A New Henna Thread

[Aggie]

Aggie why do you think it didn't release properly? This may be a different crop that looks diff OR it's a bit cold where you are (put it close, but not on a heat source)? Of course, leaving it on all night will negate the dye release issues, but I'm just curious.

It released, but it's not as red as the henna I bought from www.fromnaturewithlove.com. It was manufactured this year and does not expire until 2012. I think it's a lot like Jamila. It simply takes forever for the color to fully release.

Even the Karishma henna released color pretty quickly to me, but this Hesh Mehandi, I won't use for color deposit anymore but for conditioning only because I have 5 more boxes of it to use up. I live in the tropics (Bahamas) so cold weather is not an issue.

I knew I should have gotten the Nupur henna instead. Anyways, no use crying over spilled milk. I have about 6 packs of Karishma henna, 1 box of Reshma henna and some henna from www.FNWL.com left over that I can use for color if this does not come out as planned.

 

[Aggie]

Hello, all please check out this website...it's like facebook only it's about black hair. Feel free to add me as a friend. Thank You & God Bless.
http://beautyshopfive.ning.com/profile/Tessa

Tezza, I'm not sure you are supposed to advertise like this. Did you get clearance from the mods to do this?

 

[jamaraa]

LOL..cold weather is NOT your problem Aggie...lucky girl, I'm so jealous!

I've never used Hesh or Nupur's, so thanks for the headsup. Yeah, just use it for condish if you can't get a decent dye release after 8+ hrs in the Bahamas. :/ FNWL has very nice henna, I must say, and you can get it in very large quanitites for a semi decent price (compared to Catherine's).

Are you able to purchase any henna/indigo locally in the Bahamas? If so, where? I have a friend in the WI (TnT) I'm trying to find a closer source for.

 

[Khadija.D.Carryl]

I think what Tezza put up was a social network for barbers and salons right? That's all I noticed....

Aggie are you using only henna now, and not indigo anymore?

 

[Aggie]

LOL..cold weather is NOT your problem Aggie...lucky girl, I'm so jealous!

I've never used Hesh or Nupur's, so thanks for the headsup. Yeah, just use it for condish if you can't get a decent dye release after 8+ hrs in the Bahamas. :/ FNWL has very nice henna, I must say, and you can get it in very large quanitites for a semi decent price (compared to Catherine's).

Are you able to purchase any henna/indigo locally in the Bahamas? If so, where? I have a friend in the WI (TnT) I'm trying to find a closer source for.

Jamaraa, this morning when I washed out the henna, I saw that the color did take pretty well. It just took too long to release. I guess I was a little impatient too, lol.

Yeah I am lucky to be living here in the Bahamas and no we don't sell henna here. I sure wished we did though. Bahamians are not really into the henna or ayurveda thing unfortunately.

 

[Aggie]

I think what Tezza put up was a social network for barbers and salons right? That's all I noticed....

Aggie are you using only henna now, and not indigo anymore?

Oh no Khadija, I have indigo in my hair right now and will be rinsing it out hopefully in an hour or so. I am doing the 2-step henna and indigo treatment because I want really dark results today. My grays are pretty fierce now and need to be tamed.

 

[LoveCraze]

Oh no Khadija, I have indigo in my hair right now and will be rinsing it out hopefully in an hour or so. I am doing the 2-step henna and indigo treatment because I want really dark results today. My grays are pretty fierce now and need to be tamed.

So Aggie tell me, if one was to only use the henna without the indigo on grays, would you say they would come out more reddish or bronze like? I was wondering because my mom is using it on her gray right now and I would hate for it to be a HAM color! :burning: If I need to get indigo to tame it please advise. At any rate, I guess I'll see her results when I get home :crossfingers: the whole time.

 

[jamaraa]

Henna w/o the indigo tends to produce VERY ORANGEY RED hair...think I Love Lucy red. Indigo gives it a nice "Irish setter" red as I like to call it. IMHO, it looks much better on dark hair to also do indigo.

