A New Henna Thread

Did a henna gloss today consisting of coconut milk and honey. I used Nupur henna. Hair feels great, nice and strong. I mostly use it for strengthening (fine hair strands) and I find it helps with my naturally high porosity hair.

This is the result... Hair is 95% dry in the picture, just a bit damp in the roots of the crown area.
 

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Starting a new henna/indigo journey as well.

I was trying to wait a few months, but my new growth is coming in something fierce with its dusty brown self! LOL

I'm mixing Jamila henna with water and amla powder to darken it. The plan is to leave it on for one hour and sit under my hooded dryer.

Rinse. Mix the indigo with warm water and a dash of salt and leave it on for a hour as well. Deep condition like a mad woman.

I'm only doing the treatment on my new growth as the length of my hair is already jet black from chemical dyes so no need to mess with that.

My hair is clean now from a fresh wash so I'll probably do it within a few days.

@Nightingale What are you mixing your henna with? Are you going for color or just conditioning?
 
lulu97 said:
Starting a new henna/indigo journey as well.

I was trying to wait a few months, but my new growth is coming in something fierce with its dusty brown self! LOL

I'm mixing Jamila henna with water and amla powder to darken it. The plan is to leave it on for one hour and sit under my hooded dryer.

Rinse. Mix the indigo with warm water and a dash of salt and leave it on for a hour as well. Deep condition like a mad woman.

I'm only doing the treatment on my new growth as the length of my hair is already jet black from chemical dyes so no need to mess with that.

My hair is clean now from a fresh wash so I'll probably do it within a few days.

@Nightingale What are you mixing your henna with? Are you going for color or just conditioning?
Click to expand...


Color is my goal. I plan on mixing in some red zinger tea and thats it. I have Godrej Nupur 9 herb henna and Jamila, which I'll probably mix together. I'm planning on applying it to my entire head a couple times, then new growth only.
 
Did the henna indigo treatment.

My hair felt a little weighed down so I cleansed first with my homemade shampoo bar. Towel dried and coated my length/ends with conditioner, so I could only focus on the new growth.

Left the henna on for 2.5 hours. 30 minutes under my hooded dryer, the other 2 hours I fell asleep. LOL

Rinsed well. It was easy to rinse. My roots felt so smooth. I was expecting hard to rinse-dry-crunchy hair but my experience was the opposite.

Applied the indigo. The application is much different from henna. Henna went on smooth and easy while indigo was a bit more gritty.
Sat under my hooded dryer for 30 minutes. Without heat for another 30 minutes.

Rinsed. Deep conditioned under hooded dryer with Joico MR balm for 15 minutes then just with body heat an additional hour.

Dusty brown natural roots before:

image.jpg

After:
(My hair is about 90% air dried in 2 Bantu knots...no product)

image.jpg


And now I must say the cliche thing most people say...don't know why I waited so long to try this. LOL
 
lulu97 said:
Did the henna indigo treatment.

My hair felt a little weighed down so I cleansed first with my homemade shampoo bar. Towel dried and coated my length/ends with conditioner, so I could only focus on the new growth.

Left the henna on for 2.5 hours. 30 minutes under my hooded dryer, the other 2 hours I fell asleep. LOL

Rinsed well. It was easy to rinse. My roots felt so smooth. I was expecting hard to rinse-dry-crunchy hair but my experience was the opposite.

Applied the indigo. The application is much different from henna. Henna went on smooth and easy while indigo was a bit more gritty.
Sat under my hooded dryer for 30 minutes. Without heat for another 30 minutes.

Rinsed. Deep conditioned under hooded dryer with Joico MR balm for 15 minutes then just with body heat an additional hour.

Dusty brown natural roots before:

View attachment 398801

After:
(My hair is about 90% air dried in 2 Bantu knots...no product)

View attachment 398803


And now I must say the cliche thing most people say...don't know why I waited so long to try this. LOL
Click to expand...

Beautiful results! You make me want to try indigo. The black looks so luxurious :gorgeous:
 
Thanks for bumping @beauti.

I gave myself a henna gloss yesterday. I mixed Nupur henna with 2 Tbs of Alikay Naturals Honey and Sage Deep Conditioner and after the dye released, I added 3 Tbs of Ayurveda Hair Oil, mixed well and applied.

