About a year ago in the fall of 2018 when I was in Nantes, France, I stumbled upon the Lush store in the city center. Who knew that they had Lush in Nantes? For those of you that don’t know, Nantes is a beautiful city on the west coast of France and is considered to be Seattle’s Sister City (whatever that means). Anyways, like the ignorant Canadian/American that I am or at least used to be (I hope), I didn’t know that the city existed before I studied there, and I thought that Lush was made in the USA. It is not, as I found it, as its headquarters are in the UK.
Regardless, I had just run out of my shampoo whilst traveling and so I stopped into the store with my friend Zoe to pick up a few things. When I asked one of the French ladies for a “shampooing,” she led me to the shampoo bars, and I have been hooked ever since. It looked like a legendary thing to me. I mean, I was used to using bars of soap on my body, but using a bar in my hair? Mindblown.
*insert explosive sound effects*
All I knew was that I thought it was koool, and I was curious but also a little bit skeptical as to whether or not using a bar on my hair would actually work. And let me tell you, this sh%t WORKS.
I bought THE JASON AND THE ARGAN OIL, a pink bestseller bar that left my hair smelling of roses. It lathered on nicely and left my hair feeling clean and smooth. I had dyed hair then, and it didn’t seem to damage my colored hair, despite it having low sulfate levels (or at least that’s what the lady told me).
HOW TO STORE/GREAT FOR TRAVEL:
The bar also came in a square tin that you can purchase. They have stopped selling round tins in the front of the store and have opted for round tins, but DO NOT BUY THE ROUND TINS. You can ask for the square tins at most stores and they should still have them stocked in the back. The bar is round, and will just get stuck in the circle tins and dissipate. Most annoying thing ever. I didn’t know this before I bought a circle one after giving my square tin away, and I regret it. After using the bar, you can set it in the tin, and leave to dry without the lid. If you want the bar to dry even more efficiently, rest your bar on its slimmer side.
These shampoo bars are also great for travel, as it is solid, and does not spill. I realized that I could get away with treating it as a solid in my carry on, and had zero-issues (as long as your bar has had time to dry).
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
If you put it in the round tin (which you shouldn’t!!!!), mine melted because it got stuck and did not last long at all.
When used correctly in the square tin by letting your bar dry after each usage, mine lasted 2-3 months, and probably would have lasted a little longer had my boyfriend not broke it into pieces.
STEPS TOWARDS A ZERO-WASTE BATHROOM
Buying a LUSH shampoo bar was my first step towards having a plastic-free bathroom. You’re really paying for just the product, without the wasteful packaging that a lot of hair products come in. Everyone can start somewhere with reducing plastic usage, and opting out for a shampoo bar (they also have conditioner bars I plan to try out soon!) is an easy way to start living a more low-waste lifestyle by wasting less yourself, and by supporting companies that are zero to low waste. Companies like LUSH are doing great things, and it’s about time that more companies limit their waste in packaging their products!