Is HENNA really worth it?

[january noir]

I LOVE HENNA!!!...My hair has benefited so much from it. I did my first about 4 weeks ago, and Indigo'd afterwards to get black black shiny hair. And it has did wonders for the health of my hair. I haven't really had much shedding at all, just the norm day to day. No breakage at all. I am officially a HENDIGO HEAD

Congratulations! Welcome to the world of hendigo

 

[Bubblingbrownshuga]

I speak with some Indian ladies and they mention they don't have to mix it with all of those things nor do they allow it to sit overnight.

 

[jamaraa]

I speak with some Indian ladies and they mention they don't have to mix it with all of those things nor do they allow it to sit overnight.

I don't mix it w/ alot of stuff either, not even an acid (lemon juice). Many people who henna add the acid for a quicker dye release, but if you don't add it you need to let it sit. You don't HAVE to let it sit overnight if you add lemon juice....some people add boiling water which immediately starts to release the dye, but might destroy the henna in the process.

 

[MizAvalon]

I LOVE HENNA!!!...My hair has benefited so much from it. I did my first about 4 weeks ago, and Indigo'd afterwards to get black black shiny hair. And it has did wonders for the health of my hair. I haven't really had much shedding at all, just the norm day to day. No breakage at all. I am officially a HENDIGO HEAD

So you did it? That's great! I remember in the other thread you said you were interested in it. I'm so glad it worked out well for you. I have decided to do it also after my touchup. I'm sick of this brownish black look that perms give me and I want it BLACK!! Did yours turn out that way? I bet it's so pretty!

Does anyone know how long after a touchup you should wait to do Henna and Indigo?

ETA: Duh, you just said that your hair turned out black and shiny. Sorry, I just got so excited to see your post that I didn't read carefully.

 

[january noir]

I speak with some Indian ladies and they mention they don't have to mix it with all of those things nor do they allow it to sit overnight.

There are quite a few ladies who post in Sareca's original henna thread that we don't use acids like lemon or orange juice, etc. and let it sit forever. It's not needed, especially acids. In most cases all acid does is dry your hair out eventually.

 

[msdeevee]

Just got my henna and indigo this morning from Hennasooq,

I'm reading through the thread again to get ideas on what to do next. I don't think I'll be able to do it today because I have to go out so I'll probably be doing this on MOnday.
I'll prep my henna Sunday night to start doing it MOnday morning and I'm hoping for hte best. I can't wait.

So far from what I've read I'm going to mix my Henna with black tea as a sub for the water, a tablespoon of ACV , a big splash of Amla and Vatika oils and some Olive oil.

I have greying at he hairline and dry hair issues that's why the tea,acv and oils. I'll let that sit on my hair at least 6 hours and then do the indigo .

Sounds daunting but I'm ready.

I see the thread has died down a bit but if anyone has any suggestions, I'll be checking back.

 

[january noir]

Just got my henna and indigo this morning from Hennasooq,

I'm reading through the thread again to get ideas on what to do next. I don't think I'll be able to do it today because I have to go out so I'll probably be doing this on MOnday.
I'll prep my henna Sunday night to start doing it MOnday morning and I'm hoping for hte best. I can't wait.

So far from what I've read I'm going to mix my Henna with black tea as a sub for the water, a tablespoon of ACV , a big splash of Amla and Vatika oils and some Olive oil.

I have greying at he hairline and dry hair issues that's why the tea,acv and oils. I'll let that sit on my hair at least 6 hours and then do the indigo .

Sounds daunting but I'm ready.

I see the thread has died down a bit but if anyone has any suggestions, I'll be checking back.

I sent you a PM. I strongly recommend you NOT use tea or ACV (I said lemon juice by accident the PM I sent).

 

[jamaraa]

Another vote for no acids. I don't believe it benefits dye release/color uptake better than time and I certainly don't believe that will benefit African textured hair, esp. sitting on your head 6 hrs! Leaving it on 4 hrs should be perfectly fine for grey coverage. If you're going to add anything to your henna, add some Suave conditioner to make it easier to wash out, but leave out the oils. They may interfere w/ color release/uptake and will be messy to clean up....not to mention the smell added to the henna.

BTW, what kind of henna did you buy (Yemeni, Jamila, etc...)?

