Henna for Hair!

I want to send a big THANK YOU to Kara (KLG) for giving me to scoop on using Henna to dye hair! I've been getting worried about my hair (it's very fine) breaking, as I've been using chemical dyes since I was 13 or so... And I was complaining to Kara awhile ago that I was going to have to give my hair a break and grow out my roots. Magically, she produced a foil package from her freezer and told me about how SHE uses Henna to color her hair and how it's actually GOOD for her hair (I mean, the woman's hair's down past her butt and looks SO healthy).

So, after sending away for a sample to test on hairbrush-harvested hair (the test turned out great!), I sent off for 400g of pure Henna! It came in the mail today and I am beyond excited about getting things done! I've mixed about 200g of it (Kara was right--it looks like MORE than enough) with lemon and grapefruit juice and it's setting. It needs about 12 hours to release the dye, and I'm so impatient!

12 hours for dye release, slop it on my head and it takes about 3-6 hours after that (depending on the intensity) to saturate the hair with color... So, it looks like I won't have the results until tomorrow (and of course I'll take pictures then!)--but I wanted to gush, because I'm so excited.

If anyone else happens to be interested, Catherine's website www.hennaforhair.com has a TON of info--from the history of Henna to different techniques/mixes for coloring. And if you follow a link on her site, you can buy Henna (and the samples!) directly from her.

Yay!

that's cool! :) I can't wait to see the end result! :rockon:

I wish I could trust myself to dye my own hair. :( The one time I ever tried was a total disaster.

Kim have you always dyed your own?

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Originally Posted by darkangel

I wish I could trust myself to dye my own hair. :( The one time I ever tried was a total disaster.

Kim have you always dyed your own?

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When I first started doing it--at 13--I had it done professionally. I started with hilights, then decided that getting my WHOLE head dyed was cheaper than hilights, so I went with that. After awhile, I decided it was just too expensive (I worked for my parents at the time, weekends and vacations) and decided to do it myself.

I've been doing it myself since 14 or so? It's really not so hard. I'm not saying that I haven't had weird or spotty results occasionally but 90% of the time, I've managed to do it without a problem. I found a box haircolor I liked (Herbal Essences "Radient Ruby") and stuck with it for years. :)

I'm just glad that I can stay a redhead AND have healthy hair! Hennaing sounds messier than bottle hairdyes, though...because you're supposed to really slop it on thick, like icing a cake. We'll see! Hopefully I won't spend a week looking like an oompa-loompa ;)

ohhhhh im gonna have to try that,i used to use chemical dyes to dye my hair jet black(naturally brown) black is me fav colour.havnt dyed it in 3 years cause it was ruining my hair, making it fall out.does it break your hair or make ia lilk buit of it fall out liek whne u use chemical dyes?

I have had quite a saga with my hair... I did highlights here and there when I was younger. My big mishap with the at-home color was with a very unflattering red that took quite a bit of color-correction to make look right. A little over a year ago I had lots and lots of bright blonde done, almost my entire head, and it looked fantastic on me. Unfortunately my hair seems to go brassy no matter what the color, so when I moved back to my hometown I opted for a rich, chocolate brown, which wound up almost black due to an inexperienced hairdresser... So I went to another crappy hairdresser and she charged me 200 dollars to do, basically, nothing... Now I'm wanting to go to just a warm brown shade and I don't trust anyone... LOL

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Originally Posted by darkangel

I have had quite a saga with my hair... I did highlights here and there when I was younger. My big mishap with the at-home color was with a very unflattering red that took quite a bit of color-correction to make look right. A little over a year ago I had lots and lots of bright blonde done, almost my entire head, and it looked fantastic on me. Unfortunately my hair seems to go brassy no matter what the color, so when I moved back to my hometown I opted for a rich, chocolate brown, which wound up almost black due to an inexperienced hairdresser... So I went to another crappy hairdresser and she charged me 200 dollars to do, basically, nothing... Now I'm wanting to go to just a warm brown shade and I don't trust anyone... LOL

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Yeah...I've had the same hairdresser since I was 13 and I trust her COMPLETELY. Unfortunately, a year ago this spring, I came home from school to find that the place she had worked at was CLOSED. I wanted a trim and had a panic attack--who was going to cut my hair?! I was on my way home from the mall and stopped in a strip mall (my first mistake) at a place called "Angelina's"--my old hairdresser's place was "Alfredo's"--so it sounds like it could be okay.

