Caca Brun Mama Hair Henna by LUSH

Product Details

• ASIN: B0016OCUTI
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,209 in Beauty (See Top 100 in Beauty)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beauty of Henna, May 29, 2008

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Caca Brun Mama Hair Henna by LUSH (Misc.)

After reading numerous accounts of stunning results or dramatically disappointing disasters, I was somewhat cautious in my approach to coloring my hair at home with Henna. The advice at the LUSH site gave me more information than the instructions on the bar/cake of Henna. This was a true learning process and here is what I did to obtain beautiful chestnut results with just a hint of red and golden highlights:

If you have long hair, half a bar might be enough, if you have short or medium-length hair, you may only need to use a fourth of the henna bar and use less water and olive oil.

Recipe for Long Hair:

Henna bar
Avalon Organics Peppermint Shampoo or LUSH Rehab shampoo
LUSH American Cream Conditioner
Disposable Gloves
Glass Bowl
Large saucepan/pot to set bowl in like a double boiler
Wooden Spoon
Lots of Towels (some people use plastic bags on the floor)
Corner of a plastic bag or plastic wrap
Cleaner for Tub and Sink

1. Put a kettle of water on to boil. Find a box that has low edges and set it on the counter (like the ones you see with water bottles in them). Place the henna in the box because then it keeps pieces from falling off onto the counter.

Take a chef's knife and shave the henna bar in the same way you would chocolate. You can store half the bar in plastic bags or a plastic container. At this point you will notice a green color, which may have you a little concerned.

I assume the green color in this bar is the Irish Moss Powder. Hidden within the green color is Red Henna, Clove Oil, Cocoa Butter, Black Henna, Ground Coffee and Nettle Powder. (Some people apparently blend this henna with other colors.)

2. Place the amount you need in a large glass bowl (I'm using
1/2 a bar for this recipe)that will fit nicely over a saucepan with a little water in the base. You don't need to heat it yet, but that will be needed later. Take out a wooden spoon you never want to use for cooking ever again; it will turn a lovely shade of dark green/black. Apparently you should not use anything metal while preparing this product. The consistency reminded me of a thick pea soup.

3. Add 1 1/2 cups boiling water (for 1/2 a bar)to the henna shavings. Stir slowly and consistently, then leave this mixture to set for 20 minutes.

4. Reheat the mixture over the hot water in a saucepan and add 2 tablespoons olive oil and any essential oils you enjoy like rose or lavender to relax you.

5. Put towels down in the bathroom, you may need up to 4 or 5 towels during the process as well as 4 pairs of disposable gloves.

6. Take bowl off the heat and set it on a nice plate that is large enough to hold the bowl as you carefully carry it to the bathroom. Placing the mixture into a covered plastic or glass container before heading to the bathroom may be an option.

7. After setting this all down on the bathroom counter, find a white garbage bag and cut out the corner to form a large triangle. This works better than regular plastic wrap to cover your head while you wait for the color to process. This prevents any little bits of henna falling about as you walk around your house. You can actually tie it around like a scarf and look like you just walked out of the 70s.

8. Process your hair for as long as you wish. I only left this in for 45 minutes for a lovely chestnut color I loved. The color achieved even covered gray or at least left it looking more like highlights that was a lovely surprise. Some people leave this in for hours and hours, but if you don't have time, one hour might be enough.

9. Before rinsing, try adding in a conditioner like the LUSH American Cream which will help the product rinse out more cleanly. The rinsing process is somewhat time consuming. Give yourself 10 minutes to wash the somewhat grainy product from your mud goddess hairstyle. The product dries a little, but with the addition of the olive oil, it seemed to rinse out fairly easily. After rinsing until most of the product is down the drain, you can soap up your hair with something like a peppermint shampoo from Avalon Organics or use the Rehab shampoo by LUSH. The daiquiri ice colored soapy suds give hope that soon you will be done with this process. Then, you can add in some more American Cream or any conditioner you like and leave your hair up in a clean towel for five minutes while you clean the tub. A lime soy scrub cleanser by Bi-O-Kleen worked very well to remove the residue in the tub. Rinse hair again and you are ready to style your hair.

Overall, this appealed to my spa girl nature and the results I achieved supersede any shine promised by less-than-natural colors from the store. LUSH products are very impressive and if you have natural hair that has not been overly processed, the results might impress you.

