APL+ Naturals: How Much Henna Do You Use?

[davisbr88]

I am strongly considering using henna and indigo to get the jet black hair I've always loved. Because I will be ordering my henna and indigo online (and can't run back to the store if I need more), I am wondering how many grams most people use. I am pretty darn close to APL and my hair is fine with low-medium density. I was thinking of getting 200 grams of each.

SN: Does anyone mix their henna with OJ? I was thinking of doing that instead of lemon juice. I don't have green tea and don't plan to buy it for this purpose.

 

[KSand]

I'm between SL and APL. I henna'd yesterday and used 100g of henna -- no indigo though. There was actually a little extra so I think you will be good with 100-150gms.

I'm a fine haired natural with medium density btw.

 

[davisbr88]

Thanks KSand!
How do you make your mix?

 

[KSand]

Well... yesterday was my first time I used parts of Curly Nikki's and MoptopMaven's mix. It turned out great tho.

100g henna
2-3 cups cooled, brewed green tea (3 bags)
2 tablespoons of Lustrasilk Shea Butter
1 tablespoon of Brahmi Oil
1 tablespoon of honey
squirt of lemon juice for good measure

 

[Krystle~Hime]

Usually I use 7 to 7,5 tablespoons. I'm collarbone length and I add water until I like my paste, not to liquid not too heavy.

I use water, but you can add anything you want ! infusion of herbs of powders, hydrosols, milk(cow, coconut anything you want)

 

[Vonnieluvs08]

I mix 100g henna and use about 1/2 each time and I'm APL.

My mix (thick pudding paste):
100g Henna (Karishma)
1.5-2 C warm water with Green Tea
1-1.5oz Hibiscus powder
a couple splashes of lemon juice

I let it sit overnight and leave on for 4-6hrs. I'm going to add a lil oil next time since I liked the consistency of the paste when I mixed it in my cassia.

 

[davisbr88]

I have hibiscus powder that I need to use. Thanks for the mixes ladies!
I was also thinking of using orange peel powder to serve as the acid instead of using orange juice. I wonder if that would work....

 

[davisbr88]

Bumping...

 

[Fhrizzball]

I honestly don't feel you need to use an acid to release the color as it does it regardless I found. You're hair looks really dark already. Good luck on the hendigo.

I use 100g with a bit left over. And I'm a bit past APL. I use warm water and after the color releases I add conditioners and oil. Sometimes I add lemon but other times I don't. Honey is considered acidic so you can always go with that as well.

 

[davisbr88]

Thanks!
Maybe I'll just do the water and some honey then.
And it's the lighting... my hair always looks dark when I take pics with my Mac but in other pictures, you can see that it's brown (I'm the short one... lol)
It lightens especially as the sun gets more intense and ends up looking red, which I strongly dislike. Been dying my hair since 12 but didn't want to mess with chemicals, but now that I know there is a natural way to do it, I am definitely considering it.

 

[Tiye]

I honestly don't feel you need to use an acid to release the color as it does it regardless I found. You're hair looks really dark already. Good luck on the hendigo.

I use 100g with a bit left over. And I'm a bit past APL. I use warm water and after the color releases I add conditioners and oil. Sometimes I add lemon but other times I don't. Honey is considered acidic so you can always go with that as well.

It depends on your hair type. I always used acv or old coffee because otherwise my hair wouldn't take the stain. I always eye balled my recipes so I have no idea how much I used. I used the packets from the Indian shop and one lasted about 3-4 applications. I also started freezing leftovers if I had them - I noticed this makes the henna more potent.

 

[davisbr88]

It depends on your hair type. I always used acv or old coffee because otherwise my hair wouldn't take the stain. I always eye balled my recipes so I have no idea how much I used. I used the packets from the Indian shop and one lasted about 3-4 applications. I also started freezing leftovers if I had them - I noticed this makes the henna more potent.

I think the standard box is 100g. The Henna for Hair site made it seem like I would need so much! I'm glad I asked first!

 

[ParagonTresses]

I'm little passed shoulder length and use 1 box (100g) to cover my entire head. I never have any left over because I make my paste very thick since I leave it on overnight and don't want a runny mess in my bed.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

I use 100g with a bit left over. And I'm a bit past APL. I use warm water and after the color releases I add conditioners and oil.

OP, This is how I make my mix only I do it with boiling water. After letting it sit for a bit I add my conditioner and oils (evoo & castor). I tend to use 50-75 to make a henna gloss (the consistency of pudding and I still get good color.) With indigo you'd probably have to make a paste. I rinse with a cheapie conditioner like suave/vo5/etc and rinse (repeating until the water's close to clear)... once I get alot of it out, I wash, then DC.

Hope everything turns out well. I love indigo but I'm allergic. I could only leave it on for 5 min or so before I started itching profusely.

