Hairy Mcclairy Solid Shampoo

When it comes to purchasing products from Lush that I have never tried before, I usually only research into whether or not the item is vegan and buy it on this information alone. Often I appreciate the surprises that come from not knowing much about an item, and in most cases this mystery has served me well. 

When I acquired a rather large chunk of Hairy Mcclairy Solid Shampoo, I knew next to nothing about what its fragrance was or what type of hair it was supposed to cater for. So I was rather surprised then when I read the label that came with the piece and discovered its main purpose aside from washing hair. 

With the tagline 'ward off the scary', I really didn't know what to expect - envisaging that Lush had probably created a shampoo bar to help counteract major frizzy hair or something of that nature. What I discovered however was that this exclusive product had in fact been created to keep insects away during the warmer months. 

Featuring key ingredients to encourage mosquitos, nits and other pesky insects to stay away, Hairy Mcclairy is supposed to prevent 'small guests from moving into your main' and 'ensure they don't linger' and cause a nuisance. While I can honestly say that I have never had a problem with creatures setting up home on my head, I can see this being great for those who either dislike bugs full stop or sprint off in the opposite direction when a wasp tries to make an emergency landing on their forehead. 

Containing a combination of lemon, lime and ylang ylang oil, this shampoo has an incredible fragrance - one that would work so well as either a shower gel or a body lotion. When dry, this product has a scent that reminds me of old-fashioned pear drops - a gentle, sweet and slightly sugary fruity aroma - one that is slightly powdery on the senses but nevertheless beautiful.  

When being used in the shower, the aroma intensifies and it is then that you can smell the slightly liquorice scent of the star anise and the gentle floral element of the moringa powder. Together, these ingredients create a shampoo that would easily make my top five favourite smelling list when it comes to hair care.  

While the smell is something of an indulgence on the senses, the productivity and effectiveness of this shampoo is even more impressive. As with all of Lush's other solid shampoos, you can either massage it through wet hair, or rub it between your hands and create a lather, which can then be applied to your locks. Either way, you can really tell how much shampoo is compacted into a single bar as it lathers up really easily but takes forever to shrink in size.

Unlike Odango Solid Shampoo, this one creates a surplus amount of thick, creamy lather to massage across your scalp and hair. For this reason, you don't have to keep using this as a simple few seconds will amass enough product to clean your whole head of hair with. 

While it doesn't make your hair feel as instantly soft and glossy like other shampoo bars have been known to do, my hair was definitely really manageable and rather shiny once it had fully dried. Furthermore, I noticed that my natural waves were much more pronounced after using this shampoo for a good few weeks, so I would say that this would be great for those wanting to add volume to their hair and bring out the natural kink that they may have. 

Despite preferring the scent of this, I still prefer Odango overall as I think it is more suited for my type of hair and produces better, more noticeable results.  However, my 100g block of Hairy Mcclairy has barely shrunk since I began using it almost a month ago, and I can envisage it lasting me another two months, making it really good value for money. And while it didn't make my hair look and feel as lovely as others have done, it is still a great shampoo to use and will be one I go back to when I'm building in some volume during the colder months of the year. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Stearic Acid, Water (Aqua), Glyceryl Stearate & PEG 100 Stearate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Perfume, Organic Lemon Myrtle Oil (Backhousia Citriodora), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Soya Lecithin, Star Anise (Lilciim verum), 
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Moringa Powder (Moringa pterygosperma), Benzyl Benzoate, Citral, Limonene, Linalool. 

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £6.95 for 100g. 

Year Of Original Release: 2015.