Do ya'll henna?

Do you henna?

  • Yes, I henna and love it

    Votes: 293 28.1%

  • Yes, I have but I won't do it again

    Votes: 33 3.2%

  • No, I haven't but I've always wanted to

    Votes: 518 49.6%

  • Nope, never considered it

    Votes: 200 19.2%
  • Total voters
    1,044
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sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
I just henna'd my hair for the first time and I love it. Look...



I expected it to darken my hair and turn my grays (what grays!) orange, but I didn't expect it to loosen the texture.

Does anyone else henna and have you had this experience?

BTW, both photos are in 4PM sunlight w/ the same products. :look:
 
Shawnee66

Shawnee66

New Member
I like the way it turned out. It looks so dark and healthy.

I bought a box of henna powder but, I haven't used it yet. Can you tell me how you prepared it and how long did you leave it in.
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
Shawnee66 said:
I like the way it turned out. It looks so dark and healthy.

I bought a box of henna powder but, I haven't used it yet. Can you tell me how you prepared it and how long did you leave it in.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm so happy with it. Ok, this sounds like a lot of stuff, but it was really very simple once I understood what you were supposed to do.

I brought my henna from hennaforhair.com. The owner sells body quality henna which can be used safely over other chemicals. I've used commercial dyes and relaxer on my hair so I was worred about interactions between regular henna and my hair.

I got my recipe from hennaforhair too. They actually have bunch of recipes depending on what color you want (http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/index.html).
  • I mixed:
100g of henna
enough lemon juice concentrate to make an icing-like paste
couple tablespoons of tumeric to warm the color
1/4 cup of amla powder that i also brought from hennaforhair.
2 tablespoons of olive oil to counteract the intensity (and drying) of the lemon concentrate
Some coffee grounds to darken the color (duh! grounds don't dissolve):(
20 drops of lemon essential oil (anything will work, but it changed the smell from hay to lemon cake icing, yay) :)
​
  • I left it in the garage overnight (about 17 hours) until the dye released. You can tell if it release by leaving a little piece of paper towel in the container. The paper will be stained orange when the dye is ready for use.
  • I applied it like you would a relaxer
  • Wrapped my head in plastic wrap and sat under under the bonnet dryer for an hour
I think I went a bit overboard on the mix. Next time I henna (this weekend), I'm going to use henna, ACV, and strongly brewed coffee and that's it. I might order more amla powder. My hair loves that stuff. But one thing's for sure, I won't be dying my hair with anything else.
 
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goldensensation

goldensensation

New Member
You are loosely relaxed, right? I thought Henna couldnt be used on processed hair. This is great. Your hair came out awesome so now I have hope.
 
Shawnee66

Shawnee66

New Member
Thanks for the info Sereca. I bought Mehndi Henna Powder. I'm going to try it this weekend. I plan to mix the henna with alma and lemon juice.

Why are you changing the recipe???
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
Shawnee66 said:
Thanks for the info Sereca. I bought Mehndi Henna Powder. I'm going to try it this weekend. I plan to mix the henna with alma and lemon juice.

Why are you changing the recipe???
Click to expand...
Well I added olive oil to keep the lemon juice from being too harsh. I think I'll just use something milder than lemon juice instead of adding the oil. The oil made it very hard to stir the henna. It completely changed the consistency.

The coffee grounds was a mistake. I should have added a brewed coffee. Coffee grounds are very hard to wash out. It's kind of like washing out sticky sand.

I have more tumeric, but I'm not sure how much of a difference it made because I've never henna'd without it.

The lemon essential oil made it smell great in the container, but when I put it on my hair my fiance started complaining about it smelling like a barn.

I probably should stick to what worked. I do have a little of my previous mix left, but not enough to do my entire head. So, I'm going to mix up more and add that to it.
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
goldensensation said:
You are loosely relaxed, right? I thought Henna couldnt be used on processed hair. This is great. Your hair came out awesome so now I have hope.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yep, I'm texturized. According to the hennaforhair people, you can use body art quality henna on processed hair. You can't use compound henna (the kind sold in most stores) on processed hair. But I did test it first.

Who should NOT use henna in their hair?


