I’m still a Lush newbie – so far I’ve tried their bath bombs and Herbalism (and fell in love with both!), so I decided to see what else they offer – this time, in the hair care department. Instead of buying online as I usually do, I decided to have some fun and make my first visit ever to the Lush store in the King of Prussia mall…so exciting!!
Anyway, I headed over to the shampoo bars, anxious to try them out, and the sales girl came over to help. I had already grabbed one bar and was certain that it would be the one that I’d be taking home, until she started asking me questions about my hair concerns. She recommended that I try the Lush Copperhead shampoo bar instead, claiming that it would help restore shine back into my hair (I guess my hair wasn’t looking so great that day!). Despite my going on and on about my dry scalp troubles, she still stuck with her recommendation.
Now, hearing her say that all Lush shampoo bars contain sulfates did make me a bit skeptical – sulfates can be very drying to my hair, and my scalp especially. And also considering that I’d tried shampoo bars before that didn’t require sulfates to get a nice lather, I was a bit surprised that Lush still felt the need to include them. Either way, I took Copperhead home, and read up a little more on the product. Here’s what I found, followed by my overall Lush Copperhead shampoo bar review!
What is the Lush Copperhead Shampoo Bar?
The Lush Copperhead Shampoo Bar is a mild and moisturizing shampoo that comes in a solid form. Once combined with water, it creates a lather that can be massaged into your hair, just like your average liquid shampoo. It’s gentle enough to be used on colored hair, and works on hair of all colors – blondes, brunettes, redheads, purpleheads, etc.
Ingredients in the Copperhead Shampoo Bar include:
- freshly ground coffee for increased circulation and exfoliation of the scalp
- henna for extra shine
- cocoa butter for moisture and softness
- fragrance made from vanilla absolute and roasted cocoa extract
Full Ingredient List:
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate , Agar , Water (Aqua) , Red Henna (Lawsonia inermis) , Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao) , Fragrance , Ground Coffee (Coffea arabica) , Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides) , Fair Trade Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla Planifolia) , Roasted Cocoa Extract (Theobroma Cacao) , Coriander Seed Oil (Coriandrum sativum) , Powdered Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) , Fresh Organic Lemon Juice (Citrus limonum) , Caffeine Powder , *Coumarin , *Limonene , *Linalool . *Occurs naturally in essential oils
How to Use a Lush Shampoo Bar
The instructions on the Lush website may be a bit different, but this is how I use the Lush Copperhead Shampoo bar, which I found works best for me:
- First, I let the bar run under the shower water to get it wet.
- Then, I start massaging it in my hands until it starts to lather and get all sudsy.
- Then, I’ll massage the bar directly on the top of my hair.
- I’ll start to pick up my hair to expose the scalp and do a little massaging there as well (to help exfoliate).
- Once I have a good amount of product in my hair, I’ll put the bar back inside its tin and then distribute the shampoo through the rest of my hair, and work it out to the ends.
Lush Copperhead Shampoo Bar Review
To me, the scent is amazing – I’ve been whipping out the bar just to catch a whiff of it every now and then! Despite the vanilla absolute and roasted cocoa extract fragrance, I find the bar leans more toward an overall earthly scent, which I really enjoy.
The Lush Copperhead bar lathers extremely well for a shampoo bar, but that’s all thanks to the sulfates. Unfortunately, like any other sulfate containing shampoo, this product tends to dry out my scalp a lot, causing it to produce more oil than usual to compensate for the imbalance. So if you too struggle with a dry scalp, you may have some trouble with Copperhead. (I really wish Lush would create sulfate-free shampoos – I know it’s possible, having tried a few all natural shampoo bars in the past!)
The good news, however, is that compared to the sulfate-free shampoo bars I’ve tried, Copperhead rinses out of the hair very easily and doesn’t weigh it down. It leaves my hair feeling well cleansed and smelling great (though unfortunately the scent doesn’t linger for long after washing). In my past experience using the all natural, sulfate-free shampoo bars, it would take me forever to rinse out the product, and in the end, my hair always had a waxy ‘coating’ to it. Maybe that’s just the sacrifice you make with these solid shampoos – either you go with the sulfates, or struggle with removing the product from your hair!
In terms of results, sadly, I don’t notice any significant increase in hair shine or softness. And when used on its own, Copperhead tends to leave my hair quite tangled, requiring me to use lots of conditioner and leave-in conditioner.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Copperhead didn’t completely convert me over to Lush’s shampoo bars – it just didn’t do anything dramatic enough to make me want to switch over from my sulfate-free liquid shampoos. While I do enjoy using solid shampoo bars, I’m still on the search for one that rinses out well without the use of sulfates, so my poor sensitive scalp stays happy! In the meantime, I’ll be holding on to Copperhead for when I travel or go camping (it’s more convenient to pack than liquid shampoo for sure!), and I may try out a gentler bar from Lush, like Soak and Float.
Have you tried Lush shampoo bars? If so, how do you like them?
Do you have a go-to shampoo that you always stick to, or do you like to switch up your products?
