Henna > Reviews (8)

Okay now this will be the first time I have had any experience of one of the much loved by the ladies of Ciao favourite companies Lush, after reading so much about how good their products were how could I not at least give them a try.

Not being the kind of person who does a lot of shopping personally, especially if it means going into either Leeds or Bradford which are the nearest large cities as such near me I had to take a look at what the store had to offer online.

Finding the site was no problems and I had to smile at the title Lush Times.

After a lot of browsing and getting more and more tempted I finally found something I could relate to, Henna. Now I used to use Henna a lot when I was younger and then I got lured away to the harsher chemical alternatives that were on the market, people saw the vast array of colours promised and like me they ended up with chemically processed hair, on top of that were several perms and all in all I think my hair has had enough stick and I was looking for a solution.

Another important point to me was the fact that I had made a choice to grow my hair and it is now well down my back, once I made the decision to look for a more natural approach to hair care Henna once again sprang to mind but it is not something that you can find everywhere, health food stalls are a good bet but the range is often limited.

Lush however offered something a little different, there was a choice of several base colours which you could if you wanted to enhance with your own choice of herbs and such or you could just use the Henna as it was.

Inventively Lush have decided to play on the most obvious trait of Henna to name their range, it does resemble to me a cow pat when it’s mixed and so it got the name Caca.

There are four choices for you,

Caca Marron

This is for those of use who are brunettes and just want to brighten their hair up a little, nothing too drastic but noticeable. This is the one I chose to try. (Red Henna, cocoa butter, Black Henna, ground coffee, irish moss powder and clove bud oil with perfume.

Caca Brun

Coffee coloured is the description given for this colour, ideal for those of us who just want to keep a neutral colour and still get the wonderful deep conditioning shine you get with Henna treatments. (Black Henna, cocoa butter, red henna, ground coffee, nettle powder, irish moss powder, clove buds oil and perfume.)

Caca Rouge

Now this one is for those who really want to make a statement with their hair as it is the very red version. (Red Henna,cocoa butter, fresh lemon juice, powdered rosemary and clove bud oil with perfume.

Caca Noir

Very deep black – burgundy, not this would be a little drastic for me but if you have got very dark or black hair this would be the one for you. ( Black Henna, cocoa butter, Red Henna, irish moss powder and clove bud oil with perfume.

Now if you order any of these Henna blocks it arrives looking just like a block of chocolate, it is even in segments which is very useful because if you buy one of the blocks obtainable online at £5.

95 each you will have enough Henna for several treatments depending on your hair length, I have long hair and still got 3 treatments out of it.

You can I am told get larger or smaller blocks of this from the Lush Stores.

The beauty of the Lush blocks is that you can with care blend just the right colour if you take the time, you could for instance buy one each of the Caca Marron And the Caca Rouge to get the right red.

Application

Well there is no getting away from the fact that applying Henna is a very messy procedure but it is worth it honest.

This is what you will need,

Two bowls that will fit inside one another and still leave room for water in between.

2 Pairs of plastic gloves.

1 Tight fitting shower cap or a roll of cling film.

An old towel that you don’t mind getting a few marks on.

Preparing the Henna.

This is the method that I have found to be easiest.

Break off the amount of blocks you think you will need to give you hair a good coverage, 3 blocks will do hair which is quite long.

Either Grate or using a pestle and mortar break up the Henna Blocks so that they will mix much more easily, before you start this put the kettle on.

When the kettle boils add the water to cover the Henna which you have put in the first smaller bowl and mix well getting rid of all the lumps and it should be the consistency of wall paper paste.

Add boiling water to the larger bowl and place the smaller one inside it so that it heats the henna paste up again as it will cool as you are mixing it.

Preparing your hair.

All you need to do is give your hair a really good brush through and get rid of any knots, I had my hair trimmed before I started using this to get rid of any split ends. It can be worth applying a thin layer of Vaseline around your hairline to prevent any staining but to be honest I have not found this to be a problem so far as any stains on your skin usually come off when you shampoo your hair after treatment.

Applying the Henna.

As I said no getting away from the fact that this is a messy process, the easiest way I have found is to kneel with my head over the bath and when you remove the Henna bowl from the larger bowl start applying from the back of your head with the mixture as hot as you can stand without burning yourself, apply from the roots to the ends of your hair and try not to notice the smell, I don’t think it is particularly bad but I know some people find it revolting.

Try to get the mixture on as soon as possible and either wrap your head in clingfilm for a more red look or leave open for a browner look the choice is yours. If you are using the clingfilm you will also need the old towel to wrap around your head ( it keeps the mixture warm and lets it work better.

How long to leave it on?

Well here again the choice is yours, you can leave it on for a minimum of 20 minutes or for a deep shine condition and colour up to a miximum of six hours, I find just 2 hours to be sufficient.

Rinsing.

Now this can take some time to do properly but the last thing you need is to be caught out in the rain and have the Henna that you did not rinse out properly running down your face.

Once you have the water running clear shampoo and condition as usual and prepare to be stunned then you dry your hair and style as usual.

My Verdict

This Product by Lush makes the whole Henna experience as simple as possible while still giving you room to experiment to find the best look for you so for the sake of £5.95 I’d say you definitely get your monies worth, it has left me with a lovely gleaming head of hair of which I am rather proud and I will be sticking with this method.

**Warnings and Additional Information.**

What is Henna?

Henna is actually a small shrub called Lawsonia Inermis which tends to grow freely is much warmer climes than we have in good old Britain.

It has a very long and varied history which can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians when both men and women would use the plant along with other herbs and spices and were renowned for their lustrous hair.

Eventually it found it’s way into Turkey and used by their ladyfolk to enhance their locks, as things at the turn of the century tended to do Henna eventually entered the west via Turkey and ladies were very taken with this exotic new hair product, quite often though it was perfumed as I can just imagine what the refined ladies of the time thought of the smell.

After doing a bit of research on the internet I found a site which had a lot of great information and warnings to consider before indulging in using Henna products and if you are seriously considering giving this a try then just have a quick look through the site at

http://www.hennaforhair.com/

I have picked out a few important points and some hints and tips to get the best from Henna products.

Everybody's hair is different. The only way for you to get the results you want is for you to try a bit of this and that and see what works for you! Collect hair from your hairbrush and test a henna mix on it and see how it comes out. This is much easier using the solid Henna blocks from Lush as you can take a very small amount off by scraping with a knife or such.

If you've dyed your hair before with synthetic dyes, you MUST try some Henna on your collected hair before you Henna your whole head! Henna is acidic and synthetic dyes are alkaline, and the reaction can be fierce, like baking soda in vinegar. If you recently dyed your hair with synthetic dyes, henna can fry your hair, turn it black, or green be warned.

It takes 3 - 6 months for enough of those chemicals to leach out of your hair before you can safely dye with henna. Test the hair from your hairbrush once a month, and test on that until you see results you like.

Herbal Additions and rinses.

Add paprika to your mix to make a more fiery red.

Add powered cloves to your henna mix to darker tones of red and auburn

Simmer lavender flowers in water and strain off the liquid. Rinse your hair with that liquid for healthy, glossy, fragrant hair. A lavender rinse will relieve "herbal scent" that may linger after you henna your hair.

Simmer rosemary in water and strain off the liquid. Rinse your hair with that liquid for healthy, glossy, fragrant hair. A rosemary rinse will also relieve the herbal smell that usually accompanies Henna.

I hope that some of you will find this useful, the thing I like the most is the fact that it is all natural.

Thanks for reading

Gill 2004