Caca Noir Mama

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

First of all, this IS a time consuming product that smells like cow manure. HOWEVER... I will NEVER use anything else on my hair! Never has my hair had so much shine, nor has it looked so healthy as it has since I began using Caca Noir. I have quite a bit of gray and have to apply it once a month. I wait until I have a whole day when I will be at home because I like to leave it on for four to six hours.

My hair goes to about the bottom of my ears, so one block is enough for me. I keep a glass bowl expressly for mixing the henna, which I cut into pieces and mix with a tsp. of olive oil and hot black coffee. I wrap my head in Saran Wrap, cover that with a plastic grocery bag, and hide for the rest of the day.

Rinsing can be difficult. I rinse with water, then add conditioner and rinse, shampoo and rinse, and finally condition again. For the first few days, I do NOT use a good towel on my hair, as the henna will stain it. I also spray just a bit of perfume above my hair because there is a lingering wet grass/manure smell that is not very pleasant.

The results are well worth the difficulties though. My hair ALWAYS shines. It is thick and soft and natural looking. My scalp doesn't burn from chemicals and I don't feel guilty about what is going down my drain. I have used this for seven months now, and I am still in awe every time I color my hair! Just don't forget to put Vaseline around your hairline, neck, and ears to avoid henna stains!

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

The best thing about this hair dye is it is natural! I have lung issues and am extremely sensitive to smells (chemical) so being cautious I don't dye my hair, get nails done, etc. It stinks. So I thought I would try this. My husband says it stinks "a lot" and like a "plant". The smell isn't too noticeable to me though.
Regular hair dye is very smelly.
The biggest negative of this hair dye is the time!!!!!! 1 to 6 hours is a long time.
As I write this review I have the dye on my head and it has been about 45 minutes. I plan to keep it there another 3 hours. I hope it is enough. I did coat my face, neck and ears with petroleum and am happy I did!

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

Other than getting highlights or lowlights put into my hair at a salon, I have only dyed my entire head ONE time (well 2 times if you count the $7.00 bottle of black I used to dye my hair a few months before trying the Caca Noir) I loved the change so much but decided I needed to seek an alternative to the chemicals because I can't do that to myself every 6 weeks or so. I bought a brick of the Caca Noir, my girlfriend came over and we had a little hair dying party. Thank God she was there because it was a little confusing and very messy. I actually slept with the stuff caked on my head. My biggest and only complaint other than it being time consuming was the smell. It gave me the worst headache, and the smell didn't go away for a couple days after washing it out. Other than that I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the color turned out. I have dark brown hair to begin with, it made my hair a color that I don't think I could achieve with any bottle of chemical hair dye. It was black with blue and red tints. It really looked amazing! I have bought my second brick and will try to do it alone this weekend. I can't wait.
PS I forgot to mention I used coffee as the hot liquid that I mixed it with.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I purchased the Caca Noir Mama Henn Bar yesterday after reading every blog written about the product. Let me start off by saying, most of the reviews I read stated the bar smelled bad. I sniffed the bar in the store and thought, "not so bad.'' Got it home and got all of the items I needed ready to do this. I grated the bar, so it would be easier to blend. I used two squares for my, just above the shoulder length hair. I warmed the water and poured it over my now powdered Caca Noir. The smell hit me and I now understand what other reviewers mean. It's like grass that's been mowed and left in the bag for a few days. I would like to think that I can leave this in my hair for six hours with no wrap, BUT, at this moment, it ain't gonna happen, lol! We'll see if the smell dies down after it starts to dry. As far as other reviewers saying its messy, I didn't have that issue. I don't know if it adheres to coarse hair easier, but I didn't have t put newspaper down. I did get a little on my sink, but it wiped away easily. I'll update as I start the rinse process, but for now, the only con is the smell.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

