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A guide on using henna and removing henna from your hair
Can henna damage my hair?
Some hairdressers will warn you that henna is not as safe as it claims to be, as it 'has metallic salts and compounds that will damage your hair'.
For real (red) henna this isn't true. The problem is that some dodgy henna brands contain metallic compounds that react with the ammonia activator in synthetic hair dyes. So if you've dyed your hair with chemical hair dyes less than six months ago then you dye your hair with a poor brand of henna then you might get henna hair disaster. This could include pond-green or brittle hair.
To avoid this, only buy henna from reputable sources (links below) or only use only body art quality henna from a reputable source to make sure you won't be getting fried sludgy pond-green hair!
HOT TIP: Be warned, for there is no such thing as 'blonde henna'. Some Blonde, Brown, Auburn, Mahogany, and other shades of what claims to be henna are mixes of amla, indigo, walnut, rhubarb, and Lawsonia, with other plant or synthetic dyes added, and may have metallic salts added. Many of these products have no henna whatsoever and are chemical dyes. Some commercial brands that claim to be 100% natural may include a bottle of 'developer'; so watch out! This is a completely bogus addition as far as henna itself is concerned and is the biggest indicator that your product is NOT even close to being 100% pure henna!
Back to top...
Henna is a permanent hair dye!
You must think very carefully before you decide to put henna on your hair. It won't fully come out for a couple of months. Henna is a permanent colourant and unless you spend a huge amount of money it can only be grown out or cut out if you do not like it. Also, you can't 'go over it' with an ordinary chemical hair dye, only with another henna product. The reason you can't dye over henna with a chemical dye is that henna coats the outer hair shaft, affecting the penetration of the chemical colourant. This coating of the outer shaft is why henna makes your hair gorgeous and shiny, but it's also why it's a complete pig to remove. What henna giveth, it taketh away!
Henna is super-special if you want a dramatic change and it does add superb shine to your hair but do think really carefully before going ahead.
We at Mookychick know that whenever a hair dye product says 'do a strand test' the idea of it is so boring that you can never be bothered (well, we never can), but henna is the one hair dye where we would be sure to do a hair strand test before we used it.
The problem is that both natural and chemical dyes are always affected by the natural colour of your hair. If you have dark hair, you won't be able to go blonde without bleach. If you have light hair and you apply a light henna, it might look perfect - or it might come out the loudest shade of orange or sunset red you ever saw in your life. And this is a colour you will be stuck with for a month or two. Yes indeed, with henna it really does make sense to do a strand test to see how the henna hair dye will look on your own hair before going the whole distance!
Back to top...
What colour will the henna make my hair?
Removing henna from your hair if it goes wrong
There's a catch. Getting rid of henna is rarely an option. Henna really is a permanent hair dye and in most cases you won't be able to shift it for a good few months if you don't like the effect. If you're desperate, there are some things you can do:
Henna your hair with a darker henna
Did your hair come out too bright? Usually when people have a henna hair disaster and want to remove the henna from their hair it's because they've got naturally light hair and have tried to apply a bright shade.
If you can bear it, one thing you can try is applying a darker henna, or mixing the henna product you used with hot strong coffee and re-applying it. If you still don't like the effect, it's time to think about getting rid of the henna in your hair - but it won't be easy.
Help! Henna has made my hair go green!
If your problem is that your hair has gone frog-pond green, then the henna has reacted with chemical compounds in your hair left over from the last time you dyed it with a chemical dye - in which case read on.
Strip the henna with peroxide
Comic-grrrl icon Tank Girl had most of her head shaved and hidden under a baseball cap except for a few lovely flowing multicoloured bits. She did it to be punk but we suspect her luscious punky locks might have been the consequence of a henna experiment gone badly wrong.
Stripping henna from your hair with peroxide isn't a serious tip - it's only going to be an option for you if you don't mind damaged straw-textured hair or if you're not afraid to shave it off if it goes wrong. But if you get some 40 volumn peroxide, douse your hair with it, and leave it on for too long while attacking your hair with a hairdryer, you might get the henna to become yellow as opposed to red. A risky option.
Removing henna with mineral oils
To be honest, mineral oils can't remove the henna. But they might be able to strip enough henna out so you can go to the hairdresser, tell them what you've done and ask for them to chemically-dye your hair another colour.
