Lush Henna Guide

Made from the best quality Persian henna. Persian henna is known for giving the very best red tones, but is hard to get hold of. We don’t want to use anything less so we think it’s worth the trouble.

Henna has a strong smell, so we have carefully chosen essential oils that leave your hair nicely scented instead of smelling like dried leaves.

1. Rubber gloves 2. Bain-marie or a heatproof bowl in a saucepan 3. Stirring spoon 4. Newspapers on the floor 5. Clips to section your hair 6. Dark coloured towels 7. Cling film/shower cap (optional) 8. Ultrabalm/Ultrabland to cover your hairline and ears 9. Colouring brush to apply henna (gloved hands work too)

WHEN TO DO A STRAND TEST:

Always do a strand test to make sure you are happy with the results. Remember that the colour will continue to develop for up to twenty four hours after application.

A strand test is EXTRA IMPORTANT if you have chemically treated your hair in any way. Henna has a stunning effect on hair sprinkled with grey; the greys will sparkle brighter amongst the darker hair. If you have over 40% grey prepare for a very vibrant result and always include some grey hair in your strand test.

HOW TO DO THE STRAND TEST:

Add boiling water to a small amount of henna in a heat-proof bowl. When the mixture is bearably hot, use rubber gloves to apply to a section of hair about half an inch wide and leave for an hour or two. Then shampoo, rinse and dry the hair. Remember that the colour will continue to develop for up to twenty four hours after application. If you are happy with the colour then go ahead and apply the henna to the rest of the hair.

STEP ONE

Before applying the henna, take the time to smooth some Ultrabalm or Ultrabland around your ears and hairline. This will help prevent any staining on your skin.

STEP TWO

Chop the henna brick into small pieces and put into a bain-marie or heat resistant bowl over a saucepan containing hot water. Cover the henna with boiling water. The hot water will melt the cocoa butter releasing the ingredients and after a few minutes stir to the consistency of thick hot chocolate, adding more hot water if needed. The hotter the henna the better the results.

STEP THREE

Wearing rubber gloves, apply your henna thoroughly to clean dry hair, section by section, working from back to front. Apply to the roots first, smoothing the mixture to the ends of your hair.

STEP FOUR

Wrap your hair in cling film or a shower cap for redder shades or leave it unwrapped for a browner colour. Keeping the hair warm keep the henna applied for at least one hour for the best effects. After two and a half to three hours you can shampoo it out. There’s no need to leave it on for any longer.

It is safe to use our henna hair colours as often as you like and will build up a lovely deep colour the more you use it. Applying it for three days in a row gives you a colour and shine that lasts for weeks.

Our Rouge brick is the really red one. Use this if you are after vibrant red tones. To get maximum red effects from this henna, cover and wrap tightly after application.

Our Marron brick majors on red, but has indigo and ground coffee to add some darker notes. Use this if you are after rich chestnut tones that shine with a red glow in the sunlight. If you want to bring out the reds more with this one, then wrap your hair tightly after application. For richer, browner notes leave the hair open and keep it hot and steamy. The indigo in this will take 24 hours after washing off to fully develop.

There is lots of indigo in this brick, which can take up to 24 hours after washing off to fully develop. So expect your hair to darken through the first day.

Our Noir brick has dark Indian indigo as the star with red Persian henna in a supporting role. Use this if you want to achieve dark dark hair with red henna to give shine to the blue black tones of the indigo.

To get the maximum out of the dark tones in this brick, leave open to the air after application, or better still put your head under a steamer.

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OUR HENNA HAIR COLOURS ARE SAFE, VEGAN AND 100% NATURAL. LES CACAS – NO S**T HAIR COLOUR During the Victorian era, a lot of modern chemical compounds were developed; one of the things they had a lot of was coal tar. It was a byproduct from street lamps, so it was free. If you were a research chemist you could get a lot of it.

People developed all sorts of chemicals from coal tar - including azo dyes. Soon enough you could dye curtains and carpets and bedding and clothes; and it wasn’t very long before some bright spark took carpet dyes and started to dye peoples’ hair with it. The problem with that is that it was very very allergenic, so many people had dreadful reactions to it.

Their tongues would swell, they would asphyxiate and die, or they would just get dreadful allergic reactions and itch and be in a bad state for several days.

But that didn’t stop people from doing it because they did like to have their hair coloured.

We believe in using a dye for your hair that has been used for thousands of years and has a history of safe use – that’s why our all-natural henna hair bricks are made from red henna and indigo herb. Not only will you get great colour, you’re putting a 100% natural, unpreserved, unpackaged product on your hair and scalp – that won’t show up in your wee the next day.