This product can help cover stubborn greys/white hairs but, requires a 2-step process. I am an asian female, with mostly black, coarse, thick, above shoulder length hair. I have white hairs that are sprouting mostly at the crown. This is what I did that worked for me. Do the prep a day before you plan on hennaing your hair: 1/From the block of henna I used 2 cubes, cut them down into 4 smaller chunks. 2/Place these in a glass bowl, add 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, put the glass bowl into a pot with enough water to create a double boiler. 3/Gently melt the henna chunks over medium heat, not necessary to melt it all the way; leave a few chunks. Turn off the heat, allow it to cool. Remove the glass bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight. 4/Next day - take glass bowl with the partially melted henna and place in pot filled w/some water to create the double boiler again and melt henna all the way this time, might have to add 1/4 cup additional apple cider vinegar. Stir w/an old wooden spoon occasionally until henna is fairly smooth and the consistency is a bit like brownie batter. 5/Prep the floor area (bathroom or kitchen) with newspapers, have disposable gloves ready, apply petroleum jelly around hairline,be certain henna is warm enough to apply but not hot enough to burn scalp, and apply w/an applicator brush or with hands. 6/Pile hair on top. I do not use plastic wrap. 7/Wear an old button front shirt, left on hair for 4 hrs, can leave it on for 5 hrs. 8/When time is up, rinse henna out w/warm water. Towel dry hair. 9/STEP 2 -- Prepare powdered indigo for hair as directed, apply with applicator brush. Left on hair for 1.5 hrs; can leave on hair up to 3 hrs. 10/When time is up, rinse out. Shampoo if you want with Reincarnate Shampoo Bar. Using this 2-step process with the Indigo Powder to cover my white hairs was the only way for me to achieve the results I wanted. I have been using Lush Caca Noir Henna since January 2012, but did not quite achieve the results I wanted. I tried the suggestions of others, i.e. lemon juice, brewed coffee, and finally apple cider vinegar, but the hairs turned out tinted coppery or a caramely. Again, I received the best results by applying the INDIGO, immediately after I rinsed out the Lush Caca Noir.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

Use uncovered for DARK results.. Also remember it so much more intense if you to it again the next day.. It lasts more than 8 weeks if you use this method.. If your looking for dark brown with beautiful reddish hues ( then use cling wrap and leave on 4 hours )
Yes it's messy ( and a bit labor intensive )
However it is WELLL WORTH IT !!!!!

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I had a reddish color hair when i started out, i have used henna before and i loved the color. I wanted to try something new so i decided to go black. My mom works for the store so she bought it for me and my step-dad helped me put it in. we had to do it twice because the first time it turned out a light brown color. but the second time we did it i have a beautiful dark almost black color in my hair. Both times I only kept it in 4 hours. The first time i had it wrapped in plastic and in a shower cap, but the second time we didnt put anything over it because the air helped the color become darker. it was messy and the smell was kind of bad but it was worth it not to damage my hair with box color.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

Conventional types of dyes have been destroying my hair for far to long, so I decided to give this product a shot. Firstly, I will say that the prep was FAR less messy or difficult that many people will have you think. All i did was chop up four squares (I have very thick hair) into somewhat small pieces, but them in a bowl, add water that I had boiled and then stir. I didn't get any chunks and as compared to normal hair dye I actually found this process MUCH less messy.

