Quick Henna question...

[yodie]

I'm about to henna/indigo within the next few days. Please tell me if I have it right.

• Mix henna with 2 cups water/green tea. Sit overnight.
• Wash and air dry hair. (Does hair have to be completely dry?)
• Apply henna for 4 hours.
• Rinse and air dry. (Does my hair have to be completely dry before I indigo?)
• Apply indigo for an hour
• Rinse
• Condition

Should I condition after henna/before I indigo?
Am I missing anything?

 

[BeautifulFlower]

You'll want to condition after henna to remove henna from hair. Everything else is good.

 

[Stella B.]

Hi Yodie!
I am a henna lover, (but not an expert like some of the ladies here), but I will try to answer your questions:
Your overall henna plan sounds great!
* Mix in your 2 cups of warm water to your henna a little bit at a time. Aim for a thick pudding consistency.
* I've gotten good results when I've added henna to hair that was not completely dry. Your hair can still be a little damp when you apply.
* Same for the indigo-your hair can be a little damp. Mix the indigo when you're ready to apply to hair. Leave it sitting for about 10 minutes before you put it on.
* Rinse out your henna and indigo with tons of water and lots of regular conditioner. The conditioner will help to get rid of the tiny gritty bits in the henna.
* Save the moisturizing deep conditioning as the last step after the henna and the indigo have been applied. I usually dc for at least 30 minutes under the dryer.


Have on hand-rubber gloves, newspaper, paper towels. Put vaseline all around your hairline, and your ears, cause henna will stain your skin, rugs, etc. as well as your hair.
Have fun with it, and I hope some of the henna gurus will chime in with their expertise..
Your plan should work fine for you. Just remember to take your time, as the art of henna'ing is a time consuming process, but oh so worth it!

 

[taz007]

I always apply my henna to damp hair. I then apply my Joico Intense Hydrator to my hair overnight to moisturize.

I never mix tea/lemon juice/ACV etc to my henna. I found that plain 'ole water works best.

HTH.

ETA: Totally agree with what StellaB said!

 

[poookie]

you need a terp to help the henna tannins to release. green tea is suitable, but if you're just using water in your henna, the tannins won't release as well. adding a teensy bit of an acidic substance, like lemon juice, ACV, red wine, or even orange juice, ensures for a better tannin release. as long as you deep condition properly afterwards, you'll have no dryness.

to rinse out the henna, i'd suggest getting a big ol' bottle of a cheapie rinse out conditioner. v05, suave, and tresseme are all good ones to rinse the henna out with.

and henna stains! you'll definitely need gloves. i rinsed out henna without gloves once, and had to paint my nails because they had been stained orange >_<

 

[yodie]

I always apply my henna to damp hair. I then apply my Joico Intense Hydrator to my hair overnight to moisturize.

I never mix tea/lemon juice/ACV etc to my henna. I found that plain 'ole water works best.

HTH.

ETA: Totally agree with what StellaB said!

Taz, have you ever tried mixing with tea? I got the green tea idea from Curly Nikki's tutorial, but maybe I'll just go with regular water.

 

[yodie]

you need a terp to help the henna tannins to release. green tea is suitable, but if you're just using water in your henna, the tannins won't release as well. adding a teensy bit of an acidic substance, like lemon juice, ACV, red wine, or even orange juice, ensures for a better tannin release. as long as you deep condition properly afterwards, you'll have no dryness.

to rinse out the henna, i'd suggest getting a big ol' bottle of a cheapie rinse out conditioner. v05, suave, and tresseme are all good ones to rinse the henna out with.

and henna stains! you'll definitely need gloves. i rinsed out henna without gloves once, and had to paint my nails because they had been stained orange >_<

Call me silly, but I don't know what tannins are.

Thanks ladies. I brought VO5 Moisture Milk to help rinse the henna out. Hadn't considered newspaper. I'll pick this up tomorrow.

Do you ladies rinse in the shower, sink or dump your hair in a tub of water?

 

[taz007]

You know, I do add a bit of Alma to my mix. Maybe that is what helps to release the color?

The third pic in my avatar is the result of my henna and Indigo two-step process using just henna and water (no Amla). I then applied the Indigo for 1 hour. This was the nicest that my hair color has ever turned out.

I used to add all kinds of conditioner, etc. From now on, I will use only water (got the idea from IDareTsHair).

I have never tried tea.

 

[yodie]

Taz, do you use the entire bag of henna for one application? I know some ladies mix the entire bag and freeze the rest for the next application.

Can indigo be saved in the freezer as well?

 

[flowinlocks]

I always apply my henna to damp hair. I then apply my Joico Intense Hydrator to my hair overnight to moisturize.

I never mix tea/lemon juice/ACV etc to my henna. I found that plain 'ole water works best.

HTH.

ETA: Totally agree with what StellaB said!

Works this way for me also.

 

[flowinlocks]

You know, I do add a bit of Alma to my mix. Maybe that is what helps to release the color?

The third pic in my avatar is the result of my henna and Indigo two-step process using just henna and water (no Amla). I then applied the Indigo for 1 hour. This was the nicest that my hair color has ever turned out.

I used to add all kinds of conditioner, etc. From now on, I will use only water (got the idea from IDareTsHair).

I have never tried tea.

I do this also.

 

[taz007]

Taz, do you use the entire bag of henna for one application? I know some ladies mix the entire bag and freeze the rest for the next application.

