You may be well acquainted with LUSH, a popular bath, shower, and skincare company, but I only first learned of LUSH in 2007 when a friend from London gave me several of their products as a gift. It didn’t take long (just a use or two of a gentle exfoliating bar, followed the next day by a great smelling bath bar that left me feeling silky smooth) to convert me to a LUSH fan.
LUSH prides itself on using only vegetarian ingredients, essential oils, and “safe synthetics”. All items are made by hand and never tested on animals. Very few items include packaging or preservatives.
Of the many products LUSH has to offer, I’ve always been interested in trying their solid shampoos. Two weeks ago, I finally ordered the popular Godiva Shampoo Bar out of curiosity and am eager to share my thoughts.
Why did I want to try the Godiva bar?
- Tired of trying to squeeze all of your 3oz/100ml bottles into a plastic bag for carry on? Solid shampoo = no liquid = no problem!
- No liquid = no worries about leaks or spills in the carry-on bag, checked bag, or otherwise in transit.
- LUSH says Godiva is a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioning bar. The less I need to pack, the better!
How to use:
LUSH suggests wetting both your hair and the bar before sliding the bar three times down the right, middle, and left of your head. The directions also recommend following up with your favorite LUSH conditioner. I opted to skip conditioner altogether on my first use as the Godiva is supposed to be a 2-in-1 product.
What I loved:
- I was skeptical that a few slides of the bar from root to tip would provide enough lather to clean my hair, but the solid shampoo produced more lather than I usually have from my regular liquid shampoo! It was easy to cover my scalp and hair, and I felt I was washing my hair thoroughly.
- The suds rinsed out easily.
- Packability – no liquid AND it’s small and lightweight.
- Better for me and the environment – no preservatives and no packaging.
>> BUY the Godiva Solid Shampoo on Amazon
What I didn’t like:
- According to LUSH’s website, I am in the minority, but I intensely dislike the smell. When it’s dry, it smells floral – the kind of strong floral smell that some older women use as perfume. When it’s wet, the smell is only more intense.
- A few suds made their way into my eye and it stung badly for a solid 30 minutes after the shower, even though I rinsed my eye with water. I was surprised due the lack of preservatives and chemicals found in many shampoos.
- Later in the day my hair did not feel like it typically does after I shampoo and condition it. It was not soft and I could not easily run my fingers through it.
The next time I used the shampoo I followed up with my favorite conditioner (not a LUSH product). As I hoped, my hair smelled like the conditioner for the rest of the day and felt super soft. Unfortunately, that kind of defeats the purpose of having and using the solid shampoo.
Would I buy it again?
I think I will use the Godiva bar until it runs out – after all, it does lather well – but I will not buy it again. If I find myself at a store in the future, I will smell their other solid shampoos to see there is a scent that works for me.
Has a solid shampoo worked for you? Have you used it on the road? Any travel friendly hair care products you swear by? I’m on a mission to test a few things out and welcome your suggestions.
Photo credit: woman in web.
Ah, such timely posts on this site lately! I just ditched my Lush shampoo bar in favor of going back to my regular Pantene shampoo & conditioner. Here’s why:
1. I never felt like my hair was really clean. It lathered up really well, but my hair just didn’t feel clean.
2. It didn’t last nearly as long as I was told it should. The girl in the store told me it should last 90 shampoos. I don’t think mine even made it 30 before it completely fell apart. I think this is due to the fact that I rarely could leave it out to fully dry before I had to store it.
3. Considering the price, I think I actually get more for my money and my Pantene bottles last longer than the Lush bar.
Katie, I’ve also found that several of their products don’t last as long as I’d like, but they smell so nice and feel great…alas! Thanks for the extra info you shared here!
I discovered Lush in 2004 in Belfast. Even though I don’t normally like bar soap, one smelled so good, I had to try it. I became hooked on Lush soap, but unfortunately, can’t afford their products.
Thanks for the review. Your description of the scent is especially helpful; it’s exactly the scent I can’t stand, so now I know what to avoid whenever I can treat myself next.