Once I covered my hair with it, it did harden significantly (again, less mess, as it wasn't dripping off of my head constantly). Left it on for three hours, then washed it off in the shower (a pretty easy process, just sort of melted off in the hot water). I was very pleased with the results of the color, although don't expect a jet black that you would get out of a boxed dye. But as someone who has constantly dyed her hair jet black, I actually found this soft natural black to be very nice looking. Not to mention my hair felt so so so soft and shiny. I did notice that the color seemed to "develop" a bit more over the next couple days. Only complaint I have is that bits of my hair that had been previously bleached (and then dyed over with black box dye) turned more brownish red tinted than the rest of my hair. But overall, solid product and your hair will thank you.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I wanted this to work but it didn't work at all for me.
I recently developed severe sensitivity (to put it mildly!) to chemical hair dyes. But I have a lot of greys which I was desperate to cover. I have black hair and was scared that henna might look strange, but it looked alright. Nonetheless, I was also looking for pure indigo powder to apply on top of the henna when I stumbled upon the Caca products. I was stoked to try it b/c it seemed to promise a one-step process to get my greys to black, whereas most other forums state that grey hair will 99% of the time require a two-step process - henna first, wash it out, and then indigo. (That is what I will try next time I colour my hair.)
As for this product, it's no easier than henna powder as you first have to break down the bar so why not just start with henna powder, right? And where henna powder is mixed with tap water, this product requires hot water and needs to stay warm - a bit of an annoying step in my opinion. I haven't yet handled indigo so not sure what it smells like but this product smelled quite a bit worse than just henna. My sister applied it for me and she had a pretty tough time covering my entire head without getting sick from the smell!
I had read somewhere that the cocoa butter in this product was a very nice conditioner for the hair but I found it to be quite greasy. After shampooing my hair 4 times over 2 days, my hair still smells slightly of the product... smell is lingering but my grays were not entirely covered by any means, not even to red - forget black. Lastly, I didn't do a test patch, which is my own fault, but I am feeling a bit itchy behind my ears and my scalp so if you're sensitive, definitely do a test patch! I did leave it on a lot longer than the recommended time - 8 hours to be exact! But that was after I had done the same last month with pure henna, and also after a Lush employee suggested that I apply the Caca Noir Mama before bedtime and wash it out in the morning (as she does).

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

The Lush Henna Bars are wonderful for people who want a gentle hair dye and don't mind putting in a bit of time to get great natural looking results. I've been using Caca Noir and Caca Brun for near two years now. Comments I make below are on these two bars as I haven't tried the other two!

This is a permanent hair dye, but the color does fade slightly over time. The more often you dye it, the stronger and longer lasting the color will be.

One of the great things about this is that even if you don't dye your hair again over the course of three or four months, you usually wont have obvious roots showing - it will instead be a gentle passage from the one color to the other!

Another massive plus for me: though my hair is naturally fairly thick, it's also always been dry and prone to splitting. The henna bars gave my hair a beautiful sheen and made it a lot stronger AND smoother, getting rid of frizz at the same time. I don't know how this will be for other people, because it probably depends on your hair type.

A con of this product is definitely that you never know exactly what color you will get. Friends of mine with lighter or thinner hair got different, usually lighter colors, even when using it in the exact same way as me. For me this product was a life saver, but you should always do a strand test to know how it will turn out.

Some tips I've noticed on easier use:

It is a bit of a messy operation and I would recommend putting old papers down where you prepare the henna and where you put it in your hair. The brun and the noir don't stain your skin unless you put your bare hands into it when its very hot, so DO wear gloves when putting it in your hair, but you don't have to worry about it getting on your ears and forehead too much. I usually don't even bother getting the drip off afterward and my skin never stains.

Though the instructions say to grind it up, I don't do that, as it takes a lot of extra effort. I put a chunk in a bowl, put the bowl in a pan of water on the stove, pour some boiling water over it and just let it melt that way. It's much easier, and the results are the same!

When pouring the water just remember: you can easily add some more water, but it's much harder to take it out again! Also make sure you make enough henna - you should prefer too much over too little.

Another warning for first time users - they say only to leave it in for about an hour, but I personally get very bland results after just an hour, and leave it in a minimum of 4 hours. The first time I went to buy it, the lady at the store told me some people like to leave it in over night!

Also: wear clothing that you don't mind getting dirty, because apart from dripping when you put it in, if you use the foil to keep it moist, after an hour or so it will start dripping alongside your neck. It just gets really hot underneath that plastic, so the butter naturally becomes liquid.

