My first Henna...

[Sassafrass]

Hey guys! I decided to go ahead and jump on the henna bandwagon! I bought some Reshma Henna and some Alma powder and mixed them together yesterday. I just dumped all of both together and added some boiling hot water. Yikes, its was m-e-s-s-y! It also seemed to be realeasing the color quickly, but I couldn't really tell. I let it sit about 12 hours and applied it last night after pre-pooing with some Alma oil and washing it out with some Kenra clarifying poo. The henna is heavy even on my short hair! I slept with it in my hair overnight and washed it out this morining. I then clarified again to make sure i got it all out. Hair felt alright. Okay! So I then just conditioner washed my hair with some Garnier Fructis Curly and shine conditioner. Nice and soft and plenty of slip. I think my hair just likes conditioner period! I then deep conditioned with some Mizani Moisturfuse. That stuff is the truth. I then put some of my Curls Milkshake sample in my hair mixed with some garnier's curl & shine leave in then my usual Fantasia IC gel and slicked it back. I later fluffed it out to take some pics of the results (below)

Now time to review my hair. Hmm....eh....It felt good. Hardly any hair snapped. Since my hair is 4a/b, I wasn't looking for any shine and that I did not get! I also didn't seem to get any color change. I wonder if there something I did wrong? I have no clue. Ladies, based on what you read, did I do anyting wrong? It feels good but it always feels good after a good conditioning. I dunno. I have some left so I'll use that up, but I don't know what to say about my first henna. It was interesting and fun, but I don't know if it is something I'll continue to do. I had a feeling that the color wouldn't take when I was able to apply it with my bare hands without staining them. I'll see.

Here are some pics. I'll have more at my fokti, which I'm creating right this moment...

a before henna pic (hair full of crap!)


another before henna:



Now some after henna (hair is full of product in these):






Does the color look any different?



top head shot:



this is a before henna color shot:



and another:



What do you guys think? Thanks for any responses!

 

[SohoHair]

When I used a poor quality/old henna my hair didn't color either. Usually I can see the color staining the gloves but that time I didn't see a thing. When I stick to Dulhan or Jamila henn however, I never have a problem.

 

[Sassafrass]

Maybe that's what it was. It seems that Jlove uses the same brand and it colored her hair though so maybe it's something I did wrong. I didn't see Dulhan or Jamila in the store I purchased this one at. I'll try it again; it seems that some people who didn't have a good experience the first time had a better one the second time.

 

[SohoHair]

Maybe that's what it was. It seems that Jlove uses the same brand and it colored her hair though so maybe it's something I did wrong. I didn't see Dulhan or Jamila in the store I purchased this one at. I'll try it again; it seems that some people who didn't have a good experience the first time had a better one the second time.

I didn't mean to imply that Reshma wasn't good quaility, perhaps it was just old? On the side of my BAQ Dulhan boxes it always has the date of the henna crop it came from so I check that religiously.

But the results of henna are definately cumulative so I'm sure your next couple of experiences will be better.

 

[aileendq]

I don't ever shampoo the henna out. I will apply to clean, dry hair 1x per month, then conditioner wash it out- it takes a lot of conditioner to do this, along with the running water. (I also add Elucence MB cond to the henna mix...I use Caca Brun from Lush) I find that if you shampoo, you don't get as good a color deposit. Then 1-2x per month I henna gloss. That is, I shampoo then towel dry really well. I add about 1/2 henna to 1/2 Elucence MB cond. For both I sit under a heat cap 1-2 hours. I never shampoo afterwards, as the gray gets much more coverage when I don't shampoo.

 

[rdm]

It looks like it released some of your curls!!!
Cant really tell about the color change.

 

[Sassafrass]

I didn't mean to imply that Reshma wasn't good quaility, perhaps it was just old? On the side of my BAQ Dulhan boxes it always has the date of the henna crop it came from so I check that religiously.

But the results of henna are definately cumulative so I'm sure your next couple of experiences will be better.

You're on to something here! I think I used old Henna! I looked on the box and there's no date! Not too mention the box itself was not in too good condition. Ah well, I'll get my henna somewhere else! This stuff seems too good to just give up on! Thanks a lot!

aileendq, yeah maybe I shouldn't have shampooed after rinsing it out. I still have some left so I'll just apply it to get rid of it. I won't shampoo next time and see how that comes out. Thanks!

rdm, now that you say it, it does seem that it is a little looser, not too much. I put some alma powder to prevent too much loosening but that didn't seem to work too well, huh! Yeah I don't think I got the color. When I was applying it, I used my bare hands and my hands didn't even stain! Oh well, next time! Thanks!

 

[Guyaneek]

Your hair is beautiFULL! I love those thick curls/coils!!!!! Just wanted to add that

 

[Kamilah]

I agree that it looks like it released some of your curls! I hennaed my hair w/Reshma a few times about four years ago...it was horrible! I'm not 100% sure if it is one of the high quality brands- although it IS "bodyart quality". That mainly speaks to the texture, meaning it is fine enough to fit thru the fine tip of the plastic applicator used for applying it to the body.

One of the main reasons I would suggest you use Jamila is b/c of the safety factor. Many brands of henna contain mercury and leads salts called (ppd's) which are clearly very toxic. I think I will make a new thread about this as a reminder.If you can't find it locally, it's worth the extra $3 to order it online.


As for your color, depending on the porosity/color/texture of the hair (as well as how long you let it sit) it may take a few tries before you see it.

 

[Sassafrass]

Aww thanks, Guyaneek!:Blush2: lol, unfortunaltey those curls won't clump like that unless there's products sitting on them! Otherwise every strand goes in its own direction! Silly hair!

Thanks, Kamilah! I thought only those compound ones contain sketchy ingredients. This one said 100% herbal product so I thought it was okay! Lesson learned here! I didn't see any Jamila there, I'll look again or go to another store or get it online. I see about the color; I left it on all night but when I was applying it, it seemed to already start drying up. I don't think my hair is very porous; it takes forever to absorb anything! It's also black so maybe that's another reason. Maybe after the next few times I'll see a difference. Thanks again guys!

 

[Sexyred]

Hi I am new here but I would like to add my two sense. I read on a package of henna from Nehndi that you should never had boiling water to henna it causes the the color to release before you even put it on your hair. HTH or made sense

 

[Sassafrass]

Hi I am new here but I would like to add my two sense. I read on a package of henna from Nehndi that you should never had boiling water to henna it causes the the color to release before you even put it on your hair. HTH or made sense

erplexed Whoops. There's my mistake right there! No wonder it was brown so quickly instead of that green look I've seen in pictures! For now on, I'll just use room temperature water. Thanks a lot, that really helped!