Hennaphilics....

hada

New Member
Needless to say some people have shown interest in Henna lately.

Maybe a "Hennaphilic /images/graemlins/lick.gif" club can be started and talk about our/your experiences [postive and negative] with henna, and for those who are just curious. We can share mixtures and recipes, what worked and what didn't work. We can start with this thread here.

hada
 
As already discussed, my hat's in /images/graemlins/grin.gif I haven't been this excited about an external product since my discovery of Hellman's Mayonaisse as a pre-wash conditioner /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Amethyst
 
You know I am in for the long haul. My key advice is to always make sure to add oil to the henna conditioner and to follow with a completely (no protein) condioner, and to use a moisturizer daily and to oil the ends as needed. Since my hair is "straight" after wrapping, it is easy to moisturize and pin up or twist up daily till the next shampoo or rinse. Hope this helps. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
Hmm I have to try that. I usually have used in conjuction with a conditioner after my wash..that reminds me I haven't done a hotoil treamtment in a while. But my hair has been holding up, after aaalll of this working out, 97% of my hair, hasn't reverted, I am pressed right now. The front hairline is SLLLLIGHTTLY fuzzed but when brushed looks just fine... hmmm [henna??]

hada
 
How do you wrap you hair, like a wrap hairstyle? My hair would be a bit short right now to do one, I think. *ssiiighh* I should have been waist length this spring but, oh well...
I should be by next sept/oct. (2004) With the help of henna I might add.

hada
 
The wrap on Natural Hair (Illustrations)Note: This is NOT ME OR MY PICTURES!!!

Rear view:
http://public.fotki.com/2twisted/straight_up/experiment_under_wraps/mvc-011f.html

Side view:
http://public.fotki.com/2twisted/straight_up/experiment_under_wraps/mvc-010f.html

Wrap other side:
http://public.fotki.com/2twisted/straight_up/experiment_under_wraps/mvc-012f.html

wrap and after:
http://public.fotki.com/2twisted/straight_up/experiment_under_wraps/ This is a wonderful pictorial illustration to give an idea on what I was saying,

Natural hair pics: http://public.fotki.com/2twisted/straight_up/

This is a previous post of how I wrap my hair.
February 22 2002 at 5:53 PM
YOU ONLY USE A COMB FOR PARTING.SMOOTHING IS DONE WITH YOUR HANDS ONLY.

Technique One- Roller Wrap Natural Hair:
Picture your head as a giant roller. Picture your wet hair parted at the right front in a diagonal part. Now that you have the picture clear in your mind proceed. You are going to be very good at doing this wrap!
Clockwise wrap starting at right front diagonal part begin your sections of which there should be 8, evenly all around your head in nice parts. When you have finished, give yourself a hand. REMEMBER
The wrap should look neat and should be pinned at regular intervals, Make sure the pins are plastic tipped on the end. Remember, as you pull out a clip, replace it with a large pin to prevent losing the neatness of your wrap. You can wrap your hair wet. If you wrap it dry, you can do it with the plastic caps for a deep moisturizer or without to retain the set you already have. If you do it with the caps, your hair may come out looking like you just had a fresh perm. Mahaliailee4 Bonjour. When wrapping the front sides and back of head, evenly smooth your wet or dry hair with your hands as you go, but do not pull hair too taut. Be sure to secure ends well in the wrap to avoid crinkly crisp ends.
Section hair into about 8 equal sections starting at a part in right front of head. (Diagonal part) Hold in place with large metal clips. Then begin at the left front part and begin wrapping the hairr around your head (think of a giant roller!!!), removing and replacing clips as you go. May take 12-16 clips. Then take large long bobbi pins and replace the clips with the pins, smoothing with your hand as you go. When you are finished, your head should look like a ball of cotton, with the the strands all going in one direction, clockwise, and lying snugly against the scalp. Make sure that the ends are pinned down. Check the back with a hand mirror. Then add your silk scarf. Tie in the back and then in the front, taking care not to place too much pressure on the temple area or tie too tightly. Your silk scarf is your best friend!

If you desire to moisturize hair without losing the straightness, just do the above and put on about 5-6 caps (plastic shower caps) over the scarf, and leave on overnight or three hours minimum for maximum straightness. Take the shower caps off for about 1-1/12 hours before you take off the silk scarf and remove the pins. By then your hair should be swinging. If hair is not as straight as you like, repeat, but wrap in the opposite direction. The more you repeat it the straighter it gets. If you decide you like the crinkly straight look, think Lisa Nicole Carson, you should only need to do it once, and be sure that you do a hot oil treatment at least once a week, and oil the ends as needed. When I am wrapping at the back, I stick a clip upside down or pointing down to hold the sections that are wrapped in place so it does bulk or bunch up. All of my parts are on an angle and I start the parts from an imaginary dot in the toop of my head. If my hair was spread out all around me, it would be a round pie shape. (You know how the slices all come into a point in the middle of the pan) butI part at an angle to get a smoother, snugger wrap. So try beginning every part from an imaginary point at the top of your head, and there should not be any extra hair left over. I pin from the bottom in the front, but always add at least 3 extra pins at the top of the sections in the back. I hope this helps. Let me know how this works for you. Mahalialee4.

