henna warning!

[Carrie A]

Henna works well for me. I'm just cringing at the turpentine. Yikes. Something tells me this was not body quality henna.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I am doing Henna tomorrow - Because of this!! I need the crown of my hair to calm down a bit.

I know you studied how to make your mix. The key is to get every bit of the henna out of your hair after the treatment, just use loads and loads of cheap conditioner to wash it out. That's when I get to use up all that Suave and VO5 mess that I normally avoid. Just co-wash and rinse until your arms get tired and then do it some more. Let the cheap condish just sit and soak into the henna and then rinse more. Then after that do your DC. You'll be str8!

ETA: That last batch of henna from HennaforHair.com rinses out like a dream. I will order more. I does not pay to go cheap with henna, I go for the gold for henna.

 

[CurlyMoo]

Ok I would like to add Henna to my Brahmi/Amla mix for extra strengthening. Has anyone done this? I'm not looking for red hair, although I am curious as to how it will turn out. At least until I get my Indigo.


Here is what I got from the local Indian store, what do you think?

 

[simcha]

I just used Karishma henna which already has amla and some other powders mixed in. I really liked it and at $3 a bag, it's remaining a staple. I didn't mix any oils or anything in it - just deep conditioned with a moisturizing conditioner for 30 minutes under the dryer - and my hair actually felt moisturized.

I've tried other hennas and yes, some of them were drying but not this one. I think it is the mix of the other herbs. Here's the description on Ruchita Ayurveda for it:

Karishma Herbal Henna contains Pure Henna, Amla, Aritha, Shikhakai, Bhringraj and other selected herbs as described in the century old Indian Vedas. Regular use of Karishma Herbal Henna darkens hair, acts as a natural hair conditioner, controls dandruff and prevents hair loss. Due to the natural cooling effect of the herbs used it improves eyesight and gives sound sleep.

It did come out a little red, especially my grey hairs. Next time I'm going to mix it and let it sit in an iron skillet overnight to darken it.

 

[CurlyMoo]

I just used Karishma henna which already has amla and some other powders mixed in. I really liked it and at $3 a bag, it's remaining a staple. I didn't mix any oils or anything in it - just deep conditioned with a moisturizing conditioner for 30 minutes under the dryer - and my hair actually felt moisturized.

I've tried other hennas and yes, some of them were drying but not this one. I think it is the mix of the other herbs. Here's the description on Ruchita Ayurveda for it:

Karishma Herbal Henna contains Pure Henna, Amla, Aritha, Shikhakai, Bhringraj and other selected herbs as described in the century old Indian Vedas. Regular use of Karishma Herbal Henna darkens hair, acts as a natural hair conditioner, controls dandruff and prevents hair loss. Due to the natural cooling effect of the herbs used it improves eyesight and gives sound sleep.

It did come out a little red, especially my grey hairs. Next time I'm going to mix it and let it sit in an iron skillet overnight to darken it.

I'm waiting for my iron skillet. What does the iron skillet do? So based on your ingredients I can at least mix mine with Amla and Shikhakai.

 

[Jetblackhair]

^ ^ ^
Shikakai powder can be very drying so if you are going to add this to your henna mixture, I would add very little.

I probably would just go with adding Amla and Brahmi to begin with to see how my hair reacts.

If everything turned out ok, I would then add a small amount of Shikakai for my next treatment.

 

[CurlyMoo]

^ ^ ^
Shikakai powder can be very drying so if you are going to add this to your henna mixture, I would add very little.

I probably would just go with adding Amla and Brahmi to begin with to see how my hair reacts.

If everything turned out ok, I would then add a small amount of Shikakai for my next treatment.

Thank you, I will leave the Shikakai out of it this time.

 

[vkb247]

I'm interested in this natural relaxer method to just release some of the spring in my coils. I love my coils, they just need to chill a little

In the Herbal Tame product that the ladies were discussing, the active ingredient is actually Daphne Gnidium. I know that other ladies have tried to find this ingredient for sale somewhere with no luck.