One bar could be a very economical option, with four uses per bar for medium-length hair. I have fine brown hair and it seems like it now has more body and definitely has more shine. Silky soft shine, the kind spa girls dream about! I'm very happy with my results. I can't smell any henna in my hair and I think that is because I used a peppermint shampoo and the American Cream Conditioner. This gives your hair the most delicious scent and is even made with fresh strawberries. I will definitely use this product again and buy other shades as the seasons change.

~The Rebecca Review

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Results!, February 9, 2009

By 

jc3385865 "jc3385865" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caca Brun Mama Hair Henna by LUSH (Misc.)

I was really hesitant to dye my hair at all let alone with Henna. But not wanting to put the traditional chemical hair dyes on my head and possibly poison myself, I decided to go with this product. I chose it because it has all natural ingredients, as apposed to some henna hair dyes which can have those chemical products in them. There are a lot of reports of Henna turning hair green, but in my research it seemed most of the time that it was as a result of previously using chemical hair dye and then using the henna, causing the henna to "react" by turning the hair green. You need to make absolutely sure that there are no chemical residues in your hair, so you may need to use a special cleanser to rid your hair of those residues before using this product. You also need to do some research if you have pure blond or silver hair because you may get unexpected results there too.

That said, I have long medium brown hair with some grey, and I tried the Caca Brun both with and without the plastic wrap. Lush supplied detailed instructions with the dye that was easy to follow. There's a lot to say about the product if you've never used henna, so I'll just go step by step:

1. You have to cut off a few blocks of the dye which are conveniently pre-measured for you (the whole brick measures about 6"x4" and has 6 blocks) and then chop them into a powder (I use 2 blocks for shoulder length hair and get 3 uses out of one brick). Chopping takes a while, but if you have a food proccessor (I don't) it is much faster.
2. I took a pyrex measuring cup, put the powdered dye in it, then poured very hot (but not boiling) water on it, and stirred it for a while with a plastic spoon until it looked like pea soup. Then I put the measuring cup and put the whole thing into a pot of warm water (this keeps the soupy mixture liquefied. Otherwise as it cools it hardens, and this happens quickly).
3. I test the temperature before using so my head doesn't get burned. Then, over the kitchen sink, with gloves on, I "paint" the dye onto my head from roots to ends. This is very messy, so I usually wear old paint clothes when I do this.
4. Then, I wrap my hair around my head and it sticks nicely like that. Sometimes I wrap with plastic and sometimes I don't. I don't notice a significant difference in color.
5. Clean up the kitchen.
6. Wait for an hour.
7. Take a shower and wash out the dye. I bring a sponge with with me as the dye sticks to the tub. But it's easy to clean off with a quick wipe. I always shampoo twice because the cocoa butter makes my scalp break out if I don't.

The only downside to this product is that it makes your hair smell like wet grass for a day or two. But, for not having to use harsh chemicals, for me that was not too big a deal.

The color comes out perfect every time. It's a bit darker than my hair was before. The original shade lasts for about 4 weeks, then lightens up completely over the last 2 weeks. So in all, you get about 4-6 weeks.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm in heaven, September 16, 2009

By 

TXLady - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Caca Brun Mama Hair Henna by LUSH (Misc.)

I've been trying to phase as many chemicals as possible out of my life. Recently, I finally admitted that the bleach I've been putting on my head once a month for over 15 years had to go. Frankly, I was scared -- I'd started to self-identify as a blonde and had no idea how I'd look (and feel) as a brunette.

I had no reason to worry -- the color is absolutely gorgeous. Also, my hair smells fabulous and looks healthier than it has in years (maybe ever). Now, I wish I'd discovered Lush henna a long time ago!

Here's the process I followed:

1) I used a butter knife to chop 3 blocks of the bar into smallish chunks in a pyrex bowl. My hair is long (past my shoulder blades), very straight, and while it is fine, I have quite a bit of it, so I figured that would be enough -- it just barely got the job done, though.

2) I poured 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a few drops each of clove and orange essential oils into the bowl, then set the bowl on top of a pan of boiling water.

3) I slowly stirred slightly less than one cup of boiling water into the bowl (in retrospect I should have used a bit more water) with a spatula (one I never intended to cook with again).

4) I took the mixture into the bathroom and stood over a towel in front of the mirror.

5) I proceeded to make a good mess. Be careful as you apply the mixture -- and know that no matter how careful you are, it will still manage to spread far and wide. Pull up all of your linens (rugs, towels, shower curtains, etc.)!

6) I covered my hair with a shower cap and waited for 4 hours.

7) I washed the mixture out of my hair using a large amount of conditioner. This also made a pretty good mess.

It's messier and slightly more difficult than box dye, but it's worth it. I'm hooked!