 

[msdeevee]

Thanx so much ladies for the feedback.

I got the PM January and I responded.

Thanx jamaraa I have not started the process yet. I'm glad I thought to check with you ladies first.

I will not do the tea or the acv. Ok, leave the oil out too? Well that sounds like a good starting point.

I bought the Jamila henna prepackaged with the indigo pkt .

Do you suggest I do the 1 step or 2 step process for my indigo? I want my hair to be back to my original dark brown color, right now it's kinda reddish I had been using the Textures & Tones light golden brown but all it did was dye my hair red and dried it out.

Dee

 

[january noir]

Thanx so much ladies for the feedback.

I got the PM January and I responded.

Thanx jamaraa I have not started the process yet. I'm glad I thought to check with you ladies first.

I will not do the tea or the acv. Ok, leave the oil out too? Well that sounds like a good starting point.

I bought the Jamila henna prepackaged with the indigo pkt .

Do you suggest I do the 1 step or 2 step process for my indigo? I want my hair to be back to my original dark brown color, right now it's kinda reddish I had been using the Textures & Tones light golden brown but all it did was dye my hair red and dried it out.

Dee

For dark brown do the 1 step process.
A little oil is good. i could see where a lot of oil would be messy.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

I'm not pushing for a reddish-brownish-auburn tint. Which Henna should I use for that? For some reason, I want reddish hair now...

Any suggestions?

 

[jamaraa]

msdeevee Do a two step for your purposes, I'd say. If you want it more black-blackish than brown and a 1 step for dark brown (ie White folks idea of dark brown which tends to be lighter than we think). I'd do a two step. Jamila and other Indo-Pak hennas stain quite "true" red, so a 2 step will probably give the right color. Yemeni (higher dye content) tends to stain brown than Indo-Pak hennas...that's why I asked what kind you bought.

Most of the henna instructions online aren't given w/ African textured hair in mind. White people tend to have oilier hair and scalps than we do, so they use the vinegar and acids to strip some of the oil out of their hair. We have the opposite problem. We don't need to strip our hair of oils.

Acids and terps are good for body art because the skin is harder to stain than the hair, but I don't think it's necessary for any sort of hair. The White and Indian women who complain of how hard it is to wash the henna out and complain of dryness should probably drop the acid for hair too. Unlike just doing a rinse, the acid is sitting on your head for HOURS. Keep this in mind.

 

[jamaraa]

I'm not pushing for a reddish-brownish-auburn tint. Which Henna should I use for that? For some reason, I want reddish hair now...

Any suggestions?

Indo-Pak henna...either Jamila (brand) or the stuff from Rajasthan. Those go more true red. The Middle Eastern and African hennas tend to incline towards the brownish side of red.

 

[jamaraa]

The "dark brown" question makes me say this. White people have a tendency to call what I'd consider dark brown "black". The "dark brown" they're talking about falls only about mid range brown for non White people and the black they speak of tends to fall only mid-dark brown on non Whites, so I tend to go darker than what they suggest for their hair because it would leave mine too light for my tastes and complexion. Few White people have true black hair naturally, so that influences their perceptions of what black hair is.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

Indo-Pak henna...either Jamila (brand) or the stuff from Rajasthan. Those go more true red. The Middle Eastern and African hennas tend to incline towards the brownish side of red.

Thank you so much!! Where can I order the Henna from? Hennasooq?

 

[jamaraa]

^^^Yeah, I think Henna Sooq's back to work. There's also www.mehndiskinart.com ...both of these sources are located in Canada. Of course there's Catherine's www.mehandi.com (good fast US based, but very overpriced)

FNWL ( www.fromnaturewithlove.com ) has henna $6.25 lb, but I'm not sure where it's from (you can email or call them). I'm thinking India or Pakistan cuz Yemeni, Moroccan, and Persian are rarer and more expensive usually.

There's some sellers on Ebay I might try....search Jamila or Rajasthani henna to find them.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!!

 

[jamaraa]

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!!

No problem ! I recently...past few weeks..bought some from three of these places (well cassia from Catherine), so I'm giving recent info. I wanted you to know about Mehndiskinart being located in Canada because I didn't know and had to sign for the package. It doesn't say anything about location on their site. Just a heads up if you decide to order from Canada. FNWL is located in the USA.

