LUSH Shark Fin Soap

My LUSH order has finally arrived, what a week of waiting!  I can never resist LUSH and when they introduced their newest soap two weeks ago, I had to make a little order.  I considered waiting a bit but I am now so glad that I did it immediately since the product that I wanted the most is limited edition and is currently out of stock on the LUSH website.  LUSH has always supported a number of charities and has created products that allowed their fans to learn about the charities and support them through their love of LUSH products.  Shark Fin is the newest product to join this series and is my favorite of the products so far.  This bar soap is just so adorable that I can't handle it!

Shark fin is a product that was created to both draw attention to the shark fin industry and through purchase of the product, donate money to a charity that is attempting to stop this industry from functioning.  So what is shark finning?  It is a horrid practice that is mostly done in Southeast Asia where shark fin soup is considered a rare delicacy.  The sharks are pulled up out of the water and their fins are sliced off.  The shark (still alive) is dumped back into the ocean to bleed out and die.  This practice has gone on for years and has dramatically reduced the shark population.  Environmental and animal activist groups are strong fighters against this practice and are working to end this and to have shark fin soup removed from the menu at many restaurants.  I don't eat meat at all and I can't imagine eating a bowl of soup made from a shark fin...
LUSH has jumped onto this charity and is helping to bring a spotlight to this inhumane practice.  "Did you know that tens of millions of sharks are killed every year for their fins?  Take a bite out of shark finning with our limited edition sea-inspired soap!  Packed full of softening seaweed, scrubby fine sea salt, and zesty lime oil, Shark Fin soap is an incredibly refreshing way to cool down from the summer heat.  100% of the proceeds from the sale of Shark Fin Soap will be donated to Shark Savers, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of sharks.  Now you can swim with the sharks, and help protect them too!"

Shark Fin Soap is the traditional Sea Vegetable Soap with a fin added to it.  I pulled up the information on Sea Vegetable to see what the active ingredients are.  Sea Salt is a main ingredient, "Salt is stimulating, cleansing, antiseptic, and astringent.  It is softening for the skin and hydrates it.  It is used to exfoliate in Sea Vegetable."  This soap actually contains dried seaweed.  LUSH uses arame seaweed to add to the texture and to futher soften the skin after the salt has done its job getting the top layer off. 

I used this soap for the first time the other day and it is great scent to use in the morning to help get you going for the day!  The lime scent is zingy and mixes well with the seaweed scent to create a fresh and clean fragrance in my shower.  This scent doesn't stay on my skin after I get out of the shower so it doesn't interfere with anything that I happen to be wearing that day.  I prefer to use this soap alone and not put it on a washcloth or sponge since I feel like the seaweed comes off really easily if it rubbed against a rough surface.  This product rinses clean and doesn't leave my skin tight and dry, which are my two biggest requirements for a bar soap. 

I am so glad that I got to order this product in this limited edition form though I know that I will continue to rebuy it in the traditional form.  The shark fin is a thin piece of paper so it looks cute but it didn't stand up to one wash and I ended up just pulling it off before it got in my way.  This soap does contain salt so I don't recommend using it after shaving.  Lastly, I really recommend this product during the summer and early fall since it exfoliates with every single usage and helps to even out my fake tan and it will continue to be helpful as I finish off my last bottle of tanner for the season.

photo courtesy of LUSH