Why Would Any Sane Person Put a Smelly Green Baby Poo on Their Head? (Henna)

Member Name: kittykat18

Product:	Henna
Date:	13/03/02 (848 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gives a great shine, all over colour

Disadvantages: Time, cleaning up after, some people don't like the smell

In the January sales I found myself in Lush in Birmingham, a place I had never shopped in before. I wanted to brighten my hair up a bit and make it nice and shiny. I lingered in the hair care section and eventually asked an assistant for some much needed assistance. She was very helpful and answered all the questions I wanted to know.

Being in a Lush store can be a bit disconcerting, as your senses are bombarded with all the fabulous smells and sights. All of the products are set out in baskets and it seems more like a food market than a cosmetic company.

The chalkboard above the Les Cacas Henna blocks promised "No sh*t hair colour and shine" and I wanted to know how these strange looking green blocks would make my hair a luscious mane.

There are 4 different colours of Lush Henna available to buy:

Caca Rouge- traditional bright red
Caca Marron- chestnut
Caca Brun- glossy brown
Caca Noir- shiny black

I have used traditional henna before (Body Shop) and did not really like the red colour so I bought the Caca Brun. The ends of my hair are lighter than the roots from the sun and I prefer an all over colour so I hoped this would do the trick, as well as making my hair nice and soft.

For all of the types, you can either buy it in bebe (175g) or mama (325). Bebe works out at 3 blocks, and Mama at 6.

Bebe costs £2.95
Mama costs £4.95

If you want to use a credit card, there is a minimum charge of £5 (Grrrr) but you can use that as a good excuse to treat yourself to some bathroom goodies!

The assistant told me that due to the length and thickness of my hair (medium length, thick) I would probably need 2-3 blocks for one application, so I bought a mama sized portion so that I would do repeat applications without having to go back to the shop.

You can buy the henna from any Lush store, or from their web site at www.lush.co.uk The site also lists all the store
locations, ingredients and instructions for applying the henna.

The block will be served to you wrapped in a plastic bag and if you buy it from a store you will usually get some free samples of Lush products. I got two free products! I was also given a sheet containing the instructions. The blocks are a dark green colour and smell very strong (so don't keep them in your knicker drawer unless you want to smell like you have been rolling around in the bushes!) They can crumble a bit if they get crushed in your bag so be careful.

Each colour of Caca Henna contains specially selected ingredients to enhance the effect upon your hair.

Caca Brun contains these special ingredients:

Ground coffee- to enhance and deepen the brown colour
Nettle Powder- helps to condition the scalp


I will not go into too much detail over the instructions, just give some hints that are not mentioned by Lush.

- Pour Boiling water over the blocks in a pan or bowl, then mash the blocks with a spoon so they break up a bit

- I heated the henna up on the hob on a low heat (although this is not recommended, I do not have a bain-marie as suggested on the web site) and kept stirring it until there are no lumps

- Make sure the consistency is fairly thick or else the mixture will not stick to your head, it will just drip off

- Be warned, it smells very strong (a natural smell of plants and herbs which some find unpleasant) so do not do this at the same time as there is any food cooking in the kitchen!

- Apply the henna to your hair whilst standing in the bath as it will drip onto your carpet/furniture otherwise

- Make sure you apply it to all of your hair, not just the top parts

- If you have long hair, use an old clip to pile all your hair on your head out of the way for the time you have to leave it on

- Wrap your hair up in cling film to get a red tinge or leave it o
pen for a browner colour

- Leave it for at least an hour, longer for a more intense colour.

About the reference to baby poo, well the first time I went through the necessary steps to make the henna mixture, my boyfriend was disgusted at the sight and smell of the stuff. Now it does not *smell* of poo by any means, but after mixing it, it is thick and green, so make your own conclusion.

One of my flatmates came into the kitchen while I was heating it up and she believed me when I told her it was spinach soup-it's a good job she has not annoyed me recently or I would have served some up to her in a bowl!

Wipe your ears and neck after applying the henna- my back was covered in the stuff!

It is suggested that you wear rubber gloves for the application but I didn't as I find this difficult (another reason is that I don't think my flat mates would be too happy if the rubber gloves were covered in henna!) I scrubbed my hands after and the henna mostly came off apart from a brown tinge underneath my fingernails (which has now gone, the day after).

As the hour passes, the henna will go hard- resist the temptation to pick at it like I did as you will leave crumbs of henna everywhere! I still have them on my bed as I type!

When it comes to rinsing off time, USE A SHOWER. In fact, I would even say don't henna your hair if you don't have a shower. Using a shower head is the only way that you will rinse all of the henna out of your hair. I did the henna at home once, where we do not have a shower, and could not get all of the bits out.

Make sure you have rinsed it all out thoroughly (until the water runs completely clear), and then shampoo and condition it as normal.

Ok, so results time...unless you have used the Caca Rouge, or if you started out with mousey hair, do not expect drastic results. As I already have dark hair in a fairly good condition, using henna does not make a
drastic difference. It does however, even out my hair colour and add extra shine and softness. My hair feels a lot smoother when I run my hands down the length of it and is much easier to brush after henna-ing it.

Unlike some dyes which contain peroxide, Lush Henna does not leave a strong smell on your hair, just a delicate plant-type smell.

When you apply Henna you know it is a natural product that will not ruin your hair. Lush Henna is made from completely Vegan products, and as with all of their products, is not tested on animals or made from any ingredients tested on animals.

Henna is only suitable for people with mousy-dark hair and not blondes. It will not lighten hair, and can be used on grey hair but it is recommended to do a strand test before hand.

Overall, I recommend this product even though it does not create a stunning difference and my boyfriend hates the smell! He will have to suffer for my never ending quest to get an ultra glossy barnet!

Oh, and who ever said I, or any other female was sane? Women do all sorts of mad things for vanity, having pubic hair ripped out is an extreme example. So I think in contrast to that, sitting with a green poo on your head is nothing really!

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