BTW, you can buy Jamila at some of your local Indian/halal stores for about $2. LOL...it's not "BAQ" Jamila, but it's real henna and works beautifully.

 

[NCRapunzel]

I've been curious about henna and how to use it--but terrified that I'd jack up my hair because I didn't know what I was doing. Thanks for posting these questions!

 

[Aggie]

^^^Yeah, I think Henna Sooq's back to work. There's also www.mehndiskinart.com ...both of these sources are located in Canada. Of course there's Catherine's www.mehandi.com (good fast US based, but very overpriced)

FNWL ( www.fromnaturewithlove.com ) has henna $6.25 lb, but I'm not sure where it's from (you can email or call them). I'm thinking India or Pakistan cuz Yemeni, Moroccan, and Persian are rarer and more expensive usually.

There's some sellers on Ebay I might try....search Jamila or Rajasthani henna to find them.

The henna from www.fromnaturewithlove.com is a very fine henna and mix extremely well. I have it and I also have the Jamila brand from www.mehndiskinart.com which I haven't used as yet. I only order my henna from these two online stores at the moment. I also order my powders and oils from them and so far the quality of both has been great. I will purchase from them again.

 

[january noir]

I did a henna and indigo treatment yesterday and I repeat...

Henna is really worth it!

I've been a henna/indigo user now since February 2007

 

[msdeevee]

UPDATE:

I did my first Henna & Indigo today and it's a keeper.

Thanx to all the advice that I got here I had a big success.

I mixed up my henna last night, I blended together 200 grams of Jamila henna, a splash of Amla oil with warm water and a couple of drops of Lavender oil , just because of all the talk about the bad smell.

This morning when I was ready to apply the henna I mixed up 100 grams of indigo with a pince of salt and mixed it into my henna mix and applied it.

Because of all the warnings I was prepared with old towels, my gloves and everything else. I found that I didn't have much mess at all. My blend was the consistency of yogurt and I was able to just scoop the mix up and slather it on my hair thickly. I then wrapped my hair in Saran wrap and put a plastic cap over it and then just sat around, cleaned a bit and relaxed for about 4 hours.

I then decided to get in the shower with my back to the shower head and just let the water wash the mixture out until the water ran clear and then I used some Suave conditioner to finish rinsing it out and combed it out while I was in the shower.

My hair is just a smitch darker not as dark as I wanted but next time I know I need a 1to 1 henna and indigo mix but it is soft and was easy to comb.

The smell was not bad at all. I know some are more sensitive to odors than some but all I smell is a slight grassy mud scent. My hair was dry as snap, crackle, pop from the chemical dyes so I love the softness and I will definitely do this on a regular basis.

Thanx so much to January Noir and Jamaraa for all the advice

 

[PhiLee]

Deeeeeeeeee!

It's Lee from you-know-where. Good to "see" you! I don't post much but had to when I saw your gorgeous pic.

I've been henna-ing since December, and my fine, tight strands are stronger. I love it. I just ordered some indigo; I realized that even though I've indigo'd before that I didn't do the 1:1 ratio either, and was still left with the reddish tint. I'm going to try it again later this week to try to go for a deep brown or black look.

 

[jamaraa]

UPDATE:

I did my first Henna & Indigo today and it's a keeper.

Thanx to all the advice that I got here I had a big success.

I mixed up my henna last night, I blended together 200 grams of Jamila henna, a splash of Amla oil with warm water and a couple of drops of Lavender oil , just because of all the talk about the bad smell.

This morning when I was ready to apply the henna I mixed up 100 grams of indigo with a pince of salt and mixed it into my henna mix and applied it.

Because of all the warnings I was prepared with old towels, my gloves and everything else. I found that I didn't have much mess at all. My blend was the consistency of yogurt and I was able to just scoop the mix up and slather it on my hair thickly. I then wrapped my hair in Saran wrap and put a plastic cap over it and then just sat around, cleaned a bit and relaxed for about 4 hours.

I then decided to get in the shower with my back to the shower head and just let the water wash the mixture out until the water ran clear and then I used some Suave conditioner to finish rinsing it out and combed it out while I was in the shower.

