Cafe Vegan Protein Shampoo

If there is anyone on the planet that needs a protein boost for her hair, it's yours truly. There hasn't been a day over the last few years where I can honestly say that I haven't battled to get my hair to retain at least some volume and at least some shine. My hair seems to be destined to remain a glorified bird's nest for the foreseeable future  and I'm not in the slightest bit comfortable about that fact.  

When Lush first announced their four brand new vegan protein shampoos, I was excited not only because of the fact that they were specially labelled as vegan, but because they also had the word protein in the title as well. Having lived a plant-based lifestyle for close to fifteen years, I cannot even begin to count the hundreds of times someone has tried to convince me that the two cannot coexist together.

Cafe Vegan Protein Shampoo was probably the one I was most excited about out of the four variations, if only for the fact that it came in a bright green colour. When I found that it was one of the best protein shampoos to foam up under the water as well, this limited edition solid bar won me over for good.   

Containing fresh mint water, menthol crystals and caffeine powder, I was expecting the smell to hit me like a tonne bricks, and knock me for six back into my twenties. However, I was intrigued to find that the fragrance of this is very mild to begin with, and only really makes its presence known when it's being used under warm/hot water.

Having said this, when the scent does make itself a little more prominent, it certainly isn't anywhere near as potent as I as assuming it would be; and it also doesn't smell anything like what the ingredients list might suggest. As many people to come before me have stated, the smell of Cafe Shampoo reminds me almost of those banana foam sweets that you used to get in your bag of pick 'n' mix. There is something rather creamy about the combination of the vanilla, lemon oil and geranium that makes it smell very foody and delicious.

One of four limited edition vegan protein shampoos that Lush released a couple of months ago in their Lush Labs, Cafe also boasts a large helping of aquafaba, which is the protein-rich liquid that chickpeas reside in. This shampoo not only promises to strengthen and rebuild your hair, but also features a large dosage of caffeine to help stimulate the scalp and encourage hair growth.

What I found after using this shampoo bar for a couple of weeks was that my hair did look and feel noticeably thicker, and the ends of my hair - which tend to appear thin and scraggly - seemed to settle against my shoulders a little more comfortably. It's usually a sign of greatness when I'm able to wear my hair down without doing much to my locks, and there were times when I was able to do that whilst using this every other day.

Impressively, I found that when I rinsed Cafe out of my hair, the lather appeared a little softer than it had done applying it in the first place, and I could feel the shampoo getting to work at softening my hair as well. While it's not strong enough to replace a conditioner by any means, I found that I could use this without using a conditioner, and my hair didn't seem to mind this at all.

Ultimately, this is yet another great success for Lush hair care, and is perhaps my favourite vegan protein shampoo so far. Lush would do well to invest in bringing out more of these than their original shampoo disc bars, as I find these appear as if they're going to last longer, and the results are much more successful than some of the original bars I've tried.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Coco Sulfate, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Aquafaba, Fresh Mint Water (Aqua), Ethyl Macadamiate, Perfume, Lycopodium Powder, Guar Gum, Clove Bud Oil, Geranium Oil, Brazilian Orange Oil, Sicilian Lemon Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Menthol Crystals, Caffeine Powder, Cetrimonium Bromide, *Anise Alcohol, *Citral, *Citronellol, *Eugenol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 45350, Colour 42053.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £15 for.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.

D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap (Egg Free Vegan Version)

Back when I first began buying and collecting Lush, there was a shaving product called Shave The Planet, which was one of my favourite products to buy from the 'retro range', as it was called back then. Just like my much-loved 9 To 5 Facial Cleanser, there was never a day when I didn't use this to give myself the closest shave possible. However, the one big issue I had with this shaving foam was that I always struggled to get the remnants out of my razor between shaving. The product was rather on the thick side and I broke many a blade trying to tap the excess gunk out of the razor.

Fast forward to 2019 and Lush announce that many of their products were now being replaced with egg-free versions instead. Although there were many consumers unhappy with this decision, I found myself suddenly able to buy one of the products that I'd always wanted to try, but hadn't been able to up until that particular moment.

D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap is very unique in that it's the only one of its kind in stores across the globe. Sharing its scent with my favourite fragrance, Yummy Mummy, this pastel pink liquid soap is designed to be used by anybody and everybody, and across any areas of the body that you wish to remove unwanted hair.

While I won't be able to document any experience with shaving beards or moustaches, I can safely say that this wonderful soap is perfect for getting the smoothest, softest legs, armpits and bikini lines. Not only does it make shaving far easier and more effective, but the beautiful fragrance lingers on the skin afterwards as well. 

Quite an odd consistency, you only really need about a grape-sized amount of each leg, and the same again for both the bikini line and the armpits. Make sure the areas of you wish to shave have been softened under the bath water for a few minutes, or exposed to the heat of the running shower water, and then massage the soap across the areas you wish to shave.

D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap will doesn't lather up like a regular soap: instead producing a lather that is slightly soapy but also a little creamy as well. It's hard to explain but this product definitely has a consistency that is different from most gels, creams and soaps, but is equally not that far away from these either. 

Once applied, simply shave as you normally would and then rinse the product away once you have finished. Although not particularly moisturising, this shaving soap does leave the skin feeling really clean and smooth: you can definitely feel the difference it makes, as opposed to if you were to shave without using anything. However, it's hard to explain how that feels unless you try it out for yourself.

As I've only been shaving for twenty years, I still struggle from time to time with catching areas around my knees and ankles with the sharp blade. D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap has all but eradicated this issue for me, and I can safely say that I haven't accidentally made myself a blood donor during any of my showers since buying this product.   

This has definitely become a staple in my household, and I will continue to use this most days to create a clean and close shave. Furthermore, my skin remains really soft and smooth for most of the day after using this in the shower, and I don't always need to shave again the next day, as the results last longer than when using a gel or regular soap to shave with.

Quantitative Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil, Golden Syrup, Glycerine, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Rose Hip Oil, Fresh Strawberries, Aquafaba, Organic Maple Sugar, Vanilla Absolute, Sweet Wild Orange Oil, Rose Absolute, Silken Tofu, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Bentone gel, Propylene Glycol, EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzyl Alcohol, *Eugenol, Hexyl Cinnamal, *Limonene, Perfume, Colour 16035, Colour 45410.

Vegan?: Yes.

2019 Price: £6.95 for 70g, £12.95 for 150g.

Year Of Original Release: 2019.