Do you want to be a Goddess? (Lush Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturiser)

Member Name: salem_witch

Product:	Lush Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturiser
Date:	10/07/06 (545 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A treatment to restore damaged hair.

Disadvantages: The smell might be off putting for some people. Not good for those who colour their hair.

My first thoughts when I opened the tub and had a sniff were ewwwwww! I immediately regretted not smelling it in the shop. I was in a bit of a rush and I was meeting someone. I went into Lush with the intention of something to help deep condition my hair. This is what the lovely Lush assistant at Covent Garden recommended. I did ask about Arabian Bright as I remember reading a review on that and it being good for coloured hair. She told me they no longer sold that (oh well) and said that H'Suan Wen Hua would help even the most damaged hair into ravishing locks again. I trusted her, bought it and went on my merry way.

I didn't even stop to look at what was in it and lets be honest the name doesn't give much away. For those of you wondering H'Suan Wen Hua (no I don't know how to pronounce it either!) means the Chinese God of hair. On later inspection I noticed banana was one of the ingredients. I HATE bananas so I kept putting off using it. On reading the other ingredients it started to sound like an evil salad dressing. Had I made a mistake I wondered?!


***What is it?***

H'Suan Wen Hua is a hair moisturiser. It's used as a treatment for when your hair is in need of major nourishing. You apply it to dry hair, leave it in for 20 minutes and then wash it out and follow with your usual shampoo and conditioner.


***So what is in this weird concoction?! ***

I won't list all the ingredients but it contains Fresh Bay Infusion, Fresh Watercress Infusion, Fresh Free-Range Eggs, Fresh Bananas, Fresh Avocado… You get the idea I think! There are a few other things but I should point out now that because the ingredients are fresh it only has a shelf life of 4 weeks. It isn't kept refrigerated and no where does it state that you need to keep it in the fridge at home either. Just don't go leaving it near a radiator! The smell would be terrible!

So now you know what in it I'll tell you what Lush claim they will do you your hair. The banana and avocado is supposed to soften the hair, the watercress will strengthen it. Olive oil and lanolin is supposed to make your hair strong and smooth and rosemary oil and balsamic vinegar to make it nice and shiny. It sounds great doesn't it?!

***My hair***

I bleach, colour, blow dry and straighten my hair. So it's fair to say that I abuse it more than I should. When I last got my hair cut I had quite a bit chopped off because I had so many split ends. I decided there and then that I needed to start treating my hair with a bit of respect. I also would like to get it back to the length it was before.

***Back to the smell and appearance***

When I opened the pot again I actually thought it didn't smell as bad as I first thought. Perhaps the thought of bananas repulsed me so much? The more I smelt it the less overpowering it was. The smell of the watercress and bay infusion is more prominent. Luckily I couldn't smell the banana at all. It has been likened to a salad dressing and I have to agree. The mixture is quite thick and it looks like paste. It looks a bit yogurty but the consistency is much thicker. I tipped the pot upside down and it stayed put.

***Application***

So I decided I couldn't not use it now as it didn't smell as bad as it initially did. I scooped loads out the pot and massaged it into my hair. I paid special attention to the ends of my hair and didn't apply any to my roots. I can get greasy hair so I thought this would be best. After I had applied liberal amounts I wrapped my hair in cling film. I read somewhere (Lush Times I think) that this helped it work quicker. So looking rather sexy (opps I mean silly!) I decided I'd keep it on for as long as I could. They say on the pot to leave it in for 20 minutes but the Lush assistant told me that she left it in for up to an hour. The smell of it isn't so bad when it's actually in your hair. Maybe the cling film helped!

The moisturiser is quick and easy to apply. It doesn't drip everywhere as the consistency is really thick. When I colour my hair I usually tie it up but with this I just pat it into place, put the cling film over it and it stayed in place.


One hour later…


***Washing it out***

Taking the cling film off I discovered that my hair was still moist and the H'Suan Wen Hua was still on my hair. My hair was very silky when I started to wash it out and it was very manageable. The smell was also quite pleasant. I didn't expect to like the smell but I wouldn't go and far as saying that I loved it.

It didn't take long to rinse all the treatments out completely. Once it was all out I followed with my usual shampoo. It is recommended that you condition as well but it wasn't really necessary. After the shampoo was rinsed out of my hair was really smooth and felt wonderfully conditioned. I did use a conditioner though as I thought it wouldn't hurt.

***Results***

After towel drying my hair it was more manageable than it has been in a very long time (my hair has gone through years of abuse!) So the claim that it softens and makes your hair smoother is definitely true. The smell of the H'Suan Wen Hua was still apparent even after the shampoo and conditioner. I thought that the smell wouldn't be so obvious as the scent of the shampoo would possible mask it.

I decided not to blow dry my hair on this occasion. As it dried I noticed that my hair was shiny so this is another claim that is true. Once it was completely dry it was very shiny and I was delighted with the results.

Normally when brushing my hair easily knots and becomes elastically and will then break. This time the brush just glided through.

One thing I have noticed is that it's stripped some of the hair colour away. I hadn't long coloured it so maybe I shouldn't have used this so soon. The treatment was recommended (I told her I coloured my hair) and it states its for all hair types. Normally my hair colour does fade quickly but there was a huge difference before and after using the H'Suan Wen Hua. After much thought it's possible that the vinegar stripped the colour off.

Personally I shall not be buying this again and only because it stripped my hair colour a little. For anyone who doesn't colour their hair then I really do recommend it. For those that like to brighten up their hair like me then look for something more suitable (I know I will be!) H'Suan Wen Hua does actually do all the things that Lush claim it to. My hair was left shiny, soft, smooth and stronger than it was before.

The pot contains 225g, which equates to roughly 4 applications. Of course this all depends in the length of your hair. My hair is just below my shoulder and I used more than enough. It costs £5.95, which isn't a huge amount, and it was worth it.

Summary: Great for conditioning your hair if you don't colour it in any way.