My hair is just a smitch darker not as dark as I wanted but next time I know I need a 1to 1 henna and indigo mix but it is soft and was easy to comb.

The smell was not bad at all. I know some are more sensitive to odors than some but all I smell is a slight grassy mud scent. My hair was dry as snap, crackle, pop from the chemical dyes so I love the softness and I will definitely do this on a regular basis.

Thanx so much to January Noir and Jamaraa for all the advice

Glad it worked out for you! If you have some indigo left, you can just do another indigo to darken the hair. It'll be like you're doing a 2 step method.

You also have to wait a few days to know your true color because henna and indigo oxidize w/ the air.

 

[naturalgurl]

LOVE THE HENNA!!!

 

[msdeevee]

Deeeeeeeeee!

It's Lee from you-know-where. Good to "see" you! I don't post much but had to when I saw your gorgeous pic.

I've been henna-ing since December, and my fine, tight strands are stronger. I love it. I just ordered some indigo; I realized that even though I've indigo'd before that I didn't do the 1:1 ratio either, and was still left with the reddish tint. I'm going to try it again later this week to try to go for a deep brown or black look.

Hey Lee!!! I was thinking of you recently. Good to hear from you. I will PM you soon. I'm still trying to twist my hair after my henna.

You got the same result I got with the henna. My color is deeper but I could still see it was reddish even while I was still in the shower.

I'm going away on Wednesday night for a long weekend but I may do the indigo next week when I get back home.

Thanx Jamaraa, I forgot I could do that . I have to get the hang of this hendigo thing

 

[january noir]

UPDATE:

I did my first Henna & Indigo today and it's a keeper.

Thanx to all the advice that I got here I had a big success.

I mixed up my henna last night, I blended together 200 grams of Jamila henna, a splash of Amla oil with warm water and a couple of drops of Lavender oil , just because of all the talk about the bad smell.

This morning when I was ready to apply the henna I mixed up 100 grams of indigo with a pince of salt and mixed it into my henna mix and applied it.

Because of all the warnings I was prepared with old towels, my gloves and everything else. I found that I didn't have much mess at all. My blend was the consistency of yogurt and I was able to just scoop the mix up and slather it on my hair thickly. I then wrapped my hair in Saran wrap and put a plastic cap over it and then just sat around, cleaned a bit and relaxed for about 4 hours.

I then decided to get in the shower with my back to the shower head and just let the water wash the mixture out until the water ran clear and then I used some Suave conditioner to finish rinsing it out and combed it out while I was in the shower.

My hair is just a smitch darker not as dark as I wanted but next time I know I need a 1to 1 henna and indigo mix but it is soft and was easy to comb.

The smell was not bad at all. I know some are more sensitive to odors than some but all I smell is a slight grassy mud scent. My hair was dry as snap, crackle, pop from the chemical dyes so I love the softness and I will definitely do this on a regular basis.

Thanx so much to January Noir and Jamaraa for all the advice

I am happy for you! Welcome to the club lady! Good job. The more you do it the easier and faster you become at it!

 

[jamaraa]

^^^Yup. Stick w/ us sistahs over here. We know how do do it w/o all the mess and dryness.

 

[MJ]

Henna is great. I use it once every few months because I wear my hear in cornrows under wigs for weeks at a time. I like the way it makes my hair strands feel thicker and stronger. I don't add any acids (lemon juice, acv, etc.) because I'm not interesting in getting any color. A few weeks ago I went to Jamaica and got my hair done there in a beautiful style (cornrows and twists). I didn't want to mess the style up, so I didn't wash my hair. Just kept moisturizing it. As it turned out, I used to much moisturizer (and conditioner) because my hair felt mushy when I took it out. I was shocked, it my first time experiencing overmoisturizing! I did a henna treatment this weekend, 45 minutes under low heat and then left in overnight. The results were wonderful. My hair strands felt firm and strong. I was very happy with the results!

ETA: My hair detangles like a breeze after my henna sessions .

 

[msdeevee]

That sounds great MJ, nice experience.

I'm really feeling good about continuing with my henna treatments. My hair still feels good a couple of days later. The only thing is it smells like I pressed it or something. Maybe I'm strange but my hair really smells like I put some heat on it.

I'm still loving it though.