I think this was the smoothest henna application that I've ever had - literally no mess and washed out soooo easily. Plus my hair detangled so easily and is still super soft. From now on, no more straight henna and water. I will be doing henna glosses moving forward.
 
Aggie said:
Thanks for bumping @beauti.

I gave myself a henna gloss yesterday. I mixed Nupur henna with 2 Tbs of Alikay Naturals Honey and Sage Deep Conditioner and after the dye released, I added 3 Tbs of Ayurveda Hair Oil, mixed well and applied.

I think this was the smoothest henna application that I've ever had - literally no mess and washed out soooo easily. Plus my hair detangled so easily and is still super soft. From now on, no more straight henna and water. I will be doing henna glosses moving forward.
Click to expand...

I have been doing Henna glosses once a month and I love the application, the color deposit and the extra strength and manageability I get from consistent applications. I mix it with coconut milk, protein free conditioner and hemp seed oil.
 
I've done 3 full henna/indigo treatments so far and absolutely love it. I also do henna tea rinses in between full treatments. If I didn't prefer jet black hair than I would just skip the indigo all together. I get about 2 full uses out of a box of Jamila henna so I'm actually thinking about doing just henna one month and then the next month doing henna/indigo. That way I'm still getting the jet black hair I love.
 
I currently have some indigo on my hair because I didn't have the time on Sunday to do it. I know that you have to add the indigo within 72 hours of the henna treatment to get the black deposit so I'm within that time frame. I should get a really good black color today.
 
@Aggie I have a couple of questions since you also use indigo.

How much henna are you using to do your glosses? Do you mix the henna with water first? Wait for the color to release then add the conditioner? Can you tell me a bit more about your process?

Do you still need to deep condition after the gloss or does adding the conditioner to the gloss eliminate the need to?

Is the indigo application still good if you don't do it the same day as the henna gloss? Is the indigo still as potent and dark as it would be with just doing full henna versus henna glosses?

Whew! I know these are a mouthful of questions so no rush to answer right away...just at your leisure. Thanks in advance Sis!
 
Aggie said:
I currently have some indigo on my hair because I didn't have the time on Sunday to do it. I know that you have to add the indigo within 72 hours of the henna treatment to get the black deposit so I'm within that time frame. I should get a really good black color today.
Click to expand...

You just answered one of my questions in the previous post. LOL Thanks!
 
lulu97 said:
@Aggie I have a couple of questions since you also use indigo.

How much henna are you using to do your glosses? Do you mix the henna with water first? Wait for the color to release then add the conditioner? Can you tell me a bit more about your process?

Do you still need to deep condition after the gloss or does adding the conditioner to the gloss eliminate the need to?

Is the indigo application still good if you don't do it the same day as the henna gloss? Is the indigo still as potent and dark as it would be with just doing full henna versus henna glosses?

Whew! I know these are a mouthful of questions so no rush to answer right away...just at your leisure. Thanks in advance Sis!
Click to expand...

@lulu97

Girl I feel strange telling you my process since we look to you for some guidance in this ayurveda arena :lol:

Anyway hon, I put the henna in a glass bowl and add hot, not boiling distilled water and 2 tbs of moisturizing conditioner (could be a cheapy conditioner like VO5 Moisture Milks) to my henna.

I mix these 3 well together, allow it to sit for 8 hours or so for the dye to release on my candle warmer believe it or not. Once the dye is released, I then add 2-3 tbs of oil to it, mix well and add to my hair for 3 hours.

The indigo is added after I wash out the henna. I never allow my indigo to sit and release because it oxidizes too quickly. It's best when I add it to my hair within 20 minutes of mixing.

I know some people do the combo of henna and indigo but I don't get the dark color deposit that I like, so I also do a 2 step process.

ETA:

I actually do a deep moisturizing conditioner afterwards for about 30-45 minutes, no shampooing after the henna treatment. Although if you feel that your hair doesn't need it, it's not entirely necessary. I would however use a moisturizing conditioner to rinse the henna/indigo out.
 
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Ladies please help, @Aggie or @lulu97. I did the 2 step on my husband yesterday looking to achieve a dark brown to cover his salt and pepper. Well he's now a slightly dark ginger and hates it!

