I never thought sea salt shampoo would work in my curly hair, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Way back in July, I wrote about how LUSH’s Sea Spray shocked me to the core by being the hair care product I never knew I needed. To recap, I have curly hair, and I’d always assumed that sea salt sprays were for girls with pin-straight locks. Spoiler alert: Sea Spray totally revolutionized my hair care routine, cutting out the steps I used to take to apply leave-in cream (and/or gel, and/or mousse).
Whenever I find a hair care product I love, I commit to it in a big way. When I noticed that my bottle of Sea Spray was getting dangerously close to empty, I made a trip to LUSH to pick up a replacement. When I walked into the store, one of the employees asked if she could help me find anything. Her face fell when I told her what I was after.
“Oh my God, we literally just sold out of Sea Spray. I am so sorry,” she said. She seemed sincere, but I couldn’t help myself: a quiet “nooooooo” escaped from my lips.
“OK, don’t be sad,” my new friend said. “I have a shampoo that I think you’re going to like.”
“That sounds nice,” I said out loud. Not as nice as Sea Spray, I said in my head.
My friend led me over to a cute little display of LUSH hair care products. She picked up a small black tub labeled “BIG” and unscrewed the lid.
“So, this is Big,” she said. “It’s a shampoo made primarily out of sea salt, and if you like Sea Spray, you’re going to love it. It’s really good for giving you volume, and it’s got a lot of coconut oil and avocado butter in it, so it’s actually pretty hydrating for curly hair. Here, stick your hand in; you can feel the big chunks of sea salt.”
I gingerly stuck a finger in the tub, and sure enough, I could feel the sea salt. I could also feel that Big was really smooth and soft, which was a very pleasant surprise.
“Oh, what the hell,” I said. “I’ll take it. But put my name down for a phone call the next time Sea Spray comes in, would you?”
A few days later, I was ready to try Big for the first time. I scooped out a tiny amount—no more than half a teaspoon—and spent a minute or two massaging the grains of sea salt into my hair. I was surprised at how well the shampoo lathered and at how soft it felt. After lathering, I rinsed and applied my current go-to conditioner, L’Oréal’s EverCurl Hydracharge. When I finished showering, I rubbed in a dime-sized amount of EverCurl Hydracharge Leave-In Cream and left my hair to air dry, as per usual.
And lo and behold, my hair looked great when it was dry. Not only did my roots have more volume than normal, but my curls were hydrated, my strands were shiny, and my entire scalp felt squeaky clean. Big completely removed all of the annoying product build-up in my hair, which was a huge bonus: like most curly-haired women, I typically have an average of 75 different products on my head.
Despite using both a scented conditioner and a leave-in cream, my hair still smelled like Big, which was just fine with me. The scent is really, really unusual—it’s not floral or fruity or tropical, but it is nice (and not at all overwhelming).
By now, you’re probably thinking, well, shit, I’d better rush out and buy me some Big. And yeah, you should, because it’s a great shampoo, but I do have two tiny complaints that I think you should read before you whip out your credit card. Firstly, Big is expensive: $27.95 is a hell of a lot more money than I’d normally spend on shampoo. However, I only wash my hair once or twice a week, and a little bit of Big goes a long way, so I can live with the price. The other thing I think you should know is that a few reviewers on LUSH’s website found Big to be a little abrasive. If you wash your hair often or have very fine strands, you should probably use Big no more than once a week.
Otherwise, this shampoo is perfect, and I love it. But now I want to know what you think: have you tried Big (or any other sea salt shampoo) before? What did you think? Do you know any other unconventional shampoos that you think I should try out? Leave me a note in the comments section and let me know.