Bright and Beautiful

With charcoal, we’re a bit like an early Beatles fan grumbling ‘I saw them at The Cavern before they got famous’. Because at Lush, we definitely sang the benefits of charcoal before it became a cosmetic superstar!

Charcoal results from the combustion of carbon-full materials, such as wood. Traditionally, it is made by stacking dried wood in kilns to burn until completely charred, which can last up to sixteen hours. Used as fuel for thousands of years, it is also a natural black pigment much appreciated by cavemen and modern artists alike. Charcoal has, in fact, countless game-changing applications, such as a water purifier, gunpowder, medicine or even… cosmetic ingredient!

What really sets charcoal apart is its porous nature. Charcoal particles are full of holes and crevices called micropores, which give the material adsorption powers. Adsorption means that the holes help external molecules and atoms adhere to the charcoal's surface and be transported with it. After these properties were documented in the 1700s, they were tested for medical applications in the 1800s and found success as an antidote to some ingested poison.

Activated charcoal or activated carbon, as you may sometimes see it labelled, is charcoal pushed to its limits. Simple charcoal goes through a complex chemical process that not only removes every possible impurity but also increases the porosity and, therefore, the adsorption capacity of charcoal. This highly improved material is included in the WHO list of essential medicines.

It gives a deep cleanse by attracting excess oils and impurities.

Depending on its particle size, it can gently exfoliate the skin from dead skin cells and polish the teeth.

In deodorants, it helps control sweat and limit the growth of body odour-producing bacteria.

In haircare, its cleansing properties can leave the hair feeling lighter, which results in extra volume and bounce.

To find out more about our suppliers, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Sweet and zesty grapefruit takes you and your skin to paradise!

Grapefruit (Citrus x paradisi) is a hybrid between an orange and a pomelo that is native to the Caribbean island of Barbados. There are many varieties with different skin and pulp colours, the best known to consumers being pink and red grapefruits as they have the sweetest taste.

At Lush, we use fresh pink and white grapefruit depending on our product inventors’ wishes but also availability on the food market. The essential oil is made from white grapefruit only; a variety with a yellow pulp that is a favourite in the juice and perfume industries.

They are bursting with salicylic acid, a natural fruit acid that exfoliates and clears the skin and scalp.

The sweet and zesty aroma of their fresh juice lifts the spirits! It is said to remind us of the sun’s energy and can help perk up a dull morning.

Their high vitamin C content helps to firm, smooth and brighten the skin.

The oil has a sparkly, joyful scent.

It gives shine to the hair.

It has antiseptic, astringent and mattifying properties on the skin and scalp.

Grapefruit’s sweet and citrusy aroma is about 90% limonene, an aromatic antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. This is why the oil is thought to have skin-firming properties. It really is a terrific fruit!

Finding a good, direct source for grapefruit oil has been a challenge over the years as the white grapefruit variety is often overshadowed by food industry trends, which can influence the quality and availability of the oil. Fortunately, after some research, Lush buyers found an essential oil processing company in the USA that can meet our production needs.

The fresh grapefruits are purchased from specialist distributors. Depending on the time of year, they source products from different countries to try and achieve availability all year round. They work hard to supply as much organic product as possible and provide the highest quality available the rest of the time.

Spicy, sweet-scented cloves add warmth to perfumes and stimulate the blood flow. 

Cloves are the dried aromatic flower buds of a tropical evergreen tree of the Myrtle family. When drying, the buds change colour from rose to brown. They can then be sold raw or put through a process of steam distillation to obtain an essential oil with a warm, rich and spicy aroma.

Cloves are known to have antiseptic properties that are beneficial for soothing skin irritations.

They offer a helping hand with boosting circulation and blood flow.

Their unique spicy yet sweet fragrance also has an uplifting and stimulating effect on the mind.

Cloves are used in herbal medicine. They were first mentioned in Chinese medicine in about AD600. Particularly known for their soothing effect on toothaches, it is said that the ancient Chinese also used to hold a clove in the mouth to perfume their breath when speaking to the emperor.

At Lush, we buy an oil distilled from clove buds and one obtained from the plant's leaves. Depending on the part used, the scent will be subtly different. We also use a lot of dried cloves, especially for our exclusive winter festive products. Each of these materials will be purchased from another source. To find out more about them, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Let’s spill the beans!

Although botanists haven't entirely agreed on the origins of the soya bean (Glycine soja), it is believed that the plant derives from a Chinese legume, Glycine ussuriensis. Soya has been eaten and cultivated in China since 2800 BC. Centuries of consumption and creativity have led to a wide variety of uses around the world. It’s been ground to make flour, boiled to make milk, pressed to make oil, coagulated to make tofu, fermented to make miso or tempeh. In fact, there are so many different soy-based foods that a Wikipedia list had to be created for them.

Today, the United States and Brazil supply two-thirds of the world's soya production. It is a common misconception that the rise in vegan diets is responsible for the increase in global demand for soya and the deforestation associated with this industry. In reality, livestock feed accounts for just under 80% of the soya market.

At Lush, we tend to try almost every food (vegetarian and vegan) we come across to see if it would be good for the skin and hair... and soya offers so many possibilities! We use (or have used) soya milk, milk powder, yoghurt, oil, lecithin, bran, flour and wax, as well as mung beans, tofu and silken tofu.

A few key components:

Most soya-based products contain lecithin, a fatty substance with emollient, conditioning, humectant and emulsifying properties. 

Soya is renowned for its richness in proteins, particularly in milk, tofu and yoghurt, which help strengthen skin and hair.

The oil is rich in vitamin E, an antioxidant that is said to help keep the skin firm and radiant.

Our suppliers vary a lot depending on the ingredient, but we can assure you that whatever the source, we never purchase genetically modified soybeans or products derived from them. To know more about each of our soya-based ingredients, their sources and effects, please browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones that tickle your curiosity.

It pays to recycle with us! Return the packaging for this product to any a Lush shop and receive money towards your next purchase. Alternatively, return 5 qualifying items packaging for a free fresh face mask.

Your order will be expertly protected against impact during transit by biodegradable Eco-Pops, compostable packaging nuggets made from potato starch! They're easily dissolvable in water or soil.

Fresh cosmetic ingredients are more effective on skin, hair, and mind than heavily preserved beauty products. 65% of our raw material spend is on natural ingredients.