A Head Full Of Mangoes (Lush Shampoo Bars)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Lush Shampoo Bars
Date:	30/05/02 (571 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells lovely, Great lather, Easy to use

Disadvantages: A bit expensive

After visiting the Lush shop in Bath and trying some of the products, I became a convert. No longer would shampoo be a runny liquid in a bottle. No, it is now decreed in the cult according to Lush that shampoo comes in a solid bar.

Following the sad demise of my trusted Trichomania solid shampoo, my best friend Allie (ajools) and I were perusing the Lush website one day. I have to admit I was eyeing up the alternatives and eventually fell for a round shampoo bar. I love fruity fragrances and this one promised mango, tangerine and orange. Already I could smell it…

Allie bought a load of Lush products for herself and the lovely orange bar for me (Thanks, Sweetie!) – the Featherweight Fruit bar for lifeless hair. It costs £2.95 for 55g which doesn’t look much for the money, but it seems to be lasting pretty well.

My hair is dyed blonde which makes it quite dry in places. However, I also get greasy patches especially my fringe and where I sweat. I have to wash my hair every other day because of the greasiness and condition it each time because of the dryness. Oh, lucky lucky me.

My hair usually looks great when it is freshly washed and conditioned, but it doesn’t last long and often looks lifeless on non-wash days. This shampoo bar sounded ideal for my type of hair.

It is a round bar, a similar consistency to some soaps and it doesn’t flake or crumble when you use it. It looks textured as though it has strands of rice or straw in the bar. It feels nice though, not too grainy.

It is a fairly bright yellow colour and smells divine, nicely fruity. It is definitely a combination of the mango, tangerine and orange mixed in with a spicy aroma. The ingredients are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fresh Mango (Mangifera indica), Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Tangerine Oil (Citrus reticulata), Orange Oil (Citrus dulcis), Perfume.

The website describes this shampoo as being ideal for p
eople “who would love big hair but has small hair”. Apparently the “fresh, organic mangoes … give bounce to floppy hair”, the orange and tangerine oils are included because of the lovely smell and “for their reviving effect on the mind and toning effect on the skin.” Everything is vegan too.

I have used this for a couple of weeks now and I am impressed with it. It’s not a miracle product and my hair still looks much better on wash-days, plus I still need to use a conditioner. However, it is lovely, smells gorgeous and is easy to use.

It might seem strange to use a shampoo bar initially, after being so used to pouring runny liquid over our heads, but it soon becomes second nature. The website explains you wet your hair, rub the bar over your scalp three times and then lather.

I haven’t bothered sticking to the three times, but it is certainly easy to get a great lather from it. You’ll soon get a head of shampoo bubbles which are easy to rub in and even easier to rinse out. You never seem to get that bit of shampoo at the back of your head that wants to stay there ‘til next Christmas!

You also haven’t got a bottle to accidentally tip over, losing all your precious liquid swiftly disappearing down the plughole. The bar dries out quickly and even though mine has stayed on the bath since I got it, it hasn’t disintegrated at all. You just have to watch people don’t think it’s soap though!

I would recommend Lush products and I am impressed with their hair range. They currently have the following available on the website www.lush.co.uk :

 four liquid shampoos – Antiphilitron (for greasy and normal hair, £2.35 for 100g), Cynthia Sylvia Stout (for condition and shine, £2.50 for 100g), Ibiza Party Shampoo (for blonde hair, £2.15 for 100g) and Washday Greens (for fine, fly-away or greasy hair, £2.35 for 100g),

&#
61623; three solid truckles – Arabian Bright (for softer, brighter and redder hair, £3.50 for 250g), Marilyn (for blonde highlights and silky hair, £5.50 for 250g) and The Strokes (for fly-away hair, £6 for 250g). These are the latest products out and are in little white round pots.

 six solid bars – Dr. Peppermint (for balding hair, £2.95 for 55g), Featherweight Fruit Bar (for lifeless hair, £2.95 for 55g), Irresistible Bliss (for normal hair, £2.95 for 55g), Jumping Juniper (for greasy hair, £2.65 for 55g), Soak & Float (to banish dandruff, £2.95 for 55g) and Ultimate Shine (for dull hair, £2.95 for 55g),

 five solid shampoos - Chamomile Lawn (for blonde hair, £2.65 for 100g), Trichomania (for dry hair, £2.65 for 100g), Budda Bar (for a healthy scalp, £1.95 for 100g), Plantational (for shine and red glints, £1.95 for 100g) and Gentle Lentil (for normal hair, £2.65 for 100g).

 five conditioners – Coolaulin (for curly, dry and processed hair, £2.05 for 100g), Forever In Bloom (for fly-away hair, £2.05 for 95g), H’Suan Wen Hua (prewash mega-conditioner for all hair types, £4.95 for 225g), Okra (rich conditioner for out-of-condition hair, £2.35 for 90g), Veganese (for all hair types, £2.15 for 100g),

 two henna treatments – Erborigian Flax (an intense treatment for blonde hair, £5.75 for 500g) and Sea Henna (an intense treatment for all hair types, £5.75 for 500g),

 and four Les Cacas natural hair colours – Caca Rouge (for red hair, £2.95 for 175g), Caca Marron (for chestnut hair, £2.95 for 175g), Caca Brun (for brown hair, £2.95 for 175g) and Caca Noir (for black hair, £2.95 for 175g).

So to summarise, the advantages and disadvantages of the Featherweight Fruit shampoo bar are :-

ADVANTAGES

1) Shampoo bars in general are less messy than liquid shampoos. There is less wastage and they are easy to carry and store.
2)
This one has a lovely fruity smell.
3) It is easy to use, generates a great lather and rinses easily.
4) It cleans the hair well and leaves it looking nice.
5) All Lush products are natural, organic, not tested on animals and are always vegetarian, mostly vegan.

DISADVANTAGES

1) The bars work out quite expensive initially, although it can be argued it is money well spent as they last quite well.
2) If you order from the website, you have to pay additional postage costs.
3) It isn’t a miracle product. My hair is still not as great looking as I would like it to be.

Overall, I would recommend this, but I will probably be trying a different shampoo bar next time. But I will definitely be sticking to Lush and solid shampoos for the foreseeable future. Liquid shampoo? Pah! <adopts annoying American accent> That is sooooo last Thursday ;-)

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