LUSH Caca Rouge Henna

I have used henna as a child (it is a part of my culture), and over the past few years. I usually get it from Indian grocery stores, however, I was intrigued by all the reviews so I decided to give LUSH a go. One word to summarize my review for the henna: Horrible. Don't get me wrong, I love LUSH, but this one was really a no no for me.

First of all, its WAY over priced. You can get high quality henna for cheaper, and you don't necessarily need the extra ingredients (or you can purchase them too, and make your own mix and it will still be cheaper). My second problem was how gritty it felt. I am very familiar with henna, but I still followed the instructions from LUSH. Third of all, it was extremely difficult to apply for some reason. It was painful.

After washing it out, I noticed absolutely no difference in my hair. No redness, no shine, nothing.

I'm just going to be sticking to my regular henna, which is much cheaper and effective. The LUSH store I visited gave me a hard time to return it (I only used 2 cubes because I have very short hair, which means there was more than half the product left). Unfortunately, I don't recommend LUSH's henna.

I got a sample block if this at lush the other day, the assistant told me it would bring out the red in my hair. I have brown hair but dye it mahogany and the red stands out. My hair is thin so the sample covered it all - I LOVE this stuff!! The colour is a natural ginger but multidimensional. It wasn't as messy as I had heard either! The block took a while to melt even when broken down though. It washed out easily but left my hair so soft and looking so thick (which for me is a mission) I just love the effect this has had!! The price is steep for the full bar but the benefits outweigh everything!!

Originally I am a dirty blonde with very very fine hair and very little of it. I was feeling bored with my hair and decided to try something new. So I kind of impulsively bought the caca rouge from Lush.

1. Grating the bar as fine as you can is the best option, but ain't nobody got time for that. I grated some parts really fine, other not so fine, and the last ones I just stabbed with a knife and ended up with small chunks.

2. It is a MESS to put this thing on your hair, and takes a little time depending on how much hair you have, and how long it is. I have medium length and very little hair, and used the whole bar. (Probably could've used less but it was my first time and I wanted to make sure every single hair was covered)

3. Be patient. It takes about 4 hours for the best results, so chill back and entretain yourself. Don't do this in a midnight impulsive makeover (like I did).

4. I used plastic wrap beacuse it is supposed to enhance the redness and staying power, since it warms the hair and head. Don't know if this is really true, but I got great results.

5. I didn't use any tea, coffee or other mixing agent. Too much work...

6. Please DO take the time to protect the skin around your hair, this thing stains for days. Of course I didn't and I had splotches of orangeness all over me for a couple of days. (I read nail polish remover works on getting it off, though)


After all of this, I took the rinsing shower, and my hair was SO RED. Amazing color, since I am a natural blonde and I have lighter and darker strands of hair, the red took the same shades and I ended up with a super natural, very dimensional red. Covered by baby hairs, and roots perfectly, every single hair was this beautiful rich red.

Also, my hair felt amazing for weeks after, the girl at Lush said it is also like a deep treatment for your hair, and I definitely believe that. Smelled like the Caca Rouge for many days too.

It's been over a month since I dyed it, still pretty red, but more of an auburn red. Also, some of my ends are lighter and it makes it look SO natural. Several born gingers have been amazed by how natural and beautiful it looks.

Love it! Gonna buy another bar very soon.

Lush henna is good because it is easily accessible to me, free from metal salts and makes a good strengthening treatment. I experience less shedding after use.

A brick provides up to 3 full head applications for me.
- 1/3 brick for up to 4" of coarse hair
- 1/2 brick for up to 6"
- 2/3 brick for up to 8"
- whole brick for up to 10"

The last step that I always take after this henna treatment is to condition.

I've used the LUSH hennas and the Rainbow Lab hennas for about 3 years now- I recommend them both. I will say that years ago I used henna for the first time and it turned my hair into straw- it was a terrible experience. I learned later that you can NOT MIX henna with any chemical processing. I'd had my hair chemically straightened about 3 months before I tried the henna and wound up with a really unpleasant dry texture. Do one or the other, NOT BOTH. That turned me off to henna for a few years, then I tried it again.

