Looking Good, Feeling Great - Want to dye hair with henna!

Ok, so I am a natural type person. I Don't like a bunch of chemicals and I have pretty much virgin hair. Only used a semipermanent (very short lived dye) once.

I don't care if henna is short lived-I like that it doesn't strip the hair.

I have medium brown hair with some natural highlights. I am thinking of trying Persian burgundy. Anyone try henna? What did you think?

I have never tried it but I would love to see responses to this as well.

I have done it. It's nice! And henna is permanent, if you get the pure 100% body art quality. You can't even bleach it out! People have tried, but it just bleached their natural hair. This is why you always cut a bit of your hair and patch test the henna mix to see what color you'll get. But one thing, is that henna layers on itself. Which I didn't know, so I ended up with a darker color than I wanted. :P Oh well. I've been letting it grow out for a year now, and it still has some inches to go. But if you want info about using henna on your hair, go to www.hennaforhair.com. It's where I bought my henna and where you can get tons of info and even some ideas for colors.

I have used henna a bunch of times from the Body Shop (they don't sell it anymore because they found out it was tested on animals). It is permanent as BlessedBe said and can't be bleached out. I have medium brown hair and I tryed the 'red-brown' and the 'raging red'. My hair looked great and pretty natural too. I don't agree with testing on animals, so I totally understand why the Body Shop don't sell the henna anymore, but I do miss it. I don't know where else you can get natural henna. Anyway, my hair's blond now :)

cool thanks for the tips. I would never bleach my hair. I thought henna washed out in 6-8 weeks?

a friend told me it was extremely drying to her hair.

really kitty? That stinks. I don't want my hair dried out.

I heard if you use the powder--it is the best for your hair.

y'know it was a really long time ago (my teens and I'm closing in on 40) and the henna called for lots of stuff.. powdery and some coffee too. My friend is from a Persian/Iranian family and it was a family recipe. ;^)

I used Surya Henna cream which I found at Whole Foods. I love it. It is very moisturizing.

Definitely go to hennaforhair.com and read up on using Henna.

I am a devoted hennahead and would NEVER go back to commercial color.

I switched to henna because I was becoming sensitized to regular hair color (inflamed scalp, itching that lasted for weeks ... ugh) and I never looked back.

Henna is quite permanent, which can be wonderful if you are looking for super long lasting red or auburn that never fades.

Beware of any henna that claims to be brown or black as there is no such thing - they are what is called "compound henna" or henna mixed with who knows what. Henna in the 70's was often this type of product and gave henna a bad name that has persisted to this day (mainly because beauty schools have not updated their classroom materials).

But - you can achieve beautiful variations on henna by mixing with other natural plant dyes. IE: Cassia is a very subtle gold dye and when mixed with henna can produce varying degrees of strawberry blonde through light auburn - depending on the color you start with (dark hair cannot be lightned with natural plant based dyes).

Henna can also be mixed with Indigo (yes, the stuff that jeans are dyed with) to produce dark auburn, burgundy through black shades.

Henna is not hard to do - but - it is a bit messy, and it needs time to deposit color. It's a trade off ( easy and quick, vs. messy and more time )but well worth it for the natural and long lasting color you will get in the end.

But - do read the directions and use it correctly to get the desired result.

I absolutely love henna - it is the ideal way to achieve optimum red color that never fades and literally turns heads on the street. It is that good.

PS - I have some pics at my blog - thesycamoreboutique - at - blogspot - dot- com

Angela

My friend has started using henna recently and loves it - she said it left her hair really soft and shiny.

>>>(they don't sell it anymore because they found out it was tested on animals)<<<<

Real Henna (ie:what is referred to as BAQ or body art quality henna used for body designs) is not tested on animals. Henna was used by the ancient Egyptians, it has been in use for centuries, no need to test it.

Only a fake henna product would find the need to test due to the possibly harmful additives.

PS - I forgot to mention one of the best benefits of using henna, it strengthens and conditions your hair. Henna deposits protein molecules along with the color thereby improving the condition of the hair strand and giving it incredible gloss and shine.

I have never had hair this smooth and glossy.

My hair is quite thick and medium wavy and the grey strands were creeping in. Now my hair is practically on fire when out in the sunlight and the grey strands create a beautiful highlight effect giving my color increased dimension and brightness.