 

[Khadija.D.Carryl]

...but if you use yemeni henna and have henna build up (for some that need this) then the results on greys are very reddish and beautiful. Similar to highlights.

Yemeni has great grey coverage. But to tame any red or orangey down your choices from mildest to strongest would be: amla, katam (buxus), and indigo.

 

[Aggie]

So Aggie tell me, if one was to only use the henna without the indigo on grays, would you say they would come out more reddish or bronze like? I was wondering because my mom is using it on her gray right now and I would hate for it to be a HAM color! :burning: If I need to get indigo to tame it please advise. At any rate, I guess I'll see her results when I get home :crossfingers: the whole time.

The henna would definitely leave a reddish copper tint on gray hair without indigo added to it. If your mom would like dark brown hair then I would recommend adding indigo to the henna, perhaps in a 60:40 or 70:30 henna to indigo ratio. It would tone down the red copper color and still not be so dark that she would look gothic, ya know?

As Khadija indicated, amla powder would add some mild brownish coloring to the henna as well. I liked using amla but it wasn't getting my hair as dark as I usually like it. When I get older, then I may go back to adding just the amla powder to my henna treatments for a slightly darker effect than using henna alone or switch to doing a one step hendigo treatment.

I had wayyy too many grays showing and wanted them black again. I love the results so far. As I get older, I will switch to using a 60:40 or 50:50 henna to indigo mixture to keep my hair dark but not black.

 

[Khadija.D.Carryl]

These new pics of you Aggie in your siggy are really gorgeous. Your hair is so long!

 

[jamaraa]

Aggie I'm glad you got the color you wanted. Dye release times can be some impatient going! When I put mine on to brew, I can't resist peeking every so often.

Khadija
do ya thang girl....hip 'em to khatam (ie buxus). I've never used it before, so do you use it in 1 step or 2?

 

[Khadija.D.Carryl]

Thanks! Will do

Katam well, people have tried experimenting with it in a 2 step for brown results, but it varies between people. I haven't used it on my hair hair because I like henna alone at this time. Usually the katam is used as a one step along with the henna. It's pretty good as an alternative choice, but you can't get black from it. It does cover grey really well, and the only thing is that the sift is not as good as indigo is.

It's like how yemeni used to be in previous years. Now yemeni this year for 2009 is really a much better sift and quality. (They finally listened!)

 

[Aggie]

These new pics of you Aggie in your siggy are really gorgeous. Your hair is so long!

Thanks Khadija but those are extension braids in my siggy. I usually wear them quite long. My next hair style may be cornrows again. I don't know for sure yet though.

 

[jamaraa]

I've never used amla in my mixes because it's supposed to reinforce the curl pattern. Have you guys found this to be true (in henna only...not in oils)?

 

[Aggie]

Aggie I'm glad you got the color you wanted. Dye release times can be some impatient going! When I put mine on to brew, I can't resist peeking every so often.

QUOTE]

I know this feeling all too well.

 

[naijamerican]

Hey Platinum I do it all the time. I have been doing the C&G method for a year now and as soon as I take I my braids the first thing I do is henna my hair then I wait about three weeks and do a hard protein and the next day I am back in my braids. This has helped thicken my hair, keep it strong, and because of the protein I am able to keep moisture in my hair.

NOTE*** While I am in my braids I do a moisture DC with steam 2x per week and I co-wash every day alternating moisture and a mild protein (mane and tail).

Because of all this I am in love with my hair!

I just had to say, what a fantastic braid regimen. That sounds very managemable and not too time-consuming. Since I'm contemplating going into kinky twists, I might need to try something like what you're doing.

Quick question (and please forgive me if it's already been answered): today I purchased henna from Whole Foods. I was told, by someone at Mehandi.com (I think) that if you buy the blonde colored one (Cassia) that the color wouldn't appear on my hair because it's too dark. Just wanted to confirm that this is indeed the case for those of you who have used it. Thanks in advance.

