

Dry, between uses, on a draining dish. Like any solid bar, it softens if it sits in water.

Sources: California AB 1162 (2019); New York Senate bill S7825 (2021, dates as amended); Illinois Public Act 103-0934.