Can I just reapply the indigo or do i have to do the henna all over again too? Do I have to wait a week or can i apply it today? thank you!
20170719_093558.jpg
 
beauti said:
Ladies please help, @Aggie or @lulu97. I did the 2 step on my husband yesterday looking to achieve a dark brown to cover his salt and pepper. Well he's now a slightly dark ginger and hates it!

Can I just reapply the indigo or do i have to do the henna all over again too? Do I have to wait a week or can i apply it today? thank you!
View attachment 405877
Click to expand...
Firstly, which indigo did you use? Did you let the indigo sit for any long period of time before adding it to his hair? The indigo should be used within 20 minutes of mixing, otherwise it would oxidize quickly and won't yield an intense dark color deposit.

You can try using the indigo again but leave it on his hair for at least 2 hours to really soak into the cuticle.

Wrapping it with cling wrap to keep it warm will help as well. It is safe enough to use again without any damage. Also, don't mix the indigo too watery, yogurt texture is best. Check that the indigo has not expired. I think I covered everything.
 
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Thank you for the quick reply @Aggie. I bought the henna guys hair and beard henna in dark brown hoping it would be a one step process but it was basically henna and indigo separately packaged. so I had to do the 2 step process.

I mixed the indigo with warm coffee! (Was that a nono??) and applied immediately. Seran wrapped his head, put 2 plastic bags, and a scarf :look: and he went to bed. Rinsed after 2 hours.
 
Aggie said:
@lulu97

Girl I feel strange telling you my process since we look to you for some guidance in this ayurveda arena :lol:

Anyway hon, I put the henna in a glass bowl and add hot, not boiling distilled water and 2 tbs of moisturizing conditioner (could be a cheapy conditioner like VO5 Moisture Milks) to my henna.

I mix these 3 well together, allow it to sit for 8 hours or so for the dye to release on my candle warmer believe it or not. Once the dye is released, I then add 2-3 tbs of oil to it, mix well and add to my hair for 3 hours.

The indigo is added after I wash out the henna. I never allow my indigo to sit and release because it oxidizes too quickly. It's best when I add it to my hair within 20 minutes of mixing.

I know some people do the combo of henna and indigo but I don't get the dark color deposit that I like, so I also do a 2 step process.

ETA:

I actually do a deep moisturizing conditioner afterwards for about 30-45 minutes, no shampooing after the henna treatment. Although if you feel that your hair doesn't need it, it's not entirely necessary. I would however use a moisturizing conditioner to rinse the henna/indigo out.
Click to expand...

@Aggie Thanks so much for taking the time to answer! I've only been doing the powders for about 4 months now so it's still kinda new. I'm always open to learning different techniques. I will forever be a student. LOL

Seems as if henna glosses would be a good medium between full strength henna and tea rinses. I will be 8 months pregnant on Friday, so I am trying to find a routine that is newborn and toddler friendly. I don't want to wait until the baby is here and be scrambling to make a routine work. I've went back to some old practices that saved me loads of time before. Conditioning treatment overnight, wash out with shampoo the next day, towel dry and style. I just don't want the henna gloss to be cause for me to deep condition after. I want to be able to fit it in during overnight conditioning, rinse and go. I'll be testing it out soon so I'll keep the thread updated with my results.
 
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beauti said:
So can i reapply the indigo today? I will just mix with tap water and salt this time and sit him under my dryer.
Click to expand...

Yes, go ahead and reapply. I've read in old threads about members indigo "loading". Pretty much doing a henna treatment then doing several indigo treatments thereafter in the following days to get darker tones. I personally wouldn't do it unless there is an emergency situation like yours. Indigo is verrrrrry drying. Most people complain about henna be drying...it's not for my hair but indigo is a different story #SaharaDesertTypeDryness

So please condition his hair well after you rinse the indigo.
 
@lulu97 thank you! He's under the dryer now, none too pleased :rolleyes: should I be worried that the indigo stayed green throughout entire application? shouldn't it have oxidized to black?
 
@beauti
I only add salt for the indigo henna to adhere to my hair better because it can be quite messy and drop all over the place. I don't allow mine to sit longer than 20 minutes however. I've never used the henna guys henna by the way. I think different henna brands and crops yield different results in intensity. I stick with what I know.

Even Henna Sooq' s indigo didn't work for me. I am currently using the Zenia brand from Amazon.
 
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