I've dyed my hair from a very very young age, I've gone through so many colours, from pinks, to reds, to blues, back to red, black, blonde....!
So my hair is quite damaged from the years of abuse, but yet I still wanted a splash of colour.
I kept seeing old photo's from earlier this year when my hair was a gingery vivid red before the dye accident that lead to me having to strip my hair, and wishing I could have that hair again as I have dyed it and cut it since, and regretted it every day since.
So when I found out that Lush's Henna range has no metallic powders is, which is the ingredient that makes most hennas unusable over already dyed hair.
I knew that their Caca Rouge gives a red tint over hair colours, but as it's made up of cocoa butter, lemon juice, rosemary and henna I knew it would leave my hair in better condition even if the red was only a subtle change.
If it's your first time using henna, when you buy instore you may be supplied with some plastic gloves along with a step by step leaflet.
So I decided to give it a go!
I was hoping to pick up another grater as I have heard that you can grate the henna block to make it melt easier and faster, but sadly I was unable to and instead had Edd break up the blocks as much as he could. I used four out of the six blocks as my hair is quite thin.
Melt the henna in a glass bowl in a similar fashion to melting chocolate.
The cocoa butter inside helps it to melt and this is an all natural product from the Lush range too.
Henna coats the outside of your hair to achieve the colour, rather than box dyes which work under the cuticles of the hair and causing damage that way.
Pour boiling water over the henna too, keep the kettle nearby as you may need to add more bit by bit.
It starts to look a little gross from this point, and very very green too. I did wonder how it would help make my mousey brown hair red considering it wasn't looking red at all.
As it started to melt I totally understood where the name came from, it really does deserve the caca title here! The hotter the henna is the more affective it will be, so although this process is slow, it is worth taking the time over.
It took a lot of mixing and patience, but eventually I had a consistency that seemed right. in hindsight I wish I had added a little more water to make it slightly thinner, but I know this for next time.
The consistency desired is between melted chocolate, and very very thick hot chocolate.
As henna is quite a strong dye it is best to protect as many surfaces as you can before you throw it on, I decided that over the sink using the mirror would make the most sense, and also I could place the dye in easy reach on the toilet seat next to me.
The cling film is at the ready, as with caca rouge it is best to cover your hair with cling film, as you leave it on for quite a few hours so it can really work its way in.
I also protected the sink by covering it with bin bags, as I know it can be a pretty messy process, but that it could stain my sink or floor if it splattered onto them.
Now with everything all set up, and some hot henna ready to go I began!
This is my hair before hennaing, it was dyed but it's also pretty close to my natural hair colour so I know I can make it blend easily as I was worried roots may be showing.
You don't have to pre prepare the hair, but cleaner is better of course, and also dry hair too.
It really was a messy process, I was very glad for the bin bags as I had a lot of drop off as it was just a bit too thick still.
You can use either a dye brush, or as I did, use your gloved hands to scoop out and work it right through the hair, working from the back.
I left it on with the cling film for about three hours, so it's an all day process really. In that time I cleaned, painted the bathroom, and sorted so at least I got a lot done.
I also didn't want to sit on our very white couch just in case!
I was surprised with just how red it appeared when I was washing it out, it took quite a while to get all of that henna washed out!
I added a little bit of veganese conditioner too for extra softness, but when it dried I wasn't so sure I really needed to for a change!
Such a vivid bright colour! I was delighted with the results as it made a subtle yet eye catching change, seeming to change shade and vividness depending on the lighting.
For this photo I was stood under a lightbulb to capture the colour, but you can really see the shine and tones in my hair.
This was taken as soon as my hair had dried, I have been avoiding using hairdryers this year, but I had to to see the colours!
This shot was taken in natural light the next morning, so you can really see what I mean about different lights and the colours.
Henna tends to keep developing for 24 hours, so the colour does become more vivid, but as it builds up it can be made to look even redder, it's also safe enough to use more than once a day as you don't have the same hair damaging ingredients as box dyes.
It was quite a long process, but I think it was worth it completely as I have the right colour I wanted, and was frankly not quite expecting to get from this method, but it was also a lot kinder to my hair.
When it was dry every time I turned my head it was like a shampoo advert with my now much happier hair swishing as I turned.
These bars cost £8.50, and comes in four different shades, including brown so I knew if it didn't work for whatever reason I could go back to my regular mousey, and also a blue black block!
As I only used four cubes, the next time I buy one it's kinda like I get one free as I can add those two unused cubes to the previous two.
Remember that once you henna, you can't go back but with these results, would you really want to?!
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