H'Suan Wen Hua - I don't know how to pronounce the name of this product and neither did the assistant in the Lush store, but apparently it is the name of a Chinese god of hair. H'Suan Wen Hua was the first hair moisturiser that Lush created; it's a pre-shampoo treatment and Lush call it a "mega ... Read review
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A review by baby_uk on Lush H'Suan Wen Hua June 29th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Value for Money
Long Lasting?
Smoothing?
Conditioning?
Advantages:
Shiny, happy, healthy hair without the use of chemicals
Disadvantages:
Fragrance may put some people off
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
H'Suan Wen Hua - I don't know how to pronounce the name of this product and neither did the assistant in the Lush store, but apparently it is the name of a Chinese god of hair. H'Suan Wen Hua was the first hair moisturiser that Lush created; it's a pre-shampoo treatment and Lush call it a "mega conditioner". It's suitable for all hair types that are in need of a bit of a boost as it's filled to the rim with ingredients to feed and nourish your hair - quite literally!
I recently converted a colleague to the wonders of Lush after raving about how much I loved their products. One day I brought a copy of Lush Times to work for her and she promptly ordered an array of products, including the Marilyn hair moisturiser. After using it she said her dry, highlighted blonde hair was much softer and shinier - I feel I should take some credit for her new happy hair as it was me who recommended her to try Lush after all!
Anyway, after seeing the results on her hair, I decided that next time I went to Lush I wanted to try one of the hair moisturisers myself. The trouble was I didn't know which one to try so I enlisted the help of a smiley Lush helper. There are four different hair moisturisers in the range: Marilyn is for blonde hair, Arabian Bright is for brunette hair and add red tones to the hair, The Strokes is for seriously fluffy frizzy hair that needs weighing down, and H'Suan Wen Hua is for any hair type that needs a little bit of TLC. (The options below don't let me choose all hair types so I've selected dry/damaged because that's what I've got, sort of!)
I explained to the Lush assistant that about 6 months ago I had a couple of failed home hair dye attempts that had left my once healthy and shiny hair severely dry and lacklustre. My hairdresser (after telling me off) repaired the colour with a semi-permanent dye which had been helping improve the condition somewhat, but in the end I had to succumb to the scissors and cut it to my shoulders to remove most of the damage. My hair still needs some help and my hairdresser told me to use moisturising conditioners, which is why I wanted to try a hair moisturiser to give it a boost.
I'm not blonde so Marilyn was definitely out of the window. I actually dye my hair darker in order to hide the red tones I already have in my hair so Arabian Bright was also no good. My hair is not seriously fluffy or frizzy so The Strokes would have been too heavy for my hair. H'Suan Wen Hua sounded like it would give my hair just the right amount of care to help nourish and protect it, without weighing it down.
I was sold and so I went home with a 225g pot in my bag and my purse £5.75 lighter. The pot itself it a sturdy black plastic pot with a black plastic screw on lid. There is a label on the lid telling you the product name and the ingredients. There is a small round label on the side telling you who made your product and the "use by" date (this product expires after 3 months). There is also a larger label on the side on the pot again telling you the name of the product and also giving you the instruction for using the product - unfortunately, for some reason my pot had the instructions in Spanish! Luckily for me, my boyfriend speaks Spanish and he was able to translate it for me. You apply the product to dry hair, leave for 20 minutes, then shampoo and condition your hair as normal.
The ingredients in this product did remind me somewhat of a salad dressing, as it contains thing like balsamic vinegar, olive oil, watercress… It contains rosemary oil and balsamic vinegar to make the hair shine. Olive oil and lanolin are added to deeply moisturise and smooth your hair. Mashed up fresh organic bananas and avocadoes are thrown in as they are meant to be great at softening both the hair and the scalp, and watercress has been added as it is packed with vitamins and minerals which Lush claim will help to strengthen the hair against brittleness. Eggs are thrown in too for good measure, fresh free range eggs no less, which also have conditioning properties.
