jeavinl's Full Review: LUSH Cosmetics Squeaky Green Solid Shampoo
One of the things I’ve been wanting, but reluctant, to try from the ever-popular Lush store, makers of handmade cosmetics and bath products, are their solid shampoos. It sounded like such an oxymoron: a shampoo that’s solid? Huh? Every shampoo I’ve ever seen or used has been a liquid. Could a solid puck-like disk of shampoo be gentle enough to leave my hair silky and clean at the same time? Perhaps, but I’ve had even bigger issues with my hair and scalp lately and this new SLS-free Squeaky Green version sounded like just the ticket to cure my woes.
The basics Squeaky Green is the newest member of Lush’s preservative-free solid shampoo lineup. It is 100% vegan, SLS free, and contains an herbal cocktail of nettle, rosemary, tea tree powder, and peppermint to reduce dandruff, stimulate hair growth, soothe itchy scalps, and provide shine and a nice fragrance. It supposedly smells like Lush’s Go Green scent, although I’m not familiar with that. It’s a round, palm-sized green puck with with a weird texture to it that includes small brown twig-like pieces and whitish sprinkle-like pieces. A 1.9 oz bar of Squeaky Green is available in Lush stores and online for $7.95.
My thoughts
I normally seem to “shed” during the fall and winter, but combined with my chemically straightened hair and post-pregnancy hormones and stress, my normally thick hair has been flat and I’ve found clumps in the drain. Add to that an itchy scalp and you’ll see that just buying Suave is not going to do it for me. I was torn between trying this Squeaky Green solid shampoo and Lush’s New solid shampoo, which I think I would’ve been happier with but does contain SLS. Ultimately I decided this one would work well for my problem hair and scalp. Besides, if I didn’t like it, it sounded like something my husband could use.
The ingredients made me think of my latest favorite shampoo because it, too, is free of sodium lauryl sulfates (SLSs) and contains tea tree oil and peppermint oil. But while that one smells scrumptious, this Squeaky Green has a much less appealing scent. I have never smelled Lush’s Go Green scent, but I don’t really want to after using this shampoo. It’s not horrible like the nasty raspberry shampoo I tried last year, but it certainly doesn’t smell like I expected. I thought it would be a refreshing herbal mix of rosemary and peppermint, pungent, but clean and fresh. Instead it smells more earthy and woodsy, almost smoky. There is peppermint, but it’s a lesser background scent. I think it’s the nettle that comes through most with the rosemary mostly in the background. It’s definitely a unisex scent and not as enjoyable as many of Lush’s yummy scents. It reminds me a little of the Geo Phyzz bath bomb. It’s not totally unpleasant but I wish it smelled more like peppermint and less woodsy. Still, the scent smells a lot lighter and less noticeable on my hair once it’s dry.
Surprisingly, using a solid shampoo hasn’t been that hard. I wet the bar and swipe it across my head several times, probably more than I need to but I’m still learning. I swipe it once or twice on top, once on either side of my head, once on back, and then I flip my long hair and swipe against my scalp a couple times. Even without the SLS, that creates a pretty good lather. It washes out clean, maybe a little too clean. My hair feels a little squeaky clean in that I-need-conditioner way. Plus, now as the bar is wearing down a bit, I’ve noticed a few little twig-like pieces (the nettle) flaking off the shampoo bar and finding their way onto my hair and shoulders. It washes right out but I imagine it could get more annoying as the bar wears down more.
I’ve been using my Veganese conditioner mostly with this shampoo and the two work well together. But I did try this shampoo on its own a couple times when I was rushed to finish my shower and my hair looked pretty bad, kind of dry, kind of straw-like and frayed—as if I suddenly had a lot of split ends. It certainly didn’t have any of the “shine” the Lush site claims I’ll get from this shampoo. So I would not recommend using Squeaky Green without a follow-up conditioner.
My scalp has been a little less itchy than usual since I started using this shampoo, but it hasn’t totally done away with my irritated scalp. I thought perhaps the peppermint in this would give a little tingly feel to my scalp, but it doesn’t. In fact, because I just swipe this shampoo across the surface of my hair, I really have to work it in more than usual to get at my temperamental scalp. It still gets oily feeling and itchy a few hours after I wash, so I don’t think this shampoo really does anything for it.
As for the hair growth claim, I don’t see it. I do think I’m losing a bit less hair down the drain lately but that could be the change of season as much as it is the SLS-free shampoo. It’s certainly not a dramatic difference.
Overall
I’m not totally disappointed by this SLS-free, solid Lush shampoo, but it isn’t everything I hoped it would be. Three stars.
Lush currently makes six SLS-free solid shampoos: Squeaky Green, Karma Komba, New!, Seanik, Soak & Float, and Ultimate Shine. Given this decent experience, I’m sure I’ll try another.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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