Something that I’m making a big effort to do in life is to choose more cruelty-free products, and towards the end of last year I switched the majority of my hair care to Lush products.

I made this change for a number of reasons. Firstly, my hair needed a major shake-up; I had to wash my hair everyday to avoid dealing with major grease issues, and secondly, I found that I was going through so much shampoo and conditioner, and probably over-using them, adding to the grease issue.

Switching to Lush products wasn’t exactly difficult, I mean, y’all know I’m a major Lushie, and I’ve used some of the products before, plus I was pretty excited to make this change to cruelty free and also cut down on the amount of chemicals going into my hair.

Now we all know that Lush products can cost a pretty penny. This has never really bothered me as I’ve always seen Lush products as a treat, and let’s face it, you can’t expect to pay Primark prices for handmade, cruelty-free high quality items, but I must admit that the thought of forking out for these on a regular basis had me a little concerned.

But here’s the thing: I’ve hardly bought any.

The switch has really been a win win scenario for me. Not only are the products so much better for my hair that I’m not having to wash it nearly as often, but I’m also being more careful about the amount of product that I’m using – partially due to be cautious of cost!

So what am I using and what am I spending?

Shampoo bars – I’ve switched from liquid to solid shampoo. Lush’s shampoo bars range from £6-8, and I tend to alternate between Seanik, a seaweed and seasalt based bar, which is available in all Lush stores, and Jumping Juniper, which is my all time favourite, although its now an Oxford Street and online exclusive. Now although I say alternate, I switched to shampoo bars back in October, and I’m only just starting my third one about now; generally I find the bars last at least 2-3 months washing every 2-3 days. Total spent since January? £12.50

Psst! Shampoo bars have no packaging, so make for a much happier environment!

Conditioner – I must admit that I was onto a winner with my first trial of American Cream, and I haven’t tried any others since – I mean if it ain’t broke? It smells so beautiful and I end up sniffing my hair all day. Conditioner being the product that I’m most guilty of over-using, I’ve really reined myself in and am using a fraction of the amount as I have done with regular branded conditioners. Total spent since January? £17.95

Rub Rub Rub – one of my favourite little Lush hacks is using my favourite shower scrub to clean my hair every now and then. Every 2-3 weeks, I’ll do a wash with a handful of this seasalt body scrub, and the results are fantastic. I’ve bought a few tubs of this, but I use more of it on the rest of my body than I do my hair!

So when your typical bottle of shampoo or conditioner costs £2-5 (and we all know that the conditioner runs out much quicker than the shampoo!), and lasts a month or two depending on how much you use it, I don’t actually think there’s that much of a difference in the amount of money I’d be spending on the market leading brands, and I’ve really noticed a difference!

I used to have to wash my hair daily, or risk a greasy second day, and now I can quite happily go 2-3 days between washes, and my hair just generally feels so much lighter and cleaner! Let’s just say, I’m not gonna be changing back!

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