Product Review: Lush Cosmetics "Cacas" Hair Dye - A Slightly Dirty Name for a Very Clean Product

For those of you who are already Lush devotees, it will come as no surprise that they have created an innovative line of henna and botanical dyes. Henna, particularly premixed compounds, often get a bad rap for safety and ease of use. Lush addresses many of those concerns with Les Cacas.

The Product

Unlike most henna hair colours, Caca dyes (yes, that is the not so polite French word) come in a solid brick. While Lush claims the bricks of dye are meant to resemble Russian tea, you can't help but see them as similar in appearance to baker's chocolate. You can choose from bright red (Caca Rouge), chestnut (Caca Marron), brown (Caca Brun), or black (Caca Noir).

Each brick is divided into six sections. You may need a full block for very thick and long hair, but for shorter, thinner hair, or hair that has already been henna dyed, you may be able to get two colourings out of the single brick. Lush employees can usually advise you on the amount you will need for your head of hair. The brick itself is a bit oily to the touch and, being a fully fledged Lush product, is very strongly scented. But instead of the grassy, earthy smell of most powdered hennas, these dyes smell strongly of the other botanicals and essential oils used in addition to henna in the mixture.

Also unlike most powdered premixed henna dyes, the ingredients are clearly listed both on the Lush website and in the hair dye's instructions. To achieve the different shades, Lush uses different plants and natural colour enhancers rather than relying upon salts or chemical dyes. True henna dyes things red so it takes other ingredients to make variations on that colour.

The Method

In many ways, Lush's Cacas are similar to traditional methods of applying henna hair colours. They involve heat, wrapping, and a longer wait time than chemical hair dyes. But the paste made from the Lush dyes appears less messy than the powdered hennas and the scent is far superior than the hours of "hay head" most of us who use henna experience with other products.

The Results