In Which I Use Caca On My Head

It is time for a review, friends. But first, a little background. I have curly hair. Well...wavy hair. Curly on good days, frizzy nothing on bad days. And my hair will do a whole lot in between. In the curly girl world, I have type 2B hair. Up until about 3 years ago, I didn't realize that if I used the right products and coaxed my hair correctly, I could actually get it to look more curly and less frizzy. Consequentially, I have spent most of my life blow drying and straightening my hair. Which is pretty terrible. I also dyed it quite frequently with your standard boxed dyes from the drug store. That's even more terrible.


This brings us to the review at hand. There's a lot of buzz on the curly girl web circuit about henna. It's a natural way of dying your hair that's not exactly permanent, but also a lot healthier for your hair than your traditional boxed dye. I had used henna once before that I purchased at the Honest Weight Food Co-op and liked the results. I didn't feel the dryness I had seen with other hair dyes nor the hair loss that could also occur. This time I decided to try a different brand.


My friend Aprill told me about Lush's henna called Caca Rouge Mama, and the 5 year old in me laughed. Caca? Really? But Lush has never let me down before, so who was I to squabble with their choice in name? Where the henna I had used before was a powder, this comes in blocks and is packed full of good things like cocoa butter and lemon juice, things that my hair loves. I didn't take a picture of the bar itself, but the box it came in looked like this:

Adorable.

Because I am so thorough, I decided to take a few pictures of the actual process. Let's start with a before picture: 

(Keep in mind, this was one of many before pictures. Most ended up being just of my eyebrows.)

As you can see, I have longish, thickish hair. That color is not my natural color. I'm naturally a brunette, but Aprill insists she'll no longer be my friend if I'm not a redhead, so I am caught in the vicious cycle of dying.

The directions say to use 3-4 of the 6 squares for longer hair. I decided to use all 6 squares, because I didn't want to worry about running out. Also, if I only had 2 squares left over at the end, they wouldn't be much help in the future.

You're supposed to put the the squares in very hot water and let them seep until you can mix them up. Some people suggest hammering the pieces in a bag first so they break up and are more easily dissolved. I decided to do this at 11pm and didn't want to wake my neighbors, so I just broke pieces off in my hands and put them in the bowl. Then I put very hot water into the bowl, and this is where the panicking began. 

The key in everything I read is that the hotter the water, the better the henna will be absorbed into your hair. After adding the water, it looked like I had added to much water, and I didn't keep in mind the fact that as the blocks dissolved, the consistency would become thicker. All I kept thinking was, "I need to get this mixed up NOW before it cools down!" So without letting it fully seep, I began stirring and crushing the mixture, praying that I wouldn't end up with soupy henna. This is what the end product looked like:

Yum.

As you can see, it was very lumpy, and this would come to hinder me later in the process.

Everything you read about the application always has a big warning that states MESSY! And the warning is not an exaggeration. Do not do this on a rug or surface that you care dearly about, as you will ruin it. I chose to do this in the bathtub. If I do this again, I will line the bathtub with newspaper, as I can just throw away the mess in the end. As it is, I had to scrub my bathtub at 1am to make sure nothing became stained. Every girl's dream Friday night.

I digress. Lush gives you gloves to use, and you need to use them. If not, you'll end up with reddish hands. I applied at the roots of my hair first and made my way out to the tips. As I was scooping up handfuls of the goop, I realized that some of those clumps you saw pictured were still dry in the middle. So I would try to rub them between my fingers and expose them to the moisture. As it was, at points it felt like I was rubbing little sticks into my hair, getting it call tangled up. Not pleasant. After about 30 minutes, though, I finally got all of my hair fully saturated with the henna. I did end up using the entire mixture, too, FYI.

After cleaning myself AND the bathtub up, I had to wrap my hair up. I used about 6 layers of plastic wrap around all of my hair to seal in the juices, and used two shower caps to be extra safe.

Conehead Shelby, reporting for duty. Mike is one lucky man.

So the package says to leave the mixture on for 2-6 hours, and recommends you do this at night so you can sleep on it. Who the heck only sleeps for 6 hours and is able to function appropriately the next morning? Not me. So I decided I'd go to sleep and wake up whenever the heck I wanted to. It's the weekend. I'm entitled.

I slept on a towel just to be careful and the mixture ended up being on my hair for roughly 8 hours. The removal of the henna was almost at difficult. I stood under the water just letting the water trickle through the mud and tried my best to coax the little sticks down the drain. I ended up co-washing my hair with Herbal Essence's Hello Hydration Conditioner twice not only to help remove the henna, but also because my hair was feeling surprisingly dry. All accounts I had read said that the mixture would over-hydrate your hair, but I found the opposite to be true.

I rinsed for about 30 minutes, got out, cleaned the tub (AGAIN), put some Organix Moroccan Oil Curl Defining Cream in, and went about my day. Here are some pictures of the finished product:

I really do love the color. I don't think the pictures do it justice. However, I don't think I'll be using this particular brand again. For starters, the price ($25) is to me unreasonable. Also, for all of the moisturizing elements in the bar, my hair didn't really feel all that hydrated. I guess the real test will be how long the color actually lasts for.


So I'm on the fence. Does anybody know of a good henna I can try next?

Nerdtastic Televion

So I should pretty much have my blogging license revoked. What, they don't have licenses to blog? You mean I can go as long as I want between entries and there's no punishment? Well, awesome!

