beware lhcf bandagons

[Rei]

ughh i am seriously kicking myself right now. i wanted to make my strands stronger so i bought some reshma henna and applied it and even now 2 weeks later after dcing multiple times my hair still feels waxy and strawlike. i shampooed out of the fear that some might still be left in my hair but im afraid to clarify to make it even dryer ;_; ironicaly enough my hair was in great shape before i tried it. damnit lhcf and your tempting bandwagons0 i might have to cut the straw ends of :/ i hope they recover but they fel realy dead.. sorry for the speling erors im on a celphone

 

[msa]

Is reshma body art quality?

What did you mix your henna with? Many people find that if they mix their henna with an acid like acv, lemon juice, etc. their hair comes out really really dry. And I've read about the same thing happening when people use yogurt or other proteins.

From my research it seems like it's best to use henna the first time without the acids, maybe just honey. I plan to use only water when I do it. I read on hennaforhair.com, in the booklet, and a few other places that if you have good quality henna the only thing you need for color release is water and time.

 

[MochaEyeCandy]

Awwww I'm sorry to hear your henna experience. Everything ain't for everybody. There's a wealth of information on this board, but hair care is still full of it's fair share of trial and error experiences. What did you mix the henna with?

 

[tiffers]

Definitely clarify. Do you have hard water? If so, chelating will be a good option as well. Was this BAQ henna?
I'm sure afer clarifying and dc'ing under the dryer for an hour, your hair will feel much better

 

[naijamerican]

I agree with MochaEyecandy. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with the henna. On the other hand, it's not really a matter of wariness regarding bandwagons so much as it is committing to the process of trying techniques through trial and, yes, error. I've had to learn, even in the past 9 years of being natural, to be patient with myself in discerning what works for my hair and what doesn't. Sometimes joining bandwagons is the only way to do that. If you hadn't jumped on the henna wagon you wouldn't have learned what to do and what not to do. Good luck!

 

[Tybi]

I agree with the other ladies and want to add that I have been using henna for a year now and the very first time I did last spring my hair came out extremely dry and straw like. It took multiple DC treatments to get it back into shape. I vowed never to use henna again until I remembered reading on the henna for hair site and on CurlyNikkis thread over on the naturally curly site that this happens to a lot of people after the 1st application. I tried it again and found out that they were right. I have never experienced that dryness after a henna again, and I have used 3 different brands so far. My hair is in so much better condition too.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

ughh i am seriously kicking myself right now. i wanted to make my strands stronger so i bought some reshma henna and applied it and even now 2 weeks later after dcing multiple times my hair still feels waxy and strawlike. i shampooed out of the fear that some might still be left in my hair but im afraid to clarify to make it even dryer ;_; ironicaly enough my hair was in great shape before i tried it. damnit lhcf and your tempting bandwagons0 i might have to cut the straw ends of :/ i hope they recover but they fel realy dead.. sorry for the speling erors im on a celphone

If I can remember correctly didn't you put a lot of vinegar in your henna or was it lemon juice.... I think there was something strange about your mix... I just use tea and coconut oil and conditioner in my mix, no problems.

ETA: sorry you are having a hard time, have you tried an over night moisture DC? Olive oil in my conditioner helps bring my moisture back too.

 

[IDareT'sHair]

I've only had Positive Results With the Application of Henna and I have alot of Grey Hair, so I was doing the 2 Step with Henna & Indigo to fully cover My Grey.

I use Body Art Quality Henna for Relaxed, Chemically Treated and African American Hair from Mehandi.com, I mixed it with ACV. After the Dye had released I added a drop or two of Amla Oil.

I throughly rinsed the Henna out with VO5 Conditioner and did not use Shampoo at all. After I applied the Indigo and got the desired Color I wanted I rinsed again w/the conditioner.

I DC using my Heat Cap with AO HSR. Rinsed Out and Applied Leave In. I experienced No Drying Whatsoever. Just Soft, Strong, Shiny Hair.

 

[Rei]

Is reshma body art quality?

What did you mix your henna with? Many people find that if they mix their henna with an acid like acv, lemon juice, etc. their hair comes out really really dry. And I've read about the same thing happening when people use yogurt or other proteins.

From my research it seems like it's best to use henna the first time without the acids, maybe just honey. I plan to use only water when I do it. I read on hennaforhair.com, in the booklet, and a few other places that if you have good quality henna the only thing you need for color release is water and time.

Yeah the first time I mixed henna, I did it with acids, and it was really drying but I figured I messed it up, so I tried it again this time with tea and hot water and no harsh acids this time, and I used Aubreys, coconut oil, honey and olive oil while putting it in, and it was even worse. I'm afraid to experiment anymore, after all this

 

[Rei]

Awwww I'm sorry to hear your henna experience. Everything ain't for everybody. There's a wealth of information on this board, but hair care is still full of it's fair share of trial and error experiences. What did you mix the henna with?