 

[Aggie]

I've never used amla in my mixes because it's supposed to reinforce the curl pattern. Have you guys found this to be true (in henna only...not in oils)?

Yeah, the amla powder, not the oil, really does tighten the curl pattern a bit. Henna loosens it but amla tightens it right back up.

 

[Aggie]

I just had to say, what a fantastic braid regimen. That sounds very managemable and not too time-consuming. Since I'm contemplating going into kinky twists, I might need to try something like what you're doing.

Quick question (and please forgive me if it's already been answered): today I purchased henna from Whole Foods. I was told, by someone at Mehandi.com (I think) that if you buy the blonde colored one (Cassia) that the color wouldn't appear on my hair because it's too dark. Just wanted to confirm that this is indeed the case for those of you who have used it. Thanks in advance.

I believe Jamaraa has some experience with cassia. I have never used it myself so I couldn't say for sure. I would like to know too and hope she answers.

 

[naijamerican]

I believe Jamaraa has some experience with cassia. I have never used it myself so I couldn't say for sure. I would like to know too and hope she answers.

Thanks Aggie! I know that I should trust what the person from Mehandi said, but I just want to be careful. Platinum blond is not a good look for me!

 

[LoveCraze]

Thanks! Will do

Katam well, people have tried experimenting with it in a 2 step for brown results, but it varies between people. I haven't used it on my hair hair because I like henna alone at this time. Usually the katam is used as a one step along with the henna. It's pretty good as an alternative choice, but you can't get black from it. It does cover grey really well, and the only thing is that the sift is not as good as indigo is.

It's like how yemeni used to be in previous years. Now yemeni this year for 2009 is really a much better sift and quality. (They finally listened!)

So if I wanted to tame the reddish color that was achieved from henna alone, can I go back (or rather my mom) and add the amla powder or the Katam in a second step? Is it only advisable to do either of these combined with the henna? If no, what would be the best way to tame the henna color in a second step? I'm thinking indigo may be the way to go but if there are other suggestions it would be nice to know.
Thanks.

 

[Aggie]

Thanks Aggie! I know that I should trust what the person from Mehandi said, but I just want to be careful. Platinum blond is not a good look for me!

If I remember correctly, the lady from mehandi was right. If your hair is dark, it won't leave any color on your hair but if your hair is like a lighter shade of brown or bleached, then it would stain it a little copperish.

I was going to use cassia last year, but I learned that it doesn't leave a color deposit on dark hair and I wanted to have the slight reddish color deposit from regular henna on my gray hair, so I decided against the cassia for that reason.

 

[jamaraa]

So if I wanted to tame the reddish color that was achieved from henna alone, can I go back (or rather my mom) and add the amla powder or the Katam in a second step? Is it only advisable to do either of these combined with the henna? If no, what would be the best way to tame the henna color in a second step? I'm thinking indigo may be the way to go but if there are other suggestions it would be nice to know.
Thanks.

Yes, you can add either amla, indigo, or khatam to your henna and make it a 1 step process. You can do any of the above in a 2 step process (ie henna 1st and your darkening agent imeediately afterwards). It all depends on how dark you want the hair to be whether you choose 1 or 2 steps (the latter will produce daker hair).

Personally, I'd do the indigo. It darkens most of all of the 3 choices. Amla, from what I understand, can tighten the curl pattern of the hair and I have no experince w/ khatam.

 

[naijamerican]

If I remember correctly, the lady from mehandi was right. If your hair is dark, it won't leave any color on your hair but if your hair is like a lighter shade of brown or bleached, then it would stain it a little copperish.

I was going to use cassia last year, but I learned that it doesn't leave a color deposit on dark hair and I wanted to have the slight reddish color deposit from regular henna on my gray hair, so I decided against the cassia for that reason.

Thank you so much, Aggie. I really so appreciate your feedback. I'm going to read through the thread and see what others put into their henna mixes. I'm keeping mine very simple; I purchased some coconut oil and castor oil, and I already have olive oil. I have some wonderful conditioners I can use (including our beloved Elucence ) so I'm very, very eager to try this out.

