I’ve been dyeing my hair since I was 13, when a hairdresser at an upscale salon informed me that I would have to dye my hair forever because my natural color ― the most neutral of dark browns ― was just that shitty. (Another stylist at the same salon later told my mother to imagine the haircut she wanted, which she had seen on a model in a magazine, “on an ugly face,” so take it with a grain of salt.) I don’t brush (wide-tooth comb!), shampoo every day (twice a week!), or heat style my mid back-length hair, but I still noticed that I was accumulating dry, crunchy ends, which worsened every time I hit the salon for a good two-hour color dose.
Since my mission these days is the longest, strongest, shiniest, most Middleton-esque cascades possible, and also maybe not getting cancer, I started feeling out my options for possible alternatives to traditional hair dye. My quest led me, as many of my quests do, straight to LUSH. Their solid blocks of henna pigment intrigued me for two reasons ― one, the formula not only colors, but deeply conditions and strengthens the hair while doing so; two, the concoction is called Caca Brun Mama, which basically means Poop Brown Mom. Was I really going to put something called Poop Brown Mom all over my hair, and leave it there for six hours? Yes. Yes I was. Keep reading »
