questions about Lush henna bars?

[RachelRain]

but my head hurts and one eye is giving me issues, so I'm actually on my way out the door to the doctor's as soon as I hit send on this.

I was considering buying Lush's henna bars, because it looks like all you add is the water and soak it and then mix it into the paste. Pretty foolproof, which is what I need, cuz I tend to overcomplicate things.

Has anyone with mousy-ish brown hair (with or without gold and red highlights) tried it, and did you like it? Did it give a decent red or goldish tint to your hair? (This is open to anyone's input, my hair is just that color, so I'm especially curious as to results on that hair, is all.)

It's way too hot to go spend a few hours outside (was over a hundred today and at least 75% humidity) so I was hoping for a way to fake the sun-enhanced reds and golds in my hair.

I appreciate any input, and thanks in advance :)

[marisa]

I'm thinking you might what to try the Caca Marron.

You should probably take a look at the pictures of happy caca heads thread over at the lush forum to get an idea of what the different bars look like on various shades of hair.

[Lassie]

my first ever henna experiance was the Lush Caca Brun... (different colour i know, but same brand)
and i cannot rave about it enough.....you do need to break it up or grate it - rather then soak it it. i used a very fine grater to 'grate' it...the finer you grate it the easier to mix it....
The colour was perfect for me.....a tad darker then i expected but it has faded to perfection (and stopped fading any further)
Alos, some places tell you to just use half a block, or quater block, but the sales assistant told me to use a full block if its my first time, which is what i did, so i'd say make sure you use the whole block at least (my hair is BSL)
Would not hesitate to recommend lush!!
(would love to see pics if you go ahead)

[Aredhel77]

Hi RachelRain,

My hair used to be dark blonde and after colouring lighter for many years it is now naturally mousey. I use a mixture of Caca Brun and Caca Marron to get a dark reddish brown tint (I found the Marron by itself was too coppery red for my skin tone).

I agree with what has been advised so far, use a whole block of your chosen colour to begin with and to give a good rich base shade then for subsequent applications you can possibly use less. I have almost APL-length curly hair and find that 3 squares is plenty.

my tip: I partly chop the henna blocks into chunks and then blitz them in a food processor (too lazy to grate!!)

Good luck (and hope you feel better btw).

There are other discussions here about Lush henna, if you want to do a search.

[Reptilia]

I have mousy brown hair, and used Caca Brun about 2 weeks ago. The results were great!!

My hair is BSL and medium/fine, and I used 4 squares and still had leftover. I grated them (which really wasn't as hard as some made it out to be) and added water until it was like yogurt. I applied it all over and wrapped it up with cling wrap and a shower cap and a towel and slept with it on. Total hours was 7 hours on before I rinsed it out.

My hair is a really pretty auburn but very red in the sun! I posted some pictures in the henna thread, I will repost them again in awhile though!


Now I'm not sure if I want to do Lush henna again (I want to add some Caca rouge in to get more red) or if I want BAQ henna but we will see!

All in all though I found Lush to be really nice.

[rosycoco]

I used a lush henna bar for the first time this evening. I used the caca brun.
I LOVE it so far!
I have mousy kinda hair, used 3/4 of a bar, was simple if messy to use and smelt bad.
I used cling film and left it on for 2 1/2 hours.
Hair is now a dark shade, reddish gold tinge. Will see what it is like tomorrow in the sun. Took a before photo so will post the difference :)

[Fiferstone]

I used them for several years (caca marron), but I switched to BAQ yemeni henna because I got tired of how long it took to rinse the LUSH "mud" out, cleaning up the green tub, and the fact that the color simply did not stick very long for me. On the plus side it is pretty much foolproof and the results are quite consistent.

[chipzahoy]

Aside question: What are the LUSH prices in comparison to other henna brands? I have a store near me so I want to know if it's worth the drive to check them out.

