Naturals - Has Henna Straightened Areas of Your Hair

[SoAnxious12]

Henna loosens my hair texture a little and makes it more "straight" in the roots (which are already pretty wavy). But I think that if i henna'd more often, my hair overall would probably be a lot looser. The idea of that happening doesn't bother too much because i mostly wear buns and it would help cut down on single strand knots. In a nutshell, the texture it creates doesn't bother me to much as long as my hair is nice and strong.

 

[flowinlocks]

Hmmm, reading some of these responses makes me wonder if I can start doing Henna every few weeks and not relax so often since I'm straightening it anyway....:scratchch I always thought the effects were temporary.

 

[Qurlyqt]

Okay, the jury is still out on the henna so I think I'm going to put it on hold for a minute. In the meantime, I think I'll research and see about this Amla paste. I plan to take action within the next few days!

Wavesncurls, you may be right. I will certainly keep that in the back of my mind... way back... I'm kinda' mad at henna right now but won't totally discount the possibility that it could be length/weight.

 

[Fhrizzball]

Weakening your henna back via oils, amla, conditioners, and etc. seems to be what helps most people. For me it doesn't cause a noticeable difference. The only side affect I seem to get is that my hair feels off somehow. Don't really know how to explain it and it lasts until the new wash day or so. Because of that I'm cutting back. Hopefully I won't get any curl loosening though. My heat damage is enough as it is.

 

[washize]

I have never heard of henna tightening curls; only loosening them. I didn't know it could do that. Henna seems to be so tricky for a lot of people.

Well my hair was really dry and damaged to begin with. I later learned that Henna should not be used at all on dry hair. Maybe thats why it tightened the curls I don't know. Funny thing is my mom triend henna when she was my age and she had the same results.

 

[ActionActress]

Henna changed my hair. It made it dry, brittle, and tangled. I used to be dominately 3c henna changed my hair to dominante 4a.

Not that, that is a problem, I just had to learn how to take care of my new hair. My roots are growing back 3c, and my curls are looseing up, but my hair is still very tangled and dry, and brittle.

But henna further damaged my already fried hair. it is not something I would ever do again, or recomend to anyone.

Some questions:

What brand were you using? BAQ (body art quality is best...skip the health food store variety such as Rainbow Henna)

Did you rinse thoroughly? If you towel dry your hair, and you see a slight tight of orange, you have not rinsed it out completely further drying your hair.

Did you moisturize?

 

[washize]

Some questions:

What brand were you using? BAQ (body art quality is best...skip the health food store variety such as Rainbow Henna)

Did you rinse thoroughly? If you towel dry your hair, and you see a slight tight of orange, you have not rinsed it out completely further drying your hair.

Did you moisturize?

I used Mumtaz Henna for Hair (al- Aroosa body art superior quality henna) from mehndiskinart.com. I did rinse throughly and I conditioned like crazy, after I felt how crunchy and tangled it was. When I towel dried my hair there was no color on the towel.

I did not condition or moisturize before I did the treatment though.

 

[Determined22]

I don't henna very often, maybe every couple of months. When I do henna I use the Karishma Henna which has amla powder in it, and I add a little more amla powder to prevent loosening. I haven't noticed any loosening of my curl pattern so far.

 

[Lanea87]

I just henna/indigo my moms natural hair about a week ago. I did a whole head henna and just indigo around the front edges. I suggest you may wont to do the same thing, so you dont have to worry about losing more curl pattern.

ETA: But in my mix I used conditioner and oil.

 

[empressri]

Honestly, I don't know how some can use henna consistently! It did loosen my texture and it took awhile for it to curl like it used to. My last go around I used one box of henna and two boxes of amla and it was still sort of straighter. I won't ever use henna again. Too bad, cause I love how it gave me the faint redness.

It can also coat your hair and make it hard to keep conditioned properly. I suggest people really research henna before using.

