Am jumping for joy at finding this (Lush Jumping Juniper)

Member Name: cerys82

Product:	Lush Jumping Juniper
Date:	09/11/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: leaves hair squeaky clean, shiny, defined and not weighed down

Disadvantages: Would like a solid conditioner to go with it

Well I suppose that I am a fully fledged member of Doo Yoo now, I have purchased my first Lush product!

I just popped into my local store as my other half wanted to look in there for Christmas gifts. I was very intrigued by the solid shampoo, having not been particularly impressed with any other liquid shampoo that I have used in the past, except for perhaps Head and Shoulders. On seeing this one and that it was the one most suited to my hair type I thought that I would give it a go.

It costs £4.53 for 55g and apparently contains lavender, the titular juniper berries, lemon and lime. The block itself is purple. On initial smell, the main scent is that of citrus, perhaps with a lavender undercurrent. I understand that it is recommended that you either put it on wet hands and then rub onto your hair or you can apply it directly to your hair. I chose the latter, finding it less awkward. Surprisingly a little goes a long way. You do not need a massive amount to get a good lather!

On lathering you get a nice fresh hit of the citrus, but it is quite refreshing compared to the heavy synthetic fragrance given off by most high street options. On washing it out, one thing that I have noticed is that it doesn't appear to take long to leave your hair, leaving it squeaky clean almost instantly. I follow this up by using Lush Veganese liquid shampoo on the hair ends which is also citrusy and was recommended by the staff members that I spoke to in Lush as the accompanying product.

To store the shampoo it is recommended that you buy a special tin. This shuts firmly, is quite attractive and silver with the Lush logo engraved on them. It costs £2.49 but is free if you buy two bars. To be honest, I don't think that it looks amiss in any bathroom and obviously takes up a lot less room than several bottles of shampoo!

I did notice that my damp hair did not feel as smooth as I would have expected but as it dried I was pleasantly surprised at how healthy and shiny it looked. I can only imagine it was because it was cleaned rather than cleaned and then coated as with some liquid shampoos. I also know that it was this product rather than the conditioner which gave this effect as it was most pronounced on my roots, where as someone who has an oily scalp, I never put conditioner! I have had lots of compliments on the condition of my previously rather neglected hair! It also seems to bring out natural highlights more. This effect is also prominent even when I let my hair dry naturally, which isn't always the case I find.

Most impressively, my roots look the least weighed down that I have seen them for a while, a great bonus as it tends to look really unflatteringly flat most of the time!

The shampoo does not appear to dry out in the same way that soap does, I am sure that having it stored in the tin is helping with this though, it also stops your bathroom surfaces getting icky.

The sheer size of the product means that it is convenient for travelling and particularly for taking to the gym. Unfortunately however, there isn't a solid conditioner version which I would have liked. However, I do see that there is a shampoo and conditioner bar that Lush do called "Godiva" which I may purchase for times when I am especially short of time and space.

All in all, am very impressed with my first Lush purchase.

Summary: Could be a definite keeper