You should NOT put COMPOUND HENNA on hair that has been straightened, permed, dyed, or bleached in the previous year. The results can range from peculiar to catastrophic. Goat vomit green and swamp bottom black are the most common color results. If you use BODY ART QUALITY HENNA on your straightened, permed, dyed, or bleached hair, you'll probably do just fine, but test first!

If you have used ANY commercial hair dye in the previous year, harvest your hair from your hairbrush and henna your spare hair to see if you get the infamous green or if enough of the chemical residue has rinsed out that you get nice results!


Compound henna over Synthetically Dyed Hair = DEAD HAIR!
I do mean dead. You can't fix it.
This is "shave your head and join a nunnery" dead hair!
Start over. Grow it again.

If you use body art quality henna on your hair, there won't be any problem.

http://www.mehandi.com/hair/hennahair.html
​
 
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KittenLongPaw

KittenLongPaw

New Member
You hair looks great! :) I use the henna from Henna for Hair as well. It loosens my curl, but only temporarily (which is a good thing because I don't want my curl to loosen, though it's sort of fun to have it looser for a while). I've been using henna for about 3 years now, love it.
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
KittenLongPaw said:
You hair looks great! :) I use the henna from Henna for Hair as well. It loosens my curl, but only temporarily (which is a good thing because I don't want my curl to loosen, though it's sort of fun to have it looser for a while). I've been using henna for about 3 years now, love it.
Click to expand...

The looser curls aren't staying? Darn. I didn't like it when it was wet. I looked too straight. But I loved they way they looked when they dried. :ohwell:
 
S

sweetascocoa

New Member
yes i started 2 months ago. i henna once a month and i do a henna gloss once a month too. 2 weeks after hennaing

im thinking of hennaing once a month, do a gloss the next month and henna the next month.
 
Lucia

Lucia

Well-Known Member
I did henna a while ago, I don't use it that often like 1-2x/year. I did get more curl definition and they were a little looser and the shine henna gives is unbeleivable. I'll start back this summer when my hair is out.
 
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LaNecia

LaNecia

Well-Known Member
Sareca!!! :yay:! That hair looks NICE!! The color looks awesome! It's funny how it changes after a few days (oxidation I believe they call it).

I've been on the Henna Train for 6 months so...I did it because of the conditioning and discovered the coloring effects by accident!! The first time I tried it was after a wrong coloring w/Bigen (black). After using the Henna for a few weeks (I do weekly treatments), my hair started taking a dark DARK auburn tinge. I LOVE it!! My new growth is a bit redder than the ends but I still love the color.

I use brewed coffee in my mix too, never coffee grounds either. I just imagined that would be HORRIBLE to rinse out.

I'm glad it worked for you! :clap:
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
VWVixxen said:
Sareca!!! :yay:! That hair looks NICE!! The color looks awesome! It's funny how it changes after a few days (oxidation I believe they call it).

I've been on the Henna Train for 6 months so...I did it because of the conditioning and discovered the coloring effects by accident!! The first time I tried it was after a wrong coloring w/Bigen (black). After using the Henna for a few weeks (I do weekly treatments), my hair started taking a dark DARK auburn tinge. I LOVE it!! My new growth is a bit redder than the ends but I still love the color.

I use brewed coffee in my mix too, never coffee grounds either. I just imagined that would be HORRIBLE to rinse out.

I'm glad it worked for you! :clap:
Click to expand...

Thanks girl! You were one of my henna inspirations. But I started henna'ing for the opposite reason. While recovering from a bad temp dye experience I decided to find something natural to cover the gray. Henna's conditioning properties were completely bonus.

Yeah, the coffee thing was stupid. I don't know what I was thinking! Maybe about instant coffee. But I have a coffee grinder and a french press. I KNOW coffee doesn't dissolve. :ohwell: I'm going to do my second henna treatment this weekend (sans the grounds). I'm trying to darken the orange grays a bit more. But I'm planning to henna every six weeks after this weekend.
 
Cichelle

Cichelle

Well-Known Member
Sareca, thanks for posting this. You're hair looks beautiful. I have been wanting to try henna, but had some worries that I would just end up doing it wrong. I know some people complain that it dries out their hair, which is really the last thing I need. But now I think I'm going to give it a try. Did you have someone help you apply it?
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
Cichelle said:
Sareca, thanks for posting this. You're hair looks beautiful. I have been wanting to try henna, but had some worries that I would just end up doing it wrong. I know some people complain that it dries out their hair, which is really the last thing I need. But now I think I'm going to give it a try. Did you have someone help you apply it?
Click to expand...