My hair is fine in terms of each strand diameter, but has a stupid amount of volume in its texture. It's about armpit length, and the kind of hair that dries curly but slowly straightens out over the next few days. I wash once a week, no-poo or something natural and gentle. It's dry hair, so it's very absorbent, too. Natural color is a medium warm brown with a lot of gold in it, becoming almost blonde by end of summer.

Things I have learned about henna:
1) In general, anything other than pure red henna will fade to red over time. Indigo and cassia are used to color henna, which is only/always red, into different shades of brown. But they don't last as long on the hair, so even when I use a dark brown color, it will eventually fade to more of an auburn/red in a month or so. I found that the dark shades of LUSH barely stuck at all, maybe 2 weeks at the most. I use Rainbow Labs henna for darker colors.

2) Water vs coffee vs tea as your liquid definitely makes a difference. If you want deeper brown than red, go with coffee. Trader Joe's makes a liter bottle of cold-brewed coffee concentrate- it's awesome because it's stronger than what you can brew yourself and it's pre-made! I've heard people say that the texture of your henna mixture should be like melted chocolate- I prefer mine thicker so it doesn't drip as much, more like greek yogurt.

3) I don't know who these people are who get henna color to stick after 1 hour but I am NOT one of them. I leave it on for 4 hours or more, usually I aim for 6. I have slept in it overnight, but find that it didn't do anything different than leaving it on for about 6 hours anyway.

4) If you keep it warm or wrap with cling film and a towel, it will be redder. If you leave it on your head cool & unwrapped, it will be darker and more brown.

5) Use it as an opportunity for a deep conditioning treatment. I mix my henna with whatever liquid (for me, coffee and cider vinegar) plus at least 2 T of olive oil, 1 T argan oil, 1 T vitamin E oil, and 10 drops essential oil (I use rosemary for scalp health and grapefruit for shine). I think conditioning with henna is NECESSARY to get the gorgeous shine and volume and to make sure your hair comes out healthier afterwards!

6) "Cook" your henna mixture long enough to watch the dye come out. When you start, it will be green. When it's ready, it will turn brown. I mix it in a glass pyrex bowl double-boiler-style inside a bigger pan filled with water over med/low heat. I stir it with a wooden spoon about every 5 min for 30-45 min until the color changes completely. I let it cool enough to handle, then take to the bathroom and apply it hot/warm to my head and leave it uncovered.

7) If you have thick hair- SECTION IT FIRST. I'll be honest, the total henna application for me takes about 2 hours. Plus the 6 hours to leave in and about 30 min to wash out- It's a day long job. But the results are way better and last longer than if I'm lazy. It takes me a long time to section my hair, I do 1 inch sections and twist then secure in little buns with bobby pins. When I am applying the henna (with gloved hands, no brush), I undo one little bun, smush henna into the roots, then draw it towards the end, applying more to make sure the whole section is caked. I twist it back up into its bun, secure, then move to the next one.

It took me years to troubleshoot this so I hope my information is useful for at least one person! It's true you have to do trial and error to find what works for you, but don't give up! I think it's worth it :-)

EDIT: I now use Rainbow Research henna and would not return to Lush bars as they are too labor intensive.

Not worth the mess.

There are several reasons why I wouldn't want to repurchase this product:
1. It's so time-consuming. The instruction is that you rinse off the henna after 2 hours, but according to the most helpful reviews here, most people need at least 4 hours for the product to set it.
2. It's advertised as being environmentally friendly, but the amount of water needed to rinse off the Henna offset it.
3. It's so messy. I ended up with a dirty bathroom to clean up.
4. It's quite hard to apply. The mixture is clumpy and even though I sectioned my hair into 10 parts and used both a brush and my hand to apply, I feel like I din't get the most out of the product.
5. The price is steep.It's marketed as being a great conditioner, you'd better off buying henna from indie shops and make your own hair treatment.
6. My hair looked barely different. I have done a thorough research on Henna and I didn't expect my hair to change color, but I certainly didn't bay $27 for a hair dye which only works as a conditioner.
That being said, the product did teach you to plan ahead and being organized, otherwise you'll end up wasting a whole day and your kitchen looked like the aftermath of a Dexter murder.