I asked for a trim--a few inches off with "long layers" (my 'usual' with Rita, my old hairdresser). She started in the back and by the time she got to the front I realized that the shortest of the layers was only about 4" long on the top, and my longest layer was just shorter than my shoulders... She cut mid-back length hair up past shoulder length--NOT what I asked for.

I sucked it up in the shop and left...then cried for days. I HATED it. Fortunately, I found out a few months later where my old hairdresser is now working--so I've seen her for trims since then, and she's blended the terrible layers for me. Fortunately, I'm almost back to my pre-butchering length ;)

Sorry for my long-windedness--but the moral of the story is: Find a hairdresser you trust and STICK WITH THEM!

Henna is Awesome stuff!!!! And it smells SO GOOOOOOD too! I used to use the clear just caused I loved it so much when my friend used the Burgundy!

Can't wait to see the results, Kim! If you really like it, I might give it a go as well. My hair is breaking like crazy these days, and just really dry between deep conditioning treatments. I spend a small fortune trying to keep it healthy and red, it's hard to do!

i used henna on my hair for years... lovvvved it.

now i have bright red streaks and black streaks in my brown hair... so no henna for me. :rainon:

Aleesha... look for the clear! Its all the good Henna stuff without the color part!

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

i used henna on my hair for years... lovvvved it.

now i have bright red streaks and black streaks in my brown hair... so no henna for me. :rainon:

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Are the streaks natural or from henna/indigo or something else?

the streaks are from colour dye girlfriend... chemically induced, bad for the environment, ego-building, dye LOL

and i don't think you can put henna... clear or otherwise on hair which is going to be dyed chemically... so once you go henna, you can't go back to chemicals until it's all out of your hair. ;)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

the streaks are from colour dye girlfriend... chemically induced, bad for the environment, ego-building, dye LOL

and i don't think you can put henna... clear or otherwise on hair which is going to be dyed chemically... so once you go henna, you can't go back to chemicals until it's all out of your hair. ;)

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Catherine, on the hennaforhair site suggests ordering a sample (to be used on hairbrush hair) to test if the henna will react poorly with the chemical hair dye in your hair. My hair's chemically-dyed and it tested out fine (she also has examples of it being used over chemical dyes on her site in the "how to" section of the PDF). She does say that one should only use body quality henna to dye hair if one's going to use it over chemical jobs--as any lower quality could turn it swamp-green (then I'd REALLY be like Anne Shirley!).

Laura--I'm not sure about "clear" henna...from what I've read Henna=orangey-red pigments. I don't know how you'd make it clear and still have it be henna.

Don't know Kim... :oops: But unless I've gone completely mad... I know I used to purchase clear Henna at whole Foods. It was shelved next to the colored ones...



Agh... My bad, neutral.... :D

Cassia Obovata
Cassia Obovata, also called Senna, is one of the things marketed as "neutral henna" or "blonde henna". It is an excellent scalp and hair conditioner, but does not have any dye

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

I'm just glad that I can stay a redhead AND have healthy hair! Hennaing sounds messier than bottle hairdyes, though...because you're supposed to really slop it on thick, like icing a cake. We'll see! Hopefully I won't spend a week looking like an oompa-loompa ;)

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Oh yeah, it's messy alright! And if you have really good dye release (which you want), it'll stain almost instantly. Be careful of getting it on your skin or you'll definitely be orange for a couple of days. It does fade from skin fairly quickly (esp. if you've wiped it off shortly after contact w/skin), but don't be surprised if your ears & hairline look like they've had a run-in with some interesting self-tanner. ;)

I think you'll like the hair results, especially after the color has a chance to oxidize & lose the orangey overtones. I know I'll never use anything else, especially seeing the damage that chemical dye used to cause.

Fingers crossed!!!! :)

K~

I have always wanted to dye my hair but have yet to work up the nerve!

