Lush – Roots Hair Treatment Review

I’m not a big fan of hair masques. They take up precious shower time (and I already take a little too long in the shower), they can be messy and most of the time they end up turning my already thin hair into limp, flat hair. However, since I dyed my hair fuchsia I’ve been needing to up the hydration as my hair becomes tangled easier. The first hair masque I pulled out of my beauty cupboard was Lush Roots Hair Treatment. It specifically says on the packaging that it’s for ‘thine’ hair – thin and fine hair.

Did this treatment save my knotty ends without turning me into a greaseball? My review reveals all. 

 Review Lush Roots Hair Treatment – Packaging, texture and scent

• Roots is one of the few products from Lush that aren’t packaged virgin, which means it comes with packaging. It’s packed in a small pot made from 100% recycled plastic. It has a screw-top lid which seals nice and tight so no water can get in if you leave it in the shower. Most importantly, the entire plastic tub can be recycled or you can collect them and exchange 5 empty tubs for a full-size mask FREE.
• The off-white cream is light and airy, like it has been whipped. There is a pearlescent shine you can see in sunlight, which I assume comes from the eggs used in the formula.
• As soon as you open the lid you are hit with the strong mint scent. Menthol, peppermint oil and spearmint oil are all used in the formula and you can definitely smell it. I personally loathe the smell (and taste) of mint but I found the hardest part was during the application. After that, my senses became climatized and I didn’t notice it. It hit me again as soon as I started washing it out but once it was all gone I couldn’t smell it. There was no lingering scent in my hair once it was dry.

How I use Lush Roots Hair Treatment

• I used about 50g of the 225g tub. My hair is thin but I have a lot of it and it’s long (it finishes past the bottom of my rib cage. I was very generous with my application, starting at the roots and working down to the ends. When I read that I had to apply it to my roots I was freaked out because that’s a big no-no when you have hair-thin hair, but I did it anyway. After all, the product is named Roots.

• As per the instructions I massaged it into my hair for about 20 minutes. Ok, that is a lie because 20 minutes of massaging your own head is awfully painful on your arms. I lasted about 5 minutes and then I just let it sit in my hair. I think it’s incredibly unrealistic for anyone to massage their own head for that long but if you have a loved one willing to do it I say rope them in.
• While the product ‘cured’ it didn’t become hard or crunchy, nor did it drip from my hair. It stayed in that light but thick consistency and clung to my hair perfectly.

Does it work….??

• Rinsing it out was surprisingly easy. I rinsed with warm water for about 2-3 minutes which seemed to get the majority out of my hair. Then I did a single shampoo and it was all out after that. Instantly I feel how much softer my hair was and the ends weren’t feeling as rough but I continued with my conditioner anyway. As I always do, I used my Splash Tangle Teezer to brush it through and this is usually a slightly painful process for me as it pulls a lot of my knots out. Despite how soft my hair felt, it still took a bit of effort to brush the conditioner in and it still pulled a number of knots out. I definitely thought the brush-through would have gone smoother and at that point, I figured the treatment didn’t work.
• After towel-drying I could feel how wrong I was for jumping to conclusions. My hair felt much softer and combing it was a breeze, it didn’t snag once. This has been the same whether I towel dry, air dry or blow-dry.
• After just one use my dry, lackluster hair was smoother, easier to brush and shinier. The instructions recommend using it up to 3 times a week but the most I’ve done yet is twice a week, which has given my hair a new lease on life. It’s definitely looking plumper, it’s easier to brush and dry without the knots and there has been less breakage when I tie my hair up.
• Despite my initial fears, this treatment has not caused my scalp to become oilier or make my hair limp. It truly does what it says it will do.

What Lush says about Lush Roots Hair Treatment….

A treatment for thin and fine hair. The route to mighty fine hair! Fine hair needs careful looking after, this treatment is packed full of ingredients to revitalize it from root to tip. There’s honey to soften; fresh eggs to add protein to the hair and scalp and to add shine; along with some extra virgin olive oil to strengthen and condition the hair. It’s one of Mark Constantine’s trichology creams from the early days when he worked at a well-known West End hair salon and really needed to sort people’s hair out. Roots works on the scalp to make it beautifully healthy, which in turn makes your hair healthy, strong, shiny and voluminous. He added lots of menthol to the recipe, which stimulates the scalp and encourages hair to grow to its full length, giving the appearance of thicker hair.

My recommendation for using: Get someone to apply to dry hair for you and give you a lovely head massage! Get this one onto the scalp first and gently massage, then coat the hair and leave it on for 20 minutes. Gently shampoo out and condition as normal. Use 3 times a week for a couple of weeks to see real improvement.