(Review) American Cream: Get the Red Out of Your Hair

It occurred to me the other day that in the almost two years I've had this blog, I've yet to do a haircare review.  So let me break up the holiday monotony to write up a quickie on one of the first Lush haircare products I tried: the heaven-scented American Cream conditioner.

Before I get started, let me tell you a few quick facts about my hair.  It's thick, there's a ton of it (to the point where I get it thinned out regularly), it's more coarse than it looks (400°F straightening iron to so much as make a kink in it), yes it's naturally that dark, and I found my first traumatizing gray hair at the tender age of 16, plucking it out of my ponytail with horror and too much black eyeliner under my eyes.  In my morning meditation I always remember to thank my dear Papa Bear for bestowing his god-like hair genes unto me, and curse him for my premature grayness.  But mostly it's all about love (my dad's an awesome dude with a Swanson-esque 'stache).  And because of my (almost literal) horse mane, I need a conditioner that quenches my thirsty thirsty locks.

Enter American Cream.  One of the first products I bought after I was hired by Lush, I was initially attracted to the promise of some serious hydration as well as the scent.  In my personal opinion, the sage and vanilla scented conditioner is one of the best smelling products Lush has to offer.  Not only do these ingredients offer fantastic benefits like hydration, detangling, and shine, but they scent your locks all day!

I was so excited to use this that I nearly threw my silicone-laden conditioner bottles at my laid back roommate and pranced into the shower to luxuriate my hair in vanilla milkshake goodness.  I wasn't used to the feeling of non-silicone conditioners on my hair (side note: since working at Lush I've abandoned all silicone-laden products as they drive my hair crazy and are bad for the environment) so I was a bit shocked at how not silky my hair felt the first time around.  No biggie, I thought to myself.  I just need to adjust to it!

And so I waited.

...and waited

...and waited some more.

And after I few weeks of using American Cream, I found it did almost nothing for my hair besides make it smell pretty.  Honestly I was quite shocked.  While the consistency was a bit runnier than most conditioners I've used, I thought the ingredients would be enough to balance it out.  Unfortunately it barely hydrated my poor tresses, and my hair became a dry and frizzy poofball as a result.  However, that poofball was the nicest smelling poofball!  I will definitely admit that American Cream's scent really sticks to your hair, and every time I turned my head I would catch a whiff as a result.  I did also noticed that I shed a lot less hair when I used it as well, so I'm guessing American Cream also helped strengthen my hair.  Sadly, the moisture quality just wasn't there.

Overall I was disappointed with my trial of American Cream.  However I still have no problem recommending it to others.  I've seen products that don't work for me work wonders for others, and vise versa.  In my experience as a brand ambassador for Lush, I've found American Cream works well for people with thicker hair, but hair that isn't as coarse as mine.  But again, it all depends on your hair's wants and needs!  So if you think it might work for you, definitely pick up a sample or a bottle and try it out for yourself!  Didn't work for me, but it could very well be what you were looking for!



***American Cream is certified Vegetarian

(Review) D'Fluff: Bigfoot Tested, Chewbacca Approved

If there's one thing I know to be true, it's that the simple things in life that give me the most joy.  Like waking up to silence and sunshine and not the drunk college students that inhabit my building slurring and shouting their way up the steps to nurse a massive hangover.  Or going through one conversation with my mother without her mentioning my singleness and ebbing fertility.  And of course, that amazing feeling of dropping trou once you set foot in your apartment after a hard day of work.  Throwing all caution to the wind.  And by caution I mean pants.

But in all seriousness, simple things really do give me the most joy.  Give me my bed, a good book, and a mug of hot chocolate and I'm in total bliss.  Or a nice hot bath with a book and a bowl of fresh fruit to sustain me in my efforts to become the first ever human prune.  With two retail jobs and not much free time, these simple things have become a luxury.  While I may not always have time for a luxurious bubble bath or a piping hot mug of hot chocolate (sprinkled liberally with cinnamon of course), I find luxury in my morning routine.  A nice hot shower, an abrasive yet skin softening scrub, and of course, the silky smooth feel of freshly shaven legs.