 

[davisbr88]

Thanks so much ladies!
I'm so happy I asked because the Henna for Hair site made it seem like I would need 3 boxes (300 g), and I felt like that was a lot! I'm happy I can get it done with one box. I am very excited. I was thinking that since the henna usually loosens curls, that that would be a good time to take advantage of that loosening and straighten my hair. Has anyone straightened their hair right after henna and a DC? Based upon the site I was reading, you're supposed to wash your hair first so I was thinking of mixing henna the night before, washing, then henna for 6 hours, then indigo for 2 hours, DC overnight, and then go on to straighten the next day.

 

[rririla]

Ummmm, I guess I'm the odd ball here....I use ''neutral henna'' (cassia) But I use a lot b/c it says on most of the websites to make it look like pudding is covering ur head....and in my opinion if I am going to be sitting there for soooooooooo long with this stuff in my head...I want to do it to get the best possible results as this stuff is not like a 20 MINUTE diy dye job....so I use like 200 grams in my apl hair. but that's just me...and I like for my hair to be completely saturated. lol

 

[davisbr88]

Yeah, I like my hair to be completely saturated, too, so that's why I was thinking to get 200 g, but the site says to use 300 g for straight SL hair. So I was like what? That just seemed like a lot to me. I can see using 100-150ish, but not 300-400! That's why I came to the board because that just seemed like way too much to me.

 

[bride91501]

I am (sadly lol) just SL/CBL, but I have A LOT of hair. I use 100 grams, fully saturate all the strands, and I always have a little left over.

HTH

 

[davisbr88]

Yeah, you do have a lot of hair!
I think I am just going to get two boxes to be safe. I know that I can freeze the leftovers and the good thing is that I'll know how much I need after I do the henna, so I can adjust it for the indigo and won't waste any or have extra.

 

[rririla]

Yeah, I like my hair to be completely saturated, too, so that's why I was thinking to get 200 g, but the site says to use 300 g for straight SL hair. So I was like what? That just seemed like a lot to me. I can see using 100-150ish, but not 300-400! That's why I came to the board because that just seemed like way too much to me.

200 to 250 is what I usually wind up using and my hair is completely covered...but for some it may be different...I think 300 to 400 is the website trying to get money...but my friend from India did my first henna treatment for me and I just followed what she did after that.....if u look at hennasooq on you tube or mendhi not sure of the rest of the name....they show the process and you cant even tell there is hair under all that green goop...lol...but in the end u have to do what's right for u. get more the first time around and then adjust to ur personal needs as u go

 

[ART11]

I am strongly considering using henna and indigo to get the jet black hair I've always loved. Because I will be ordering my henna and indigo online (and can't run back to the store if I need more), I am wondering how many grams most people use. I am pretty darn close to APL and my hair is fine with low-medium density. I was thinking of getting 200 grams of each.

SN: Does anyone mix their henna with OJ? I was thinking of doing that instead of lemon juice. I don't have green tea and don't plan to buy it for this purpose.

I henna for a brunette tone. So I mix the henna and the indigo together (100 grams each). Well, I mix the henna and let it release the dye (after several hours) then I mix the indigo and add it to the henna. That gives me 200g of stuff all mixed together. My hair is SL and this is the perfect amount but it depends on how thick a head of hair you have (mine isn't).

If you want jet black, you henna first, rinse it out and then you indigo the hennaed hair and rinse it out. So I would think in this instance, 100g packets of each wouldn't cut it because I needed 200g to cover my hair so I would have to get 200g of henna and 200g of indigo. (So it seems like you are on the right track with the quantities).

If I were you, I would buy the 300g but only mix 200g and have the rest on hand in the event that you needed more, you could always do it another time. You will need it to touch up your roots down the road anyway and it keeps for a good long time.

Yes, I use OJ. That's it. I don't add any other stuff. I used to use ACV but the smell makes me hurl and I can still smell it days later even after shampooing so I switched to lemon juice and that was too harsh and now I use OJ with no issues. HTH.

I do not know what brand you are using but I order mine from mehandi.com and it is very pure in content, has no "debris" in it and definitely fresher than the stuff you get off the shelf in the stores. I use the Ancient Sunrise Celebration kits to cover gray. Here is a link for them:

Ancient Sunrise: Natural hair dye and body care products

This is my first try at Ancient Sunrise, I usually ordered their Jamila or Yemen but those make gray hair look right silly. Hope you have a pleasant experience.

ETA: I'm not inferring that you have any gray hair I can't see any in the pic.

 

[davisbr88]

Thanks so much! That definitely answered my question.

 

[LongLeggedLife]

200-250grams. I am very heavy handed with it, and usually dont have any left over.
Yes I have straightened after using heat tools, but I dont experience any curl loosening from the henna.

 

[davisbr88]

I am hoping not to experience the loosening either but if I do, I figured that'd be an optimal time to straighten.