New Hot Hair Oil Treatment

 While the rest of my life has come on in leaps and bounds this year, 2017 has not been a great year for my hair. After removing my extensions and causing some long-term damage in the process, an iron deficiency meant that my locks lost a good amount of their volume at the same time. Although I wanted to try everything in my power to rectify this problem, I also recognised the fact that I didn't want to throw everything at my hair and cause even further issues to arise.

When Lush unveiled their new hot hair oil treatments at their exclusive Summit event last month, I thought this would be the perfect time to really test out their merits, and what better way of doing that than by starting with the very release that boasted scalp stimulation and hair growth.

New Hot Hair Oil Treatment, as its name suggests, shares the same fragrance and characteristics as the best-selling New Solid Shampoo Bar. Designed to target the scalp in particular, the shampoo bar and this latest release features a combination of ingredients that supposedly stimulate the hair follicles and encourage new hair growth.

Cinnamon leaf, bay and clove bud essential oils have been added here, and they are at the forefront of the fragrance. Combined with menthol-rich peppermint and nettle, these ingredients supposedly boost blood flow in the scalp, which in turn stimulates the hair follicles. As a finishing touch, rosemary has been added to calm and protect your scalp and adds a glorious shine to your hair.

With this particular hot oil treatment, Lush have also added in a generous amount of jojoba oil. This not only helps to combine all of the ingredients into the format that it is presented as, but also allows the oils to coat your hair so that it can get to work at strengthening and rehydrating successfully.

To use, fill half an empty 250g Lush pot with boiling water, which probably equates to about 150ml if you wish to measure it out exactly. Immediately begin stirring the New Hot Hair Oil Treatment, keeping it submerged under the water so that the heat will melt down the solid block as quickly as it can. To begin with, you'll find that a few oils will float to the surface and there'll be a separation between the product and the existing water. However, as more of the essential oils dissolve into the water, you'll find that the consistency will thicken, and after about 3-4 minutes the whole block would have fully dissolved and left you with a thick paste. At this stage, you may wish to add a little extra water, if you desire a thinner consistency. However, I would recommend leaving it as thick as it is. This makes it far easier to apply to your scalp and hair, and you won't have any problem with the product dripping off and causing a mess. 

Despite its size, some users may find that they're able to get two uses out of this product. I have medium-length hair and rather consistency, and I found that I was able to cover my whole head with about two-thirds of the pot. Had I melted two of these down together, I reckon I could have probably stretched the treatments out across three uses. However, I should point out that if you do save this for a second application, I would use it up within two weeks and ensure that you store it in the fridge between uses. As there are no preservatives needed in this product in its solid form, adding water will only increase the area that bacteria can grow in, therefore encouraging the treatment to develop mould over time. 

Once you have applied it to your hair, wrap your head in either cling film or a carrier bag. This will generate heat and allow the oils to get to work, penetrating each strand of hair and stimulating the scalp. After 20-30 minutes, you will need to wash the product out of your hair, and you may find that you'll need to wash your hair twice through - the second time with a shampoo to ensure that all of the product has been rinsed out successfully.

What I found was that New Hot Hair Oil Treatment was quite stubborn when it came to rinsing it out, and when I first washed it through with just water, my hair was left with some of the oils still present. Using a solid shampoo bar and washing it a second time removed all of those oils and left me with wonderful, clean locks.

Once my hair had been brushed and left to dry naturally, I found that I could already see some volume that hadn't been there previously. It wasn't enough to cause a revelation, but it definitely made me feel a little better, given how thin my hair currently is. The addition of this did not make my hair fluffy or frizzy either - the treatment just seemed to take what hair I had and bring out the natural wave that often gets flattened down when I brush it a few times.

On the negative side, I don't think this treatment is as deeply moisturising as the likes of Damaged and Tangled. However, my hair did feel wonderfully soft the next day and there was a natural shine to it which I associated with the hot oil. Furthermore, I could also detect remnants of the wonderful cinnamon smell the next day as well, although this wasn't so strong that it couldn't have been banished by using a strong shampoo to wash it off in the first place. 

While I think that Lush still need to reformulate it a little so that it isn't so stubborn when you try to rinse it out, everything else about New Hot Hair Oil Treatment is looking very positive. It would definitely be one that I would buy again, if it was to become a regular product, and I would be interested to see how much of an impact it could make when used over a longer period of time.     

Quantitative Ingredients: Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Organic Jojoba Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Guar Gum, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Fine Sea Salt, Cream of Tartar, Perfume, Citric Acid, Bay Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Clove Bud Oil, Nettle Absolute, Rosemary Absolute, Nettle leaves, Peppermint leaves, Cinnamon Powder, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Cinnamal, *Eugenol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 73360.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £6.50 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2017.