Henna Hair Dye

Update: 4/4/12

Last night I applied the other package of Henna that I have. I read a lot about Henna these past few days and believe I was more uneducated the last time I applied it. I’ve learned alot from this free booklet that I found online: https://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/hennaforhair.pdf . I did several things different this time. First, I mixed the Henna with lemon juice, not boiling water. I read that you need to use something acidic to release the dye. Instead of letting it sit overnight, I placed the bowl of mixed Henna outside for a few hours. When it started to rain I placed it inside next to a window to cure. The booklet says to let it cure overnight or if you are in a hurry to put it outside for a few hours.

After about 5 hours of curing and after the kids were in bed I took the bowl of Henna and added a little more lemon juice to it to get it to the consistency of mashed potatoes. I also added about a teaspoon of cloves to it to give it a nice smell. The first time I applied Henna a few days ago I mentioned how messy it was. Well this time it was so much easier. I filled up my bathtub about ankle deep with water. I got all my supplies ready and put it near the bathtub. I got in the bathtub and applied the Henna in there. It made it much easier cause I wasn’t flinging Henna all over the bathroom. I had a washcloth ready to wipe off any Henna that fell on my shoulders or on the bathtub sides. I used a mirror while I was standing in there and applied all the Henna from back to front. Dividing it up in sections made this MUCH easier. Next I took my gloves off and grabbed saran wrap and wrapped my head up really well.

I cleaned up the small mess I made, which was easy since it was all in the bathtub. All-in-all, this took me about 20 minutes. Then I layed a dark towel over my pillow and hung out with my hubby till we fell asleep. I also wrapped a towel around the saran wrap to help keep the heat in more. Heat helps release the dye onto your hair.

When I woke up I got in the shower and rinsed the Henna out. This takes a few minutes, so enjoy the hot shower and let it completely rinse out. I washed my hair with baking soda and conditioned with apple cider vinegar (No Poo Method) and got out and styled my hair.

I went out in the sunlight to see what a difference it was. I figured if it was too red I would apply the Indigo, however, I am very happy with the color. My hair is so dark that I really didn’t expect it to lighten it up very much. But, I was surprised how auburn it now looks, especially in the sunlight!

I read that Henna is permanent in the hair but fades over time. I am hoping I can go about 2 months till the next time I need to use Henna again, but I will let you all know!

I also want to recommend EVERYONE do Henna, even if you don’t need color. They have a neutral Henna that has no color, just the conditioning properties. It is so nourishing to your hair. My hair feels so soft and I love the smell. I read some people hate the smell, but I think it smells so earthy and sexy. I really like the clove smell too that I added to it.

Update: 4/2/11

I really don’t think I left the Henna on long enough when I applied it. I left it on for about 10 minutes and then I applied the Step 2 to my hair. I’ve learned that the Step 2 was Indigo, another natural dye. This tones down the Henna and makes it darker and not so red. I left the Indigo on for about an hour. My white hair was covered and it turned it a nice golden blond color. I don’t believe it did anything to the rest of my hair. I really wasn’t expecting it to because my hair is very dark. I think I’m going to use my other box and do just the Henna application (which is the Step 1) and not use the Indigo. I would like more of a red in my hair.

I felt like Cleopatra last night! I had henna all over my head and I was reminded how the last Pharaoh of Egypt, the beautiful and exquisite Cleopatra, was known for her use of henna. For thousands of years women have used henna, which comes from a plant, to dye and condition their hair, skin, and nails. Henna is completely natural and chemical free, unlike commercial dyes that strip the hair with harsh chemicals like ammonia and hydrogen peroxide so that it is then able to absorb the color.

I never knew you could use henna on your hair. I’ve had henna done to my body before. The most recent time being when I was pregnant with my little 8 month old son. My friends at my baby shower had a blast decorating my full belly!

I never knew you could do henna on your hair. I was researching some natural and chemical-free ways to dye your hair. Since I have been doing the “no-poo” (no shampoo) method on my hair the past week, I was wondering how I would dye my hair now since I was avoiding chemicals. I looked it up and saw that women the past thousands of years had put henna on their hair. My hair was needing some color. The only reason I dye my hair is because I have premature WHITE hair…not gray…stark white.

I found a henna brand on Amazon and ordered it. I couldn’t wait for it to get here. As soon as it arrived I started my experiment. It was a pretty long process but, I do believe, worth the end result.

The directions that came in the package were pretty clear. What I liked about this brand was that it is not a compound henna pack, which you do want to avoid. It’s not 100% true henna. I thought for my first time I would do something like this since it had directions and was pretty easy. Next time I might actually go into an Indian store and get the henna powder that I have to mix myself. I was also thinking about ordering the henna bricks from Lush. I love Lush! Have you seen their products?! They are so clean and delicious!

The process of putting the henna in your hair is messy. The directions did not warn me about this. Next time I will either do it outside or put newspaper all over my bathroom. I didn’t stain anything because my husband was quickly picking up my mess! Gotta love a clean freak hubby! This box came with a 2 step process because it is targeted towards those needing gray coverage. I let the mixtures of both powders that came with the box cure for 3 hours. The step 1 mixture was the henna that I put on my hair for a total of 10 minutes. I rinsed that out and put the step 2 mixture on, which is the conditioner. I added a raw egg to the mixture for extra conditioning. You can also add a teaspoon of ginger, nutmeg or sage for smell if you want. The smell of the henna didn’t bother me. It smells natural, like earth. My hair still has a faint smell of henna…and it’s the next morning. I plan on not washing my hair for 3 days so the henna can set and start to darken a little bit more.

Henna could be considered “semi-permanent” because it lasts for 4-8 weeks depending on how often you wash your hair. I figured since I won’t be using shampoo on my hair and am using baking soda and apple cider vinegar, then it might last a little longer.

So, I love the outcome! Not only does my hair feel amazing, look shiny, and covered my gray pretty, darn well, but I didn’t even have to use harsh chemicals at all! I also have not used shampoo in over a week and my hair feels so clean and looks very healthy. I am thoroughly enjoying experimenting with more natural skin care and hair techniques. It’s nice to feel more self-sustainable!