I travel frequently and because I tend to travel alone, any extra ounce of weight is really a huge burden. So it should’t come as a surprise that in my quest for the lightest and most compact travel gears, I’d venture into solid shampoos.
While I was in France early this summer, I stayed over at a friend’s place and heard her gush over Lush’s solid shampoo. I tried a little of her’s and feel intrigued to get one of my own. Reckon I could break it apart and bring it along for a vacation. I did a bit of google work and was appalled to find out that Singapore sells the same thing for a whopping $10.81 MORE !!! It’s almost 70% more than in France! Do I need anymore reasons to get one? The staff at the store recommend I get Lullaby since I told her I wash my hair almost everyday.
Packaging
There is no packaging to be discussed here. You select the solid shampoo and they put it in a paper bag for you. I did however, spend an extra 2 Euro for the metal tin. I didn’t plan on buying it in the beginning and entertained thoughts of finding my own cute tin instead. But I quickly decided against it as the chances of the tin not fitting the shampoo and the prospect of rusting was just too much trouble.
There's nothing much to talk about the tin. But I do like how sleek it looks and how it fits the shampoo perfectly.
Texture
The solid shampoo feels smooth and solid (DUH!) to the touch. Not smooth like a creamy soap bar but not as rough as sand paper. It feels nice to the touch and smells lovely.
How to use it.
Using it is easier than you might think. You simply wet your hair thoroughly like you normally would, then grab the entire bar and rub it all over your wet hair. No, the bar is not slippery so even with wet hands, wet hair and clumsy DNA, I haven’t dropped it while shampooing yet.
The shampoo lathers surprisingly well and fast! The foam created by the solid shampoo feels nice and dense. You would of course, need to put down the shampoo and continue massaging with your fingers after the initial foaming.
Effects
The first thing I realise after washing it off (and before I used the conditioner) was how squeaky my hair felt. The difference was almost uncomfortable and felt like I could tug a lot of hair out accidentally.
Even after conditioning , my hair still feels drier than my normal shampoo. The up side though, is if I did a good job scrubbing my scalp, I find the shampoo cleans better and I can survive longer without washing my hair .
Conclusion
Despite how dry it makes my hair, I don’t regret buying this. I love the lavender fragrance it has and I’m glad despite having it for 3 months, the fragrance still lingers.
One downside of such a design however, was the fact that you need to let the bar dry entirely before keeping. In humid Singapore, I usually just keep it tilted and exposed on top of my toilet bowl. I even take the effort to flip it over when one side has dried. I observed that it needs roughly 1.5 day to completely dry off on all sides. Which by then, is time for me to use it again -_-. In that aspect, it would fail as a fuss free travel toiletry because nobody’s got time and space to let it dry off when I’m packing and going different places every other day.
Another thing that bugs the hell out of me is the stray hair that sticks to it. I found the best way to get them off is to wait until the bar is entirely dry before picking them off.
But if you’re into minimalist lifestyle and don’t want clutter (big bottles) in your toilet, this is a good option. My french friend says a bar lasts her roughly 6 months. While France's dry climate and her hair wash schedule makes a difference, I agree that after 4.5 months of infrequent use (I haven't been in Singapore often to use it haha), the bar is still holding up very well and hasn't thinned down significantly. Some online users reviewed that if you don’t let it dry properly before keeping, it breaks down a lot faster. So here’s a heads up for you.
If you stay in Europe or is able to get it at European price, definitely try this baby out. But if you’re buying it in Singapore, forget it. It’s not worth the $23 SGD.
