Lush Caca Henna: how much do I need?

[Isa-belle]

Hi y'all :)

I know not many here use Lush Caca to henna, but I'm intrigued and would like to try it out - especially as my main interest in hennaing is the conditioning properties, not the colour. The ingredients they add in there sound appealing.

I am wondering whether the required quantity is the same as regular henna - or do I need more due to the presence of butters &c?
I usually use a little over 300g of henna on my mid-bum length hair - would a 325g block therefore be ideal, or do I need more?

I'm asking because I was browsing the US Lush forum yesterday (their "happy Caca Heads" thread) and realized that most participants had shoulder-length hair, yet used half a block to henna. :hmm:

Thanks :flower:

[EvaSimone]

I used lush and I think a whole block should be good for your hair. I would only use 1/4-1/2 a block for my BSL hair. Personally Lush gives nice color but little to no conditioning for my hair. I only noticed conditioning from henna when I used the powdered regular henna. Not to mention the Lush smells really badly compared to regular henna and it's ALOT of work to get it mixable.

[Gabriel]

Hi! I used Lush Cacas Henna for a couple of years. I also wasn't too worried about the henna color stain and used it for conditioning and the very slight sheen I would get. My hair is too dark for much else to happen with henna.

I used two squares from the bar every time I henna'd with it. My hair soaked it up but you might not need two full blocks.

If you have a blender just drop the blocks in there and give them a whirl until they are nice and finely powdered. (LHC tip that was insanely helpful!)

Then mix the powered stuff with your liquid of choice and it's done. Not difficult or messier than regular henna at all. (I've used regular henna as well, for hair and for bodyart.)

[Isa-belle]

Thanks so much for the advice EvaSimone and Gabriel.

Hi! I used Lush Cacas Henna for a couple of years. I also wasn't too worried about the henna color stain and used it for conditioning and the very slight sheen I would get. My hair is too dark for much else to happen with henna.
That's exactly what I'm after, too.

The blender sounds like a great idea. :thumbsup:
How did you find the Caca compared to regular henna, Gabriel?

EvaSimone, it must have been disappointing to find the Caca gave you so little conditioning. :( I thought that was the whole point of having so many ingredients in it. Thanks for the warning about the smell. I'll definitely be sniffing it in the local Lush shop before I decide whether to get some!

[Gabriel]

Lush stuff really doesn't compare to regular henna ( I find, personally) unless you add a lot of additives to your regular henna. There's definitely a "heaviness" to the Lush stuff when it is finally rinsed from your hair as oppossed to how henna seems to rinse "cleaner". If that makes sense. I mean, there's an obvious feel of something like a deep conditioning treatment feel to it.

That said, it is more difficult to rinse out with all the additives in it but nothing too crazy. I like it better a wash or two later even more.

The colors aren't spectacular for me either way because my starting color is so dark so colorwise I really can't say. Well, actually my hands get stained more from regular henna than the Lush hennas.

[amaiaisabella]

I used to use 3 blocks for my APL hair, so I'd say 1 block would be sufficient for your hair. I liked the color, as it built up over time and gave me reddish tints before the red completely took over my hair :p

[Fiferstone]

I used it for several years (caca marron and caca rouge), I used to use 2 squares out of a 6 square brick for my waist-length hair but my hair is very fine. Because of the cocoa butter and other stuff in it, I found it much more difficult to wash out, and you won't need to have it sit for more than an hour (keep it warm the whole time or the butters will start to solidify), to achieve dye release. It doesn't give a very dark stain, but it is very predictable. I now prefer BAQ, yemeni henna.

[Isa-belle]

Thanks everyone for the helfpul feedback. That's all very interesting to read.


I used to use 3 blocks for my APL hair, so I'd say 1 block would be sufficient for your hair. I liked the color, as it built up over time and gave me reddish tints before the red completely took over my hair :p
There must be some misundestanding here. :? My hair is a little past tailbone length. It seems you're suggesting I use a third of what you use at APL? Or did block mean "square" the first time (it seems there are 6 squares in a Caca block), and 6-square block the second time?