I love what henna does for my hair but if you really want to try a natural relaxer method than check out the Cherry Lola Treatment.

 

[Mahalialee4]

Are you sure about the daphne gnidium being an ingredient in Herbal Tame? I know the "dg" it is in the Baka Natural Relaxer. being the main ingredient.

Ingredients in Herbal Tame:
"The Herbal Tame relaxer is made with henna, aloe vera, nettle, cornsilk and sage. About a year ago I was gonna re-order it when it struck me that I could get the ingredients and make it myself. I used neutral henna from Whole Foods market. I bought aloe vera, nettle and cornsilk caps from the vitamin Shoppe. (VShoppe didn't have sage caps so I left them out.) Gold Medal says that you should mix the herbal tame powder with a half culp of hot water and two ounces of their intensive conditioner. The intensive conditioner is basically a creamy protein conditioner with hydrolyzed wheat protein, chammomile, yarrow, and rosemary exract, the standard hair conditioner moisturizers and humectants. "

Please clarify by providing an ingredient list that shows the dg as being in Herbal Tame. Thanks. http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=92&highlight=herbal+tame

 

[hnhodge]

Hey Kasilya!

I'm going to retype what Kasey wrote on the old board and add my two cents to it, so its going to be long.

The Herbal Tame relaxer is made with henna, aloe vera, nettle, cornsilk and sage. About a year ago I was gonna re-order it when it struck me that I could get the ingredients and make it myself. I used neutral henna from Whole Foods market. I bought aloe vera, nettle and cornsilk caps from the vitamin Shoppe. (VShoppe didn't have sage caps so I left them out.) Gold Medal says that you should mix the herbal tame powder with a half culp of hot water and two ounces of their intensive conditioner. The intensive conditioner is basically a creamy protein conditioner with hydrolyzed wheat protein, chammomile, yarrow, and rosemary exract, the standard hair conditioner moisturizers and humectants. I say use any creamy protein conditioner you have. If you can't find the herbs in powder form just use a few spoonfulls of the Nature's Gate brand herbal conditioner or just make some herbal tea with dried herbs and use that as your water. The mixture is going to be green. Make sure that you mix it well and get out all the lumps. Apply it to the length of your hair in small sections. I suggest starting in the middle of your hair to keep the product from dripping all over. It's gonna be messy so make sure you drape a towel over your shoulders. After your entire head is covered, put on a couple of plastic caps a scarf and leave it on for 30 minutes to an hour. If you want to sit under low to medium heat for a few minutes or excercise or do house work. I wouldn't leave it on for longer than an hour. Get in the shower to rinse this out you are probably going to have to rinse for 5 to 10 minutes to get all of the mixture out of your hair. I suggest that you follow this with a heavy moisturizing conditioner. Henna is a protein that has been used in India as to color hair and also to condition the hair. The mixture will not straighten your hair like a relaxer. It tames the hair. It will strengthen your hair and make it more manageable. After a few uses it will be easier to blow dry sraight. Gold medal says use the product twice a month, but if your hair is already in good condition I suggest using it once a month. At the beginning of this year I was giving myself weekly henna treatments and that was just too much. But then i didn't know I should be following it with a moisturizing conditioner.

That is what Kasey wrote

I use the mixture every two weeks I don't use the nettle I really don't think the powdered herbs are even completely necessary because the active ingredient is henna. I will be re-applying it to my hair this Sunday and thereafter I will only do it once a month. The first time I used the mixture I used Gold medals Intensive conditioner and it really did a nice job but the second time I used GPB which is pretty good too. I added 1/4 cup conditioner to the mix and 1/4 cup of oils mostly castor oil and some aloe vera oil. You will probably see the biggest difference on your 2nd or 3rd try that is if your doing it every 2 weeks for the first few weeks or so. Then cut back to monthly treatments. but from the first treatment I noticed that my hair felt stronger, thicker, less tangled and it wasn't as frizzy. The cool thing about henna treatments is that it is not permanent and you can control how loose you want your curls the more often you use it the looser your curls will become, but its not really a dramatic difference its subtle.