1. Saturate hair strands with a mixture of 70% alcohol applied with sterile cotton balls. Avoid the scalp area, or at least leave it till last.
2. Follow 5-10 minutes later with a coating of mineral oil. Apply the mineral oil on top of the 70% alcohol. Avoid the scalp area.
3. Cover your lovely oily head with saran wrap or clingfilm. A plastic shower cap would also be ok.
4. Heat your hair with a blowdryer for 30 - 45 minutes. Heating hair is never good for it because it strips the essential oils, but in this case, you'll just have to.
5. To remove the oil apply a little shampoo to the palms of your hands and then pat on the oil BEFORE you apply water. After you have applied the shampoo to the oil areas, turn on the shower and lather. Use a good cleansing or clarifying shampoo. You may need to shampoo more than once to remove all the oil and the henna. Repeat a couple of times if you need to.
6. Once you have removed the henna, be sure to perform deep conditioning treatments to restore moisture to the hair.
7. If your hair still looks terrible, it's time to go to the hairdresser and tell them what you've done.
Go to the hairdresser so they can remove the henna
There is a theory that hairdressers hate it when you henna your hair because they think people doing DIY beauty for themselves will put them out of business. It's a cool theory but it's not true!
Hairdressers do worry when they have someone coming in with a henna disaster because dyeing hair is tricky at the best of times - every person has individual hair and if you've had a hair dye nightmare it's hard for the hairdresser to do the right thing for your individual tresses and make sure that you go out of the shop looking better than you did when you came in. And they don't want you to throw a hissy fit and try to sue them.
Let's say you've put red henna in your blonde hair and you now have a hideously loud orange that doesn't suit you. If you go to the hairdresser, they may try to remove the henna for you with a fruit-based colour strip (not a chemical one). This would take some of the colour out and might make it possible for your stripped hair to be dyed with a chemical dye to make it a nicer colour. This process would be tough on your hair and you would need to take really good care of it for a couple of months - your hairdresser could discuss what the next step would be for you to treat your hair.
The desired effect might be achieved in an afternoon - or over a process of months, and several trips to the hairdresser, where you might end up spending around $400 or £200.
A guide on using henna and removing henna from your hair
Can henna damage my hair?
Some hairdressers will warn you that henna is not as safe as it claims to be, as it 'has metallic salts and compounds that will damage your hair'.
For real (red) henna this isn't true. The problem is that some dodgy henna brands contain metallic compounds that react with the ammonia activator in synthetic hair dyes. So if you've dyed your hair with chemical hair dyes less than six months ago then you dye your hair with a poor brand of henna then you might get henna hair disaster. This could include pond-green or brittle hair.
To avoid this, only buy henna from reputable sources (links below) or only use only body art quality henna from a reputable source to make sure you won't be getting fried sludgy pond-green hair!
HOT TIP: Be warned, for there is no such thing as 'blonde henna'. Some Blonde, Brown, Auburn, Mahogany, and other shades of what claims to be henna are mixes of amla, indigo, walnut, rhubarb, and Lawsonia, with other plant or synthetic dyes added, and may have metallic salts added. Many of these products have no henna whatsoever and are chemical dyes. Some commercial brands that claim to be 100% natural may include a bottle of 'developer'; so watch out! This is a completely bogus addition as far as henna itself is concerned and is the biggest indicator that your product is NOT even close to being 100% pure henna!
Back to top...
Henna is a permanent hair dye!
You must think very carefully before you decide to put henna on your hair. It won't fully come out for a couple of months. Henna is a permanent colourant and unless you spend a huge amount of money it can only be grown out or cut out if you do not like it. Also, you can't 'go over it' with an ordinary chemical hair dye, only with another henna product. The reason you can't dye over henna with a chemical dye is that henna coats the outer hair shaft, affecting the penetration of the chemical colourant. This coating of the outer shaft is why henna makes your hair gorgeous and shiny, but it's also why it's a complete pig to remove. What henna giveth, it taketh away!
Henna is super-special if you want a dramatic change and it does add superb shine to your hair but do think really carefully before going ahead.
We at Mookychick know that whenever a hair dye product says 'do a strand test' the idea of it is so boring that you can never be bothered (well, we never can), but henna is the one hair dye where we would be sure to do a hair strand test before we used it.
