Has anyone tried LUSH for hair?

[Riot Crrl]

Hmm, I mix henna with water then put it on my hair. No one step, no two step, no flowers, no EOs. Water, henna, hair. As such, I don't understand why anyone would want this expensive chocolate bar thingy.

[Delila]

I like the smell of their Tramp body wash, which used to be labeled as a hair and body wash. I still use some in my hair from time to time, because I love the scent. Lasts for days and days, especially if I follow up with a really gentle shampoo for my next wash.

[BrianaFineHair]

I'd have one if I could figure out where you read that. Can you give me a link?

Here is the ordering page for the hennas. The individual pages for each color are here, here, here, and here. This page talks about the production, and this page talks about henna in general. The only thing that even looks like "This henna washes out" is this text on the last page:

Contrast this with Catherine's FAQ from hennaforhair.com, about BAQ henna:

So Catherine is more optimistic about the staying power of henna than LUSH, but even she says that washing will "degrade" the color.

Speaking from experience, I've been using LUSH henna for almost a year now, and it certainly hasn't washed out of my hair. I only henna it once a month or so, so the new grey hairs at the crown do get a little lighter; but they don't go back to being grey, and the color on my length isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

People who don't want to use it shouldn't use it, the end. I use it, I love it, it works, it's messy but a lot less trouble than regular dye, and it's done great things for my hair. I look at all the things the people on hennaforhair.com go through with BAQ henna, trying to get the mixes right and deciding on one-step or two-step and adding in every flower and essential oil God made, and I would never in a million years go through that much hassle to color my hair. I'd go back to drugstore dyes first. Fortunately, LUSH has a nice convenient brick of henna that gives me results I love, so that's pretty much the end of the matter for me.

Yes, this is what I read:

"There is less worry about re-growth as henna fades gradually and there is no obvious root line... [If you don't like the color] You can simply let it fade away with more frequent washing, or try layering it another henna shade to closer match your expectations."

If it fades, that's ok with me. I worry about a hard visible line from new growth. So, are you saying you henna just your roots or do you re-henna your entire head/hair?

If I were to use Lush, I would use the darker color. I have dark brown hair and don't want to really change the color drastically. I would LOVE the condition and thickness I would get from it.

[Eurydice]

I worry about a hard visible line from new growth. So, are you saying you henna just your roots or do you re-henna your entire head/hair?

Well, I try to henna just the roots. Realistically, I wind up with goop all over my head. Plus I sleep in it, so either way my whole head winds up with henna on it.

It's hard for me to address the "hard visible line" issue because most of the regrowth where I can see it is grey, so there's going to be a line no matter what LUSH says. Granted, it's not as bad as box dyes, and it does seem to be less visible on the parts of my head that are dark, but you can tell where the greys start. (I tried to get a picture but I couldn't get one to come out right.)

[willowcandra]

For reference, the steps to using LUSH henna are:

1. Buy henna.
2. Put a couple of blocks in plastic bag and smoosh with hammer while pretending henna is your boss.
3. Mix with warm liquid.
4. Put on hair.
5. Profit!

I use the marron and love it. Their shampoos are very nice but the first ingredient is SLS, which irritates my scalp a little. I also like Jungle, their solid conditioner, but I melt a little of it at a time and dilute it with a little jojoba oil and a lot of water.

I grated my henna with a corse cheese grater.

[Stevy]

I like their Reincarnate solid shampoo (my hair tolerates SLS, it may not work for you if you're trying to avoid it) but I don't get on with any of their conditioners except H'Suan Wen Hua. I tried their Retread and it worked very well on the virgin bit of my hair but the dyed length didn't come out as moisturised as I'd like - I suspect it'd work well on someone who'd never used chemical dyes.

[Unofficial_Rose]

I've used Lush henna - I liked the red, but the brown went very dark brown on me after only 20 mins.

The conditioning is amazing, and there's less risk of going burgundy like I did with BAQ, simply because it does fade a bit.

I got a nice copper-red out of it, and may use it again in the Autumn (I'm currently henndigo glossing with Jamila).
I'm scared after last year's BAQ burgundy experience, but I understand this doesn't happen to everyone Also my hair's not that long, so I only need to grate a couple of sections...if I had waist-length or tailbone (sigh - I wish) then I might think twice about grating acouple of bricks or whatever

[Melisande]

I use Lush BIG for clarifying - I dilute it in water and it's still pretty harsh and drying. But it clarifies beautifully (every six weeks up to three months, not more). I keep it in the fridge because I'm afraid it will spoil with so little use.

Godiva shampoo bar war harsh and stinky, a complete failure.

Regenerate is okay and I use it from time to time.

American cream conditioner smelled heavenly but conditioned not at all. No wonder, it's filled with SLS.

There is Lush stuff I like: the lip creams I tried are great, so are the body butters and the Mirror mirror cream for the neck. I use it for my face in summer, it's so light and pleasant.

Lush are marketing geniuses, no doubt. You read their Lush Times and want to buy it all. But after a while, you sober up.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're out of business in ten years time. It's a bubble, a nice smelling bubble ... but there are much gentler and better quality products around.

[granitbaby]

The brown henna turned my hair green. The red one was perfect!

This is my experience too! It was years ago now but the brown henna gave my hair a significant green cast.

I loved the lush baby shampoo Assisi but they decided to discontinue it. The bars I have tried have all been too harsh.

[heva]

I've never tried the henna, but I find lush shampoo and conditioner better than all the others I've tried. I keep experimenting and always go back to rotating Lush's Ultimate Shine Shampoo bar and Rehab liquid shampoo, American Cream conditioner (love the smell) and Retread conditioner. I don't find SLS to be a problem. I also like buying from a company I trust.