Adventures with Lush Caca Noir

I had a Twitter request to post the details from when I dyed my hair with Lush's Caca Noir Mama natural henna hair color. Since I'm thinking about repeating the process, I thought this would be a good time to put it up. Apologies to those who already saw this on my Facebook page. I'll have something new for you very soon. :)


This is my hair pre-henna, freshly washed with no product in it.

The henna comes in blocks of 6. I used half of the total. To use it, I broke off the portion I needed and grated it into a powder using a box grater. Another option would have been to use a food processor to grind it up, but mine isn't big enough. (Nail polish: OPI Plugged in Plum :) )

 

After it was all grated, I added hot water to the powder until it was the consistency of pudding, then placed the bowl in a small pot of hot water on the stove to keep it hot and pliable while I applied it. I wore gloves and applied it by hand. I did the application in the kitchen next to the stove to keep the henna warm. (Spread newspapers or old wrapping paper on the floor to catch any spills. It can get messy.)

This is me looking ridiculous with plastic wrap on my head. I wrapped it to keep the heat in, which activates the henna. The smell of the henna is very earthy, but not too bad. I had the windows open and it didn't bother me too much.

I kept it on for 6 hours total; 3 hours wrapped, 3 open because the indigo needs air to develop. The henna dried into a SOLID MASS. At this point, the hair clips were totally redundant. I took this picture right before I washed it out.

I washed it out in the shower using a cheap shampoo. I washed it 4 times to make sure it was all out, then conditioned once. This is me right after washing and drying it.

Next morning! It is already darker, and continued to get darker over the next few days. In addition to the henna and indigo, Caca Noir also has cocoa butter, which left my hair super soft and shiny. I also woke up with no tangles, which is rare!

I'm definitely going to repeat the process soon. It took most of a day to do, but it was totally worth it. I'm so glad I found hair color that is natural!