Technique Two:

I shampoo in the shower. Aussie Moist Shampoo for this one. Do not manipulate the hair. Part hair down the middle. Apply shampoo to scalp and squeeze through to the ends of each side of your parted hair.Rinse Hair well.Squeeze Dry: Then I part it straight down the middle front to back. I apply my Amalaika Leave In from Body Shop; I take my cut off pantyhose sections (black) ...looks cool and make two ponytails. (Indian Style). I then wrap cutoffs around the length of each low ponytail. It takes a total of 4 cutoffs for each side. I wrap my hair in a silk scarf with the tails stacked on top of each other at the back and tie the scarf. It drys over nite or less. The next day I take off the cuffs )LOL)and I do not comb or brush. Then I use LaCoupe Straightening Balm that contains no alcohol and take a tiny dab of pure shea butter and do the pony tail cuff thing all over again. After this, I only take it down to oil the ends with a dab of shea butter. It is less hassle for me than a wrap and gets the hair just as straight only I end up with more body and my hair is fluffier. I can then separate it with my fingers and brush it gently no problem as the hair is detangled from the leave in, balm and shea butter. This is great for growing it out with a minimum of fuss if you want to rinse your hair every nite or shampoo every 3rd day. I think that you will like both techniques. Now some people choose to smooth the hair more with a comb and I leave that up to them. They will obviously get an even straighter wrap, but it will stretch the hair more also.
Hope this helps: Bonjour Mahalialee4 /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
What a great idea Hada /images/graemlins/smile.gif I just viewed a pic of a lady named sherrylove35 and her hair is BADDDDD!!!! I'm looking forward to us henna users to accomplish extraordinary goals as well /images/graemlins/grin.gif Mahalialee, you are a dedicated member. Look at all those links! Thanks girl!!!

Iris
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
londongirl3 said:
I wanted to try henna because I do Know of a salon that used henna dyes to get red hair. I want red hair!!!!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Londongrrl, have you tried LUSH's no caca?
 
Thanks for the info, it was very detailed. /images/graemlins/drunk.gif

I can't get into the pics because it says- path not found. I will keep trying.

hada
 
Hi Iris,

Yes I finally got to see the pics. That is one of my goals. My hair would be that thick too judging by what I see of it now and I do love the color. That Rosemary e.o. does create good sheen in the hair in a carrier oil and I use it in my Henna mix too.

hada
 
I am definitely going to start neutral henna treatments. I'm debating on starting now or waiting until I've cut off my relaxed hair...

When I do the treatment, will it be ok to mix the henna with this instead of plain water? (I have a whole box that I've only used once!)
S49t.jpg


It's a hair tea called "Nature's Wonderland Herbal Hair &amp; Scalp Conditioner". The ad copy reads:

"It is designed to gently invigorate the scalp and to help promote hair growth. JABORANDI LEAVES have traditionally been used in preparations for the hair and SAGE LEAVES have historically been used to promote hair growth.
INGREDIENTS: Jaborandi Leaves, Sage Leaves.

Common use: Promotes hair growth; itching, flaking, dandruff or psoriasis. For best results apply morning &amp; evening 3-5 times weekly. FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY.

Suggested Directions: Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoonfuls herbs. Let stand until cool, strain. Apply to scalp with fingertips or spray applicator until hair is slightly moist. Massage scalp vigorously for about 1 minute, then comb or brush in place."
 
Hi SassyGirl/images/graemlins/wave.gif

I think using that product would be just fine. I forgot who it was but someone mentioned that if you didn't want to buy the herbs, a herbal tea mix would be fine /images/graemlins/smile.gif That product sounds great to me. As far as the henna with relaxed hair all I can speak on is the hennalucent brand. I don't know if you remember Caramela's hennalucent pics? She also had a relaxer when she used the product. It says it's safe for all-chemical services. Just remember to use some type of moisturizing agent when you finally decide to use it. I really think henna is one of nature's wonder products /images/graemlins/grin.gif

hth,
Amethyst
 
Thanks Amethyst!
I already bought two boxes of neutral Hennalucent not knowing when I'm going to use it! /images/graemlins/nuts.gif I know a lot of you use Aubrey's GPB, but I was going to mix it up with something a little milder like a cholesterol conditioner or Dark &amp; Lovely ProTherapy Protein Intensive Conditioner. Will this be ok? (The fact that the henna gets hard makes me a little nervous about using a strong protein conditioner...)

I found it interesting that the Hennalucent box says, "In addition, Hennalucent helps to manage tangles..." Who knew?! Thanks again!
 
Hey Sassygirl ,

Using that would be just fine. It is an all natural hair tea mixed with hot boiling water. The ingredients are pretty good. How many inches do you have left of relaxer? I think as long as you hadn't done any recent chemical activity you are fine , but give it a test first(a patch test) or wait. If you have just a few inches left, I'd go for it, just make sure you add oils and keep that part oiled a bit on the ends and clip as your hair grows out.

hada
 
Two places that seem to have good henna. The first site has cheaper henna, that has claims od being good with a good amount for hair. The second site contains a chock full of info on henna has various henna types plus indigo. Jamila brand seems to be the repeated brand of mehndi and hennahair users. This site discusses the affects of henna on Afro hair also.

http://www.hennadancer.com

http://www.everydayhenna.com

hada
 
Hey Sassygirl, /images/graemlins/wave.gif

Now you know I'm lovin that black and white picture of Pam Grier sporting her fro! /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Now you know I'm lovin that black and white picture of Pam Grier sporting her fro!

