LUSH Henna: Caca Rouge

I did a quick search and didn't really find any good reviews on Lush's Henna.  I've been doing a lot of reading about henna since I took the plunge a few weeks ago.  I did my second application of Lush Caca Rouge this morning.  It went vastly better than the first, and so I thought I'd share my experience.

The first time I used Lush's Henna, I followed the package directions.  I chopped up two squares of the six into small pieces with a sharp knife on a cutting board.  I put it into a bain marie and then poured boiling water over it.  I got it to the consistency of brownie batter and then went to applying the mix.  I kept having to add water because the mixture kept getting too thick/dry despite keeping it over the boiling pot of water.  I did use a tint brush because I was applying it to my own head and it was too messy to scoop up with gloved hands.  I wrapped my head in cling film and put a wool beanie over that.  I left that mix of mud on my head for four hours before I couldn't stand it running down my neck, forehead and the sides of my face any longer!  I also started to get a bit of a headache from the smell (it's quite strong, and I'm sensitive to strong smells already anyway).  Rinsing went well since the mix was pretty liquid.  It did not stain the bath, my neck or the towels.  The colour started out really bright (this was over bleached hair) and gradually darkened over the next three days.  I was quite pleased with the result, but I wondered about the process and so I did some more research.

I started reading at hennaforhair.com about mixing my own henna for future (great free eBook on henna here).  Lush is difficult to obtain for me as I'm in the US, and Lush North America is out of Canada.  Shipping is expensive unless you order a load of product (which I don't need) and it takes a goodly amount of time.  In my reading, I found some interesting info on mixing henna with something acidic to get the dye to release.  This is often done the night before, and the henna is left to sit for 8-12 hours before applying to the hair.  I did that this time - what a difference!!! (EDIT: This should only be done for henna - not indigo.  Henna needs to be mixed in advance to achieve dye release, indigo must be mix and used straight away as it starts to demise 1/2 hour after mixing.  Therefore, this process will only work with Caca Rouge and not the other dyes Lush sells as they contain indigo.)

Last evening, I chopped up my 2 squares of Lush Caca Rouge again with a sharp knife on a cutting board.  My pieces were like fine shavings.  I put them into a plastic colour mixing bowl, and then I juiced two large lemons which equaled about 1/2 cup of lemon juice.  I poured that over the chopped henna, and then added about another 1/2 cup of boiling water.  I stirred and used the back of a wooden spoon to press the larger lumps down.  It was still a little lumpy, but I covered it with cling film and left it set on my counter at room temperature overnight.  This morning, 12 hours later, the dye had clearly released!  YAY!  I washed and dried my hair, and then mixed about another cup of boiling water into the henna as it was quite thick.  This made it the consistency of thin yoghurt.  I had my husband help me apply it since he was here and willing.  We wrapped my head in cling film and I put my beanie on.  I waited 1 hour 30 minutes before shampooing.  This time, the henna stained the gloves, my towel and my hairline!  Nothing really horrible; I suspect the skin will lighten over the next day or two.  My hair is a very bright coppery orange (I'll try to get a pic to update later).  It should darken over the next few days as the henna oxidizes.  Overall, I am much happier with my experience after leaving the dye set with some acidity overnight, and not having to leave it on my head nearly as long and getting a better result.  😀

First picture is my result from the initial application of henna (about two weeks later).

Second picture is my result from today - freshly scrubbed and no product whatsoever.  You can see my dark roots.  I am still undecided if I will continue to bleach my base and do henna over top, or let my natural hair come in and henna over that.  I'm swinging more towards lighter base.  We'll see.  Maybe it's too late now that I've applied henna to my natural roots?

I'll update with new pictures of the second result at day 1, day 2 and day 3 in a few days.  🙂