Making a trip every blue moon to the hairdressers to get my ends trimmed is always a nightmare for me. I dread the inevitable telling off I'm going to receive as soon as I've parked my behind in the chair. My hair is pretty darn damaged through overuse of blow-drying and straighteners. I have naturally wild and frizzy hair, which means I have to style my hair using heat if I want to leave the house with hair that looks anything other than the untamed orphan street urchin character it truly is! After my last scolding in the salon chair over my hair being so brittle and fine from damage, I hot footed it over to my favourite bath and body store to see what they could do for me. Since that day, I've never looked back!

If you are not aware of who Lush are (where have you been?), they are a company that produce a vast range of bath and body products that are as eco-friendly and natural as possible. Lush have a strict 'no animal testing' policy, meaning that they do not test their products on animals, nor do they use ingredients which have been tested on animals. Lush are dedicated to using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients in their products. They also work hard to source ingredients that are either fair trade from overseas growers, or locally grown and organic to pack into their luxurious, world and body friendly products. Lush do their bit in being eco-friendly by using as little packaging as possible, and the necessary packaging that they do use is all recycled and recyclable! If you want to find out more about Lush and their mission to keep the world happy, you can visit their website at www.lush.co.uk.

The "American Cream" conditioner is made by Lush, therefore can only be purchased from Lush direct. No other shops stock this product, so please don't go looking for it elsewhere. There are three ways in which you can make a purchase from Lush: in store, online or via mail order. If you are lucky enough to live near a Lush store, you can simply pay a visit to the helpful folks there and pick up this product in store. You will find this "American Cream" conditioner sitting amongst the other conditioners that Lush has to offer in its 'Hair Care' section. If you aren't as fortunate as some of us and don't have a Lush store nearby, do not fear! Lush also have an online web store at which you can purchase all their current available products: www.lush.co.uk. Lush also offer a mail order service, by which you can place an order over the telephone with one of their friendly mail order staff. To speak with one of the mail order team about their products and placing an order, simply call: 01202 668 545.

As far as price goes, I think that a lot of people will be put off initially by how much this product costs, but I can assure you it is worth every penny. "American Cream" comes in three different sized bottles, with three prices to suit (almost) every pocket. The 100g bottle is priced at £4.25, the 250g bottle costs £8.50 and the 500g bottle is £13.50. Obviously, the bigger the bottle you purchase, the more you save. I first purchased the 100g bottle to try this product out, and it lasted me around two months with almost daily use. I then moved onto the 500g bottle as I loved this product so much, and so far it has been in use for over 6 months and I still have around a third of the bottle left. A little of this product really does go a long way!

When I first used the "American Cream" conditioner, I expected it to be a thick and heavy product due to it being a double strength formula, so was greatly surprised when it came out of the bottle with ease. The conditioner is light and creamy, making it pleasant to work with in comparison to other super strength conditioners that I have tried that have had a greasy, thick consistency. The conditioner is a creamy-white in colour and has a smooth texture between the fingers. The product is thin enough to spread and works over the hair with ease, but thick enough to cling to the hair and remain in place without dripping all over the show once applied. I love the consistency of this product as a little goes a long way, meaning that I generally only have to use a blob the size of a twenty pence piece to produce decent coverage for two thirds of my past-the-shoulder length hair.

I'm a little fussy when it comes to how hair care products smell, especially conditioners. As conditioner products cling to the hair and are absorbed, the scent usually sticks around for quite some time after being applied. Nobody wants to endure foul smelling hair, so I'm usually swayed into trying out a conditioner that I wouldn't mind catching a whiff of with every swish of my locks. Imagine, if you will, Lush whipped up the most delicious vanilla cake batter you could ever imagine, and just before putting the batter into the cake cases, they sucked out all the heavenly batter scent and bottled it up. That is exactly how "American Cream" smells. The label on the bottle states that this is a strawberries and cream scented product, but I'm not entirely convinced. The cream part, oh yes, it's all there. The strawberries however, they seem to be lacking. Perhaps the strawberries are just hanging around in the background, being shy and retiring, possibly unwilling to share their sweet berry scent with me. Perhaps my nose just isn't willing to accept anything other than the smell of delicious cake batter. Whatever it is, I don't pick up the strawberry part of the advertised scent at all. Am I disappointed? Hell no! Creamy, deep, rich, divine vanilla scent is enough to make me hand over my dosh and sniff my hair every five seconds after using this product. The best thing about the scent of this product is that it is long lasting and will linger on your locks for at least 24 hours, so go ahead and give your hair a good swish as you pass people by to make heads turn at how delicious you smell. This is the closest you are ever going to get to using a New York cheesecake as a hair product without actually rubbing one on your head, and I'm absolutely fine with that.