How long is your hair? I’m curious because I’ve read that women with hair above the shoulders have better success with bar shampoo.
I agree – I usually can’t afford it either O:-)
My hair is medium/long — 5-6 inches past my shoulders.
Thanks for the review, Heather! I first heard about LUSH in 2005, from a friend in my study abroad program who was completely addicted to their products. The first store I went to gave me a sample of the Godiva bar but I never used it because, like you, I didn’t like the smell. I bought two other shampoo bars (I can’t remember now what they were called – one was white-ish and sparkly, the other pink, and both had light fragrances that weren’t overpowering), which I used on and off for the next couple of years – they did last longer than 90 shampoos, so I wonder if that varies from bar to bar. I felt like they cleaned my hair really well but they did make my hair kind of stiff – I couldn’t run my fingers through it like I usually do without a lot of effort – and I still took my usual shampoo/conditioner with me, just a bit less, because the LUSH bar left my hair feeling dried out without a normal shampoo/condition every few days. I haven’t used LUSH shampoo in a couple of years, but I do love their soap, lip balm, bath balls and massage bars!
I suppose if I can’t run my fingers through my hair and it feels dry, there’s really no reason for me to buy it again
I do like some of their other products though!
I took the green Lush shampoo bar as well as a chunk of the solid conditioner with me last year during my 4month stint in Australia and at first I loved it… but like you I didnt like the way my hair felt after washing. The conditioner was the first to leave my ‘beauty regimen’ when I felt that it left my hair looking and feeling very greasy. The conditioner from then on out was only used for leg shaving purposes. I liked the shampoo enough at first, but still had to use normal liquid conditioner because I didnt like the feel of my hair – it really seemed to dry it out without conditioner. Eventually I ran out and just couldnt be arsed to hunt down a new Lush store…
hey i just wanted to ask has any one found a shampoo bar and conditioner bar they liked? And what is it called and where did you get it? I have been looking online like googleing things to try and find one and I have found many different kinds and now I dont know what ones I should buy? Also these posts about Luch are old and I went on there web site and they have many new bars. has any one used then and liked them? Thanks for all your help breat blog!
Hi Kaitlyn,
I’ve looked at Lush’s bars but have only had an opportunity to try the Godiva bar — and it’s he only solid bar I’ve tried so far! If I try another one, I’ll be sure to write about it! Let us know if you decide to try another of the Lush bars!
Heather
I meant great blog!
Hey sorry but I’m going to ask my question here because I didn’t know where to put it because there no section on her packing list about this kind of thing. I just wanted to ask about what do you ladies do on the road with hair removal? I’m talking about your legs and bikini line. I have being thinking about getting a women’s electric shaver. But have no idea what kind or model to get? There are very many different kinds and the price can go from under $20 to over $200! So does anyone have any ideas to what kinds are best to get? Thanks for your help!
That’s a good topic to touch on in the future. Unfortunately, I have no experience with an electric razor. We’ve covered hair removal a couple of times in Female Travel Underground. Here are the newsletter links:
http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=73c8b5ca248e7e2ee1bd7476b&id=e95f381a9c
http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=73c8b5ca248e7e2ee1bd7476b&id=d8ee09a7b8
hi heather! did you try the conditioner as well? 3 years ago, i think the name is Karma, and it’s green. Smell so good, but it takes so much of it to actually condition my hair (well, not really still). Taking so much that it made really expensive to shampoo. Too bad, I love the smell.
I try the shampoo as well, not remember which scent tho. really drying my hair, and the container ended up messy because when keep moving, i can’t dry them properly.
Still, I’m attracted with the smell.
Dina, I’ve only tried this 2-in-1 when it comes to haircare products (I’ve used 5-6 of their soaps, however). The smell on most of their products is nice, but if the shampoo dries it out and the conditioner doesn’t work well either, it sounds like we need another company’s products altogether! I’ve found a great combo for me and the shampoo and conditioner are completely different brands!