[Fiferstone]

I found LUSH to be more expensive per use than BAQ henna. Depending on the length of your hair, you get away with using 1-2 squares of a 6-square brick, or you will need to use more of it. The bricks themselves cost around 9-10 dollars US (mind it's been a year since I used LUSH henna regularly so I'm not entirely certain of the price). I find I can get a year's worth of BAQ henna for the same amount of money as I'd spend on two "bricks" of LUSH henna (a 6 month supply for me at my length).

[RachelRain]

Oh, I assumed the marron was just a dark brown, but then... yeah, assuming. I'll check that out. And I'll definitely go take a look at that thread for help, thank you :)

Thank you for the input on that - I clicked that video on the Lush site, and the girl involved said she just soaked it. I think I have a superfine grater somewhere so I'll use that if I buy some. And it also said to use a half a block but didn't give length adjustments. Mine's classic, so I'm assuming two bars? I don't think we have a Lush store in my area, but maybe there's a number I could call. Hm,

Food processors would be even easier, actually... I have one I never ever use and it'd be faster. I'm kinda lazy too, which is why I haven't henna'd yet even though I've been considering it for years. lol. And thank you, I feel much better.

I definitely would like to see pictures. I'll be checking threads out in a bit to see before and after results.

And yeah, that was why I was considering the bars - I know it'll be nasty to clean the tub later, but I know how I am, and if I screw up a recipe the first time and the results are awful, I'm not going to try again (at least not with my hair. With edible food, yes.) So foolproof for me is best, at least right now lol.

When I checked online it was 22 or 26 dollars per brick, but I'm not sure if that's because it's online or what. Depending on how many bricks I'd need to buy though... I may just find out if some friends near me have henna'd before and use them for help if they have. I'm not about to pay a hundred dollars for something temporary if I can have friends help out and do it the messy measuring nonfoolproof way for cheaper. And yes, that's gotten me into hair trouble before, but oh well. It grows back, after all. lol.

And reading this last post by Fiferstone, I may indeed be doing it the messy way after all... Hm.

Thanks for your responses, I've got some thinking, reading and checking up to do. If I go through with this I'll definitely be posting pictures. I was planning on it anyways, but I'm having some car troubles and my digicam is missing, so I can't get to my mom's to use hers. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get down there this weekend. Fingers crossed on that.

[ColoradoDreamer]

I purchase mine at the LUSH store in Dallas and pay around $20 per "brick."

[little_cherry]

My first henna experience was with the Lush Caca bars. :) I started with the rouge and moved to the marron..it was o.k..I liked it- nice and subtle, but I get a more intense stronger colour with BAQ henna.

The things that bugged me about the Lush bars was
1- the bar has to be chopped or grated and mixed with warm water
2- the smell was a bit overwhelming...I think they add perfume? DH kept sneezing. The smell
lingered for days.
3- Shampoo is needed to wash it out. If shampoo isn't used, hair would dry in greasy clumps.
There is so much cocoa butter in the bars.

Lush bars are LOVELY for conditioning treatments. :)

[BelleBot]

I really quite liked Lush Henna's. I've used Marron, Noir and Rouge in the past. I only needed 2 or 3 squares from a block to do my tailbone length hair. And I'd stick them in a bag and use a hammer to crush them up. Much easier and quicker than messing around with graters or food mixers. Mix with hot water and perhaps a few extras for smell or what have you. Leave it on my hair between 6 hours to overnight and wash out.
It left my hair lovely and soft and shiny, however I found colourwise it was very subtle (naturally dark blonde) and within a few weeks it always faded no matter how many reapplications I did.
So I've moved to using BAQ henna, which is far easier to mix IMO and rinses out much easier, plus gives a better stain. But Lush henna is a very good introduction to using henna on your hair.

[TigerLily1]

Can anyone tell me where to get BAQ yemeni henna from (in the UK)?

[little_cherry]

Can anyone tell me where to get BAQ yemeni henna from (in the UK)?
I've noticed a few people from the UK buy their henna from here. (http://www.henna-boy.co.uk/) :)