Belgian Nuns Are Selling The World’s First Trappist Beer Shampoo

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Did you ever wonder why — if Trappist Belgian monks make the best beer in the world and European nuns brewed though the Middle Ages and beyond — no Trappist convents currently brew beer? While they still don’t brew, the Trappistines of the Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth in Brecht, Belgium, have partnered with the brothers at Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Heart of Westmalle to make what may be the world’s first Trappist ale shampoo.

Following a Benedictine order, these nuns have supported their order through manual labor since the monks of Westmalle established it in 1964. For 55 years the sisters made and sold dish detergents, followed by shampoo, bath foam, hand bar soap and floor soap. They recently decided to review their product line and, with the help of the Meurice Institute in Brussels, decided to make a shampoo that consists of 10% Westmalle Dubbel, brewed three miles away.

“Older sisters remembered that in the past beer was used to curl hair and to make hair more shiny,” said Sister Katharina, the Abbess of Our Lady of Nazareth, in a statement. “The combination of two wonderfully foaming products turned out to be a match.”

Sister Katharina says in the study commissioned by the sisters, the Meurice Institute, “showed that there are many advantages (to beer shampoo) thanks to the polyphenols, trace elements, vitamins and minerals in the beer. They stimulate the natural volume of the hair and make it shiny.”

Just three sisters directly contribute to production and sales, though almost half of the other sisters cooperate in tasks from accounting to folding boxes. The convent’s products sell under the name “Trapp” and come packaged in black and white to mirror their habits. It’s lightly scented so it shouldn’t cause users to come under suspicion for drinking when they should be working.

The shampoo costs 8.9 euros ($10) for a 33 cl (11 oz.) bottle and sells on their newly updated website.