If you’ve ever used henna to dye your hair, you will know how, er, intense the result can be... There is little room for subtlety. Until now, that is. Lush has reformulated its popular henna hair dyes to improve coverage and (more importantly) create cooler, true-to-tone results. All for a bargain £18, too.

“From starting my career in hairdressing and becoming primarily a colourist, ‘henna’ in the hairdressing community was a scary word and has a bad reputation,” explains HairLab Technician and Colour Specialist Daisy Evans, who has revamped Lush’s cult fave. “It is known for being impossible to get off of the hair, and creating a lot of damage if you try to do so. But it turns out what we all thought was ‘henna’ could actually have been formulations of potent chemical dyes, which cause all sorts of reactions and complications when bleach or synthetic hair dyes are used afterwards. It is wonderful to have been able to fully understand the concept of these innovative hair dyes and to know that they are 100% natural.”

The new, improved formula is, true to Lush style, 100% natural, vegan, cruelty-free, and absent of preservatives. It comes wrapped in recycled paper packaging, taking inspiration from traditional Chinese tea brick packaging, in a bid to minimise waste.

First created over twenty years ago by the British brand’s co-founder, Mark Constantine, following decades of his own experimentation, the henna bricks were reinvented in 2001 by fellow co-founder Helen Ambrosen. She added cocoa butter, making the henna easier to use. The latest iteration, crafted by Evans, expands the range of shades and tones possible with henna.

See Vénitien (Strawberry Blonde in French) which adds a “warm, sun kissed tones to naturally blonde, light, or white hair,” per Lush. The old faves – Brun, Marron, Rouge, and Noir – have been given the Evans treatment, too.

Beyond the colour boost, henna has protective qualities, too. Sarah Sango, Lush Afro Hair Specialist says the new blend has “a lovely protective effect on curl patterns 3A to 4C,” especially if it is high porosity. “It offers a gentle alternative to synthetic permanent dyes and a smooth consistency for ease of application on Afro hair and locs.”

But there’s plenty more where that came from. Keep reading for a further five new beauty launches to get excited about this week.

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