:sunny: ooh thank you for that web site. I've been trying to find something natural to dye my hair, especially now that Im pregnant. I already emailed to ask how safe it is to use while preggo's and the response was that it is totally safe, cause its all natural. :D yeah, I can dye my hair, I can dye my hair.
:carrot: :carrot: :carrot:

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Originally Posted by Laooda

Don't know Kim... :oops: But unless I've gone completely mad... I know I used to purchase clear Henna at whole Foods. It was shelved next to the colored ones...



Agh... My bad, neutral.... :D

Cassia Obovata
Cassia Obovata, also called Senna, is one of the things marketed as "neutral henna" or "blonde henna". It is an excellent scalp and hair conditioner, but does not have any dye

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This is so timely! I just had my hair coloured so that my crispy dyed red ends matched my natural brown roots, and the woman recommended neutral henna...she was raving about it. I hadn't gone looking for it until I read this thread though.

Here's what I found:
http://www.mehandi.com/hair/cassiaobovata.html

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Originally Posted by Ladydragon

:sunny: ooh thank you for that web site. I've been trying to find something natural to dye my hair, especially now that Im pregnant. I already emailed to ask how safe it is to use while preggo's and the response was that it is totally safe, cause its all natural. :D yeah, I can dye my hair, I can dye my hair.
:carrot: :carrot: :carrot:

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i'm also pregnant and henna has been my lifesaver. I haven't had my natural hair color since i was like 14, and when my doc told me no more hair dye I almost died until I realized I could use henna. The only thing I don't like is the smell (could have something to do with the 1st trimester nausea) and the texture of it. It weirds me out to put the warm pasty stuff on my head.

Does henna dye last very long? I am in a similar predicament; it always makes me cringe to dye my hair..

I've never experienced any fading with Henna, so I usually just have to touch up my roots. Sometimes I'll do my whole head when I do my roots, as it seems to leave the ends stronger & fortified. Repeated applications will deepen the overall color & it usually "maxes out" after 4-5 applications, but that can vary from individual to individual.

I've been using henna for a couple of years now & the only uneven color I have is towards the ends of my hair, where it's a little darker from the results of "the extremely horrible last hair dye fiasco that almost forced me to cut my hair until I found henna." Since cutting that much of my hair was really not an option, I switched to henna & have been nothing but happy as a result. It even went a looooong way on evening out most of the horrible color from the last hair-dye incident, to the point where it's not even that noticeable, and subsequent trimmings have taken care of the rest now that my hair has grown out considerably.

HTH!!

K~

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Originally Posted by Mrs_AM_Mason

i'm also pregnant and henna has been my lifesaver. I haven't had my natural hair color since i was like 14, and when my doc told me no more hair dye I almost died until I realized I could use henna. The only thing I don't like is the smell (could have something to do with the 1st trimester nausea) and the texture of it. It weirds me out to put the warm pasty stuff on my head.

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yeah first trimester nausea is not fun.. but yeah when the doctor told me cant dye my hair I was like. WHAT?! now what do I do? glad i found this thread. congrats on your pregnancy? is this your first? or? this is my third and last.

Kara, would you mind posting a picture of your hair? I'd love to see your color results, even with the darker ends. I'm seriously considering ordering some of the henna, but a bit nervous about it as I love the color I use so much!

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Kara, would you mind posting a picture of your hair? I'd love to see your color results, even with the darker ends. I'm seriously considering ordering some of the henna, but a bit nervous about it as I love the color I use so much!

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Her profile pic shows how long it is--but it's not in color :) I'll be doing my hair today--should have the results around 7ish and I'll post pics after that. I'll also post MORE pics in a few days, as it takes a couple days for the henna to oxidize in the hair--I guess it darkens a bit and looks pretty coppery the first few days.

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

Her profile pic shows how long it is.

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:eek: Wow!!! I love your hair Kara! :rockon:

Sure! I'll have Kev shoot some new pics today, since I can't manage to take a decent pic of my own hair. It's probably another 5-6" longer than what my profile pic shows, so definitely time for updates! :)

K~

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Does henna dye last very long? I am in a similar predicament; it always makes me cringe to dye my hair..

