13 Memories from Hugging It Forward in Guatemala
In February 2012, 21 LUSH staff from across the North American business went to Guatemala to work on a Bottle School, in partnership with the non-profit organization Hug It Forward.
As a Charity Pot Partner, Hug It Forward receives funding from LUSH to further empower Guatemalan communities with educational opportunities. While they provide support for the project, the school community actually builds the structure; one of the main connections Hug It Forward makes is linking up groups of people who can work on a portion of the project alongside them. In this case, LUSH Voluntourists participated in one stage of the El Retiro community project. Bottle Schools take several months to complete—learn more about this amazing work, and how anyone can help build a Bottle School here.
Aimee O’Donnell Saunders joined the trip from the LUSH Content Team. Here she shares 13 memories from her travel journal:
Waking up with Christy’s coffee and breakfast every morning in San Martin. The same blend of Hug It Forward coffee is available for delivery back home, but the food isn’t as good as the Full Moon Café. I am especially hungry for the breakfast burritos!
Wearing one common thread: Black “I *Heart* Chari...
How to Choose a Shampoo
Washing with the best ingredients to support your hair and scalp goals makes an incredible difference in your mane condition.
Hair needs vary as greatly as skin needs do, and so do lifestyle preferences. Hence the array of both solid and liquid shampoo options in our hair care range - shampooing has never been more fun!
Review the following statements and choose a shampoo based on what washes up.
I’d describe my hair as:
- A) Normal, not giving me too much trouble.
- B) Needy, it’s really an effort to get it looking good.
- C) Dull and dry to the touch.
- D) Oily and limp, lacking lustre.
- E) My hair’s fine—but my scalp is troublesome.
My current routine is:
- A) Washing when needed, and using a few other products here and there
- B) Washing, conditioning, heat-treating, styling and regular chemical processing.
- C) Washing and/or conditioning 3 or 4 times a week
- D) Washing hair every day.
- E) More geared towards my scalp health than my hair.
After I wash my hair, it feels:
- A) Clean, and easy to manage.
- B) Like starting from scratch on my overall look.
- C) Thirsty for conditioner.
- D) Less greasy than usual.
- E) Healthy and clean.
My goal for my hair is to:
- A) Keep...
EU Bans Animal Tested Products
Today marks an incredible milestone in the fight against animal testing.
After 20 years of delays, the European Union became the world's biggest cruelty-free market - banning the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics and ingredients. Any beauty product, from shampoo and mascara to toothpaste and creams will be prohibited from sale if it contains ingredients tested on animals after March 11.
“Testing cosmetics on rabbits and guinea-pigs is the ugly face of the beauty industry,” said Troy Seidle, Be Cruelty-Free campaign director for HSI. “With the EU closing its doors to animal-tested cosmetics, the beginning of the end of global cosmetics cruelty is within our grasp. EU citizens made it clear that they don’t want their mascara or shampoo to have been dripped in a rabbit’s eye or force fed to mice in massive doses, no matter where in the world that suffering has taken place. EU policymakers listened, and today is a major moral milestone in the history of ending cosmetics animal testing. Of course, cosmetics cruelty could end immediately if companies simply stopped testing on animals and selling their products in countries that require such testing. So Humane Society International sends this sincere message to the global cosmetics industry: Please don’t ignore this momentous mandate for ending animal testing. It’s time to listen to consumers; it’s time to take cruelty ou...
Putting Spring Into Your Skin Care Steps
Spring: nature’s invitation to give it a go, and start fresh in a new season. Warmer days coax our sandals from their hideouts, and there's a pull to make use of the longer days. It’s also a season associated with cleaning and clearing out clutter.
It certainly feels great to pare down to basics. We're all for the thrill of finding a new fantastic fit for your needs. We just don’t see value in tossing out old reliable staples—if something is continuing to perform, it’s worth keeping around season through season. A quick evaluation of your present needs aids the clutter-clearing process, while maintaining a focus on what is working for you.
Consider the following before your next toiletries purge:
What’s going on outside? How does spring weather impact your skin?
• Spring weather is notoriously mercurial, causing melee for skin sensitive to the elements. Fluctuation in temperature can send mixed signals to sebum-producing glands in the skin. Humidity, pollen and seasonal irritants outside make an impact too. Lavender-laden products like Dream Cream offer relief to skin looking for balance and itching or mild irritation.
• Warmer weather means more skin exposed under looser, lighter clothes (that, and less clothing overall). If winter has left you with blackheads and breakouts on areas other than the face, Coal Face Facial Soap and Read More...
10 Things You Might Not Know About EGGS!
Eggs add life to damaged hair, and promote healthy skin functions too. Binding together other ingredients in Fresh Face Masks and hair care, eggs are an important ingredient in many LUSH favorites, including Cosmetic Warrior Fresh Face Mask and H’Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturizer.
1. In Maya culture, the color yellow is associated with life. One of the primary examples supporting this is the color of an egg yolk.
2. Eggs contain protein and a host of vitamins and minerals that encourage hair’s conditioning in products like H’Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturizer, Curly Wurly Shampoo and Shine So Bright Split End Treatment. These are products targeted for the most thirsty, lack-luster hair!
3. All that protein makes them effective in a restorative function on the hair, building tensile strength, which increases the hair’s ability to withstand tension. Imagine the difference a pair of gloves would make if you were about to climb a rope. The rough rope might otherwise shred up your hands, but the gloves give you more traction, increasing your tensile strength.
4. A Hen may lay around 365 eggs per year, but this can (free-)range quite a bi...