Lush

[Go West Young Man]

Lush shampoos SLS-free since 2008
http://eco-chick.com/2008/07/1186/lush-solid-shampoos-now-sls-free/

Lush policy on ingredients and preservatives
http://www.lush.com/about/fresh-ingredients/

Minimal Preservatives
Preservatives are by nature poisonous, and have more to do with profit, supply chains and convenience than healthy hair and skin, or the environment.

Of the 300 products we make, about two thirds are unpreserved. To achieve this, we use fresh ingredients and minimal amounts of water. Liquid products containing water require some preservative due to the bacteria potential of the environment. Using preservatives gives products greater practicality, allowing for longer shelf life and room temperature storage.

The two preservatives we do use (methylparaben and propylparaben) are the safest, mildest ones we can find, and have been used in cosmetics and skin care for 60 years. Using more, or stronger, synthetics would mean compromising the benefits to your skin. We'd be more profitable if we preserved a product to last three years and warehoused the goods, but we think you deserve better.

If you look at a non-LUSH product and it doesn’t have a label showing when it was made, it could be anything up to 3 years old. We only sell our preserved products for up to 4 months after they’re made, and their total shelf life is 14 months.

 

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

+1, I've used some of their shampoo and soaps but I found that they didn't work too well for me. That and I can't stand going in because it smells too much. Bodyshop and BBW are both better IMHO.

I wondered what the stench was in Chinook. I assumed someone had dropped a case of distilled scent or something.

I only came in here when I saw the title. I thought it was about recreational habits . . .

Regards,

- John

 

[RichGem]

Lush shampoos SLS-free since 2008
http://eco-chick.com/2008/07/1186/lush-solid-shampoos-now-sls-free/

Lush policy on ingredients and preservatives
http://www.lush.com/about/fresh-ingredients/

Minimal Preservatives
Preservatives are by nature poisonous, and have more to do with profit, supply chains and convenience than healthy hair and skin, or the environment.

Of the 300 products we make, about two thirds are unpreserved. To achieve this, we use fresh ingredients and minimal amounts of water. Liquid products containing water require some preservative due to the bacteria potential of the environment. Using preservatives gives products greater practicality, allowing for longer shelf life and room temperature storage.

The two preservatives we do use (methylparaben and propylparaben) are the safest, mildest ones we can find, and have been used in cosmetics and skin care for 60 years. Using more, or stronger, synthetics would mean compromising the benefits to your skin. We'd be more profitable if we preserved a product to last three years and warehoused the goods, but we think you deserve better.

If you look at a non-LUSH product and it doesn’t have a label showing when it was made, it could be anything up to 3 years old. We only sell our preserved products for up to 4 months after they’re made, and their total shelf life is 14 months.

I can't find the citation right now, but sodium coco-sulfate that LUSH has switched to is the the same thing (or very nearly the same thing) as SLS. One site said that SCS and SLS are in fact the same, only diff being that SCS is naturally derived, but chemically the same.

 

[brumble]

Lush shampoos SLS-free since 2008
http://eco-chick.com/2008/07/1186/lush-solid-shampoos-now-sls-free/

Lush policy on ingredients and preservatives
http://www.lush.com/about/fresh-ingredients/

Minimal Preservatives
Preservatives are by nature poisonous, and have more to do with profit, supply chains and convenience than healthy hair and skin, or the environment.

Of the 300 products we make, about two thirds are unpreserved. To achieve this, we use fresh ingredients and minimal amounts of water. Liquid products containing water require some preservative due to the bacteria potential of the environment. Using preservatives gives products greater practicality, allowing for longer shelf life and room temperature storage.

The two preservatives we do use (methylparaben and propylparaben) are the safest, mildest ones we can find, and have been used in cosmetics and skin care for 60 years. Using more, or stronger, synthetics would mean compromising the benefits to your skin. We'd be more profitable if we preserved a product to last three years and warehoused the goods, but we think you deserve better.

If you look at a non-LUSH product and it doesn’t have a label showing when it was made, it could be anything up to 3 years old. We only sell our preserved products for up to 4 months after they’re made, and their total shelf life is 14 months.

Pro: Credit to Lush for making product ingredients easliy available and explaining why they use the products they do.
Cons: Unfortunately, the stores send out overpowering scents and I wasn't impressed with their brushless cream.

 

[RichGem]

Here we are: I call shenanegans on LUSH....

Announcement regarding Sodium lauryl sulfate versus sodium coco sulfate

In another thread, sodium coco sulfate came up as a gentler alternative to SLS.

I have done some research on this, and I am sad to inform those of you who are using sodium coco sulfate in place of SLS have had the proverbial wool pulled over your eyes, as SLS and sodium coco sulfate are the exact same chemical, with the exact same CAS # as 151-21-3.

Just doing my part to prevent the spread of misinformation on the part of cosmetics companies.

To reference my sources:
http://www.chemistrystore.com/sodiumcocosulfate.htm

Click on their Sodium Coco Sulfate MSDS.

Also:
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s3670.htm

Above taken from here: http://www.longhaircommunity.com/archive/showthread.php?t=71423

 

[DFrancis]

Here we are: I call shenanegans on LUSH....

Above taken from here: http://www.longhaircommunity.com/archive/showthread.php?t=71423

The sad thing is that it's not just Lush, a lot of companies are marketing green products that are still all chemicals, just naturally derived.

Also Lush products are so highly scented and brightly coloured, that can't be natural.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Here we are: I call shenanegans on LUSH....

Above taken from here: http://www.longhaircommunity.com/archive/showthread.php?t=71423

Hmmm, the plot thickens. Off to do some more reading.

 

[Malaspina]

In Lush's defense their product is much gentler than most of the other "Commercial" products. Unfortunately they are using a melt & pour base to create most of their product which more often than not contains some type of surfactant which is a detergent either from natural sources or chemically.

They do use a lot of fragrance and I personally cannot walk into one of their stores without instant migraine. I do like that when you go to their website they do tell you what ingredients are natural and which are not.

Shampoo Bars can be made using natural ingredients but they are not re-purposed soaps, or at least they shouldn't be because it is a different formulation completely.

Lush has done a good job at getting people to start making the transition from commercial soaps andf handcrafted.

Cheers

 

[samm]

I was in their store at Towson, MD about a year ago. They have a nice assortment of stuff for the both men and women, and I wouldn't mind using some of their shampoos and bath soaps and so forth.

But of course, I was looking at their shaving creams, and the cute young salesgirl put on quite a good talk about them. She was well versed on the ingredients and what each one does. She knew which ones lathered and which ones didn't. She didn't seem at all phased when I asked her about TALLOW. She knew what it was, and she knew that none of the soaps in the shop had any.

I didn't buy anything on that trip, but I did make a mental note to go back their and get some shave cream next time I visited Baltimore. Alas, when I went back, the shop had moved elsewhere in the mall, or maybe disappeared entirely, because neither me nor my friend nor the mall security could find it, even though we traveled up and down all 4 floors for an hour and a half.

the store in the towson mall is definitely still there as of 3 days ago. it's located in the new "luxury" wing. if you are not familiar with the mall, then i understand why you may not have been able to find it. i used to buy the shampoo and soaps all the time, then i cut back to only the shampoo, and now have even moved on from that. the scents were really nice, but i started questioning the expense. now instead of buying two shampoo bars for $20 with a free tin, i buy one $4 bottle of tea tree tingle from trader joe's. the traders shampoo lasts as long or longer than one shampoo bar at about a third of the price. i would rather use the lush shampoo as it is better quality, but not at that price disparity. tomorrow i am going to scope out the offerings at whole foods. hopefully will find a step up alternative to the tea tree tingle. any whole foods recs?

 

[digital_injection]

I have used a lot of their products and for the most part love them and continue to buy them. Here are a few of my favorites:

Goth Juice hair gel (which I heard may be discontinued )
Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo
Cosmetic Lad facial moisturizer
Greeench deodorant (a powder that smells like rosemary and thyme and lasts much longer than anything else i have tried. since i can't use anti-perspirant, i haven't had much luck with the stuff found in drug stores and supermarkets. regular speed stick and high endurance old spice original scent are okay and i still rotate between these.)
Ocean Salt face and body scrub

 

[thunderball]

Lush is huge in Japan and hence our cabinet is full of their soap. The wife loves it and I think it's...alright. Many of their scents are quite nice but they are overpriced and the soaps last about a week. Ah well, 'happy wife happy life' as they say...

Haven't bothered with their shaving stuff...