It has taken me quite a while to build up the courage to use this shampoo bar - just going on the reactions I have read about online. So many people I have spoken to have advised me to 'leave this one - trust me!', while others have nervously laughed and avoided talking about it. Being the inquisitive person that I am, I wasn't going to let a few rumours deter me from purchasing this bar and I was almost giddy when my Lush parcel arrived at my door.
Soak And Float Solid Shampoo Bar was a product that generated a lot of bad press (see above) and I think the main and only reason was due to its fragrance. To begin with, it possessed a very pungent aroma - one that to me, smelled like clothes the day after they'd been around a bonfire. It had that heavy and rather intoxicating smoke scent - thanks to the inclusion of the cade oil in the ingredients list.
Yet perhaps due to its off-putting scent, or just because they felt like it, Lush reformulated and re-released this bar back in August with a slightly different fragrance and a much more effective format. Now sharing its scent with the All Good Things Liquid Perfume, this bar still has that smoky element to it, but it is now complimented with a sweet, candy-esque element that makes it much more palatable on the senses.
 |
| Old Format (Pre-August 2015) |
Yet perhaps due to its off-putting scent, or just because they felt like it, Lush reformulated and re-released this bar back in August with a slightly different fragrance and a much more effective format. Now sharing its scent with the All Good Things Liquid Perfume, this bar still has that smoky element to it, but it is now complimented with a sweet, candy-esque element that makes it much more palatable on the senses.
Yet Lush have not made possibly the strongest smelling shampoo bar without a good reason. Cade Oil is known for it's antiseptic, antimicrobial and fungicidal properties and has been used since the nineteenth century to sooth skin and scalp complaints. Given that this hair product has been designed to specifically target those with dry and flaky scalps, it's a good thing that Lush have crammed this bar full of the essential oil.
Luckily for me I don't suffer from dandruff, but I used this bar for a good four weeks and was rather impressed with the results. While the shampoo bar does pertain an initial strong fragrance, once you begin using it in the shower, this smell dampens slightly so you don't have to worry about being overwhelmed by the cade oil under the heat of the water. Furthermore, I used this alongside Veganese, which I think is a fairly gentle-smelling conditioner, and Soak And Float only left a slight smoky aroma in my hair. If you were worried about smelling like a campfire after using this, I'm sure that most strong-scented conditioners would overpower the smell and leave your locks smelling lovely.
Luckily for me I don't suffer from dandruff, but I used this bar for a good four weeks and was rather impressed with the results. While the shampoo bar does pertain an initial strong fragrance, once you begin using it in the shower, this smell dampens slightly so you don't have to worry about being overwhelmed by the cade oil under the heat of the water. Furthermore, I used this alongside Veganese, which I think is a fairly gentle-smelling conditioner, and Soak And Float only left a slight smoky aroma in my hair. If you were worried about smelling like a campfire after using this, I'm sure that most strong-scented conditioners would overpower the smell and leave your locks smelling lovely.
While I cannot comment on how effective it is at removing and preventing dandruff, what I can say is that this bar lathers up just as effectively as most of Lush's other solid shampoos. You use them in the same way as you would soap, either rubbing it over your wet hair to create a lather, or massaging it between your palms and applying the lather to your hair. This bar produces a light, bubbly lotion that can then be applied easily.
Not only this but Soak And Float lasts for a very long time; you can get near-enough 80 uses out of a single bar, which works out at just over 7 pence a time. I wash my hair every day, and even after 4 weeks of usage, the bar hadn't shrunk at all - it's definitely great value for money.
Although my hair felt clean after a few weeks of use, I did notice that my locks became rather dry and slightly frizzy at the ends. While it didn't strip any of the colour out of my hair, it did seem to remove some of the moisture that other shampoos would normally protect. This might be useful for those of you with perhaps slightly greasier hair - I can see this working well at managing and reducing the natural oils and leaving you with lighter, gentler hair.
