My hair has been the bane of my life for as long as I've been old enough to take care of it myself. I have naturally curly hair thanks to being mixed race, which is pretty dry and can be quite coarse. I've tried everything over the years; oils, serums, conditioners and way too many styling products to remember. The one thing I didn't think would have much of an impact is shampoo, that is until now.
Brazilliant is a solid shampoo in bar form that you use like a bar of soap; you can either rub it between your wet hands to form a lather and then apply this to your hair, or you can rub the bar directly in your hair. I've tried it both ways and they work equally as well though my hair gets knotty so easily that I prefer not to rub it too much so I prefer to rub the bar between my hands. I've tried a couple of shampoo bars over the years and I haven't really been that impressed with any of them, Brazilliant is a different story though.
The first thing of note is the smell that you get as soon as this shampoo hits the water; it's just gorgeous and is something I'd expect from a conditioner or even a shower gel, but not from shampoo. As you'd probably guess from a product that's bright orange, it has a very strong orange scent, but it's not too sickly or overpowering thanks to the addition of ylang ylang. I was able to pick up the floral notes as much as I could the citrus and they blend beautifully together. The scent doesn't linger in my hair sadly, but it's still nice to smell it when using the shampoo.
The second thing is the amount of lather the bar produces, its actually not a great deal. I was expecting heaps of bubbles, what I found was rubbing it between my hands created foam but as soon as I transferred it to my hair it all but disappeared. What I was left with was a lotion-like solution that was evenly distributed throughout my hair. It was strange using a shampoo that didn't lather much, but it's something that I very quickly got used to. The shampoo rinses out easily and doesn't take very long, so this would be the perfect thing to keep in your gym bag if you wash your hair after a work-out.
The second thing is the amount of lather the bar produces, its actually not a great deal. I was expecting heaps of bubbles, what I found was rubbing it between my hands created foam but as soon as I transferred it to my hair it all but disappeared. What I was left with was a lotion-like solution that was evenly distributed throughout my hair. It was strange using a shampoo that didn't lather much, but it's something that I very quickly got used to. The shampoo rinses out easily and doesn't take very long, so this would be the perfect thing to keep in your gym bag if you wash your hair after a work-out.
The best thing about Brazilliant for me, and the thing that will make me buy it again and again, is the effect it has on my hair once it's dry. I usually blow-dry my hair, and am always left with a big fluffy mess to tame with oils, other hair products and straighteners, but after using Brazilliant my hair is a lot smoother and far less frizzy, as well as being super soft and shiny. You know your hair looks good when someone goes out of their way to say "your hair is so shiny, what do you use?", that's what I was asked the first time I used this shampoo bar.
Because its target customer is those of us with Afro-Caribbean or curly hair, Brazilliant may not be the ideal shampoo for those with other hair types, but if you're like me and have always struggled to find a product that will help lessen the time you spend taming your locks, I'd recommend giving Brazilliant a try. I may still need a bit of work after drying my hair, but it's far less than before using this wonderful little product.
Priced at just £5.75, this shampoo bar will probably last me slightly longer than a 500g bottle of shampoo which costs the better part of £15, so is great value for money. The only negative thing I can think of is that it doesn't come in any packaging, so I had to buy a tin to keep it in, but you'll only ever need to buy it once. If you don't want to buy the tin to keep it in, I'd suggest finding another way to keep it dry and away from the steam of the bathroom, it might turn to sludge otherwise.
Lush Brazilliant Shampoo Bar is available online and in Lush stores nationwide for £5.75. You can buy the round tin here for £2.50.
Do you use any of the Lush shampoo bars? If you've got hair like mine what do you use for it?
