REVIEW: Blousey by Lush

I WILL NOT REPURCHASE:

I wont repurchase plainly because it did not wow me.  Forking over PhP1250 (roughly USD28) for 240 grams of product (about 25 to 30 uses for my really long hair), I felt ENTITLED to be wowed. I EXPECTED to be wowed. Unfortunately, my hair just didn’t take to it.

The reason why I got Blousey in the first place was because of the online hype surrounding banana shampoo and besides the packaging itself claims that it is for damaged, bleached or naturally fragile hair.

MY HAIR FACTS:

I have really long, black, coarse hair that has been re-bonded twice in the past 3 years. Last re-bonding happened over a year ago.  I used Blousey around 6 months after that. I have never colored my hair. I shampoo every 3 to 4 days--I can afford to do this because I use dry shampoo in between washing. I use argan oil for the ends on a daily basis. I rarely blow dry my hair (thrice a year--max), opting for the fan if I am rushing. I rarely use heat styling tools (twice a year--max). I get a trim once a year only---it should be more often but it requires so much effort to go to a salon and have it done--my patience was all eaten up by the re-bonding session!

WET HAIR EXPERIENCE:

The Lush UK website (https://www.lush.co.uk/products/blousey) describes this as:

“[a] thick, deeply moisturising shampoo that hydrates your hair, leaving it feeling soft, nourished and cared for. Blousey is bursting with butters, bananas and berries to revive and protect hair. Bananas are protein-rich and soften the hair; cocoa and cupuaçu butters also restore moisture, xxx.” It might have hydrated, nourished and protected my hair but it did not show nor did I feel it. I did get to do my “no conditioner test” though (a test I do to see how well a particular kind of shampoo performs on its own), so this wasn’t as bad as the other shampoos I had tried (Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Lush’s Shampoo Bars Ultimate Shine and New) where my wet hair just screamed for conditioner! However, like I said, this was a mediocre performer especially taken in the backdrop of the price I had paid for it.

 

“xxx and antiseptic pimento berry is effective in maintaining a healthy scalp.”

My scalp felt great though. My hair felt clean, smelled clean (nothing of banana); oils were easily washed away but not leaving it stripped. BUT. But. Although my hair felt squeaky clean, my white towel would tell a different story. Some fibers from the banana would always be left behind, no matter how often and how vigorous you rinse your hair. Worse it would transfer to my poor white towel. At first it bothered me but towards the end, I just shrugged it off.

DRY HAIR EXPERIENCE:

I felt my hair to be a tad too bouffant, volumized and frizzy on day 1 when I used this without conditioner. Day 2 gave better results but I’ve seen my hair looking beautiful, soft and shiny with other shampoos  even without conditioner!

Pairing this with Lush’s Veganese & Happy Happy Joy Joy or Macadamia Natural Oil's Deep Repair Masque & Moisturizing Rinse, most definitely helped. But again, (who cares if I sound redundant, right?!) i’ve had better hair days with cheap shampoos paired with those enumerated conditioners.

SCENT:

I really do find the scent to be that of fresh bananas. Banana scents almost always come across to me as funky and off the mark but there is nothing artificial-smelling about this one. It helps of course that fresh real bananas are used. The scent may be strong if you sniff the product straight from the pot but the scent lightens up when used and pairs with other scents (of conditioners) well.

DOWNSIDE:

Aside from its mediocre performance, man how this product stings!!! So do not let it get to your eyes, even when rinsing! And if you have an over active imagination (like my sister), you might want to get used to the way it looks --think wrigglers in a pot of sludge. It doesn't help that it oxidizes as it ages.  Hope the picture helps.

TIP:

This product bubbles up only when there’s much water added to your hair. The first time I used this, scooped so much of it because my wet hair just did not lather up. It was when I started to rinse off under the shower that it did.

SHELF LIFE:

This lasted quite a long time. I used this for almost 2 month past the best before date without any changes in its performance.

INGREDIENTS: