As I am enjoying my newly dark brown bob, I am anxious to preserve the lovely shade of bitter chocolate achieved by using LUSH’s Caca Noir. More on the experience in my next post. I checked the drugstore isle for John Frieda’s color shampoo for brunettes, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not actually as noxious as actual dyes. In fact, it was rather green, with cocoa and citric acid working to deposit coloring molecules into the hair.In my book, THE GREEN BEAUTY GUIDE, I recommend a similar approach, with black coffee, but now I guess cocoa is even more practical. Used once a week, this mask is good for brightening up the color, and used three times a week it can darken the brassy, chestnut tones if you are into true brunette shades. This mask cannot work miracles, though, and it won’t change your hair color dramatically. It’s going to only maintain and maybe deepen the color you already have.
PLEASE NOTE: this mask is not suitable for very dry hair since vinegar may make cocoa pigment penetrate faster into the dry locks which may result in uneven appearance. If you have very dry hair, try skipping the vinegar or replacing it with equal amount of plain unsweetened yogurt.
So here’s the recipe I’ve been playing with for a while during the last few weeks:
Color Maintenance Mask for Brunettes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon vinegar, ideally apple cider vinegar
Warm water, enough to make a nicely goopy paste (usually 2-3 tablespoons)
You can multiply the amount of cocoa and vinegar according to your hair length.
Active ingredients: theobromine in cocoa, lactic acid in yogurt, acetic acid in vinegar
Method:
Whisk all ingredients into a smooth paste. Shampoo your hair, squeeze out the water, and apply the mask evenly. Keep it on for 2-3 min while you exfoliate, shave, or massage your skin. Try avoiding to let the mask drip into the hair line, as it may stain your skin resulting in a Mickey Mouse face (those who dye hair at home know the risk; remove the residue by dabbing the stains with rubbing alcohol or vodka). Rinse off and style your hair as usual.
