Henna Hair Dye: Lush Cosmetics Henna.

So I have been gone for a very long time, apologies! With moving from Cork to Dublin and moving jobs also, I found it impossible to do anything social media related!

In the time I was away I got my hair lightened, my fringe to be exact. I had visions that it was going to be white/sandy blonde and I was going to look so fab. However with my hair being dyed numerous times it was impossible to achieve this without destroying my hair, so my lovely hairdresser Nicky got me to a nice, golden colour which was a big achievement in itself!! I had this for about 5 weeks but without proper maintenance it was starting to get duller and with that came the "ginger" comments, there is nothing wrong with redheads, I am practically one myself, but its not for me! With this i needed a change! I had the going blonde phase out of my system and wanted my brown hair back in full! As my hair was pretty damaged from the bleach I needed a safer, nourishing way to dye my hair back! So I decided on Lush Cosmetics' Henna hair dye!

Before and After

Lush's Henna hair dye is a safe alternative to colouring your hair! I have used it in the past as it gives you rich colours without the damage! Conventional dye penetrates the hair shaft damaging it whilst henna varnishes the outer layer of the hair protecting it. Unlike traditional henna which is powdered, Lush Cosmetics henna comes in a block form. It's packed full of cocoa butter, essential oils and Persian henna to give it this block form!

The henna blocks come in 4 rich colours; Noir, an indigo black, Rouge, a vibrant red, Brun, a rich brown and Marron, a deep chestnut brown. For my hair I used 2 squares of Brun and 2 squares of Marron. Its totally ok to mix and match colours. I wanted a dark but warm colour so that why I used 2 squares of each. Depending on your hair length you might need to use the whole block, since my hair is short I got away with using less.

Now for the fun part, using the henna. What you will need;

• Henna (obvs)
• An old mixing bowl
• A knife
• 2/3 pairs of gloves
• Hot water
• Lush's ultrabalm
• A pot
• clingfilm (optional)
• newspaper

I didn't take any pictures whilst doing this process as it can get quite messy and I value my phone too much. There are step by step instructions on Lush's website  https://www.lush.co.uk/products/brun .

Also there are various videos on YouTube that you can check out or you can always pop into a Lush store for help.

Step 1: chopping up your henna. This can be done with a knife (if you use a grater you'll be there for hours, trust me). I find you can break it down further by crumbling it in your hands after chopping into smaller pieces.

Step 2: melting your henna. place your chopped henna into your bowl and pour a small amount of boiling water on top of it. Don't put too much water in, always start off with less water so you can add in more if needs be. Mix your henna with a spoon and after a bit you can check for lumps. At this stage I just mix with my fingers and break down any little lumps with my hands. You are looking for your consistency to be that of double cream.

Step 3; keep your mixture hot. keeping your mixture hot means it won't set in the bowl and lose it colouring ability. Setting up a bain marie (a hot water bath) means you can ensure heat is kept. Fill your pot full of boiling water and place your mixing bowl on top of this (like you would for melting chocolate!).

Step 4: application. So I might not be the best person to tell you how to apply henna as I literally pick up handfuls of henna and coat my hair in it. I've seen people use tinting brushes and such which would be good for longer hair, but if you have short hair like me just apply with your hands and esure you have every piece covered, simples! Don't forget to use Lush's Ultrabalm (their natural all purpose balm) to put around your hairline and ears to prevent staining on the skin!

Step 5: clingfilm (optional). If you want more redder tones in your hair cover your whole head in clingfilm (bar the face, you need to breathe!). For brown or darker tones leave the henna oxidize.

Step 6: Leave it process. Leave your henna on for about 2 hours. I leave mine on overnight whilst I sleep, its not going to develop after a certain length in time but the cocoa butter will still continue to moisturise your hair.

i look so full of joy :|

Step 7; Wash yo hair!. Wash it out thoroughly with a good clarifying shampoo, I find Lush's I Love Juicy to be a good one to use after henna. Dry using old or dark towels and voila! you have nice henna coloured hair!

I would recommend Hennaing your hair to anyone who is looking for a safe way to dye your hair. If your unsure, Lush can give you a free sample of henna to do a strand test with,

If anyone has any questions on henna and the dyeing process just leave me a message!

• Have a nice day please, byeeeeeeeeeeee :)