Heyyy Girls!!!
I am a hugeee fan of changing the color of my hair and as all of you must have read and re-read in several of my previous posts, its taken a severe toll on the health and condition of my hair. Inspite of the knowledge and awareness of the extent to which the chemical dyes can harm both my hair and over all well being, I continued to use them frequently (3-4 times/year).
Last year in the month of June, I got some highlights done in my hair. But having gotten bored of them pretty soon (within 3 months) I again decided to go for a global hair color to cover up and slightly tone down the honey and caramel highlights. After spending a bomb on coloring, lightening then darkening my hair multiple times, I still wasn't happy with the color and mostly the fragile condition my hair was left in. That's when I got myself re-introduced to the healthy and ancient way of coloring my hair. Yes, I'm talking about Henna or 'mehendi' as it is better known in the Indian sub-continent.
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| (from top to bottom) Henna leaf, henna powder, women decorating feet with henna and henna designs on hand |
First a little background information for the unaware on the tradition of using henna to dye skin and hair :
Henna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. Henna has been used since the Bronze Age to dye body and hair. In several parts of the world it is used as part of various celebrations and festivals. Henna finds a mention in Indian court records as a hair dye around 400 CE., in Rome during the Roman Empire and in Spain during Convivencia. It has been used as a hair dye for nearly 6000 years. In ancient Egypt, Queens Cleopatra and Nefertiti were known to use it. It was and is still popularly used in many parts of Asia, Middle East and Africa.
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| Egyptian Queen Cleopatra |
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| Egyptian Queen Nefertiti |
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| Mughal Empress Mumtaz wife of Emperor Shahjahan also used henna to dye her hair and skin |
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Commercially packaged henna, intended for use as a cosmetic hair dye, is available in many countries, and is now popular in India, as well as the Middle East, Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. The colour that results from dying with henna can fall into a broad spectrum, from auburn, to orange, to deep burgundy, chestnut brown or deep blue-black. To achieve a colour that is more brown or black, the user must use indigo hair dye as well as henna. Henna's coloring properties are due to lawsone, a burgundy organic compound that has an affinity for bonding with protein. Lawsone is primarily concentrated in the leaves.
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| Woman's body decorated with henna tattoos and designs |
This was not my first brush with henna. As the excerpt above, taken courtesy Wikipedia, tells how using henna to dye hair and skin is a traditional practise in India and hence I have seen several female members of my family use henna to naturally color and condition their hair. Henna is known for its conditioning and anti-fungal properties making it good for both your hair and scalp. Also, the color from henna coats your hair fibre and protects it from sun damage. Reasons enough to treat yourself to all natural henna! But please note, like any other hair dye, you need to do an allergy test atleast 24 hours before using henna for the first time. Also, if you plan to use chemical hair dyes or go under any other chemical hair procedure post using henna, I would not recommend you to try this as henna will not allow the chemical to both color or chemically alter your hair. Henna is also known to remove the effects of chemically straightened or permed hair so if you have undergone any, please stay away from it. Getting rid of henna from your hair is extremely difficult. Some stylist claim to be able to do it using mineral oil but from what I know, once the color coats your hair it will only leaves your head once you chop your hair.
Getting back to
Lush Caca Noir,
Lush says :
"Pure Persian henna mixed with Indian indigo for blue-black tints. It is an ancient Indian tradition to mix red henna with powder from the dried, fermented indigo root, to give dark hair deep blue glints. Indigo is not cheap, so there are some synthetic 'black hennas' around, but we want you to stay away from those! Lush Caca Noir is red henna with indigo powder, clove oil scent and Irish moss seaweed for softness. Cover it with Clingfilm and keep it damp for a redder colour, or let it air dry for a black/blue tint. Pick up any bits which fall on the floor or it'll dye the rugs, too."
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| Lush Caca Noir Henna block |
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Available at : All Lush outlets worldwide
Since I wanted to go darker and even cover some of the old highlights in my hair, I bought the Caca Noir which is meant for jet black hair. There are three other colors of Caca you can choose from : Rouge (for very red hair), Marron (for chestnut brown hair with red highlights) and Brun (for shiny brown hair). I have previously used Caca Rouge and Marron to color my hair. While Marron was my favoured color (I have used it more than thrice in the past) and gave me glossy brownish-red hair in the sun, Rouge was too loud and when in the sun, looked like my-hairs-on-fire-red. You may have noticed that I keep referring to what color my hair was while in the sun and its only because the true colors and hues of the henna hair dye are best seen outdoors in day time. Indoors or under artificial lighting your hair will at most look tinted and glossy.