There's no excuse for the delay between posts other than life has been too boring to write about. Looking at my calendar I see very few dates. There was the plan to visit with my cousins and buy bridesmaid dresses with them, but I am awful and had to cancel, because I had to work. So lame. There was also to plan to go to a surprise party for Meghan, but again, had to work. So so lame. Also, where the heck did April go? Does anybody know? Because I blinked and it was gone and I hadn't done anything for the wedding. Which has led to panicking. But more on that later.

I mentioned in the description of this blog that I would write about my nerdy loves and interests. So in the same vein of Felicia Day's Flog, I am going to list my current 5 favorite nerdy television shows, and why I love them so:

5. Eureka- Eureka is a show on SyFy (of course) that started back in 2006, when I was still in college. It's about a fictional town that houses geniuses and fosters their intelligence. Centering on every-man character Jack Carter, whom is grudgingly made into sheriff of this eccentric township, the show chronicles the mishaps that can occur when you put too many incredibly intelligent people into one small place. I like the show because as fictional as the situations may be, the science behind everything is very up-to-date and fascinating. Because Jack is a layman, though, the science and language are very accessible, as he spends most of the episodes just trying to figure out what the hell everyone around him is talking about. It recently came back from a year long hiatus and is in its last season, which makes me incredibly sad. But all good things must come to an end and I'd rather they end now before they do a story line about screwed up timelines...oh wait...

4. Lost Girl- Another SyFy gem, this one actually has its roots in Canadian television, and I am finding more and more that I like the shows coming down from there (see Blood Ties). Lost Girl focuses on character Bo, who for most of her life didn't realize that she was, in fact, a succubus. Meaning, she is a fae who lives off of human sexual "chi". She discovers that there is a whole underworld of fae beings who align themselves with the Dark and the Light. Bo decides to align herself with neither, though, so she can have fun with everyone. I just started watching this show and am coming up to the end of season 1, where the revelation of who Bo's real mother is is impending. I like the characters a lot, especially human sidekick Kenzie. As some one who has loved the world of faeries since as long as she can remember, it's great to finally see a television show introducing new viewers to the world. Plus, there's a sexy werewolf. That is all.

3. My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic- Ok, before you click out of this tab in disgust, let me explain! Yes, it's a cartoon. And yes, it focuses on talking girl ponies. But this is not the My Little Ponies of the 80's. Creator Lauren Faust was tired of cartoons for girls that were simplistic and in many ways sexist. So she set out to create an empowering cartoon for a new generation of girls AND boys. With a pony for everyone, the plots focus on moral issues that everyone, adults included, can relate to. In one episode, pony Applejack is determined to harvest all of the apple trees on her farm by herself and will not accept help from anypony (this is something they actually say on the show). It's not until she tires herself out to the point of endangering those around here that she finally accepts the help of her pony friends. The moral: don't be a stubborn jackass. I know a lot of people who could use to learn that lesson. Myself included. PLUS, there's a new subculture called Bronies and these are men who also enjoy the show. A little weird? Maybe. But this just goes to show you that this show really can appeal to everyone.

2. The Vampire Diaries- I've lost all of the street cred with you now, haven't I? Well, here goes nothing. The Vampire Diaries (TVD for short) is about high schooler Elena whose parents have just died in a horrible car accident (or was it an accident?). Just as she's moving on with her life, in walk brothers Stefan and Damon. And guess what? They're vampires! And you know what else? Elena is a dead ringer for a woman named Katherine whom the brothers loved back in the Civil War Days, who actually made them into vampires! Ahh! Are you hooked yet? The show revolves around the constant conflict between the two bros (Stefan is good, Damon is bad...or is he? *raised eyebrows*). Both fight for Elena's affections, much like they fought for Katherine's. Don't they know that whole spiel about those who forget history are doomed to repeat it? To be honest, I didn't much like the show when it came out. But recently I caught up on Netflix and have found that the cast of supporting characters really do help to carry it. It's got everything a good vampire show really needs. Vampires, werewolves, witches, reincarnated lost loves. So check it out. And in case you're wondering, I'm team Damon.

1. Doctor Who- I'm going to try to keep this short, because I could honestly fill up pages and pages on why Doctor Who is so wonderful. I'll stick to the facts, though. The show started back in 1963. It went off the air for about 15 years, and then came back in full force. It is about The Doctor, a humanoid alien who travels in a blue police box called the T.A.R.D.I.S. His TARDIS can travel through time and space. Along the way he picks up companions to keep him company during his adventures. He is roughly 900 years old, but his current body looks only to be in his 20's. Oh gosh, this is too hard. I feel ridiculous explaining a show that is pretty much the back bone of the television science fiction genre. It's British, which gives it brownie points. The reason(s) I love it are too numerous. Briefly, though, I have always loved the idea of time travel, Catherine Tate plays the incredible character Donna Noble, and I 100% ship the Doctor/Rose. And if anything in that last sentence confuses you, I suggest you load up Netflix right now, search Doctor Who, click on the episode entitled "Rose" and let your obsession begin.

I should state that this has not been a list of my favorite nerdy shows of all time(!), but instead a list of the shows I'm digging at the moment, with the exception of Doctor Who, which really is up there with the greats. They are not guilty pleasures, as I freely bring them up in my everyday conversations, even when most people look at me blankly.

So check them out if you can. Do any of the shows on the list appeal to you? What are your favorite nerdy shows? Leave me a comment and subscribe if I haven't run you off with my eclectic (bad) tastes.

Edit-I really should give an honorable mention to Once Upon a Time. I forgot about it until I went to post this onto my facebook and saw an ad for it. The show is about fairy tale characters stuck in our world. It features a lot of kick-ass female characters and shows that sometimes we really have to fight for our happily ever afters, and even then happiness is not guaranteed.