When you unscrew the lid, you are immediately hit with a very strong smell, like cloves. The product contains cinammon leaf oil, so that must be what I can smell. If you leave the lid off for a few minutes the fragrance starts to seep into the surrounding air and the room is soon scented too! The colour of the product is pale beige, like toffee yogurt, but the consistency much thicker like egg custard. The look of it combined with the scent really makes me start craving egg custard tarts!
I stick my hand into the pot and get a good amount, and smooth it through my dry hair. I comb it through as well to make sure it's been evenly distributed. Once it's on your hair the fragrance is very strong and as you have to keep it on for quite some time I would suggest you don't try this if you don't like strong scents. It looks colourless on your hair, your hair just looks like it's got gel or something in it. Then I've got to wait for 20 minutes, so I feed the hamsters and get the bath water running to kill some time.
After the time is up the product has started to dry a little bit but the fragrance is still there and it's still as strong as ever. I saturate my hair with warm water to rinse off the moisturiser then apply some of my usual shampoo. My shampoo doesn't lather up as much as usual, but it rinses out fine and my hair still feels clean. It is at this point that I start to notice some differences. My hair feels sort of rubbery, which I found strange as my shampoo is a conditioning shampoo and my hair normally feels silky when I rinse it out.
I squeeze out all of the excess water and apply my usual conditioner, comb it through, wait a few minutes and rinse it off. Here we go! Now I can really feel the difference in my hair; the shampoo and conditioner I use are fab anyway and leave my hair feeling soft, but as I am rinsing the conditioner away I can already tell that the moisturiser has worked. My hair feels all slippery under the water so I am already expecting great results.
I finish my bath and wrap my hair in a towel to absorb the excess water. Then I comb it through and the comb literally falls through my hair. As I am trying to reduce the amount of damage caused to my hair I let it dry naturally while I sleep rather than blow dry it, as I already straighten it which is a bit of a naughty!
The next morning when I woke up I pushed my hair out of my face and my hair felt incredibly smooth to the touch. I can run my fingers through my hair with ease because there are no tangles, not even after I've had a restless night. When I look in the mirror my hair is radiant, it's shining with health, even though I myself was feeling poorly that day. My hair feels bouncy and soft, and it shines even when I'm not standing in the light! Best of all it hasn't affected the colour in my hair at all; the colour is still bright and vibrant, I actually think this product might help the colour last longer.
Is my hair softer? Yep!
Is my hair stronger? Well, without tying weights to it I can only say it looks like it is!
Is my hair smooth? Definately!
Is my hair shiny? Oh yes, absolutely!
H'Suan Wen Hua costs a mere £5.75 for 225g, which is a pretty standard price for a good intensive hair treatment. But when you consider that your hair feels this great because it's just been fed with goodness rather than coated with nasty plastics like a lot of other hair conditioners, I think you'll agree that this stuff is better than good! Use it whenever your hair feels like it needs feeding!
Thanks for reading! :)
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Advantages: A treatment to restore damaged hair. Disadvantages: The smell might be off putting for some people. Not good for those who colour their hair.
...meeting someone. I went into Lush with the intention of something to help deep condition my hair. This is what the lovely Lush assistant at Covent Garden recommended. I did ask about Arabian Bright as I remember reading a review on that and it being good for coloured hair. She told me they no longer sold that (oh well) and said that H'Suan Wen Hua would help even the most damaged hair into ravishing locks again. I trusted her, bought it and went ... ...it I'll tell you what Lush claim they will do you your hair. The banana and avocado is supposed to soften the hair, the watercress will strengthen it. Olive oil and lanolin is supposed to make your hair strong and smooth and rosemary oil and balsamic vinegar to make it nice and shiny. It sounds great doesn't it?!
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Advantages: Leaves hair looking strong and full of life, nice for a treat Disadvantages: Not everyone will like the smell, a bit expensive to buy a tub
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Advantages: Works well :-) Disadvantages: Stinks awful :-(
...problem is Lush. Yes, the Lush I am always raving about. Lush that is beautiful, colourful and sweetly perfumed. Except, it appears, for the H’Suan Wen Hua hair moisturiser, that is.
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Production Year: 1994 - Drama - Director: Michael Elias - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Forest Whitaker, Kathy Baker, Don Cheadle