NEVER use the henna bars if your hair has been dyed blonde before! Your hair will become green! The same goes for if you've used henna - don't dye it blonde afterward. NOT a good idea.

You can use it on natural blonde hair just fine.

All in all a great product in my opinion, but it does take some commitment!

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I was hoping to achieve a similar color to my natural hair color, but this one looks even nicer. I went from a medium brown with light brouwn/reddish highlights, which were outgrown, to a beautifully even dark brown.

Note: I used half of the bar simply because my hair isn't thick and is just a bit past my shoulders.

I used hot coffee instead of water, which I bet made it more of a warm dark brown rather than a cool. Fine with me! I love it, very versatile product which really takes care of your hair. :)

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I have been getting my hair colored and foiled for the last 2 years and I was sick of paying $$$$$$ every 5 weeks (my hair grows really fast) so I looked into the block. The reviews scared me off at first that complained about how their previously chemically processed hair turned green or whatnot but I finally went for it after talking with a consultant at LUSH.
My hair is naturally dirty blonde/brown but has been colored a darker brown with blonde foiled in.

The process:
-I used a knife to shave off slices of the bar (I used 3 squares as my hair is really thick and I want to make sure my foiled areas were covered really well). I poured hot coffee over the pieces and stirred until it was mushy. There were still clumps so I made a double-broiler with my bowl and a pan of water to melt the rest. I let it sit for about 45 minutes to cool.
-Gloves and hair dye application brush. I started with my hair in sections but ended saying f-it and just started putting globs on and massaging in. I did a lot of rubbing and pulling the hair apart to make sure all strands got covered.
-Applied plastic wrap and went about my day. I left it on for 7 hours.
-Rinsed in the sink until the water ran clear and then got in the shower-- Shampooed 3x and conditioner 2x.
-Done

Cons: When it dries it flakes and if you happen to sweat it will melt on you. It helps to have someone with you the day you have it on to watch for drips or any that gets on your skin-- my husband was on duty and would wipe me off if needed. It smells bad, come to terms with it.

I didn't give 5 stars because of the smell and time commitment. This isn't an easy-breezy process but it is worth it, so I can't say that it's perfect.

Results-- AMAZING. My hair is now a deep brown with a red tint in the sunlight (next time I will air dry to hopefully avoid the red). My hair is so soft and smooth but still style-able. It has never felt this healthy. I will never go to the salon for coloring again.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

This is the best hair dye product I've ever used and will continue to use. My hair is about 30% gray and I've used professional and over the counter hair products. None of them cover all the gray, add subtle highlights, conditions my hair, leaves my hair shiny and healthy.

I've been using henna a little over a year, I was using the braun henna and decided to try nior. To bring out the red instead of the blue I added strong black coffee to mix the henna. I also added paprika and allspice to bring out the brown and red tones. I let my hair air dry before wrapping my hair in an old pillow case and left the color in all night. In the morning I unwrapped my hair rinsed out the henna and washed my hair with Juicy. All grays were covered! Hair looks great and grays have a reddish/brown color to them. Beautiful!

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I read the complaints about this being messy...well duh! This is henna, it's going to be messy. But it was so worth it. I henna all the time but this is the first time I have used Lush. My hair felt amazing. It was a little gritty but I think next time I will make sure it is totally melted. Also, I need to rinse longer. Great product. May be could do with a little more indigo. But still super

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

Ummmmm yeah.... I should have listened to the reviewer that posted that this product DOES NOT COVER GRAYS! I got this initially to cover up gray/white hairs, as I am only 29 I don't have a whole lot, but enough that I feel the need to cover them up. I did as directions dictated, and left on for over 4 hours!!! This left a tinge of red to my already dark brown hair....and left a slight tinge of red on a couple of white hairs....and I generously applied. This is sooo not worth it for that purpose. If you have normal hair and just want to enhance it, great. If you want to cover up grays/white, do not purchase. Waste of money. That's it.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