I won't lie to you dear readers.  I, your loyal blogger, am a hairy she-beast.  Thanks to my father's lovely genes, I have head full of thick, black hair that takes two hair stylists to blow dry whenever I go in for a trim.  That hair also migrated to my legs.  Just my luck of course.  While some women elect not to shave their body hair (which is totally cool.  I have a strange admiration for a woman who can rival a man's pit hair with her own) I elect to shave mine.  There's just something about leg hair and stubble rubbing together that gives me the same effect of nails on a chalkboard.  So when I saw Lush was coming out with a new shaving cream this summer, my curiosity was piqued, as I was looking for a replacement for the aerosol shaving creams that left my legs unbearably itchy.

Staff box version of D'Fluff

D'Fluff was actually on its way to being a shower smoothie, but co-founder Mark Constantine shaved with it one day and found it a fantastic shaving soap, so its development was changed into the pink fluffy cream we know and love today.  D'Fluff was also inspired by strawberry marshmallow fluff, which I find heartwarming as it reminds me of my mom, who would eat the stuff by the jar, spoon in hand and fixated on her latest TV obsession (right now it's the reboot of Dallas in case anyone was wondering).  And since this soap includes strawberries, sugar, and syrup, it sounds good enough to eat!  But one thing that attracted me to this soap was the inclusion of fair trade organic cocoa butter, which I hoped would cure my post-shave itchiness.  Other moisturizing properties in this soap include coconut oil, rapeseed oil (pronounced "wrap-seed"), and rosehip oil to leave you with buttery smooth legs.

I was really excited to use this, as straying from my *insert crappy drugstore brand of shaving cream here* was a big step for me.  So I spun open the pot, scooped out the amount of about a silver dollar, lathered strawberry milkshake suds in between my palms, and spread on my pale, stubbly legs.  The lather felt very creamy and soft to me.  Barely any bubbles or foam, just a nice, creamy surface to glide your razor over.  I did chuckle a bit as I remembered my last foray into shaving alternatives (it involved cold wax, my sister's cameraphone, and myself earning the nickname "Patches" from a dear friend.  It was an unfortunate and pain-filled day) and hoped this wouldn't end the same way.  But as I ran my hands over my freshly shaven leg to check for any bits I might've missed, I was surprised at how silky smooth my legs were, and even more surprised when I toweled off and found no desire to scratch them raw.  The next day, they were just as silky smooth as the day I shaved them (I shave every other day or so).  Maybe the smallest, microscopic bit of stubble, but I was still incredibly impressed with how well this stuff worked! 

Keeping with the theme of "fuzz" my making this pic blurry.  Or maybe I just suck at photography.  Artistic interpretation and all that...

One thing I learned from further use of this product is that I have to use the exact size I started with.  No more, no less.  Too much is too thick and won't give a close enough shave, too little and it doesn't cover your whole leg, which gives the soap no slip and warrants a patchy shave.  But overall, this is a fantastic shaving cream that has deterred me from aerosol cans for good.  It smells fantastic too, not overly fruity or floral, and can be used by both men and women alike (though I find men to be deterred from the fact that it's pink...the male ego can be so fragile...) on any shaveable part of the body. 

The fuzziness represents the fuzziness we all have on our bodies and in our hearts.  Or is just another unintentionally blurry picture...

**D'Fluff is certified Vegetarian
***Pick up D'Fluff at your local LUSH store, or order online here

**Also just wanted to add that my readers mean the world to me, and subscriptions brighten my day.  Please take the time to subscribe to me via Bloglovin, Google+, or any other way of subscribing, and of course, comments are open and very much welcome!  I love to hear what you guys think and what I could add to make this blog more enjoyable for you!**