Product Review: Jumping Juniper

Like many, I suspect, I was initially sceptical at the notion of solid shampoo. I don't think I had any particular reason to be sceptical aside from the fact that I'd never heard of it before, but... hey, well, I guess that's a reason. I mean, solid shampoo? What is that? How could that possibly work?

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I suppose I should mention here that I have very long, Rapunzel-style hair. It's temperamental and it takes a whole lotta lovin' to keep it shiny and pretty. So again with the scepticism. Solid shampoo, I remember thinking, might work well for all them folk with short well-behaved hair, but not for me. But E. swore by the stuff, and her hair looked pretty darn good, (albeit nowhere near as long as mine) so I decided to give it a try.

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And once again, Lush came through with the goods. This stuff is fabulous.

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With solid shampoo (and, by all accounts, solid conditioner as well), I think you need to be wary of thinking that it's going to behave the same way as normal shampoo instantly. The first time I used solid shampoo, I was initially disappointed, because it felt sort of like it was stripping all the moisture out of my hair at the same time as the dirt. But it isn't so. It feels different at first, but once you dry it off, you discover that a) your hair is fine, and b) it's suddenly become really, really shiny. I'm not sure why it presents itself so differently when you wash your hair with it, but it does, so just ride the wave and you'll be laughing.

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And another thing: you might not think it, but these babies produce about 17 times the amount of lather as your normal chemical shampoo. And it smells fantastic.

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My one criticism of this particular type of shampoo - I picked out the Jumping Juniper to test drive, because a) it matches up to my hair type and b) it smells great - is that the smell doesn't hang around quite as long as you'd like it to. This one smells fabulous - it's full of juniper and lavender and smells kind of like G&T - but you have to wash with it a few times before the scent starts to cling, and even then, if you use a heavily scented conditioner (I'm currently using American Cream, also by Lush) it tends to block it out. But on the whole, I can't heap enough praises on Jumping Juniper. Fabulous stuff.

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So think outside the box. Solid shampoo: the way of the future. And it's environmentally friendly, too...

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- J.