Lush Caca's come in solid block form and are infused with several other natural ingredients like cloves, coffee, seaweed etc. that nourish your hair while coloring it. It also has cocoa butter as the main ingredient which helps in binding and keeping the henna together in a solid form. Hence, you need to be careful to store your henna in a cool, dry place away from heat. The henna has a grainy texture and an earthy, moss like smell. I neither detest nor enjoy this fragrance but if you have a sensitivity to fragrances you will certainly not enjoy this one. The henna blocks break easily and leave a mess like dry dirt so its best if you do all this keeping it on an old plate or newspaper sheets.
Application :
1. Cut henna up into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl.
2. Add hot water and let steep. Mix to a yogurt-like consistency.
3. Put on gloves and apply from back to front, coating hair thoroughly.
4. Cover in cling wrap for a more vibrant red. Leave on for one to six hours.
5. Rinse, shampoo, and condition hair.
Tips: Always do a strand test first. Use face cream or Vaseline around your hairline and ears to protect skin. Wrap hair in cling film for a redder color. For darker, richer colors, leave on longer (up to six hours).
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| My henna concotion with egg yolks and sweet almond oil |
Many other websites and review posts emphasise the need to grind/grate the henna to powder like consistency and tell you not to soak the henna in hot or boiling water to get best results. Let me tell you that these are all myths and methods to complicate the simple method which I have created to get the best results out of Lush Caca's. I simply boil water and let the Caca blocks (I need two for below shoulder length, fine hair) sit in it overnight. Next morning I add any of the conditioning foods I may have in my kitchen e.g. curd, egg, mayo, beer etc. I also squeeze in some lime to detox my scalp and for added shine. Post soaking overnight, the Cacas easily crumble into powder and can be mixed well to a yoghurt like consistency. If you want more of a reddish tone, you can add some cheap red wine (I use port wine) to get the deeper red color. Application can be super messy and I would advise you to take it to your bathroom. I don't spread out newspapers on the floor but keep some water running in a tub to wash away any stray henna which falls down. I use the dish washing gloves from Scotch-Brite to apply henna on to my hair and start with sections on the top of my head working my way downwards. Normally when trying for a deep red color, I would cover my hair with cling film or silver foil and a shower cap on top to generate some heat but with Caca Noir I just piled my hair on the top of my head with a cloth scrunchie and left it open. There will be some henna bits falling off, like tiny dirt particles, so its best to avoid sitting on a fancy couch or resting on any expensive bedspreads. I periodically dust them off my clothes in the shower to avoid messing up my house. I prefer to keep my henna on for about 4 hours and keep myself busy online, reading, playing with my son or just watching old sitcom re-runs. If you enjoy a nap, go ahead and take one because being cooped at home with goop on your head can certainly drive anyone crazy!
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| Henna paste |
I rinse my henna sitting under a running faucet with lukewarm water. Suggest you massage your head slowly to dissolve the hardened henna and get any lumpy bits out easily. Once the water runs clean, shampoo your hair twice and follow it up with conditioning. Make sure to get the conditioner till your scalp for once, to clear out any stuck bits of henna. Rinse off with cool water after 5 minutes. Towel dry and let your hair air dry. Congratulations! You have just successfully hennaed your hair all by yourself! Enjoy your all natural, healthy new hair color and the compliments that will be coming your way.
Tip : It may take upto 72 hours for the color from your henna to oxidise and start showing up more so be patient. To build up the color's depth, Lush suggests that you use it thrice on consecutive days and then once every 4-6 weeks to maintain the radiance of the color. I personally prefer to oil my hair overnight before I wash my freshly hennaed hair first time for deep conditioning and to help the color settle well into the hair fibre.
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| Henna applied on hair |
Pro's of Lush Caca Noir Henna :
- All natural hair color with ingredients that color and nourish your scalp and hair at the same time
- Four color shades to choose from
- Contains Cocoa Butter which deeply conditions and leaves hair soft and smooth
- Protects hair from sun and other environmental damage
- Leaves hair with a beautiful color tint and amazing shine
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| Pictures of my hair after first time use of Caca Noir |
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| Hair with dark brown and red color post first application of Caca Noir |
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Cons of Lush Caca Noir Henna :
- Expensive
- Can be very messy to handle and store
- Can be very messy to apply unless you carefully follow instructions above
- Needs a long time to develop (4-6 hours)
- The henna fragrance can be intolerable for some
- Needs to be applied three times to get the desired color to show
To Splurge or Not to Splurge :
If you love your hair dearly and run away at the mere mention of chemicals but would still want to color your hair, then Lush Caca's are my best recommendation for you. Subtle yet beautiful color with loads of shine and healthy, soft hair are the results of this wonderful product. Be prepared to face a mess and give in lots of time, dedication and cleaning hours post using this but honestly, one look into the mirror and I would do it all again! I loved Lush Cacas and will continue using them to maintain the glossy, soft hair days as long as I can.
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| Hair shines intensely after second application of Caca Noir |
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| Hair is darker in color after second application as compared to the first use |
Final Verdict :
Lush Caca Noir gets a 4.5/5 from me!