While it did clean my hair, and overtime I was able to appreciate the smell much more than I originally did in the shop, this is not a shampoo that works well with my hair. However, I would definitely recommend that you try it out for yourself and not be put off by it's smell - I've heard it works wonders for those who need to rid themselves of a dry scalp, and given that this is its main purpose, I'd say it's a rather effective shampoo.
Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Water (Aqua), Cade Oil, Lavender Oil, Marigold Petals, Rose Petals, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume.
Vegan?: Yes.
2015 Price: £5.95 each.
Scent Family:
All Good Things Liquid PerfumeAll Good Things Solid Perfume
Soak N' Float Solid Shampoo
I love the old S&F smell and formula, just gorgeous! The new one isn't for me, sadly.
ReplyDeleteI too am sad that they changed the recipe. I sent a inquiry to Lush and they informed that those of us who liked the former smell were too few and far between. Unfortunately I will be looking into other companies and a DIY version now.
Deletei love the smell of the new one, it's 'all good things', or close enough... but it makes my my scalp worse! T_T
ReplyDeleteTotally sad to get my first 'new' bar with none of the smoky loveliness of the old one. Just smells like forgettable generic 'Lush shop smell'.
ReplyDeleteWorst thing is it doesn't work as well either - it's no good at treating the scalp now. Feel like I might as well be using soap.
That's the factual truth. As a type 1 diabetic with changing blood sugar levels and scalp chemistry throughout the day, the new formulation is a sincere disappointment in comparison to the original.
DeleteI am 55 year old male who has suffered psoriasis on my scalp all my life. I have since a young child tried all sorts of medication prescribed by my GP to no avail. About two years ago after quit a lengthy web search looking for a alternative cure I came across a woman's blog type page with an article praising and recommending as a total cure for psoriasis the Lush products combination of Superbalm, Soak and Float, Veganese. I purchased these products the next day from your Southampton branch. She was indeed correct I almost Instant success. I was delighted with the healthy scalp it gave me. My hair smelt lovely with the combination and felt good. My family loved the smell the Soak and Float left in the bathroom too. I have recommended this combination to many acquaintances suffering the same problem and on a visit to my doctor told him of my discovery who was pleased for me and asked for the names of the products so he could pass on the information to other patients. On the 29 September 2015 I placed an order on line for three more Soak and Float bars. A couple of day's latter they arrived and on opening the box I Knew something was wrong. The familiar smell was not there and they looked more yellow/pale. I went directly to the Lush web site and on further reading found you had changed the formula. Since receiving the new formula I have washed my hair four times using the combination three products and horror my psoriasis is coming back with avengence. Whatever made you change something that was not broken. If after reading some comments on the smell surely this was a small price to pay for a product that actually worked. I have read today quite a lot of comments on the web mentioning there disappointment that the Soak and Float has been changed and now does not work. Is it possible to undo this change to your product or even have this new version as well as the old that worked.
ReplyDeletePlease, please lets have the original Soak and Float back.
Thank you.
Mr. M Williams
Hey Martin,
DeleteI am so sorry to hear that the product has stopped working for you - especially after the success that you've had with it! I think I should point out that I am in no way affiliated with Lush and have no say over what they do with their products or what they release (for shame!). I would highly recommend that you contact them and express this concern/annoyance as if there's been a number of complaints, they might rethink this change! Here's hoping they'll listen :)
it was just confirmed- soak and float is experimenter!
ReplyDeleteWhy lush??? Why did you change it? I LOVED that smell. My psoriasis LOVED it. Please change it back... My heart is broken. I won't be buying it anymore sadly... Really really disappointed.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI am super new to Lush products, and I only stumbled upon them after googling "natural itchy scalp prevention shampoo" and read about soak and float. I was initially very skeptical of a shampoo bar, but I am an utter convert! I'm a week into using it, and my head is hardly flaky at all compared to normal, and much less itchy, and the shine and condition is lovely! I've used the jungle solid conditioner too (not on my roots / scalp though) and my hair is in the nicest condition it's been in for ages. Hope this helps - and for the record I quite like the smell too :D xx