Review: Lush Coolaulin Conditioner

A recent trip to Lush led me to pick up their Coolaulin conditioner, a coconut conditioner for dry, processed or curly hair - and coincidentally, my hair is all three!

The most striking thing about this conditioner is the scent. I absolutely love the smell of coconut, and I was expecting this to smell very strongly of it. I was surprised, and also pleased, to discover that the coconut scent is rather subtle, and has slightly woody undertones - smelling to me like a more natural scent than that in products I've used before.

While the instructions don't call for it to be left in the hair, as with most conditioners, I left it in my hair for 15 minutes to get maximum effect. I wasn't disappointed! My hair was left soft and much shinier than usual, with a slight scent that didn't linger for long. While not an intensive conditioner, it'll make a good regular use conditioner for dry hair.

The only reservation I have about this is the inclusion of SLS, or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is a surfactant used to lift oil from the hair, or to thicken or add lather to a product. Lush say they use it as a thickener. This seems odd to me, given that this product is marketed for curls, despite SLS often being thought of as damaging to curly hair.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can get it from Lush, £6.30 for 240ml (and available in other sizes too).