Looking through the ingredients list for this product is like reading a shopping list for whipping up a batch of heaven. Vanilla, honey, strawberries, oranges? Yes please! The honey water used in "American Cream" conditioner helps to lock moisture into the hair and also acts as a mild, slow-release antiseptic to treat and heal the scalp. The vanilla in this product comes in two forms - vanilla pod infusion and vanilla absolute. Vanilla not only smells wonderful, but is also a humectant - a substance that helps to retain moisture. The vanilla in "American Cream" will keep your hair smelling delicious, feeling super soft and looking wonderfully glossy. Oranges and strawberries are used in "American Cream" as they are packed full of vitamin C and nutrients which help to cleanse and condition the hair, soothe the scalp and leave your locks tangle free and glossy. Both claryl sage oil and lavender are included in "American Cream" as they are well known for their antibacterial and soothing properties, which will help to calm your scalp and heal any dry or angry spots. All in all, "American Cream" is jam packed full of wonderful ingredients which work together in harmony to nurse your scalp back to health and leave your hair feeling and looking as healthy as can be.

Even though the "American Cream" is a double strength conditioner, you simply use it the way you would any other conditioner product. No extra faffing around is necessary. Once your hair has been washed with the shampoo of your choice and rinsed clean, simply smooth a small blob of this product over your hair and leave it to work its magic for at least 5 minutes before rinsing out thoroughly. In terms of my own personal conditioning routine, I generally only apply conditioner to the underneath and ends of my hair, as those are the driest areas that need targeting the most. I leave the conditioner in my hair whilst doing the rest of my shower routine (generally 10 - 15 minutes), then rinse out as the final act before exiting the shower. I occasionally apply conditioner the top and roots of my hair, around once a week, as I find that conditioning those areas frequently (with any conditioning product) only works against the natural balance of my hair and causes it to become greasy rather quickly after washing.

Once all surface traces of the "American Cream" conditioner has been rinsed out thoroughly, my hair always feels smooth to the touch when still wet and a comb can be passed through with great ease. No tangles here! Even tangles that occur during blow drying are combed out easily and pain free. "American Cream" leaves my hair feeling soft and silky after both natural air drying or with the aid of the hair dryer. The condition of my hair has greatly improved since I started using this product, and my hair is always left manageable and looking glossy after use. Sometimes I find that my hair feels greasy when left to dry naturally after using other conditioning products, but "American Cream" simply leaves my hair feeling light and soft. I did worry that this product would leave my hair feeling heavy and lank due to its double strength properties, but the results were completely the opposite.

Overall, this "American Cream" conditioner is an absolute God send. This is one of my favourite products from Lush, not only because of its delicious scent, but because of how well it works. My hair has been severely damaged over time from hair dye and heated styling which has left it completely wild, brittle, angry and dry. "American Cream" works to soothe and repair my tired, battered locks and nurse them back to health. As I stated earlier, I was seriously surprised to find that this product didn't weigh my hair down or leave it feeling unclean or lank. I have tried many different super strength conditioning products in the past that have left residue behind and made my hair instantly greasy or left it feeling unclean, but "American Cream" avoids this completely. The conditioner softens my hair, leaving it tangle free and strokable. The scent of "American Cream" is another reason behind my recommendation for everyone to give it a go - it is absolutely divine. I'd heard many a great thing about the smell of "American Cream" from various Lush users, and so decided that I would have to pop into my local store and give this product a sniff. As soon as my nostrils were graced with the scent of this product, I was at the till and skipping out of the store door with a paper bag in hand before I could even register what was happening. As mentioned earlier, the "American Cream" conditioner is marketed as a strawberries and cream scented product, but there is a serious lack of strawberry in the actual scent and I am sure some people will be disappointed with this, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I use a rather strong smelling Lush shampoo that is hated by most people that catch a whiff of it (it stinks like bonfire, which I rather enjoy) but this cake batter scented conditioner completely masks the stench of my shampoo and leaves my hair smelling edible. My hair is left in a soft and manageable state and smells like cake batter - what more could I ask for?

Ingredients:
Honey Water, Vanilla Pod Infusion, Propylene Glycol, Fresh Organic Oranges, Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fresh Strawberries, Perfume, Lanolin, Cetrimonium Bromide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vanilla Absolute, Clary Sage Oil, Lavender Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, *Linalool, Coumarin (*occurs naturally in essential oils)

**Also posted to Ciao under the username little_feets88 **