Im not that experienced with doing my own hair, but i couldn't imagine staying in a salon for hours to henna my hair. After thoroughly reading the directions and researching the product and suggestions on using it, I decided to give it a try.
I have shoulder length thin natural(chemical free) curly hair and decided to use 1/3 of the bar. I grated it into a glass bowl then used my tea water boiler to slowly add boiling water to the henna and stirred until i had a yogurt consistancy. i also added honey to add to the texture.
I sectioned my hair into four section and started applying the henna row by row per section until my entire head was done (alomost NO mess!)The only complaint i have is the flakyness of the henna once it dried but i put up with it in hope for a darker color.I left it on for 6.5 hours.
I rinsed with cold water under my tub faucet. Then hoped in the shower and used a little Rehab shampoo and rinsed w cool water. Then Retread conditioner, detangled and rinsed again with warm water. Finally a deep condtioner which i kept in my hair while i showered then rinsed (hot water). After that my hair was free of henna and my thin dark brown hair was a beautiful natural black and thick and soft as ever.
The next day my hair actually looked darker.
I plan on using it again but using bluberry tea water in hope of adding a tint of color to my hair.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I had previously colored my hair with henna and indigo and LOVED the results but absolutely hated the smell. I hoped that since the Lush formula included other ingredients, it might do a bit to mask that. No such luck. Also, since henna and indigo release dye differently, I was a bit skeptical of the effects when they were combined into one product. My hair is black (over light brown) from a double process of henna and indigo powders, but I wanted the Lush henna to cover my roots. They are still clearly visible.

Aside from that, the mixing process was difficult and messy (moreso than using powder on its own), and I ended up with a killer headache, possibly from the included coffee.

On the up side, I did get some conditioning effects from the henna, and my hair felt soft and shiny afterward, even if the color remained the same.

If you want your hair to really be black using a natural dye, I would recommend skipping this product and going for a double process using separate lots of henna and indigo, with the dye released properly.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I feel that Lush's henna hair dyes get a bad rap. Yes, it is time consuming, but you have to weigh the benefits with the few cons. I found that as long as I followed the directions and was prepared for a potential mess and the time it took to apply, the process wasn't bad. Yes, a little of the dye got on the sink and bathroom floor, but I've experienced the same with chemical home dyes. You can actually get hair dye brushes to apply the henna which makes the process much easier, cleaner, and quicker.

As for the smell, it is a little funky. Like grass and mud. However, it goes away after awhile and as soon as you rinse the dye out there is no residual scent. As long as you can don't mind the few minor difficulties this is a great product.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I have naturally dark brown hair and I have/had bleached blonde highlights in my hair. When I FINALLY shampooed it out after lots of struggle to get it properly mixed and applied, it only made my brown hair slightly darker brown (I left it on for about 2.5 hours as it said to) and it turned some of my blonde hair grey, and the rest of it blue/green/grey. And then in less than a week the brown/blue. Two weeks later, the blue is still here.

Comments about LUSH Caca Noir Mama:

I only have the under layer and under my fringe dyed black, so I thought this would be worth the money, being I'd be getting 3 or so uses out of it.
When I went to buy it, the girl at the counter told me that if I added sea salt to the mixture, the indigo color would stick more, and she gave me PLENTY of tips for just an easier application.
The application was messy, but I was expecting that- i would imagine it to be easier had i done my whole head, but since I was working with controlled sections, and could only get the dye on those sections, it was a bit of a hassle.
The smell in the beginning wasn't bad, but as I was working with it, and as I was letting it sit (i left mine in for a little over 2 hours) it began to make me nauseous.
The color itself was pretty vibrant, more so than i was expecting- but it still looked natural. It definitely would take more than one process of it for the color to REALLY stand out though (i have medium-dark brown hair)
Afterward, my hair felt SUPER silky in the spots that I used the dye, but the smell stuck for days. I was trying hard not to wash it everyday, but even after 3 washes, it was still there.

I would use it again, definitely.