 

[jamaraa]

Well, it's been said many times here that henna will gradually loosen your curl pattern. Many use if for that precise reason, so know this before using it if you haven't yet! It won't straighten your hair, but the loosening of the texture will be more visibly obvious in so called Andre 3s and up and less so in 4s.

Mumtaz is a good brand of henna, but no matter what brand you buy, the loosening effect will be there UNLESS you add some amla to your mix.

Another thing that might be affecting your outcomes is what all you're using to mix up your henna. Certain oils can darken the color a bit more (coconut, sesame) and some probably interfere w/ dye uptake because of their weight (olive).

 

[jamaraa]

Well my hair was really dry and damaged to begin with. I later learned that Henna should not be used at all on dry hair. Maybe thats why it tightened the curls I don't know. Funny thing is my mom triend henna when she was my age and she had the same results.

Actually henna is great for dry/damaged hair, but it depends on what you mix it up w/. If you added something like lemon juice, coffee, tea, etc...anything w/ acid, that will dry out things more than necessary. Many henna recipes online and on packaging recommend an acid to "dye release". Time is far better and less drying.

 

[Khadija.D.Carryl]

I haven't gotten a chance to read through everything as yet.

But henna can be straightening for at least 80% of people that use it.

Adding amla powder will definetely add and help with the curls and bringing them back. I'd recommend you add some amla powder to your henna mix. Amla will also tone down some of the orange-ish tones the henna is giving you. Henna will color light and grey hairs orange-ish tones (sometimes up to red if you are using yemeni henna powder)

Henna and any natural herbs for hair can also be drying especially more so, if you are prone to dryness. Moisturizing is really important. Use a good hair oil, like argan oil, castor oil, and any of your favorite hair oils, or conditioners. Even something simple like Olive oil would be helpful to add to your henna recipe.

Coming up with the right natural hair regimen when it comes to herbs, will make everyone's experience much better!

I hope this helps!

 

[jamaraa]

Hmmm, reading some of these responses makes me wonder if I can start doing Henna every few weeks and not relax so often since I'm straightening it anyway....:scratchch I always thought the effects were temporary.

No, the effects (both color and loosening the curl) are permanent (until you cut your hair, of course). Henna's a real commitment. Nuclear waste is easier to get rid of than henna!

 

[Qurlyqt]

Honestly, I don't know how some can use henna consistently! It did loosen my texture and it took awhile for it to curl like it used to. My last go around I used one box of henna and two boxes of amla and it was still sort of straighter. I won't ever use henna again. Too bad, cause I love how it gave me the faint redness.

It can also coat your hair and make it hard to keep conditioned properly. I suggest people really research henna before using.

Oh my! And I was just thinking about giving it another go with adding some Amla powder. If two boxes didn't help, that is not a good sign. Thanks so much Empress!

 

[mstar]

But henna can be straightening for at least 80% of people that use it.

Wow, I had no idea. I thought it would only have that effect on Type 3 hair, so you can imagine my shock when I saw that my Type 4 hair was loosened.

I didn't know the loosening was that common.

 

[ActionActress]

Hmmm, reading some of these responses makes me wonder if I can start doing Henna every few weeks and not relax so often since I'm straightening it anyway....:scratchch I always thought the effects were temporary.

Some ladies do use henna for that purpose. The effects are temporary and henna does eventually wash out after several months. For the those that relax, I think this is a great idea if you want to stretch time. But make sure you use BAQ (body art quality) henna.

 

[ActionActress]

Actually henna is great for dry/damaged hair, but it depends on what you mix it up w/. If you added something like lemon juice, coffee, tea, etc...anything w/ acid, that will dry out things more than necessary. Many henna recipes online and on packaging recommend an acid to "dye release". Time is far better and less drying.

To add in to what you are saying:


What products are you using with henna? Conditioners with cones? Other chemicals in shampoos? Hair sprays? Heat protectants?

These things can clash with henna. I've learned that.

So I stay with natural/organic products like Aubrey and be sure to use no-cone products.

