Awww man, Mystic
I'm so sorry you had this experience! Truth be told, I posted pics of my first bkt and I wasn't crazy about my results either... until after the first wash
. I washed after 24 hours and really enjoyed the ease of detangling. A week later I did a second BKT and I was in love! I washed that one after 2 days.
Now about this henna... I dunno. I know it might
seem like henna and color are the same thing but it's really not. Even though henna can be used to color the hair it does not do the same thing as traditional color.
As Lucia said it seals the hair. So that would be completely different than why one might color or relax immediately followed by bkt. If one were to do a color (traditional semi perm, permanent, etc) or a relaxer right before the treatment; either of these processes would
raise the cuticle allowing the bkt to get inside and be fused with the hair with the heat. But since henna does exactly the opposite
sealing the shaft, I imagine that it works against the BKT to do it on the same day.
I highly recommend you wash your hair early. Do some serious serious deep conditioning. In a week, give it another whirl with the product you have left. It should be able to get in there and really do it's job.
That being said, your first experience sounds a lot like mine, results wise. Some things I learned to do differently by my second time:
1. Start early in the day. The earlier the better. My first experience was just like yours where the sweating was involved. I was hot and miserable by the end. The second time I started at 6am and finished well before 10. I immediately turned on the A/C and then a half hour later closed the windows. I left the fans running and pointing out the windows to help to get any remaining fumes out during the half hour. I experienced not a bit of reversion.
2. Apply the treatment to towel dried hair; the hair should still be slightly damp during application. I say this because this will allow you to use less product and get the thin coating that is needed. Comb through each section with a fine tooth comb to remove any excess product as you apply. Smooth the excess back into the bowl.
Tip! :idea: leave the small tooth comb resting in the bowl as you section your hair into small pieces. Pick the comb up coated with product and comb it through the hair starting at the top. Then go back a couple times and comb through to remove excess and smooth it back into the bowl. For me, this eliminates the need for an application brush and I can apply much much faster.
Also, it's important to note that you need this thin coating of product as you do not want your hair sticking together as you mentioned when you went to do the flat iron.
3. I'm about to do BKT number 4 and I've decided to do some heavy duty DCing right before application. Meaning I'm going to wash with a clarifying poo (a single lather to remove cones) the evening before application and then coat my hair in DC overnight.
The morning of application I'm going to wash with my clarifying shampoo several times to open the cuticle and apply my BKT to towel dried hair, as normal. I'm not sure if this is something that will help my process, but I feel that since the application of BKT is so heavy duty on heat, it may better prepare my hair for the intense process to be as moisture rich as possible. I'll report back as to how this went for my hair.
3. And this is specific to your experience; icks-nay one the enna-hay... capiche?
lol I mean, henna is awesome. I've used it myself. But unless you're abso-positively sure how something is going to affect a new process, you are better off leaving it out.
I have worry about the henna's affect on your hair before bkt. Many many many have complained of the drying effects of henna even after following their henna with copious amounts of DCing and what-have-you.
Your henna was followed by clarifying poo and a new process that seals your hair. I think the BKT is the perfect balance of moisture/protein so I don't really think this will cause you a problem... I certainly hope not, anyway. I just don't think it's a good idea to seal the hair in this extremely dry state. But at least it appears to be sealed in with the bkt. So hopefully I
that will be enough.
Man, I'm tired.. I'm going back to sleep. Good luck! Talk to you guys later.