My Turquoise Bag

A few posts ago, I shared my feedback and experience with LUSH’s Caca Rouge Henna. It was everything it promised to be and I was genuinely pleased with the results. As is the case with henna, because it is not permanent dye, the vibrancy of the red fades away with time and with every wash. Although the red tint of the henna still glowed a bit in my hair in natural daylight, I personally felt like I needed to re-boost my hair with that fiery red.

As much as I loved LUSH Caca Rouge, I wanted to try a different type of henna.

So I headed over to my local Indian grocery store and picked up a bag of 100% natural henna powder for $4.99. This henna is sifted into a thin powder specifically made for henna body art which actually produces the reddest stain because it is more concentrated. I stored the henna package in the freezer for maximum conservation until I was ready to use it.

This time, my plan was to leave the henna in my hair overnight. I figured I might as well since the last time I left it in my hair for six hours and bummed around the house to kill time. In that same period of time, I might as well sleep!

And so that’s what I did! After I finished applying henna all over my hair, I twisted my hair up into a bun and secured it on top of my head. This step is the most important: I wrapped saran wrap tightly around my hair/head, then I put on a plastic hair cap and as a final touch, I wrapped a dark colored t-shirt around my head for maximum drip-free protection. I looked like Erika Badu at this point but trust me you don’t wanna wake up with henna smudged on your pillow, or worse, your face! I placed a dark towel on my pillow and went to bed (read: this is why I wrapped my hair on top of my head, so it would be more comfortable to sleep in).

The next morning after a seven hour sleep, I made my way to the shower and unwrapped my hair when I was inside the shower – highly recommend to avoid dried pieces of henna paste to crumble down on your bathroom floor as you unwrap! My hair felt slightly stiff, like hardened mud. I couldn’t wait to wash it!!

I thoroughly rinsed off my hair with warm water as I watched the water turn a reddish orange. After shampooing my hair twice with Godiva from LUSH and after conditioning with Retread from LUSH, I gave my hair a final rinse with cold water until the water turned clear.

Et voila – fresh shiny red hair!