Lush Caca Noir

Usually, I would prefer to use much easier, faster bubble hair dye like Etude House's or Kao Liese. Since my hair condition has gotten worse these days (drier, more brittle), I decided to darken my strands with softer dyes. That's how I met Lush Caca.

These Cacas come in bar, just like chocolate bars. You break it off and mix with hot water until reaching yoghurt consistency, then apply. Wrap with clingwrap for brighter color, but since I want to darken my brownish hair, I am going to let it sit as usual. Lush says leaving it up to 6 hours will give richer colors. Nay, I dont have 6 hours... so I left mine for 3 hours. Lush website says you can leave it as fast as 1 hour. 

In the beginning, I kept on delaying using this. for the fear that it would take ages to prepare. I was wrong. It was easy peasy. My trick was to break the bar off to small pieces, and add hot water soup spoon-ful by soup spoon-ful while continuously mixing and mashing with fork. This way, risk of adding too much water is minimal. For my medium length hair, 2.5 box was just nice to cover all my hair while leaving very little (if any) leftover. 

First off, I love the smell of this Caca. Herby and green and fresh... oh so relaxing (for me). What a departure from chemical fume of bubble hair dyes and straightening chemicals. The texture is a little grainy, even after careful mixing, somehow I cant make smooth paste. at times I leave trail of caca crumbs around where I sit while waiting. 

The application was pretty easy, simply massage in and make sure everything is covered just as usual. Let me remind you again, crumbs will definitely drop here and there while you apply your caca. Best if you apply it in bathroom where you can simply wash off the floor. and wear dark shirt you dont care about anymore. again... the crumbs, people...

Washing the caca out is another story altogether... it was a nightmare for me. I rinsed my hair with water twice, then with shampoo twice then once more with water. that's how hard it was for me to wash the crumbs off my hair. during the washes my hair feels so rough... and it tangled like nobody's business. Big dollop of Ma Cherie hair treatment helped to calm the whole thing down. I proceed with towel drying my hair and applied my usual hair oils and styling products. 

I am so glad that all that stiffness and roughness I experienced when I was washing away the caca doesnt last. after the caca is properly washed, everything came back to normal. my hair does feel a little darker, but not as jet black as my regular bubble hair color result. the good thing is,again, my hair returns to normal as soon as everything is washed off. with bubble hair colors, my hair feels noticeably drier, even though I applied my oils and towel dry as usual. 

Some websites mentioned that henna will neutralize chemical processes you have done to your hair. and to some degree i have to agree with this. my hair didnt turn to its usual frizzy curly messy self, but some part of it did. Stubborn patch of hair which unfortunately frame my face turns way more wavy than before I applied the Caca. but that's all the changes I noticed, I didnt notice other changes. 

Bottomline, 
when you want natural hair color and have the time to wait for the color to develop, LUSH Caca is for you. but dont expect deep jet black color from Caca Noir... you will get darker color, but not jet black. 

(picture from lushusa.com)

Etude House Hair Coloring in 1 Deep Black

In attempt to make my dried fried frizzy hair look more glossy, I’ve decided to dye my hair…black. And off I go, picking up a box of Etude House Hair Coloring in 1 Deep Black.

(picture from etude.co.kr)

Etude House is cosmetic brand from South Korea, which offers everything a girl might need in her powder room. From lipsticks, creams, shampoo…to hair color! This box I picked, is one of the popular Asian style bubble hair color.

How is it different from our usual L’oreal box? No mixing and combing required! Inside the box you will find a pump bottle filled with colorant (labeled no.2) , another pouch of colorant (labeled no. 1) , a small sachet of conditioner, a pair of gloves and a piece of clear plastic sheet. I do like the fact that they include the plastic sheet to be worn as collar to protect my shirt from the possible dripping bubbles.

I usually use Kao Prettia to dye, this time I’m gonna compare it with Etude House’s. Same rules here, open the colorant pouch and empty the content to the pump bottle. Close securely and mix by shaking it gently once or twice. No need to shake violently ala bartender or making milkshake here…. The colorants will mix easily. Now, just wear the plastic piece as collar to protect your shirt and wear the gloves. Squeeze the bottle to dispense creamy-ivory colored soft bubble. Massage on your hair.  My thick shoulder length hair needs a bottle to get all evenly covered. Then wait about 30 minutes. Proceed by washing with water as usual. I don’t shampoo after coloring… I just use conditioner to make my hair feel softer after dying. Oh, one more important thing, start with dried hair! Not wet hair.

Now, unlike Prettia or Liese I usually use, this one feel harsh on hair. As in, my hair actually feels crunchy during the coloring process. That’s why I use my own conditioner to tame my frizzy and all tangled hair after washing the dye. After the conditioner, I applied generous amount of my favorite Vrai argan oil and air dry my hair while combing carefully. But, in contrast to Liese which has rather strong smell, Etude House doesn’t smell strong at all…

Beware, just like other brands, the color will still bleed after a few washes.

After all the necessary precautionary conditioning, oil slathering, serum doping I did on my hair after the coloring… I am happy with the result. My hair is now, black and shiny. It is still stiff and frizzy, but at least it look shinier.

Bottomline,

I like this one, primarily because of the addition of the plastic sheet to cover my shirt! And the smell is not as pungent as other brands I’ve tried. I’m going to repurchase when I need to dye my hair again.

(picture from etude.co.kr)