From The Queen of Bones: Lush's Caca Rouge Henna Hair Dye

I have just past shoulder length, dark brown curly hair. I don't mean wavy, I don't mean frizzy (I've gotten that under control), and I don't mean "just-past-straight-but-not-pin-straight-so-I-call-it-curly." I mean Mufasa-mane, so-big-its-full-of-secrets, I-used-to-have-a-white-girl-'fro-when-I-was-6 curly. And I like dying all that hair red. I'm fair skinned with freckles so it works. When I first dyed my hair red, my grandmother mentioned that she used to dye her hair similarly using henna, but at 16 I had no idea where to find such a thing. 

Once I developed a love for beauty products and exploring new ones, I saw that Lush had a whole line of henna dyes in varying shades from indigo to auburn and red. I decided I wanted to give Caca Rouge, the reddest shade they carry, a shot. I last dyed my hair about 6 months ago, so I do still have some chemical color in it. With that, I decided it was best to actually heed the directions and perform a test strand to see how the color came out. After leaving the henna in for 45 minutes, it really didn't do much. I waited a few hours hoping that the color would brighten and it did, but not as dramatically as I had hoped and it didn't stick to my roots very well. Luckily, I was going to be in the area of my local Lush store so I could stop by and ask a few questions!

Compare: Left side is dyed with Caca Rouge, right side is not

All of my suspicions were confirmed once I asked what happened. I could have added more water to the henna to make it a thinner consistency (mine was a little chunky and still a bit too dry to apply properly), my associate suggested trying a new test strand right above my ear instead of at the nape of my neck to get a more accurate representation of the color, as well as leaving it in for the full two hours that a full head of henna should be left in for. I was informed to go with my gut and give another test strand a shot, so I did. After leaving it in for a full 2 hours, I rinsed and was hopeful for a brighter hue. Alas, I experienced the same results and was exceptionally disappointed. I do think I'm going to wait for my chemical color to grow out and give it a shot again if I can muster up the energy later down the line. While it's a fairly simple process to break the bricks down into the applicable color, it is extremely time consuming requires being in the kitchen to use a double boiler, then I had to apply the dye where there was a mirror in the room down the hall, blah blah blah. It would have been easier as a two person job.

Luckily, Lush is awesome about returns and I traded in my henna for a few products I was interested in. 

Since the toner tab I grabbed last time did wonders for my face, I decided to try another skincare product called Grease Lighting. The tea tree and witch hazel based spot treatment will be acting in the place of Clearasil for those pesky zits.

The other product that I'm SUPER excited about using regularly is Ro's Argan, a full-body skin conditioner. The associate helping me said it for your skin what regular conditioner does for your hair, and I was not disappointed when I tested it out in store. All you do is rub it all over you in the shower, let it sit, and rinse it off. My arm felt instantly rehydrated, so much so that I didn't realize how dry my skin had really been until I was feeling both arms back and forth.  I can't wait to see how my legs feel after I shave and use it! 

Last but not least, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter is going to be my regular replacement for hand lotion. No more CVS brand, or Target $1 section hand creams to toss in my purse. This stuff is fantastic. It smells delicious, goes on a bit greasy but soaks in very quickly. I've noticed a marked improvement in my hands, especially since became a serial cuticle-picker when I stopped biting my nails.

Even though the henna didn't work out, everyone who helped me at Lush suggested great products and I'm immensely satisfied with the items that took its place!

Back to Black

I do love dying my hair, and I do this colour a lot. I think it's my signature. Actually it's gotten to the point where I hate my natural colour, and feel so relieved when I'm back to black. I use L'Oreal Feria in "Bright Black"  which, I know, okay, box dye is bad for your hair. But I'm lazy and impulsive with colour and the last time a salon did my colour, it came out all on the top and none on the bottom and looked weird. So I did it myself, and y'all can just deal with it. I think Feria doesn't make the Blue Black that I used to do, but this works just as well, and the blueyness doesn't wash out.

What I don't like about the Feria is that the conditioner that comes with smells gross. Fortunately, a spontaneous mall trip resulted in my ending up with two samples of Color Protecting Caviar Shampoo and conditioner from celebrity colourist Kelly Van Gogh (I mean, totally randomly some salesgirl came up to me and asked if I coloured my hair, and I was about to do it that night. What luck!). Both the shampoo and conditioner were really gentle on my hair, left me feeling soft and silky without stripping any of the colour out. And they had a very light, clean smell which was nice, so my hair didn't smell like the dye or like a shit ton of flowers trying to cover up said dye.

Fortunately, my every day Serge Normant Meta Silk shampoo and Meta Velour Conditioner are also sulfate-free and colour safe, and have worked wonders for my hair. My hair naturally is very thick and frizzy, but the Serge products make it so soft and just UGH, like I'm touching my hair constantly and making other people touch it too to see how good it feels. It's such a huge difference and I'm so happy to have the chance to use these products. The conditioner is good and thick too so I've been working it through my hair, then running a comb through in the shower just to detangle. It's really really great stuff. And my Bright Black is still bright!

-Christina