 

[ActionActress]

No, the effects (both color and loosening the curl) are permanent (until you cut your hair, of course). Henna's a real commitment. Nuclear waste is easier to get rid of than henna!

Hmmmm because my color does lighten over time. I would think that it does "come off" after much time.

 

[oooop2]

Yeah...It definitely loosened up my strands. Had to quit using it as frequently b/c my hair was becoming a bit too dry. However, for me, the change it hair pattern helped make my thick hair more manageable.

 

[Aggie]

I have almost 10 months of new growth on my head and when I use henna, I have noticed a loose softening of my new growth hairs. I agree with other posters who said that amla powder helps to tighten the curls up a bit. I believe that one might have to use it a few times to get the desired results though.

I did an amla, brahmi and kalpi tone tea rinse a few days ago - no henna added, and my hair did get a little tighter but not by much. To be honest though, I like the loose curl pattern because it's making my 20 months relaxer stretch a lot easier. In fact, I am sitting here wondering if I will relax again......but I know I will.

 

[redecouvert]

I just did a henna and added some amla powder...no loosen texture

 

[Aggie]

I did a heenara henna gloss treatment earlier today and it was so soft, possibly because of all the no-cone conditioner I added to it. The loose texture this time is so cute too.

This is making me think that maybe when I relax again, I may not even need the 11-12 minutes that I was originally planning on keeping it in my hair. I may have to reduce that to 8 or 9 minutes instead.

 

[jamaraa]

Hmmmm because my color does lighten over time. I would think that it does "come off" after much time.

Henna may FADE a bit in terms of it's color intensity, but it does become a permanent part of your hair structure. To fully lift the stain (henna isn't technically a dye, but a stain) completely is nearly impossible.

BTW, henna seems to negatively interact w/ overuse of products containing protein. I've never had any problems w/ things like cones, ceramides, and the like. Henna alone can have a protein-like effect for some people, so using proteing products should be scheduled in terms of henna useage.

 

[Nonie]

Thanks for this thread and all the informative posts.

I've never used henna on my hair but all the stories about how it strengthens hair had me feeling like I was missing out on something. Lawd knows I'd have been livid if I used it and my texture loosened. I had no idea at all that this happened. I have heard of color loosening texture but I always thought it was synthetic colors not something organic like henna. I think I'd end up chopping my hair off in a huff if I used it and this happened.

If I needed another reminder why I mustn't try new things when what I'm doing isn't "broke(n)", then this is it. Thanks again!

 

[jamaraa]

^^^^^^^ This is why many of the Somalis, Ethiopians, and the like are able to have 1 relaxer a year and keep it quite straight. Very few people (read...nobody ) who start out w/ tight texutres will end up w/ "straight" hair. If your texture is looser from the outset, the straightening will be far more obvious than a tighter curl pattern.

One adds amla to avoid this, if one chooses.

 

[sharifeh]

Wow, I had no idea. I thought it would only have that effect on Type 3 hair, so you can imagine my shock when I saw that my Type 4 hair was loosened.

I didn't know the loosening was that common.

me neither; anybody like the loosening effect?
Everyone seems to hate it?
why? Is it not uniform?

had to grow my hair out

what happened exactly kurlee?

 

[mstar]

me neither; anybody like the loosening effect?
Everyone seems to hate it?
why? Is it not uniform?

I like it a lot...it's made my hair much more versatile, and I love the curly look. Before using henna, I didn't have any obvious curls in my hair.

 

[sharifeh]

I like it a lot...it's made my hair much more versatile, and I love the curly look. Before using henna, I didn't have any obvious curls in my hair.

ok cool! Thank you!!
how often do you use it and what kind?

 

[ActionActress]

Sharifeh,

Try to use it a couple of times in a month. The best brands I have used are the Rajasthani (Ayur), Jamila, Nupur. It really doesn't matter but you want a good rinse out. I mistakenly one year found that Brahmi *may*have the same effect. (not sure though)

Tightening of the curl with amla does work for me, esp. if I want a deep definition of curls.