[/ QUOTE ]

Aint it the truth! Hada thanks for those links.

Amethyst
 
Amethyst:
I was going to PM you, but I figured someone else might want to know too--

How much water do you add per packet of Hennalucent?
 
Hey Sassygirl /images/graemlins/wave.gif

I use enough to make it a syrupy-consistency. Not too watery and yet, not "stiff" either. Just the right balance. You have to play around with it to find out what suits you /images/graemlins/smile.gif

hth,
Amethyst
 
Thanks!

I guess I'll boil 2-3 cups of water, make my tea, heat the water up again and then add it to the henna powder a 1/2 oz at a time... /images/graemlins/brainy.gif
I'm going to do my first treatment tomorrow night. Instead of Neutral, I'm going to use Bark Brown. I'm going to use the neutral for the next 3-4 treatments and space them 2 weeks apart. Then I'll use the Bark Brown every 2 months or so. What do you think?
 
Sounds great to me. I used 4 treatments for four consecutive weeks in a row. Now I'm doing it once a month. I added my oils and a moisturizing conditioner to my batch. One things for sure, unlike some products, they will never stop making this product. I know I can go to any beauty supply store and my henna is right there to be found/images/graemlins/bouncy.gif
 
I have added some hibiscus/rosehips water to my mixture to see what kind of tint I would get. I have the actual herbs that I boil and it came out a nice deep wine color (the water). I am curious how it will turn out. Amethyst, I liked that link you gave me with that henna thread, those reds were awesome! I wish I can make my highlights a little more intense so that it is a little more noticeable.

hada
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I added my oils and a moisturizing conditioner to my batch.

[/ QUOTE ]

I definately didn't forget about the oils and the conditioner. I know leaving these out would probably result in hardened cement hair! /images/graemlins/laugh.gif I'm going to use 1/4 cup Dark &amp; Lovely ProTherapy Protein Intensive Conditioner, 2 tbsp of Nature's Gate Herbal Conditioner (it has a lot of 'herby' ingredients...) and enough olive oil, castor oil and Hot Six Oil to make up 1/4 cup.

Thanks again! Now I'll leave you alone until I'm done with my first four treatments. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I think as long as you hadn't done any recent chemical activity you are fine , but give it a test first(a patch test) or wait.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm impatient! /images/graemlins/grin.gif My last touch-up was in July or August, but I'm still going to play it safe and use the Hennalucent.
And I'm doing my patch test right now as we "speak". /images/graemlins/smile.gif

It's very gritty...
 
Has anyone tried a rollerset since using henna? If not you should! there is no real need for me to press my hair anymore to get it straight I don't have to use heat to get it straight either I can let it airdry. I apply monoi oil to damp hair and take small sections and spray with a detangling spray and a dab of Liv creme hairdress and roll it up let air dry over night or sit under the dryer. don't use to much of the creme or the oil or it will be greasy
 
Thanks CICI I will try that. I have been walking around the house trying tofind my rollers too. I usually press but since hennaing, it is easier for the hair to straighten out and stay straight for a while.

I have been wanting to try the rollers.

hada
 
I did it! /images/graemlins/clap.gif

I wasn't prepared for how messy it was, though. Yikes! I ended up naked and sitting in my tub applying the henna. /images/graemlins/bath2.gif It was everywhere. I either added too much water or didn't let it sit and thicken long enough. Mine never looked like honey or syrup. It looked more like motor oil! And I rinsed until I ran out of hot water and I still had little bits of crud in my hair...

At least my hair is all one color now. (My relaxed hair was lighter than my natural hair.) I'm going to do a neutral treatment next week.

How long do you all let the mixture sit before you apply it? Do you mix the henna and water and let it sit and then add the other items or do you mix it all up and let that sit?
 
For me,

I add everything in the mix then let it sit for 1/2 or so. When you wash it out, let the water run over the entire head first to loosen the henna, then with your fingers part each section of hair vertically and manipulation the henna out start from one side of the head until you reach the other. Get as much out as possible and do the same in reverse. Apply a very natural moisturizing conditioner to the hair and massage gently. Then manipulate the same way under the shower all the henna bits and in reverse. Then apply a little more conditioner and using a widetooth comb only, comb out very small sections of hair in running shower water, do this until it is completly out.

I let the henna sit in my hair for a couple of hours atleast, one of those hours being under some heat. I usually on a good day do about 4-5 hours.

hada
 
I forgot to say I use Jasons Henna Hi-light conditioner to get the henna out. Another good one is by Nature's Gate. Any of Jason's conditioners are good to use esp. the Jojoba one and EFA's. Remember henna does well and it's best using natural ingredients....or as close as you can get it.

hada
 
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