I mixed the henna with tea and hot water, and then used olive oil, honey, coconut oil and a bit of HSR for terps before I applied it

Definitely clarify. Do you have hard water? If so, chelating will be a good option as well. Was this BAQ henna?
I'm sure afer clarifying and dc'ing under the dryer for an hour, your hair will feel much better

I don't have hard water, but I think I am going to take your advice and clairify...even if it dries my hair out it can't feel any worse. I don't know if Reshma is BAQ henna, but there are a bunch of other naturals on this board who used it with great results so I tried it trying to get the same results

I agree with MochaEyecandy. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with the henna. On the other hand, it's not really a matter of wariness regarding bandwagons so much as it is committing to the process of trying techniques through trial and, yes, error. I've had to learn, even in the past 9 years of being natural, to be patient with myself in discerning what works for my hair and what doesn't. Sometimes joining bandwagons is the only way to do that. If you hadn't jumped on the henna wagon you wouldn't have learned what to do and what not to do. Good luck!

This is a really good point. I guess I would have had to try it to know if it would work for me or not. I think I'm going to try and take that outlook on things when I try new things. There are still many other kinds of henna out there, but tbqh, i'm really scared of trying it again after I nurse my hair back to health.

If I can remember correctly didn't you put a lot of vinegar in your henna or was it lemon juice.... I think there was something strange about your mix... I just use tea and coconut oil and conditioner in my mix, no problems.

ETA: sorry you are having a hard time, have you tried an over night moisture DC? Olive oil in my conditioner helps bring my moisture back too.

Atlanta, I put a lot of lemon juice the first time! I tried it again with all moisturizing ingredients and it was even WORSE! My hair feels like straw! I used tea, coconut oil, conditoner, honey and olive oil, and my hair felt better when I used like a gallon of lemonjuice, lol (it felt pretty crap back then too but now its really terrible) damn I just wanted some shine! This is what I get for trying it again, I should have just left that mess alone. I've DCed twice now, I'm going to try it again tonight and hope it really makes a difference. Thanks ladies

 

[AtlantaJJ]

What are you using to DC with? Sounds like you could use something with some good slip to it. The ORS Replenish pack comes to mind.

 

[~*~ShopAholic~*~]

I've only used Reshma henna and never had problems with it. I know tea can be drying though, when I do my tea rinse I always DC after. I would clarify and DC with Aussie Moist with oil added or something very moisturing like it.

 

[ajacks]

I sooooooo feel your pain. I had the exact same experience that you did. It was extremely dry, felt like straw and I had lots of breakage. I got a weave the next day thankfully and went into extreme pamper mode. I had the weave in for 4-weeks and when I took it out things were back to normal (even though I think I am going to need a major trim when I get my next relaxer). I used lemon juice and oils in my henna mix, but I think the lemon juice was the problem since my hair gets so dry.

 

[Gibsongal]

I know for a fact that Reshma Henna is not BAQ henna. I used it and unfortunately it did cause the same problems for me. I had to stop using it. I only use Jamilia Henna; I found it in an Indian Grocery store. Now I only mix my henna with hot water. It still stains nicely. Incidentally, I never had problems using the henna from henna for hair even when I mixed it with lemon juice. I just got cheap and started going to the Indian store. If I had the funds, I would only order from them.

 

[Rei]

What are you using to DC with? Sounds like you could use something with some good slip to it. The ORS Replenish pack comes to mind.

The ors replenish pack has never done anything for me. I tried it a couple of times pre-henna, and I never was that impressed. I DCed with HSR and coconut oil, which usually works pretty well. Not this time though. I'm just goin to keep at it and hope that it works! I didn't think that tea could also be drying. I just don't think henna is for me. I wouldn't even mind the dryness, but it's also breaking now, and I feel like I'm losing months of progress from just one stupid application

I sooooooo feel your pain. I had the exact same experience that you did. It was extremely dry, felt like straw and I had lots of breakage. I got a weave the next day thankfully and went into extreme pamper mode. I had the weave in for 4-weeks and when I took it out things were back to normal (even though I think I am going to need a major trim when I get my next relaxer). I used lemon juice and oils in my henna mix, but I think the lemon juice was the problem since my hair gets so dry.

urrrgh, I just really hate when I make stupid mistakes like this. Like I said, I should have just never touched that mess. My hair is breaking now, and it hasn't done that in months. I had finally gotten it well and I broke the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule due to the promise of shiny hair I think I'm going to try and put braids in after next week. You're right, maybe I just need to leave this mess alone.

 

[BroadstreetBully]

Whenever I start to experience extreme dryness I use Tresemme Smooth&Silky conditioner and leave it on overnight.

 

[yaya24]

Reshma is not BAQ (as someone else posted)

But.. I mix Reshma with conditioner, hot water and oils, and no problems