I tried Lush's Caca Rouge for the first time yesterday after doing some research. I stopped using hair dye a couple years ago, wanting to avoid the harsh chemicals, but my sister-in-law gets beautiful results with henna, so I decided to give it a go.

First: The staff member that helped me at Lush was wonderful and informative. I also loved the minimal packaging. I got it home, and rather than mess with the whole double-boiler thing, I did as the staff suggested and simply shaved the blocks into small chunks/ powder with a knife. I did this over a paper bag so that I wouldn't lose any of the fine powder. It took about 5 minutes using a very sharp knife. I dumped the powder into a metal bowl and used a pestle to grind the remaining small chunks. In the meantime I had my kettle going. By the time I was done grinding, the water was ready. I poured it and mixed to get the proper consistency...it only took about a minute before it looked like brownie batter. Ready to go!

Bathroom setup: I laid garbage bags over the vanity and on the floor, removed my clothing, and put vaseline around my hairline to reduce skin staining (as I would do with any hair dye.) I put on disposable gloves and got started. Using the fingers is easiest in my opinion...it went on just fine. I did not have an issue with flakiness...I'm thinking those ladies who have trouble in that department didn't add enough water maybe. It is thicker and goopier than traditional hair dye, and yes it does tend to splatter and plop everywhere, hence the garbage bags. I just kept scooping it back up and applying it. I carefully coated my roots first, then all of the strands. I twisted it up into a ball, wrapped plastic wrap around the whole works (I used Press 'n Seal which works WAY better than saran wrap) and wiped away any residual dye that got on my skin. I then cleaned up the clutter, put a wool hat over the plastic to catch any drips, and went about my day!

Time: It only took me half an hour to prep and apply using this method. I waited about 4 hours before washing it out. This is best done in the shower, preferably with a detachable showerhead, It takes some scrubbing and repeated applications of shampoo to get it all. Don't stop washing until you can't feel any more grittiness! I spent a good 20 minutes washing it out, and then washing the shower. I ended up with a good handful of hair coming out, but I know that's normal with this sort of process. I couldn't wait for my hair to airdry...I was pretty nervous at the result, as I started with virgin dark blonde hair and wasn't sure if it would look clownish. I needn't have worried- after blowdrying it, I ended up with a gorgeous, vibrant color that was soft and shiny. I am so excited about the result! It was a tad pricey, and it smells VERY strong, but I don't feel that those are big drawbacks with results like this. I will definitely be using it again!

i bought this product to help my very damaged hair and have a hair change. i have sandy blonde hair that was very damaged and fried, i heard this was moisturizing and gave a great bright red color and saw many AMAZING reviews so thought i'll try it and i did... 3 times, 1 time i tried there were no real results other than some very very faint orange patches and a HUGE mess in my bathroom. about a year later i thought i would try it again... same as the first time. this time the most recent (last night) same thing. and i can't figure out what i did wrong? i followed the directions completely and applied it to my hair evenly. anyway don't buy this overpriced brick of green mud. terrible, my hair is dry and patchy and awful.

I have used Lush caca rouge henna a good few times now and I love it! The first thing I'd say about henna is that it smells. I wouldn't say it's a bad smell but it's definitely potent and earthy but bearable. The next thing, it's time consuming and Messy! You'll need old clothes and to cover your floor when applying. Personally, I grate 2 squares of henna so that it's fine, pour in boiling water and then stir it into a yoghurt-like consistency. Pop it on and wrap in cling film and after that I wear an old hat and leave it to soak in for 5 hours. It's great to do on a lazy day! I won't lie, rinsing it out takes some serious elbow grease but the result is totally worth it! It leaves my hair super soft, shiny and brings out beautiful warm copper, auburn and red tones.