Lush Shampoo Bar Review (Seanik and Montalbano) – Acajou
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I’ll be honest, doing a Lush Shampoo Bar Review is a little out of left field for me. I normally like my shampoos in liquid form from a bottle and my soap too for that matter. It wasn’t just all the talk of cute shampoo bars from Lush that convinced me though, I was really interested in the environmental-friendliness of the plastic-free bars. (One bar supposedly replaces three 8oz shampoo bottles!) I was still skeptical though, and probably even prepared to not like them.
I decided to give them a shot. I bought two shampoo bars from Lush (Seanik and Montalbano), as well as a round tin to hold them) and set out to try them for two weeks. So how did I like them?
My Lush Shampoo Bar Review
First, some for the details. I have fine, wavy hair that gets oily fairly quickly and I wash my hair every other day. The first shampoo bar I bought was Seanik.
Seanik Lush Shampoo Bar Review
Seanik is one of their best-selling shampoo bars. It’s great for volumizing flat and fine hair and also promises a dose of shine.
Seanik Shampoo Bar
It uses lemon oil for shine, sea salt for volume, and seafood to nourish and add softness to the hair. It has a light citrus-y scent.
Montalbano Shampoo Bar Review
The Montalbano Shampoo Bar is aimed at reviving dull hair, so its primary task is adding shine. Lemon juice and lemon oil do the heavy lifting as far as brightening the hair goes, and this shampoo bar also has a light, citrus-y, natural scent.
Montalbano Shampoo Bar
Montalbano also has rosemary to soothe irritated scalps and help balance oil production for excessively oily scalps.
I used the Seanik bar first for a week. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it lathered. Afterwards my hair felt clean and kept my hair from getting oily for a couple days (a normal amount of time for me.)
I don’t know if I really saw much more shine or volume, but I anticipated it would leave my hair feeling more dry but that wasn’t the case. I couldn’t really tell a big difference between Seanik and Montalbano. Montalbano smelled a bit more lemon-y, but otherwise they performed the same.
What I Didn’t Like About The Lush Shampoo Bars
While they all have a nice subtle scent, the natural scent from essential oils isn’t my favorite. I also felt like while my hair was clean, I get a deeper cleanse from some other shampoos I have which leaves my hair feeling more voluminous and keeps oiliness at bay a bit longer.
Also, keeping the shampoo bar in a tin was convenient but I still prefer a liquid shampoo from a bottle.
How to Choose a Lush Shampoo Bar
When I was deciding which Lush Shampoo Bar, I was a little overwhelmed. At the moment, they have 12 listed on their website. Here is a quick guide to which one would be best for you:
Seanik: flat hair looking for volume (smells like citrus)
New: stimulates scalps for thinning hair and irritated scalps (smells spicy)
Honey I Washed My Hair: for dry hair and scalps (smells like honey and toffee)
Montalbano: add shine, balance oil production (smells like citrus)
Soak and Float: for dry and itchy scalps (smells like a campfire)
Jumping Juniper: deep clean oily scalps (smells herbal)
Jason and the Argan Oil: for frizzy and dull hair (smells flloral)
Angel Hair: to soothe scalp and give moisture to dry hair (smells lightly floral)
Godiva (Shampoo and Conditioning Bar): for a shampoo and conditioner in one (smells floral)
Avocado (Co-wash bar): SLS-free for nourishing dry, curly, coily, or textured hair (smells like citrus)
Coconut Rice Cake: for damaged hair (smells like coconut and earthiness)
Flyway Hair: a deep cleanse for oily and thin hair (smells like citrus)
How to Use a Lush Shampoo Bar
To use a Lush shampoo bar, you can rub between your hands until your hands are sudsy and then massage your hands into your scalp, or you can rub the shampoo directly into your hair.
Using one of Lush’s reusable tins is great for keeping any residue from your bathroom surfaces.
Benefits of Shampoo Bars
One of the primary benefits of shampoo bars is the reduction in plastic waste. Shampoo bars don’t require plastic packaging like shampoo bottles do, and Lush claims each of their shampoo bars offsets three 250ml shampoo bottles! I love this element of shampoo bars.
They are also gentle, generally using a lot of natural ingredients, and they last a long time. They also take up a lot less space than shampoo bottles.
Cons of Using a Shampoo Bar
- They are difficult to share with others because they can easily capture and spread bacteria.
- You need a reusable tin to keep residue off your bathroom surfaces and to make it last long.
Lush Shampoo Review Conclusion
I was really surprised by the Lush shampoo bars. I expected a low-lather experience that could potentially leave my hair dry and parched. Instead my hair felt cleansed and well-moisturized. I’ll continue to use my current shampoo bars, but I don’t know that I’ll buy more.
I love the scent I get from some of my other shampoo and conditioner scents and I do feel like I get a deeper clean and more volume from some of the others I have. Overall though, I was really pleasantly surprised and may try some other shampoo bars out sometime in the future.