Sexy, Sustainable Hair Color: Lush Henna
LUSH CACA Henna Hair Dye ($24.95)
After a freshman dorm experience with the stuff—after which no patchouli perfume or champa incense could dispense the smell—many of us put a hex on henna.
But maybe it’s time to rethink this truly natural hair dye, which is derived from plants grown sustainably in the Middle East and has been used as a hair dye since about 3,400 BC.
Today, henna is carefully calibrated to create gorgeous, semi-permanent, totally vegan colors in the hands of the LUSH company.
Known for their amazing multi-purpose soaps—and naked sales staff, on occasion—LUSH puts their signature unusual twist on their Henna Hair Dyes.
They mix in key ingredients like lemon juice to brighten and cocoa butter to condition, then package their henna in chocolate-bar like blocks that they call “caca”—yes, that’s French for poo—which you mix with water at home to apply. (Curious? Check out the video.)
And unlike other hair dyes, henna is a natural conditioner, coating each individual hair and smoothing the cuticle to protect it from damage. Strong, glossy and gorgeously colored? Sounds good to us!
Can hair dye really make you sick? Well, duh. Flip over a box of hair dye and read the ingredients. Coal tar, peroxide, benzene, ammonia, toluene, paraphenylenediamine—do these things sound healthy to you? All hold a special place in our Big List of Things That Suck, and even the FDA warns that conventional hair dyes can cause respiratory problems, hair loss and skin irritation—among other problems. Some gnarly chemicals like lead acetate—listed as a carcinogen in California—are actually banned for cosmetic use in the European Union; lead acetate is a neurotoxin that can actually cause fetal mortality. Think about what that stuff does to the ecosystem when it goes down the drain. But what’s a graying green girl to do—aside from learning to love her true colors? (As if.) We found solutions to love from Palette by Nature, LUSH, TouchBack Plus and Original Moxie. Take that, Clairol.