I knew a girl who used Gold Medals Herbal Tame relaxer and when she first started using it her hair was barely shoulder length. A year and a half later it was waist length and very her hair was always short prior to using the herbal tame. I guess using the treatments gave her hair the strength it needed to grow and not break. The other thing is she would only wash her hair every 2 weeks or longer. she would wear hear hair pressed on a regular basis and her hair was not damaged at all. I think henna protects the hair shaft. when she would press it looked as though she had a relaxer.
If you want info on herbal tame go to www.goldmedalhair.com
If you have any more questions let me know.

CICI

@ Cici,
in reference to the GM Herbal Treatment Relaxer, have you heard of Janelle Beauty's Diva Smooth and Virgin Coconut Hair Serum? I was considering trying the GM after reading your posts but my cousin brought to my attention the Diva Smooth. What's your take?

 

[kim]

Be careful. Henna (yes, I used BAQ), while it thickened my hair and I could see the "positive" effects, it made my hair dry, regardless of how much I DC'd, added oils, etc. Also, it straightened out my natural 4a hair, so much so that I haven't used it in over a year and my hair is clearly two different textures. The new hair looks like new growth . So, even though I am natural, I am "transitioning" from henna, so to speak. Henna does work for many, but there are some people that henna did more bad than good. I wanted to like it, but the straightening effect was very unwelcome. Also, it was aa very messy, tedious job.

I agree, this is exactly how my hair reacts to BAQ Henna. I used Henna off and on for many years and always had the same type of results no matter what kind of mixture I used. I also would have excessive shedding. My hair hates henna.

 

[*Frisky*]

I agree, this is exactly how my hair reacts to BAQ Henna. I used Henna off and on for many years and always had the same type of results no matter what kind of mixture I used. I also would have excessive shedding. My hair hates henna.

Ditto for me...henna was the worst mistake I made regarding my hair. I just finally cut most of it off. I am slowly but surely getting my hair back on track and it is growing back nicely.

 

[kim]

I just had to cut alot of my hair off also. Thankfully I'm transitioning!!!

 

[Tiye]

This was taken from an Interview with Ouidad:

Maria – What is the most difficult head of curly hair you have had to deal with?

Ouidad – The most difficult was an actress from France. She had very curly hair and used henna. Henna is a natural color that is used from plant roots and a lot of it is made from dirt and with excess use it builds up like cement and you can’t strip it or take it out. We even used turpentine and couldn’t get it out. Because of the strength of the henna, some of her curls were straight, some curly. She was a strawberry blond and I had to cut off all of the henna hair. We gave her a fabulous short French hairstyle. We worked for 3 days to try and get the henna off.

to read the entire interview (does not relate to henna just curly hair care and Ouidad in general)

http://www.beautybuzz.com/hair.asp?page=Ouidadinterview

^^ Oooooold thread but the part in red is not true. Maybe Ms Ouidad knows this by now too ....

 

[Tene]

Henna dried the crap out of my hair and turned it into a frizzy undefined thick mass of hair. I haven't used it since and my hair is doing fine. I said I will stick with using cassia and nothing else. But it's weird when I used the henna melts from the hair she bang off etsy it didn't dry my hair out. The henna also dried my daughter's hair out and I think the henna is the reason I've been having a hard time keeping her hair moisturized. I've went back to using cassia on her hair also. I'm mad cause I bought 500g of henna and have 400g left. I think I'm going to take it as a loss and throw it out.

 

[sillygirl82]

Wow. My hair seems to have less breakage when I use henna. I just did a treatment last Friday. I washed my hair again just now and it definitely made my hair stronger.

 

[starfish79]

I used to use henna but I stopped 1-2 years ago. I just had my hair blown out for a DC and the stylist asked whether I had used henna because you can see a "line of demarcation" between the hennaed and virgin hair. The ends with the henna are rough, dry and very frizzy. He said that the henna coats the hair and doesn't let anything else penetrate.