 

[poookie]

Hi ladies,

I am a newbie who wants to try some henna. My question is I am 4 weeks post and I plan on relaxing at 8 weeks post, how close to relaxing is it ok to henna (ie. no more than 2 weeks).

hi there,

the ladies here have all given great advice to your question. i'll share my personal experience with henna.

henna is 100% natural, so it's totally OK to henna anytime after your relaxer. some people have even put in henna the same day of a relaxer.

what i wouldn't personally recommend is henna-ing right before a relaxer. the pH of the relaxer cream will open up your cuticles, and a portion of the color the henna deposits in your hair will be released. in november of 2007, i did a henna treatment, then relaxed my hair about a week after. (my hair was all black then, with a reddish tint from the henna) while i was rinsing away the relaxer from my hair, i noticed that it was rinsing away a brownish reddish color. this was some of the henna color deposit rinsing away. after i blowdried and styled, i realized that my hair's reddish tint wasn't nearly as red.

so basically, i'd recommend doing your henna treatment as far away from a relaxer touch-up as possible; after your touch-up being the best time.

hope that helps

 

[jamaraa]

Relaxers and henna I say not before a relaxer because of the rinse out process leaving some potential irritation to the scalp. Henna, even when mixed w/ conditioner, can be the dickens to rinse out. You don't wanna go to get your relaxer on a scalp that's just been henna'd in order to avoid relaxer burns. If your scalp is fine after your relaxer, go for it....but I say don't henna at least 10 days before tho.

 

[Aggie]

Thank you so much, Aggie. I really so appreciate your feedback. I'm going to read through the thread and see what others put into their henna mixes. I'm keeping mine very simple; I purchased some coconut oil and castor oil, and I already have olive oil. I have some wonderful conditioners I can use (including our beloved Elucence ) so I'm very, very eager to try this out.

You are quite welcomed Naijamerican. , the bolded is definitely one of my favorite conditioners. I just ordered 2 litre sizes of it from www.sleekhair.com when they sent me a 20% off coupon. I just couldn't resist that offer.

I do keep my henna treatments very simple now and I use the not so simple one when I feel like having a long ayurveda day with my hair. I only use hot distilled water, a little each of amla and brahmi powders and some brahmi or amla oil. I don't even put in the essential oils anymore like I used to with every henna treatment. I can handle the odor now.

 

[Aggie]

Relaxers and henna I say not before a relaxer because of the rinse out process leaving some potential irritation to the scalp. Henna, even when mixed w/ conditioner, can be the dickens to rinse out. You don't wanna go to get your relaxer on a scalp that's just been henna'd in order to avoid relaxer burns. If your scalp is fine after your relaxer, go for it....but I say don't henna at least 10 days before tho.

, I totally agree with the bolded.

 

[jamaraa]

You are quite welcomed Naijamerican. , the bolded is definitely one of my favorite conditioners. I just ordered 2 litre sizes of it from www.sleekhair.com when they sent me a 20% off coupon. I just couldn't resist that offer.

I do keep my henna treatments very simple now and I use the not so simple one when I feel like having a long ayurveda day with my hair. I only use hot distilled water, a little each of amla and brahmi powders and some brahmi or amla oil. I don't even put in the essential oils anymore like I used to with every henna treatment. I can handle the odor now.

If you think henna or indigo smells bad, try cassia. Good Lawd, I was NOT prepared for it. Pee---ewww!

 

[Bun Mistress]

Protein doesn't both me (although the two step came close). after a rinse out the henna/rotein mixture I do my usual. Coconut milk/con/oil mix shampoo, then d/c with AO jojoba/aloe or Aveda dry remedy I just finished with this) and that's about it.

Wow! I wouldn't recommend this generally, BUT if it's working for you....tell us how you moisturize afterwards. I've never heard pf anyone mixing Aphogee 2 steap and henna (which CAN act like protein for some), so your mositure routine is def of insterest.