I just did my second henna and its definitely a keeper for me.

Yeah, I heard that it could dry your hair out too. My hair didn't seem drier (I already have very dry hair).

No, no one helped me apply it. I did it just like I would a relaxer. It seemed no more or less messy to me. But make sure you wear gloves when rinsing it out too. I didn't and my palms had a slightly orange tint.
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
sereia said:
hey,
do you mind telling the use of lemon juice/ACV?
TIA
Click to expand...

Henna is a green plant. The powder henna is green as well. Powdered henna needs a mildly acidic solution for the dye to "release." Even after you mix it and the dye has released it's still olive green. Like that...



It's kinda freaky how green stuff turns your hair red/brown.
 
LaNecia

LaNecia

Well-Known Member
Shawnee66 said:
Does the mix need to sit overnight or can it be used right away?
Click to expand...

That depends. If your goal is for hair coloring, then yes, you need to wait until the color 'releases' from the henna.

If you're using it for conditioning, you do NOT need to wait.

I apply mine immediately after mixing as I'm not trying to color my hair. When I do color, I mix it and let it sit until it's ready.

HTH.
 
sareca

sareca

Well-Known Member
I henna to cover gray so mine sits in the garage overnight. Some people say the dye will release faster if you heat the lemon or ACV before adding it to your henna mix.
 
grnidmonster

grnidmonster

Active Member
ok I am ready to try but I have a couple of questions:

1. I have dk brown hair, do I need to add indigo to get a dk brown color or can I use the henna alone?

2. will brewed coffee really help darken the gray? I'm thinking starbucks is around the corner, I'll go grab a double espresso and add that:grin:

3. Is the alma necessary? should I purchase that for use as just a conditioner.

4. how much henna will I need for almost bsl in back and apl in front?

5. finally, how do I keep the leftovers? How do I store it?
 
Cichelle

Cichelle

Well-Known Member
sareca said:
I just did my second henna and its definitely a keeper for me.

Yeah, I heard that it could dry your hair out too. My hair didn't seem drier (I already have very dry hair).

No, no one helped me apply it. I did it just like I would a relaxer. It seemed no more or less messy to me. But make sure you wear gloves when rinsing it out too. I didn't and my palms had a slightly orange tint.
Click to expand...

Thanks! :)
 
goldensensation

goldensensation

New Member
SARECA

I just ordered Henna and Indigo for me and my mom. Cant wait! :grin:

I will probably add jojoba oil to mine and olive oil to hers. My hair doesnt like olive oil.

Do I put the brewed coffee in the mix while I let it sit or do I rinse my hair with it afterward?:confused:
 
ajargon02

ajargon02

Well-Known Member
sareca said:
I just henna'd my hair for the first time and I love it. Look...



I expected it to darken my hair and turn my grays (what grays!) orange, but I didn't expect it to loosen the texture.

Does anyone else henna and have you had this experience?

BTW, both photos are in 4PM sunlight w/ the same products. :look:
Click to expand...


to be really honest, I have yet to hear about henna loosing the texture. Maybe that was just a special side effect for you:) I have no idea. The color though it looks wonderful! I was waiting till my permant color was all gone before going the henna route. You are just another example of how lovely the color come out. I know of others that have have wonderful color experiences as well. Where did you get your henna from? what did you pay for it? did you mix it w/ any oil to deepen the condiitoner factor? did it smell? how long did you leave your mix on for? I know I have a lot of questions, last one, did it stain your clothes?


ETA: I did get my henna. It's not the henna that will "loosen texture" actually no henna will do that, if you really do more research on it. There's the Amala, which has been known to add gloss and shine and curl to hair. I did do my henna. It worked out really well for me. I will do another application this saturday. It wasnt' too drying for my hair, but I did have to make sure to deep condition several times there after.I liked the color change. Mind you I left mine on for about 15-20 hrs. I just put the cap on, a plastic bag and a scarf and hat, and went about my business.
 
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