Tag: Lush

Candle Day…

Candles in glass jars

Today I did get as far as making some candles – these are in 120ml amber glass jars, just waiting for their wicks to be trimmed before I pop the lids on. The tealight should give you some idea of the size, although I’ll admit that the picture’s at a bit of a funny angle.

Those of you who wonder why I don’t bake may begin to understand why when I reveal that I managed to get the weight-to-volume conversion for these completely wrong. I thought I was making five 120ml candles. In fact I turned out to be making seven 120ml candles plus another six tealights! Which means I now need to order more glass jars before I can finish making the rest of the fragrances. But on the plus side – more candles!

While I was placing the order for the second batch of jars, I thought I might as well make it worth the shipping fee by ordering a few more bits and pieces as well. I’m almost out of hand cream and moisturiser, which I usually buy from Lush, but I thought I’d have a try at making my own. I’ve done it before, and it’s no more difficult than making the candles… as long as you get the weights and measures right!

I’m currently a bit galled about having paid £30 for ingredients when it would have cost me £20 to go and buy my usual stuff from Lush. But then I’m buying a much greater quantity of oils and butters than would fit in my two little black pots, and their shelf life’s long enough that I’ll be able to make a good few batches with them, so it should work out more economical in the long run.

I plan to drag my aromatherapy training out of the depths of my memory (or perhaps read my old text books!) to make it even better for my skin. Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with something that smells nice, feels nice, and takes down a bit of the redness that the fibromyalgia causes. That might be a bit of a tall order for my first attempt, but I’ll give it a go!

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!