All Things Lush UK: Karma Komba Solid Shampoo Bar

As far as solid shampoos go, there is little that they can really do wrong, which is why I find myself confused when one of Lush's unique discs does't work very well for me or my hair. Luckily, these negative experiences are far and few between, and in the case of this particular one, there is very little I can think of to tarnish its name.

Karma Komba was actually one of the first solid shampoo bars to grace my life - a decision I made solely because it shared its scent with the Karma range. With a body lotion, shower gel, liquid perfume and bath bomb amongst many other products, I couldn't think of anything better than completing the set by washing my hair with the fragrance as well.

Despite this, I do have to be very careful when it comes to the products I use on my locks. After years of dying, bleaching, blow-drying and straightening, my hair is still very hesitant to trust me with anything that I do, and it's certainly quick to react when I use something it disagrees with.

When reading the description of this particular shampoo bar, I wasn't initially bowled over by its properties. While most of Lush's shampoos have the ability to either stimulate hair growth, moisturise, repair or eradicate dandruff, Karma Komba didn't really have much to say for itself, and this worried me somewhat.

Luckily, I discovered very quickly that this shampoo is actually amazing. Although the first couple of washes seemed to leave my hair feeling rather frizzy and not as moisturised as others have done so, it didn't take long for this to be rectified - creating a soft, shiny and very radiant looking head of hair that stayed in this good condition for a good couple of days before I had to wash again.

Containing patchouli, sweet orange, lavender and lemongrass, this fruity-smelling shampoo bar has all of the key ingredients to clean your hair and scalp, calm any irritation, reduce and eradicate dandruff and keep your head looking and feeling well-balanced and healthy. While I'm lucky enough that I don't suffer from dandruff, after using this for a couple of days, I noticed that it had cleared up a number of scratches that I had somehow managed to inflict on myself, and it also worked with the natural highlights of my hair to bring out the vividity without stripping or dampening the natural hair colour already present.

Unfortunately, although other reviewers have expressed their love of the smell, I can't say that I was able to pick up enough of the smell to really comment on it. Although my bar was a fresh one, I found that the fragrance was very weak -nothing at all like the bubble bar or the body lotion, and this was slightly disappointing for someone who was wanting bursts of the Karma fragrance to keep me company throughout the day.

Having said this, I don't think the lack of fragrance takes away from the bar at all - it just meant that I was able to use different conditioners alongside this and not worry that the different scents would clash at all. Furthermore, the fact that my hair looked and felt incredible was much more important and far more impressive to let this aspect dampen my spirits.

As with all of Lush's shampoo bars, Karma Komba is very easy to lather up and coats your hair with a thick and very creamy lather that immediately begins to clean and soften upon impact. In fact, I would recommend that you're quite scrupulous when it comes to the application of this shampoo and only lather it across your hair for about 2-3 seconds. I say this because my bar only lasted me for two months when most of Lush's solid shampoo bars tends to last me at least three months.

On the positive side, my hair now has a natural shine to it which really brings out my highlights - this is without making it look greasy or flattening it at all. In the two weeks that I have been using this shampoo bar, I have not noticed any fading of my hair dye, and if anything it's only heightened the different colours that are naturally present in my locks.

While I wish that Karma Komba fragrance was strong enough to remain on me for longer, I cannot really fault how it works on my hair. This will definitely be a shampoo I buy regularly - especially in the summer months when, alongside the sun, this bar will help to bring out my natural highlights and give my hair a wonderful, natural shine.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Perfume, Patchouli Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, Lavender Oil, Pine Oil, Lemongrass Oil, Elemi Oil, Gardenia Extract, Citral, Geraniol, Citronellol, Limonene, Linalool, Colour 42090, Colour 19140, Roman Chamomile Flowers.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £5.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: ?