Does henna relax hair?

[curlycraze]

Just recently tried some henna on my hair and it seems to have slightly relaxed my hair. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[*Frisky*]

I do think it loosens the curl pattern some but not like a relaxer does.

 

[VirtuousGal]

I use hennalucent and its good, but not that good. Where do you get this henna from? Is it impossible to get it anywhere other than online? I would like to find a local store to get it from if possible. I am currently in Fort Lauderdale and I go to school in Tampa.

 

[Cleve_gryl]

I use hennalucent and its good, but not that good. Where do you get this henna from? Is it impossible to get it anywhere other than online? I would like to find a local store to get it from if possible. I am currently in Fort Lauderdale and I go to school in Tampa.

Try to locate an Indian grocery in your area. That is where I buy BAQ henna.

 

[Neroli]

I do think it loosens the curl pattern some but not like a relaxer does.

ITA. For years been stretching touchups 3 months and found with henna, I can go 4 months if necessary cuz new growth is not so fierce . . .

 

[VirtuousGal]

Thanks Cleve gyrl, Im all over it.

 

[curlycraze]

I use hennalucent and its good, but not that good. Where do you get this henna from? Is it impossible to get it anywhere other than online? I would like to find a local store to get it from if possible. I am currently in Fort Lauderdale and I go to school in Tampa.

I used caca noir bar from www.lush.com . This is not the pure individual type. However, there are no preservatives in the bar.

 

[Lavendar]

It doesn't necessarily relax new growth in the sense that a relaxer does, but it will straighten out the hair. I believe the fact that the henna penetrates the cortex so much it weighs the hair down. If you henna'd often I suppose you may be able to smooth out new growth somewhat. I only henna once every 4-6 weeks, so it doesn't work for me. The down side is that I used to have a seriously curly wash and go. Now my hair air dries straight, always. My beautiful curls are gone, but the benefits of henna outweigh this for me personally.

 

[curlycraze]

It doesn't necessarily relax new growth in the sense that a relaxer does, but it will straighten out the hair. I believe the fact that the henna penetrates the cortex so much it weighs the hair down. If you henna'd often I suppose you may be able to smooth out new growth somewhat. I only henna once every 4-6 weeks, so it doesn't work for me. The down side is that I used to have a seriously curly wash and go. Now my hair air dries straight, always. My beautiful curls are gone, but the benefits of henna outweigh this for me personally.

Wow. I don't texlax often at all. Maybe I will henna only...just a thought.

 

[sareca]

During this time I was on a 1-yr stretch--I didn't put ANY chemicals on my hair at all. I was taking silica, biotin, and MSM. The second to last picture was after I started taking silica, so I blamed it.

 

[rak1209]

Well today I bought Henna from whole foods, that only cost me $9.99 I put an egg in it and two table spoon of AVC and my hair came out with a shine out of this world.

 

[Lavendar]

Wow. I don't texlax often at all. Maybe I will henna only...just a thought.

You could definitely try it, but if you have curly hair and you want to keep your curls, I wouldn't do it. Sareca's pix tell the whole story. My hair went from her first pic to the last one with just one henna. Her hair appears to be much thicker and with much more texture than mine.

 

[curlycraze]

During this time I was on a 1-yr stretch--I didn't put ANY chemicals on my hair at all. I was taking silica, biotin, and MSM. The second to last picture was after I started taking silica, so I blamed it.

What a nice pic description, thank you. BTW, you have beautiful hair.

 

[Kurlee]

henna kills ur curls!! Don't do it!

 

[sareca]

What a nice pic description, thank you. BTW, you have beautiful hair.

Thanks :blush3:

 

[metalkitty]

As much as I love henna, I'm not sure if I should use it anymore since I'm having a tough time distinguishing the newgrowth from the previously relaxed hair.... I'm afraid it'll botch my next relaxer. Does anyone know what I should do to prevent overlapping since I can't really see the newgrowth when it's dry? I was thinking of measuring it when it's wet to get an idea.

 

[meia]

honestly, any dye that i've ever used relaxes the curl pattern. So whether you use henna or another dye IMO I think you're pretty much going to have a release of curl pattern. But I wonder in the case of those who like their hair jet black, couldn't you just use the indigo without the henna? I doubt itll have the same effect as its just tinting the hair....?

 

[Sweet_Ambrosia]

honestly, any dye that i've ever used relaxes the curl pattern. So whether you use henna or another dye IMO I think you're pretty much going to have a release of curl pattern. But I wonder in the case of those who like their hair jet black, couldn't you just use the indigo without the henna? I doubt itll have the same effect as its just tinting the hair....?

Good question, I would like to know this too.
I love the look of jet black hair, if it's possible to skip the henna and just use the indigo w/o any weird effects that would be great!

 

[starfish79]

honestly, any dye that i've ever used relaxes the curl pattern. So whether you use henna or another dye IMO I think you're pretty much going to have a release of curl pattern. But I wonder in the case of those who like their hair jet black, couldn't you just use the indigo without the henna? I doubt itll have the same effect as its just tinting the hair....?

In my research I've read that indigo doesn't "stick" to the hair well without having first used henna. You can add indigo to your henna mix if you want to avoid the reddish tint. Try it in different ratios to deepen the color. However, if you're looking for a really dark black color you'll need to apply henna first, rinse, then apply the indigo. You'll end up with a pretty bluish black color.