My Henna Experience...

Hey, Divas!

I tried henna and I think it's gonna be a keeper!  I'll probably use it once a month...didn't color my greys like I thought it would, but overall I'm satisfied!  My hair feels stronger and thicker (and when I say thick, I mean THICK) after only one application   I must inform y'all, though, HENNA IS VERY MESSY!!! 

I did a quick PICtutorial about what I did...

UPDATE:  I no longer use the recipe in the video.  My updated process is located here.

Enjoy!

Comments

[Joey]

I'm slightly confused. Is the purpose of henna to dye the hair, and the strengthening is a side effect? or is the purpose of henna to strengthen and the color is a side effect?

LHDC: Hi, Joey!!! To answer your question, both!! People use henna for different reasons. I use it to stain my grays (or dye my hair) and the strengthening is an added bonus, while others use henna strictly for conditioning and strengthening purposes and the color is their added bonus....so it really depends on your intended purpose of using henna what your "side effect" will be.

[jmason]

I'd love to try this but I concerned about the mess. I like to enhance my natural color (dark brown w/some reddish brown)and cover the gray. Reddish-brown results are okay but I don't want dark or deep red. Plus I think that I'll some how screw it up. I've never had my hair colored. Thanks for the video maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try it.=)

LHDC: It really wasn't THAT bad (it was messy though!). Once I get the hang of it, though, I'm sure it'll be a breeze! See, the henna doesn't really color your hair if it's dark, it's more like it adds a tint to it. It will color your greys, though...and I don't think you can mess up a henna treatment...I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like it.

But the strength that it gave my hair...MAN! I don't know how I every lived without it! It was amazing! Really it was! I'm a believer, now :)

[lina40]

for serious color try
Jamila henna
Yemen Henna
Rajasthani henna

Jamila is the brightest red
raj henna is the darkest red..

all of them are great.. maybe im thinking of natural heads with the extended time.. I get the best deposit when I leave it for a while, even though I still do the activation to release the dye.. my hair is really resistant to color.. so with your hair, you are likely correct. Cant wait to see your next application!

LHDC: Lina, you are SOOOO helpful! Thanks, sis! You know I'll keep you posted on my next application. I can't belive I've slept so long on henna!!!

[Lavendar]

Awww, thanks LHDC! You're always so encouraging. Yes, Jamila is my staple henna. It's always given me FAB results. I am excited to be trying Yemeni henna some time within the coming week. I hear it gives a super-duper red tint. We shall see!

LHDC: Well, you know that I'll be stalking....I mean CHECKING your album to see what you say about it!

[lina40]

Lovely job!! Color deposit increases with the amount of time leave the henna on. Usually serious color deposit requires 2-3 hr on the hair, even stronger stain some people leave on overnite. 45min to 1hr is great for general conditioning, plus the color deposit deepens with future applications, so if you like it and do it regularly, you will likely see your greys covered eventually. Henna always stains with a reddish-brown tint, so if you are looking for chocolate to black coverage, you need to work the indigo powder into the formula.. but that means more time..

Beautiful job!! not messy-looking at all! the key is to keep it thick :)

LHDC: Hi, Lina! I had read that if I let the color release overnight in the bowl that I wouldn't have to leave the treatment on for hours, which is why I opted to do it this way. I did get some color on my greys, but not like I was hoping. They are a bit orangy-red rather than straight grey. It's cool for now, but I will eventurally mix some indigo in it once I get more greys. I think you left an earlier post about a good mix that I'll try, too :0)

Henna's definitely going to be a keeper for me. As messy as it is and as yucky as it looks, the difference it made in my hair has not been accomplished with any other product EVER!

[Lavendar]

Yeah! I'm so happy you finally decided to give it a try and had a good experience with it. I can't do without my henna. Not sure why you didn't get much color though...my color is always blazing. I use henna from Hennasooq.

LHDC: Hi, Lav! You know you are part of the reason I decided to go'on and give henna a shot (as MESSY as it is!) and I'm glad I did! You and your hair are a real life testimony!

The color...I think it was the brand that I used. I used that Hesh brand (that was all my grocer had) and I still have 2 more boxes of it. I picked up a box of Jamila from another store last weekend. So, I'll try that in April.

You use the Jamila brand, right?

[Tiffany@Ebony Intuition]

I've never dyed my hair before but if i did i would use henna.