This Is The Way We Wash Our Hands... (Lush Bamboo Soap)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Lush Bamboo Soap
Date:	24/09/02 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant smell, Cheapest Lush soap available, Excellent value - lasts ages

Disadvantages: The bumpy bits can be a bit disconcerting at first

This is the way we wash our hands,
Wash our hands,
Wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands,
On a cold and frosty morning.

Recently the forum on the Lush website was discussing which products they wouldn’t mind being discontinued. As Lush has recently introduced a whole new batch of products, it was assumed that others would have to be dropped. I was surprised at the apparent hatred towards Bamboo soap, with lots of people naming it as one of their least favourites. As it was, the discontinued soaps from Lush are Red Rice (no great loss there), Pineapple Grunt (it’s okay, but I won’t shed any tears over its departure) and Ginger Man (I can live without it quite easily). But in case Bamboo faces the chop in the future, here’s my opinion to try to boost sales figures ;-)

Lush Bamboo soap is made in a long cylindrical shape, not a big round block. It looks rather like a long thick sausage of green playdough. When you ask for your piece to be cut off in the shop or when you order a 100g bit from the website, it will arrive in a round piece, rather like the Banana Moon soap. This can be quite easy to use, as the edges are already rounded and it won’t take long before all the edges are smooth and perfect for washing with.

Bamboo is a dark green colour, rather a pretty shade but nothing unusual. For any Lush fans with partners who aren’t keen, you might get away with passing Bamboo off as ‘something you bought from the supermarket’. It does look extraordinary, no bits inside it, it just looks like glycerine soap.

For those out there who believe all Lush products are extortionate, Bamboo costs only £1.40 for 100g. I bought mine some two months ago from the Lush shop in Bath and it is still in daily use and looks as big as ever.

Its smell is very hard to describe. I would say it’s a masculine scent – there’s certainly nothing pink, glittery
or girlie about this one. It smells slightly woody, rather like a man’s aftershave but it is very subtle, not an obvious smell. It doesn’t fill your bathroom with its fragrance at all, but it is discernible on your hands for a few minutes after washing. I think it is a very nice smell, although my favourites would be Alkmaar or I Should Coco, but it’s certainly up there somewhere.

It washes well, lathers easily and a little goes a long way. It is ideal for washing your hands as its scent seems to eradicate any nasty whiffs and the little bits of bamboo shoots (felt as slight little bumps) are apparently good for removing stains and dirt.

As with all Lush products, they are made from natural ingredients, essential oils and are not tested on animals. This one is also vegan. The smell comes from cedarleaf oil, mimosa and cassie blossom, but none of these are smells that I would know, so I can’t comment on the accuracy of this myself. Other ingredients include glycerine, vetivert oil and gardenia.

Overall, I think the Lush Bamboo soap is a very good product and one which deserves to stay around for a long while to come. It is the cheapest soap Lush make, it is attractive looking (without any weird bits), has a pleasant smell and does the job it was intended for.

*** Quick guide to which Lush soaps to buy ***

For a real girlie girl ~ I Should Coco (sweet, pink, pretty and yummy looking)

For your Gran ~ Alkmaar (pretty, flowery, looks normal) or Gavarnie (although she’ll probably put it in a vase and water it)

For Lush virgins and potential converts ~ Bohemian (nice and normal looking, lemon scented) or Milko (ordinary looking, nothing offensive or daring) or Bamboo (see above)

For old hippies ~ Karma soap (lots of patchouli)

For fans of ginger ~ Ginger Man (before it runs out!)

For fruity fans ~ Carmen Miranda (just wonderful) and Temptation (lots of
apple)

For honey fans ~ Honey Waffle (lots of honey here)

For those who are rather adventurous and like things a little different ~ Sea vegetable (lime, seaside smell, strange looking), Demon in the Dark (green and black, mint and apple, weird), Sandstone (lots of lemon and bits of sand, lovely but not conservative) or Middle Earth Turns To Rock (mud and pumice stone, but a rather beautiful smell)

For cold mornings ~ Red Rooster (orange and cinnamon, lovely)

For softer hands and body ~ Banana Moon (bananas and yoghurts, lovely and moisturising)

*** Not recommended… (but feel free to make your own minds up) ***

Sunny citrus (for fans of cheap washing up liquid smells only)
Figs and Leaves (definitely an acquired taste)
Utterly Nutterly (but then I don’t like nuts)
Red Rice (cat vomit – need I say more!)

*** The jury’s still out on…***

Pineapple grunt
Extra Virgin Olive


This opinion is Part One in a series of four.

Look out for ‘This Is The Way We Clean Our Teeth’ coming next.

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