Red Alert: Fiery, glossy hair with Lush Henna Hair dye

For the best part of a decade I have seriously struggled with Hair Colour. The reason? I developed a severe allergic reaction which left me hospitalised, whilst trying out L’oreal’s brush in highlight kit for a Magazine review!

Since then I have mostly used just highlights which leave my scalp colour free. I have read about so many ‘natural’ or organic dyes but when I have delved deeper they too appear to have some kind of chemical in them.

Nowadays, post Cancer I am even more skeptical about putting anything with chemicals in my body. Which lead me on my quest to find a natural solution for colouring my fastly greying hair. ( I can thank the excessive stress I endured over the last 8 months for that!)

In comes ‘Henna’ not a new phenomena to someone who has grown up with it. Nonetheless, I had visions of Orangatan ginger locks which kept me away for a while. Then a week ago I was playing with the Massage bars in Lush and chanced upon their Henna Blocks. Intrigued I struck up a long conversation with the Manager and grilled her as to whether the Henna was 100% natural. She pulled open the manual and convinced me it was! So armed with my chosen Henna colour, Oh yes, you can pick between Maroon, Rouge(my chosen shade) Brun and Noir. I left ready to transform my greying locks!

More about the Henna

Made using the finest quality Persian henna, conditioning cocoa butter and gorgeous essential oils that are designed to leave your hair looking and smelling fabulous. Henna coats your hair like a varnish, which means your individual shade sits underneath the henna, creating a colour that’s unique to you.

Rouge is a vibrant red that glints gloriously in the sunlight, with deep tones brought out by a pinch of coffee and shininess helped by fresh organic lemon juice.

Brun contains indigo and a pinch of ground coffee to tint your hair a deep chocolate brown colour, with nettle powder to tone and soothe the scalp.

Marron turns hair a shiny chestnut colour with autumnal tones thanks to a splash of lemon juice as well as a pinch of ground coffee that adds depth.

Noir is the one to use for a rich-blue black shade, as we’ve used lots of indigo herb here. We’ve also used a little red henna to add extra shine without bringing out any red tones.

Ingredients –

Red Henna – Gives body and shine
Cocoa Butter – Soothes and softens
Fresh Organic Lemon Juice – Refreshing and rejuvenating
Powdered Rosemary – Relaxing and antiseptic
Clove Bud Oil
*Citral
*Eugenol
*Geraniol
*Citronellol
*Limonene
*Linalool
Perfume

HOW TO APPLY

You will need:

• Rubber gloves

• A bain-marie or a heat-proof bowl in a saucepan

• A spoon for stirring

• Newspapers on the floor

• Clips to section your hair

• Dark-coloured towels

• Cling film/shower cap

• Ultrabalm/Ultrabland to cover your hairline and ears

• Colouring brush to apply henna (or use gloved hands)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Firstly, do a strand test to check you’re happy with the colour (especially important if you’ve got chemically-treated hair) – the shade will continue to develop for up to 24 hours after you apply it. Just add boiling water to a small amount of henna in a heat-proof bowl and then use rubber gloves to apply to a strand of hair about half an inch wide. Leave for an hour or two, and then shampoo, rinse, dry, and leave for 24 hours.

2.To apply to the whole head if you’re happy with the strand test, chop up the henna brick into small pieces and drop into a bain-marie. Cover the pieces with boiling water, which melts the cocoa butter and releases the ingredients. Stir until the henna is the consistency of melted chocolate, adding more hot water if needed – the hotter the henna, the better the results.

3. Smooth Ultrabalm or Ultrabland both availlable at Lush – or vaseline will do the job! around your ears and hairline to prevent stained skin. Wearing rubber gloves, apply the henna to clean, dry hair and work through section by section, back to front. Start with the roots and smooth through the length of your hair. Let it sit for one to three hours (for a redder shade, wrap hair in cling film or a shower cap) and then shampoo, rinse and dry. The colour will develop over 24 hours; you can apply as many times as you like to build a rich colour and shine.

RESULTS/VERDICT:

I have to say I am really impressed. The condition of my hair is great, most of the greys are gone (I say most because my helper didn’t quite get to all of them!) The red is definitely there and in most parts looks like I’ve had my hair highlighted.

1. Just after I washed and dried it …