Can indigo be saved in the freezer as well?

No, indigo cannot be saved.

Now that I use only water in the mix, I do use a bag per application.

 

[yodie]

I do this also.

No, indigo cannot be saved.

Now that I use only water in the mix, I do use a bag per application.

Thanks ladies. I'm using Karshima henna. That has a bit of amla mixed in.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

all the extra's depends on the henna you are using. If you use Karishma, all you need is henna and water.
Dont over do it on the extras because it may dry your hair out.

 

[yodie]

Thanks for all of your help ladies. My henna experience was a GREAT one.

1. I dc'd on dry hair (just in case I experienced any dryness)
2. mixed my henna with water (didn't add tea)
3. rinsed w/V05 Moisture Milks Strawberry (this worked GREAT)
4. didn't dry my hair. does it make a big difference?
5. mixed indigo, applied and let it sit for an hour.
6. conditioned overnight with AO HSR
7. rinsed in the morning and did a final rinse with Porosity Control.

My hair felt stronger immediately. This is a keeper for me. Please let me know if I missed a step or should change something along the way.

Oh, my indigo didn't come out as dark as I wanted it. Will it get darker the more I do it?

The reddish color that henna initially gave me is beautiful. I may go back to that one day.

 

[baddison]

Congrats on a successful henna treatment. Once you go henna, you'll never go back...

 

[KLomax]

Thanks for all of your help ladies. My henna experience was a GREAT one.

1. I dc'd on dry hair (just in case I experienced any dryness)
2. mixed my henna with water (didn't add tea)
3. rinsed w/V05 Moisture Milks Strawberry (this worked GREAT)
4. didn't dry my hair. does it make a big difference?
5. mixed indigo, applied and let it sit for an hour.
6. conditioned overnight with AO HSR
7. rinsed in the morning and did a final rinse with Porosity Control.

My hair felt stronger immediately. This is a keeper for me. Please let me know if I missed a step or should change something along the way.

Oh, my indigo didn't come out as dark as I wanted it. Will it get darker the more I do it?

The reddish color that henna initially gave me is beautiful. I may go back to that one day.

After you rinse the henna do not CW...the indigo needs a henna foundation to bind/color the hair. The longer you leave the indigo in the more color your hair will absorb( I often keep it on overnight). I also add 1T of salt to my indigo. Here's a pic after henna/indigo.

 

[yodie]

After you rinse the henna do not CW...the indigo needs a henna foundation to bind/color the hair. The longer you leave the indigo in the more color your hair will absorb( I often keep it on overnight). I also add 1T of salt to my indigo. Here's a pic after henna/indigo.

Thanks, Klomax. That's the black that I'm trying to get (length too. lol!!). Okay, so next time I should just rinse out with water only and then apply indigo. I'll leave my indigo on for longer than an hour.

Question...when you want to indigo again, you have to repeat the entire process, right? Henna first and then indigo?

 

[KLomax]

Thanks for all of your help ladies. My henna experience was a GREAT one.

1. I dc'd on dry hair (just in case I experienced any dryness)
2. mixed my henna with water (didn't add tea)
3. rinsed w/V05 Moisture Milks Strawberry (this worked GREAT)
4. didn't dry my hair. does it make a big difference?
5. mixed indigo, applied and let it sit for an hour.
6. conditioned overnight with AO HSR
7. rinsed in the morning and did a final rinse with Porosity Control.

My hair felt stronger immediately. This is a keeper for me. Please let me know if I missed a step or should change something along the way.

Oh, my indigo didn't come out as dark as I wanted it. Will it get darker the more I do it?

The reddish color that henna initially gave me is beautiful. I may go back to that one day.

Thanks, Klomax. That's the black that I'm trying to get (length too. lol!!). Okay, so next time I should just rinse out with water only and then apply indigo. I'll leave my indigo on for longer than an hour.

Question...when you want to indigo again, you have to repeat the entire process, right? Henna first and then indigo?

Yes...only rinse henna w/water....Yes you must always henna 1st then indigo every time if you want black hair. If you want a dark brown color you can mix henna/indigo 50/50.

I try to absorb as much color as possibe so I usually indigo overnight.

 

[KLomax]

Yodie,

I found this free how to How to Henna (pdf) ebook from Hennaforhair

http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/

check it out and tell me what you think. It said you should henna then apply indigo after your hair is dry. It also suggests if the indigo color fades you can touch it up(boost the black color) w/ 10% henna/ 90% indigo mix.


As you scroll down you will see a black woman with beautiful natural hair on page 34. It looks like a wash n go after henna then indigo application.

I hope this helps!!!l

 

[yodie]

Yodie,

I found this free how to How to Henna (pdf) ebook from Hennaforhair

http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/

check it out and tell me what you think. It said you should henna then apply indigo after your hair is dry. It also suggests if the indigo color fades you can touch it up(boost the black color) w/ 10% henna/ 90% indigo mix.


As you scroll down you will see a black woman with beautiful natural hair on page 34. It looks like a wash n go after henna then indigo application.

I hope this helps!!!l

Thanks, Klomax.

I briefly read through it before I did my first application.

So, maybe dry hair is key, huh? Do you apply to dry hair?
I just hate to let my hair airdry with nothing on it. Maybe I can sit underneath the dryer to speed up the process and then apply the indigo.

 

[morehairplease]

ladies thanks so,so much for this thread. I am attempting my first henna/indigo treatment next weekend.