Lush Squeaky Green Solid Shampoo Bar review

My first experience with a Lush solid shampoo bar was about twenty years ago. I loved the concept - a solid bar that wouldn't leak all over my clothes in my suitcase and that took up less space on the shower shelf (this was of the utmost importance, as I was a student house-sharing with five other people so the space in the shower was minimal !). But the bar itself - a coconut-smelling one whose name I have forgotten and which has long since been discontinued - was a bit of a let-down because, despite being designed for dry hair, it made my hair really dry.

I have to admit, I haven't tried one since so I was keen to see what I'd think of the Squeaky Green solid shampoo bar that Lush kindly sent through for me to try. The label on the iconic yellow bag says it's "made with freshly cut nettles, rosemary and peppermint herbs" and also points out the fab news that each bar saves three bottles, so it's green in more than just name and colour.

I jumped in the shower, rubbed the bar between my wet hands and was astounded by how much lather it produces. Eco-friendly products don't usually create much lather because they don't use chemical foaming agents so I was really impressed. As I massaged it into my hair and scalp, it felt just like using normal liquid shampoo.

My hair felt deeply cleansed and really soft. Also, my scalp - which has been itchy since I got sunburn on my parting last weekend - felt soothed and itch-free - ahh bliss. My hair was literally squeaky clean, which I can never remember if it's a good thing or a bad thing (does it mean it's really clean or that the natural oils have been stripped away ?). I felt I needed to use a conditioner on my hair, but I always do anyway.

One thing that I was slightly disappointed by was the fragrance. It smells lovely - reminding me of a summer's afternoon in the garden or the smell of freshly-cut grass - but I associate Lush with big, brash fragrances so this one was too discreet and delicate for my tastes.

The write-up on the website says : "Squeaky Green is the first aromatherapy Shampoo Bar made with our new noodles, to get your hair squeaky clean in the greenest way possible. It smells of our gorgeous Go Green scent, with rose and vanilla balancing out all the scalp-purifying herbs: fresh rosemary, nettle and peppermint, powdered tea tree and chamomile essential oil. Peppermint stimulates your scalp, while tea tree and rosemary help you to battle dandruff. It's amazingly refreshing and reviving for your whole head, and not half bad for the environment." Aah that explains why it was so good at sorting out my poor flaky sunburnt scalp !

Lush kindly sent me through a shampoo bar tin too which a great way of keeping it fresh and clean. I didn't have one before and the bar got soggy and stuck to the shower shelf repeatedly so that's a worthwhile investment too !

My hair feels so lovely and soft that I have been reconciled to solid shampoo bars, which is great news for my hair but also the environment. I left my hair to dry naturally and it was much sleeker, shinier and frizz-free than usual, so much so that I was asked if I'd been to the hairdresser's by one friend and if I'd used hair straighteners by another !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £5 for 55g, tin £2.50

for more information : http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/product/product/path/147_148/id/345/handmade-hair-solid-shampoo-bars-squeaky-green

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