So fresh and so clean, clean (Lush Jumping Juniper)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Lush Jumping Juniper
Date:	01/11/08 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lasts FOREVER, very economical, nice fresh smell, does the job

Disadvantages: None except the tin didn't really work for me.

Another Lush review, I know, I know, I swear I will review something else soon! This is actually not a product I've just sampled for the first time in my recent haul of goodies, but one I've been using on and off for a few years and I am really impressed with. I think it was the first Lush product I ever tried.

Jumping Juniper is one of Lush's solid shampoo bars - well they're called bars but to me a bar is rectangular, these are round like hockey pucks, but whatever - and is aimed at those whose hair leans towards the greasy side. They were produced to cut down on waste by using plastic bottles to package shampoo, but I've always bought them because the fact they cannot leak makes them really great for travelling, especially now you are limited with how much liquid you can carry in your hand luggage.

The bar is roughly three inches across and an inch thick, and a gorgeous bright purple in colour. It smells strongly of citrus from the lemon and lime oil, and you can clearly smell the juniperberry. I find it a pleasant, clean, smell. It is fairly solid, and before I usd it for the first time I wasn't sure how well it would lather up. I was also worried that having it around the bath or under the shower stream would make the bar mush up.

It really was very easy to use, however. Simply wet your hair and rub the bar around in a circular motion two or three times. This produces a mass of bubbles more than sufficient to wash even my long hair. The bar is then, obviously, covered in suds, but you can rinse it under the shower or tap or in the bath and it still retains its very solid condition without lathering back up again. One word of warning - if you live in an area with very soft water, you probably don't need to rub it in as much. I took the bar to Wales and, not thinking, rubbed it round a couple of times like usual only to be confronted with SO MANY bubbles that they did get in my eyes quite a bit. Which, by the way, is not recommended, this is not particularly gentle so maybe not one to be used on the kids!

The bubbles are very easy to rinse out. I find my hair feels squeaky clean after use and easy to comb through. The scent doesn't smell too strong which the suds are washed out, which I like because it doesn't clash with whatever else I've used in my bath.

Now one of the big selling points on these is that they last FOREVER. Okay, so not actually forever, but put it this way - my last bar I gave up on rather than using it up (see below). I took my first bar away to summer camp with me where I worked with horses in ridiculous heat and it kept my hair as nice as can be expected! It lasted a summer of daily washing and was still a fairly good size.

While Lush do make tins for these, usually free if you buy two bars otherwise £2.75, I have tried them and find it easy to keep the bar in the bag it came in or a ziplock bag. Replacing the bar into the tin while it is still wet usually causes it to stick and I found it quite tricky to remove at times, causing some of the bar to smush into the bottom of the tin. In fact, I gave up my last bar as a lost cause because it was stuck and smushed up! Waiting for the bar to dry before you replace it isn't always possible while travelling, and it does smush if you leave it on the side of the bath or sink, so for me it's just easy to not go down the tin route - although perhaps the consistency of other Lush shampoo bars doesn't have this effect.

I have found that I am able to go longer between washes using this, and find it very economical at only £4.50 for the bar that keeps on giving! I definitely recommend Lush shampoo bars, they are a great idea especially for travelling and there are several types for different hair types, details of which can be found online at Lush.co.uk or in store.

Summary: Great for travelling or just for a cheaper way to wash your hair!