The problem is that both natural and chemical dyes are always affected by the natural colour of your hair. If you have dark hair, you won't be able to go blonde without bleach. If you have light hair and you apply a light henna, it might look perfect - or it might come out the loudest shade of orange or sunset red you ever saw in your life. And this is a colour you will be stuck with for a month or two. Yes indeed, with henna it really does make sense to do a strand test to see how the henna hair dye will look on your own hair before going the whole distance!
Back to top...
What colour will the henna make my hair?
Removing henna from your hair if it goes wrong
There's a catch. Getting rid of henna is rarely an option. Henna really is a permanent hair dye and in most cases you won't be able to shift it for a good few months if you don't like the effect. If you're desperate, there are some things you can do:
Henna your hair with a darker henna
Did your hair come out too bright? Usually when people have a henna hair disaster and want to remove the henna from their hair it's because they've got naturally light hair and have tried to apply a bright shade.
If you can bear it, one thing you can try is applying a darker henna, or mixing the henna product you used with hot strong coffee and re-applying it. If you still don't like the effect, it's time to think about getting rid of the henna in your hair - but it won't be easy.
Help! Henna has made my hair go green!
If your problem is that your hair has gone frog-pond green, then the henna has reacted with chemical compounds in your hair left over from the last time you dyed it with a chemical dye - in which case read on.
Strip the henna with peroxide
Comic-grrrl icon Tank Girl had most of her head shaved and hidden under a baseball cap except for a few lovely flowing multicoloured bits. She did it to be punk but we suspect her luscious punky locks might have been the consequence of a henna experiment gone badly wrong.
Stripping henna from your hair with peroxide isn't a serious tip - it's only going to be an option for you if you don't mind damaged straw-textured hair or if you're not afraid to shave it off if it goes wrong. But if you get some 40 volumn peroxide, douse your hair with it, and leave it on for too long while attacking your hair with a hairdryer, you might get the henna to become yellow as opposed to red. A risky option.
Removing henna with mineral oils
To be honest, mineral oils can't remove the henna. But they might be able to strip enough henna out so you can go to the hairdresser, tell them what you've done and ask for them to chemically-dye your hair another colour.
1. Saturate hair strands with a mixture of 70% alcohol applied with sterile cotton balls. Avoid the scalp area, or at least leave it till last.
2. Follow 5-10 minutes later with a coating of mineral oil. Apply the mineral oil on top of the 70% alcohol. Avoid the scalp area.
3. Cover your lovely oily head with saran wrap or clingfilm. A plastic shower cap would also be ok.
4. Heat your hair with a blowdryer for 30 - 45 minutes. Heating hair is never good for it because it strips the essential oils, but in this case, you'll just have to.
5. To remove the oil apply a little shampoo to the palms of your hands and then pat on the oil BEFORE you apply water. After you have applied the shampoo to the oil areas, turn on the shower and lather. Use a good cleansing or clarifying shampoo. You may need to shampoo more than once to remove all the oil and the henna. Repeat a couple of times if you need to.
6. Once you have removed the henna, be sure to perform deep conditioning treatments to restore moisture to the hair.
7. If your hair still looks terrible, it's time to go to the hairdresser and tell them what you've done.
Go to the hairdresser so they can remove the henna
There is a theory that hairdressers hate it when you henna your hair because they think people doing DIY beauty for themselves will put them out of business. It's a cool theory but it's not true!
Hairdressers do worry when they have someone coming in with a henna disaster because dyeing hair is tricky at the best of times - every person has individual hair and if you've had a hair dye nightmare it's hard for the hairdresser to do the right thing for your individual tresses and make sure that you go out of the shop looking better than you did when you came in. And they don't want you to throw a hissy fit and try to sue them.
Let's say you've put red henna in your blonde hair and you now have a hideously loud orange that doesn't suit you. If you go to the hairdresser, they may try to remove the henna for you with a fruit-based colour strip (not a chemical one). This would take some of the colour out and might make it possible for your stripped hair to be dyed with a chemical dye to make it a nicer colour. This process would be tough on your hair and you would need to take really good care of it for a couple of months - your hairdresser could discuss what the next step would be for you to treat your hair.
The desired effect might be achieved in an afternoon - or over a process of months, and several trips to the hairdresser, where you might end up spending around $400 or £200.
