Caca Rouge

Lush Henna...

You remember the part where I made a resolution to stop messing with my hair? Well, I’ve stuck to it since December 2nd, which is possibly the longest I haven’t messed with my hair in about fifteen years. The exception to the resolution was to use something non-damaging like Henna. I had a block of Lush’s Caca Rouge already, and now that the last little remnants of hair dye have washed out and gone a slightly pale orangey colour on top, now seemed like a good time to give it a try.

I hadn’t used Lush henna for about ten years, and I did remember it making one heck of a mess. I melted down half a block with boiling water over a bain marie, and that turned out to be far too much for my very short hair. I could probably have covered my head with just one square. Getting it to the right consistency was the hardest part, and I have to confess that I failed. I ended up with a gloopy mess that was simultaneously so runny that it dripped all over the bathroom, and so thick that it wouldn’t massage into my dry hair. Nightmare.

Lush Henna...

It was making so much mess that I washed it off straight away. But when I looked in the mirror, I could see that my hair had already changed colour after only a few minutes, so I decided to persevere. I had half a tub of Retread that was almost out of date, so I mixed it in with the henna. That gave me a gloop of a much better consistency, with plenty left over. I scrunched the mixture into my now-damp hair, and it stayed put much better than the henna alone.

Lush Henna...

And then came the afternoon of wearing a fetching carrier bag on my head. Lovely. This helps the henna to turn red rather than brown, as the exclusion of air stops it from oxidising. It also stops bits of henna dropping everywhere as it dries – although it doesn’t stop tiny powdery bits from dropping down the back of your neck. Very annoying. (Note to self: Buy a proper shower cap.)

Lush Henna

So, was it worth all that faffing about? Well, you can definitely see the colour change, and I like it. (Not that I remembered to take a “before” picture, so you’ll just have to believe me!) The most obvious difference is on the ends of my hair, which still have traces of old bleach and dye. The grey hairs around my temples are pretty bright now too. The best thing is that my hair feels amazingly soft. After so many years of mistreating it, that’s a real luxury!

I’ll use up the remaining henna/Retread mixture, which should be enough for two more goes, and then see how I feel about the prospect of doing it again. It feels kind of expensive to pay £9.50 for the conditioner and £7.75 for the henna, but when you divide that between five or six applications it does work out cheaper than big brand box dye. As long as I keep it in a sealed container it should last for quite a while, and it’s so much better for my hair. I might treat myself to a chunk of Reincarnate shampoo to keep the colour going for as long as possible. I’m a bit sad to see it (along with my favourite conditioner) relegated to the “Retro” section – I know I’ve been using Lush products for a long time, but that makes me feel old!

0 thoughts on “Caca Rouge”

  1. I was searching for before and after photos of lush caca and spotted this, ‘that’s Claire’ I thought to myself! I haven’t dyed my hair since late April and haven’t had it cut since June and felt like you, I wanted something less harsh that would condition my hair at the same time. I too haven’t used caca in about ten years, but seem to have grown more adept at applying it (mess free) and am sitting here with a head of cling film waiting for it to develop…

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