[amaiaisabella]

Thanks everyone for the helfpul feedback. That's all very interesting to read.


There must be some misundestanding here. :? My hair is a little past tailbone length. It seems you're suggesting I use a third of what you use at APL? Or did block mean "square" the first time (it seems there are 6 squares in a Caca block), and 6-square block the second time?

Aha! Yes, I meant one whole... square thing :p

[Isa-belle]

Thank you for clarifying! That makes more sense. Yes, this whole blocks/squares system is confusing ;)

[amaiaisabella]

That it is! But I do find that it mushes around pretty easily, so you might not think that amount could cover your hair, but you'd be surprised ;) Good luck with your henna!

[Isa-belle]

Thank you amaiaisabella! :)

I ordered some last night - I'll keep you updated whenever it gets here and I try it.

Having used henna for almost 2 years I am definitely not expecting the same kind of experience, but I find the conditioning agents to be interesting. Plus, I like to experiment. I'm seeing this more as a super-deep treatment than as a straight henna application. :)

[lexiflowers]

Personally I find it very conditioning and I love the colour I get from Caca Rouge. :)

When I was doing straight applications I used four cubes and applied it very thickly. Now that I'm only doing top up glosses I use one square mixed with a load of conditioner. I would second the suggestion that you will probably want to use all six cubes for your hair.

I grate the henna I need, then mix in water that's just off the boil, cover my hair with it, then wrap it all up in cling film. I give it occasional blasts with my hairdryer whilst it's on.

Hopefully you have a shower to rinse it out in (it's messy!). It's best to let the water run through it for quite a long time before you really start trying to get the henna out. If you do this, it isn't too hard to remove. I do use a little shampoo though once it's all loosened, with a lot of finger combing. If your hair's like mine it will feel slightly "coated" at the end, but you'll know it's all out because the water will run clear. I find it to be really conditioning for my hair.

Oh, and I really like the smell myself! Though I've only smelt Caca Rouge. It's nice. :)

I really am one of the few people on here who is very happy to stick with Lush Henna, it's fantastic for me. I can see that people with darker hair may get less colour from it than they do from pure henna though, but for me it's perfect. :)

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[amaiaisabella]

I hope you like it, Isa-belle! I really liked it but for all the grinding I had to do- no blender for me! If you have any questions, feel free to ask :)

[Isa-belle]

Personally I find it very conditioning and I love the colour I get from Caca Rouge. :)

When I was doing straight applications I used four cubes and applied it very thickly. Now that I'm only doing top up glosses I use one square mixed with a load of conditioner. I would second the suggestion that you will probably want to use all six cubes for your hair.

I grate the henna I need, then mix in water that's just off the boil, cover my hair with it, then wrap it all up in cling film. I give it occasional blasts with my hairdryer whilst it's on.

Hopefully you have a shower to rinse it out in (it's messy!). It's best to let the water run through it for quite a long time before you really start trying to get the henna out. If you do this, it isn't too hard to remove. I do use a little shampoo though once it's all loosened, with a lot of finger combing. If your hair's like mine it will feel slightly "coated" at the end, but you'll know it's all out because the water will run clear. I find it to be really conditioning for my hair.

Oh, and I really like the smell myself! Though I've only smelt Caca Rouge. It's nice. :)

I really am one of the few people on here who is very happy to stick with Lush Henna, it's fantastic for me. I can see that people with darker hair may get less colour from it than they do from pure henna though, but for me it's perfect. :)

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Thank you so very much for all this! Very helpful - and motivating. I can't wait to receive my caca :p and try it out!


I hope you like it, Isa-belle! I really liked it but for all the grinding I had to do- no blender for me! If you have any questions, feel free to ask :)
Thanks for the kind offer amaiaisabella - I'll keep it in mind :flower:

[lexiflowers]

Glad to be of help. :flower:

Hope the Caca gives you what you're looking for. :)

If you think of any more questions do ask - I'll keep an eye on the thread. :)

[amaiaisabella]

Thanks for the kind offer amaiaisabella - I'll keep it in mind :flower:

Glad to help. Viva Francia! ;) (My dad's from St. Jean de Luz).

