Henna > Reviews > Sloppy Green Baby Poo on my head

Author's product rating:   

Side effects	None
Effectiveness	Good

Advantages:	Gives hair a nice shine, evens out colour, a natural product .
Disadvantages:	Time taken, some people don't like the smell .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my hair. I like to have it very shiny, and one colour all over.

I first used Lush Henna a few years ago, and since then I have used it a few times a year, to add shine and even out my hair colour.

-My first time-

The chalkboard above the Les Cacas Henna blocks promises "No sh*t hair colour and shine" and I wanted to know how these strange looking green blocks would make my hair a luscious mane.

There are 4 different colours of Lush Henna available to buy:

Caca Rouge- traditional bright red
Caca Marron- chestnut
Caca Brun- glossy brown
Caca Noir- shiny black

I have used traditional henna before (Body Shop) and did not really like the red colour so I bought the Caca Brun. The ends of my hair are lighter than the roots from the sun and I prefer an all over colour so I hoped this would do the trick, as well as making my hair nice and soft.

Henna from Lush costs £5.95 for 325 grams (6 squares)

If you want to use a credit card, there is a minimum charge of £5 but you can use that as a good excuse to treat yourself to some bathroom goodies!
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You can buy the henna from any Lush store, or from their web site at www.lush.co.uk
The site also lists all the store locations, ingredients and instructions for applying the henna.

The block will be served to you wrapped in a plastic bag and if you buy it from a store you will usually get some free samples of Lush products. I got two free products! I was also given a sheet containing the instructions. The blocks are a dark green colour and smell very strong (so don't keep them in your knicker drawer unless you want to smell like you have been rolling around in the bushes!) They can crumble a bit if they get crushed in your bag so be careful.

Each colour of Caca Henna contains specially selected ingredients to enhance the effect upon your hair.

Caca Brun contains these special ingredients:

Ground coffee- to enhance and deepen the brown colour
Nettle Powder- helps to condition the scalp

I will not go into too much detail over the instructions, just give some hints that are not mentioned by Lush.

- Pour Boiling water over the blocks in a pan or bowl, then mash the blocks with a spoon so they break up a bit

- I heated the henna up on the hob on a low heat (although this is not recommended, I do not have a bain-marie as suggested on the web site) and kept stirring it until there are no lumps

- Make sure the consistency is fairly thick or else the mixture will not stick to your head, it will just drip off

- Be warned, it smells very strong (a natural smell of plants and herbs which some find unpleasant) so do not do this at the same time as there is any food cooking in the kitchen!

-Put newspaper across the floor as henna can stain

- Apply the henna to your hair whilst standing in the bath as it will drip onto your carpet/furniture otherwise

- Make sure you apply it to all of your hair, not just the top parts

- If you have long hair, use an old clip to pile all your hair on your head out of the way for the time you have to leave it on

- Wrap your hair up in cling film to get a red tinge or leave it open for a browner colour

- Leave it for at least an hour, longer for a more intense colour.

Wipe your ears and neck after applying the henna- my back was covered in the stuff!

It is suggested that you wear rubber gloves for the application but I didn't as I find this difficult (another reason is that I don't think my flat mates would be too happy if the rubber gloves were covered in henna!) I scrubbed my hands after and the henna mostly came off apart from a brown tinge underneath my fingernails (which has now gone, the day after).

As the hour passes, the henna will go hard- resist the temptation to pick at it like I did as you will leave crumbs of henna everywhere! I still have them on my bed as I type!

When it comes to rinsing off time, USE A SHOWER. In fact, I would even say don't henna your hair if you don't have a shower. Using a shower head is the only way that you will rinse all of the henna out of your hair. I did the henna at home once, where we do not have a shower, and could not get all of the bits out.

Make sure you have rinsed it all out thoroughly (until the water runs completely clear), and then shampoo and condition it as normal.

Ok, so results time...unless you have used the Caca Rouge, or if you started out with mousey hair, do not expect drastic results. As I already have dark hair in a fairly good condition, using henna does not make a drastic difference. It does however, even out my hair colour and add extra shine and softness. My hair feels a lot smoother when I run my hands down the length of it and is much easier to brush after henna-ing it.

Unlike some dyes which contain peroxide, Lush Henna does not leave a strong smell on your hair, just a plant-type smell.

When you apply Henna you know it is a natural product that will not ruin your hair. Lush Henna is made from completely Vegan products, and as with all of their products, is not tested on animals or made from any ingredients tested on animals.

Henna is only suitable for people with mousy-dark hair and not blondes. It will not lighten hair, and can be used on grey hair but it is recommended to do a strand test before hand.

CACA NOIR

I have used Caca Noir since I wrote the original review and it made my hair a lovely glossy, blue/black colour.

Oh, and who ever said I, or any other female was sane? Women do all sorts of mad things for vanity, having pubic hair ripped out is an extreme example. So I think in contrast to that, sitting with a green poo on your head is nothing really!