Caca Brun Mama Hair Henna by LUSH

After reading numerous accounts of stunning results or dramatically disappointing disasters, I was somewhat cautious in my approach to coloring my hair at home with Henna. The advice at the LUSH site gave me more information than the instructions on the bar/cake of Henna. This was a true learning process and here is what I did to obtain beautiful chestnut results with just a hint of red and golden highlights:

If you have long hair, half a bar might be enough, if you have short or medium-length hair, you may only need to use a fourth of the henna bar and use less water and olive oil.

Recipe for Long Hair:

Henna bar
Avalon Organics Peppermint Shampoo or LUSH Rehab shampoo
LUSH American Cream Conditioner
Disposable Gloves
Glass Bowl
Large saucepan/pot to set bowl in like a double boiler
Wooden Spoon
Lots of Towels (some people use plastic bags on the floor)
Corner of a plastic bag or plastic...Read more

I was really hesitant to dye my hair at all let alone with Henna. But not wanting to put the traditional chemical hair dyes on my head and possibly poison myself, I decided to go with this product. I chose it because it has all natural ingredients, as apposed to some henna hair dyes which can have those chemical products in them. There are a lot of reports of Henna turning hair green, but in my research it seemed most of the time that it was as a result of previously using chemical hair dye and then using the henna, causing the henna to "react" by turning the hair green. You need to make absolutely sure that there are no chemical residues in your hair, so you may need to use a special cleanser to rid your hair of those residues before using this product. You also need to do some research if you have pure blond or silver hair because you may get unexpected results there too.

That said, I have long medium brown hair with some grey, and I tried the Caca Brun both with and...Read more

I've been trying to phase as many chemicals as possible out of my life. Recently, I finally admitted that the bleach I've been putting on my head once a month for over 15 years had to go. Frankly, I was scared -- I'd started to self-identify as a blonde and had no idea how I'd look (and feel) as a brunette.

I had no reason to worry -- the color is absolutely gorgeous. Also, my hair smells fabulous and looks healthier than it has in years (maybe ever). Now, I wish I'd discovered Lush henna a long time ago!

Here's the process I followed:

1) I used a butter knife to chop 3 blocks of the bar into smallish chunks in a pyrex bowl. My hair is long (past my shoulder blades), very straight, and while it is fine, I have quite a bit of it, so I figured that would be enough -- it just barely got the job done, though.

2) I poured 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a few drops each of clove and orange essential oils into the bowl, then set...Read more