[elianne]

Good luck with the Caca henna! It's been awhile since I've last used it, but I required the entire block of henna for my hair, which was at that point BSL. I also have iii thickness hair, and needed to use the whole block in order to get a nice even coverage over all my hair. I did love how soft and shiny my hair was afterwards, too. :)

Hope you love the results! Also, I think I may have posted some pictures in that Lush "Happy Henna Heads" thread quite awhile back... :)

[Lorien]

I can't believe they called a product 'caca', it's not a nice word in Spanish or Finnish (means poo) :rolleyes:

[BelleBot]

I can't believe they called a product 'caca', it's not a nice word in Spanish or Finnish (means poo) :rolleyes:

That's deliberate on their part. It also means poo in french. They named it poo to reflect the fact it contains all natural ingredients and also because it has the same texture when made up! I've used lush caca several times. Useless for colour, but lovely for condition. I only need 3 squares from a block on tail bone length hair. Plus if you put it in a bag and bash it with a hammer to break it up there's no need to grate it as some people do. Good luck with it.

[Isa-belle]

Yep. And you couldn't imagine the crazy conversations this has occasioned on our French forum :rollin:

[Fiferstone]

Plus if you put it in a bag and bash it with a hammer to break it up there's no need to grate it as some people do. Good luck with it.

I originally tried that, and found that the bag invariably got punctured and bits flew everywhere. I personally found that my food processor grater did a far better job with less waste than putting it in a plastic bag and bashing away at it with a hammer :shrug: A manual cheese grater also works, but it takes a while to grate up more than 1 square of the 6-square brick, and it's a workout....which might actually be a benefit.

[Isa-belle]

Fiferstone, thank you :) I just realized I also missed your first post in the thread - sorry for not acknowledging and thanking you earlier :flower: The keeping it warm advice is neat, as I probably wouldn't have thought of that. Good thing I have a heat cap now :thumbsup: Thank you!

Ant thanks again to everyone. I just read up the whole thread again, as I'm planning on cacaing :p this weekend. The bar smells heavenly by the way!

[Isa-belle]

Reviving this thread to share my experience: I ended up using a whole block (6 squares) of Caca Marron.

- I chopped the block into smaller bits and tried to smash them in the blender, but it proved impossible - and I hope I didn't damage my blender :( I ended up grating it with a knife, and it was much easier and really not that tedious.

- The consistency when applied was nothing like henna. Very stringy. I think I'll add some honey to help with this next time. On the other hand, it leaked much more than my usual henna applications once it was on my head.
This disappointed me at first as it was so much harder to soak the hair with it than with henna. Then I told myself I had to stop thinking this was henna, and simply see this as a different experience ;)

- I left it one for just one hour - had a lovely bath (with a chunk of Lush bubble bar in it ;) ) during the wait to keep the henna warm and moist. The smell was very nice IMO, although I also do like the smell of henna and it was weird to have such a different smell altogether.

- I didn't find it any more difficult to rinse out than henna. I even found it easier as there was no need for conditioner afterwards.

- I wasn't expecting any significant colour change, but I did get quite a colour boost! Especially from something which I'd not taken particular care to dye-release, and which I'd only left in for an hour. Wow.

- My hair felt awesome, but was over-conditioned, so I shampooed the next evening. I really, really like what this did to my hair. Lots of shine and nurture, which was what I had hoped! It's been 2 weeks now and my hair still feels great and full.

Conclusion: I do see this more as a super deep treatment than as downright henna, although I'll be prepared for the colour boost next time. :)
Since my hair loved it so much, I would like to try and do this every month/6 weeks (and throw in a "regular" henna application once in a while).

[alwayssmiling]

Hi, I was just about to suggest a cerated knife for the job. Makes it much easier than anything I've tried. I also use a pestle and mortar to grind up any large bits.

Glad you liked the smell. I do too. But I thought I was the only one. I think your conclusion is my exact thoughts on Lush Caca. I do mine every month, I don't bother just doing the roots, I do the whole lot for a nice shiny condition.