I use straight henna and I leave it on a long time ( 5 hours) for the maximum amount of color. In indoor lighting the color is lovely auburn but in the sun I am an electric auburn that sometimes looks like it is lit from within. People always comment on the color and ask me if my color is natural.

PS - I am 55 years old but the color makes me look much younger. Too much fun !

>>a friend told me it was extremely drying to her hair.<<

Don't use too much lemon juice when mixing your henna (use mostly warm water or tea) and never use protein treatments before or after using henna. Henna deposits a LOT of protein and the first time out it can make the hair feel a bit "straw like" for a few days because of this extra protein deposit.

After a shampoo and a few good conditionings that effect it goes away.

oh wow thanks for the tips. Ok so the lemon juice is drying? I have medium to dark brown hair with lots of red highlights--really comes out in the sun. So it is permanent? Well, I could get used to it. soft, shiny...my hair is really soft and shiny now...but as long as it strengthens it and doesn't dry it...I am in! I would just buy the powder and mix it myself. I don't trust many products.

surya henna? I might look that up.

I used to be a henna head. Loooved it. Besides a gorgeous, unmatched colour, my hair was soft, silky, strong and had shine that would put a Pantene commercial to shame. Sadly, I just couldn't love being a redhead. It wasn't me, deep down. So, I tried to remove it. And destroyed my hair. And had to chop it all off.

A cautionary tale. Not because I don't thing henna is fabulous stuff. Because I do. Just be damned sure you are a readhead at heart, because once that stuff is set in your hair, it is bulletproof. It isn't going anywhere until you cut it off.

That said, henna isn't difficult or mysterious, at all. Order good, pure body art quality henna. (I used to get mine from henna4hair.) Do a strand test and let it oxidize for a few days so that you will know your colour result before you henna. Just collect shed hairs from the shower and your brush and comb and test the hairball, that way you don't have to cut a tress to test. Just mix it with hot tap water. Acid, like lemon juice isn't really necessary and can actually dry out your hair. So, skip it.

Leftover henna paste can be frozen for later use! Put it in a container, cover and toss it in your freezer (it won't stink it up or contaminate your food) and thaw it when you want to use it. Frozen paste actually gives more intense stain, as the freezing process breaks up the henna powder and really releases dye.

If you have any questions or want more info or hints and tricks for using henna, toss me a PM, I will be happy to talk henna with you. :D

You don't have to use lemon juice. You can use apple cidar vinegar, if you can stand the smell. But do NOT use boiling water. The color will come out funky. That website I posted has so much info it's not funny. They even have mixes that users have posted, along with pics of the color they got and what they started with. Yes, using henna on your hair does take time. 2-4 hours to "process," but it's well worth it. I haven't had split ends since I used it (and changed to organic hair prodcuts :p). But really, check out that website. You can post on the forum and even the owner of the site will sometimes answer questions.

I tried it once and it turned my medium brown hair black when it was suppose to make it lighter.:(

I tried it once and it turned my medium brown hair black when it was suppose to make it lighter.:(


Oh no. That is a bummer. You must have got hold of "henna" that was actually a mix of different things and contained PPD or metallic salts. Henna mixes that contain these ingredients can have a terrible reaction to hair that has been previously dyed. It is also possible that you used a mix that contained indigo. (Which will dye hair black.) Real henna can't lighten hair. It is a plant stain and is not able to make hair lighter. It only deposits red stain.

I always recommend that anyone who wants to use henna use only pure, body art quality from a reputable supplier and always, always, but always do hairball tests before putting it on their head. :D

i have curly hair so henna dries it out and makes it more difficult to manage..i guess maybe it works better for other hair types?

I did the 2 step Henna/Indigo process and I love it. My hair is jet black and so beautiful. :love:

Oasis, where did you buy your henna/indigo, and which method did you use? I have my hair currently dyed dark brown that looks black except shines red in the light and I want jet black hair, but I don't want to use commercial dyes because the dark brown hair dye WAY dried my hair out, and it's only now just barely starting to recover. But I looked and I'll probably need about 400g for my hair.. and all the GOOD henna/indigo bundles I've seen cost like 60 bucks for 4 bundles (to get 400g of each)... it's hard to justify spending 60 dollars a month to upkeep a color.. which is my concern.