I'm Natural and Henna makes my hair HARD!

[SpyCats]

I need HELP!!! I'm natural (4b) and I used henna and indigo (first time) on my hair this past Saturday, it was an all day affair. I mixed conditioner and jojoba oil into the henna because I figured that it would condition my hair. Well, my hair felt very coated after I rinsed out the henna, shampooed and DC'ed. I have used henna in the past and I wondered why I ever stopped, now I know why.

MY HAIR IS SO HARD NOW! What did I do wrong?

Any and all responses will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[SpyCats]

BUMP!

Please help.

 

[JLove74]

did you add a terp to your mix (avc, lemon juice, etc)? Did you use a moisturizing condish to DC?

 

[SpyCats]

did you add a terp to your mix (avc, lemon juice, etc)? Did you use a moisturizing condish to DC?

Thanks for your response JLove.

I didn't add a 'terp' (What does that mean?) to my mix this time but I have tried lemon juice (about two years ago) and my scalp itched so bad that I had to rinse out the henna after about a 1/2 hour. This time I thought about adding acv but I had such awful memories of the lemon juice disaster that I shyed away from it. Would that have made a diffence?

I did add conditioner but I don't really think it was a moisterizing conditioner though, it was tea tree triple treat condiioner by Giovanni ....oh, and I also added jojoba oil

Any more responses?

 

[anahnamuslyyours]

I haven't hennaed yet, but have been researching it, and it sounds like you need to do a deep condition with a moisturizing conditioner (or two). Adding conditioner to the henna prolly didn't make much of a difference. I've read where other people have had to deep condition several times after henna, but once they were all done, they were very happy with the results. HTH.

 

[Kurlee]

from what i have learne dabout henna, it either works for you or ti doesn't. Some people have great results, while others experience breakage and dryness. I think henna is a hit or miss for most people. At first i loved henna, but then it pulled my texture out and my hair does feel "rougher'. However the color is gorgeous! So i mean, its about what ur lookign to gain from. try to do some serious moisturizing treamtents. that may help.

 

[ThursdayGirl]

I had a similar experience with henna. I did it the first time and my hair came out shinier, stronger, and had a hint of red it in. It was fairly soft to the touch. I liked it, but wanted more red and wanted curl relaxation.

I repeated the treatment. My dye release wasn't going fast enough, so I added a lot of ACV (maybe 6tbsp or so?). I put it in my hair for 4 hours or so with heat for 1 hour. My hair came out red (which i liked and still like)and VERY strong (my strands don't really snap). Unfortunately, my hair also came out very dry, very rough, and almost felt wiry (it also seems that my hair repels water more). I know its because of the amount of deposition I had, because the color is more intense and my hair is so much stronger than it was. Perhaps the same thing happened to you? Maybe you had a lot of deposition as well?

Over a few weeks my hair did soften, but its still VERY strong. I'm transitioning out of the henna although I love the color and strength. I will see what my hair is like without the coating and go from there.

I may redo henna in the future, but I will not let it sit in my hair as long.

 

[1ariel]

I have used henna many years ago when I was natural the first 2 times. Then I tried it again a few months ago. I can not say that I like it. My hair was hard too.

 

[Cheleigh]

from what i have learne dabout henna, it either works for you or ti doesn't. Some people have great results, while others experience breakage and dryness. I think henna is a hit or miss for most people. At first i loved henna, but then it pulled my texture out and my hair does feel "rougher'. However the color is gorgeous! So i mean, its about what ur lookign to gain from. try to do some serious moisturizing treamtents. that may help.

Ditto my experience. I'm growing my henna out, although I love the color. My hair had too much curl relaxation, and it was dry afterward. I would probably will willing to try henna again, because I feel that it might be more user error than anything else.

 

[sunshinelady]

It did the same thing to me and I had lots of tangles and knots.

I think you should get some Garnier Fructis sleek and shine and co-wash for a few days. This made a difference for me.

Good luck!

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I know how you feel my hair was hard as a brick I deeped condition and everything, I just end up cutting off 2 inches, But the color has lasted me 3 months so far and is still going, I want to try it again but I can't risk that dryness again,Like someone said earlier it is a hit and miss, it works for some and not for others. But I do wanna try it as a conditioner that others have mentioned but not as a color again.

 

[SpyCats]

Wow, thanks for the responses. I see that quite a few of you also experienced the dryness. I did deep condition after I shampooed and rinsed out the henna but I probably experienced the dryness because I didn't use a moisterizing conditioner.

I will try henna/indigo again and see what happens. I use it more for the color than the condition properties of it because I have grays and want to cover up those bad boys. I do have to say that the process really made my hair super strong though.

 

[SpyCats]

bump!

Keep the responses coming. Thanks!

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I wanna give it a shot again but that dryness was horrible and I used a Moisturizing conditioner, but I believe it is the Lemon Juice that made my hair so darn hard, I don't think it was the henna itself. Plus I left it on my hair for like 5 hours and some said I didn't need to leave it on for that Long LOL!! so that could have been a problem right there.

 

[Cichelle]

I'm a henna head. I love the stuff. I had one not so great experience when I used oil in my mix. But other than that it's been all good. HOWEVER...

I find that the most important thing is rinsing properly. This actually takes me several cowashes to do because I only have so much patience at one time to stand in the shower and rinse my hair. This isn't a huge problem because I cowash daily. But until ALL the henna is rinsed out, my hair feels a bit dry.

I'm sorry your experience wasn't a good one. I hope after more rinsing and conditioning, your hair feels better.

 

[SpyCats]

Thanks Cichelle...I believe that not rinsing my hair enough is the root of my problem. I didn't want to stay in the shower all night rinsing my hair and wound up not rinsing long enough.

I moisterized my hair last night and noticed when I washed my hands the suds were blue ! I am not giving up on Henna just yet I will just have to rinse my hair a few times next time.