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Henna dye is permanant, as far as I know :)

As an update--I now have the henna sitting in my hair, wrapped in several layers of plastic and a towel. I'm going to look a little oompa-loompa around the edges, I'm afraid I already have bright orange on my neck where I got some of the goop. I put plastic on the floor while I was hennaing, but still managed to get it on the floor, wall, counter and toilet. Fortunately, it looks like the Henna didn't get a chance to dye it *whew*

Next time, I think I should get a helper to help me put it in... (I'm lookin' at you, K :P ). I think I saturated all my hair--I'm hoping I did. Anyway, I'll let you know at approximately 8 (I imagine it's going to take a year and a day --not to mention MORE mess--to wash it out!) with photo-tastic results!

I'm so excited!

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Originally Posted by AzureN1ght

(I imagine it's going to take a year and a day --not to mention MORE mess--to wash it out!)

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CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION! I'll get one of the big bottles of cheapo (i.e. tresseme, etc) conditioner to help wash out the henna paste...takes me almost the entire bottle to get the henna out of my hair. Henna is also a protein treatment, so the extra conditioner really seems to help avoid the crunchy ends that excess protein can sometimes cause.

Good luck! :)

K~

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Originally Posted by KLG

CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION CONDITION! I'll get one of the big bottles of cheapo (i.e. tresseme, etc) conditioner to help wash out the henna paste...takes me almost the entire bottle to get the henna out of my hair. Henna is also a protein treatment, so the extra conditioner really seems to help avoid the crunchy ends that excess protein can sometimes cause.

Good luck! :)

K~

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I actually read that in the Henna For Hair forums--so I bought a big bottle of Suave conditioner. Apple scent ;)

Thanks, hon! I look forward to seeing pics of YOUR hair all flowy in the sunshine :D

I'm all done coloring my hair! I snapped a couple pictures fresh out of the shower that I'm going to post up. I am NOT naked! I've got a towel on! But because my hair's still wet and I'm sure I didn't get ALL the Henna out, I don't want to put on any shirts until my hair's dry--so I don't ruin a shirt.

It's red! It's not as BRIGHT as I was expecting--but then again, I've got to wait until it dries to really see how it looks--and a couple days after THAT to get the "real" color. All in all, so far, I LOVE it :D

Yes, I did my eyebrows, too (think how silly I looked with saran-wrapped eyebrows for about an hour!)--and you get the SPECIAL treat of seeing me sans-makeup :rolleyes:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r.../WetHenna1.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r.../WetHenna2.jpg

that's a nice color!

Kim,

My roots are almost as bright as your hair is now right after I henna. I think your hair is going to oxidize to a beautiful, rich red with some coppery highlights.

Can't wait to see what it looks like, say, Friday!!!! I have a *very* good feeling based on your photo results. :D :carrot: :sunny: :blowkiss: And just wait till you do another application...it only gets better & better!

K~

Well that's looking very good, Kim! I'm stealing your eyebrow idea, I've always wanted to do that, but of course you can't with the chemical stuff.

Here's the dry photos--and I LOOOVE this color! I kinda wish it wouldn't fade! This is with crappy fluorescent lighting--in the sun I bet it'll be even NICER! (EDIT: The first photo is without flash, the rest are with)

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ght/Henna1.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ght/Henna2.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ght/Henna3.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ght/Henna4.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ght/Henna5.jpg

Wow, you look like a completely different person! I love that color, too, but I still can't wait to see it in a couple of days :sunny:

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

Wow, you look like a completely different person! I love that color, too, but I still can't wait to see it in a couple of days :sunny:

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It's a lot lighter than my other color was, I think--and definitely BRIGHTER! I really hope it doesn't darken up TOO much :oops: I really love it like it is!

And just for those who've never seen what my hair looked like before-hand:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...Curvacious.jpg

It's quite a difference!

Kim, you have me convinced, I'm ordering! But I still want to see your hair, Kara! :D

Your purrty. :)

I wanna see the oompa-loompa bits :P :P


My ex boss used henna and ended up with a red bath where the glaze had worn.

Your hair looks very nice though -looking forward to seeing how much it changes. mine changed by falling out so here's hoping you have more luck than me.

( it wasn't dye that made it fall out I'm just lucky and male - it's caused by testosterone you know)


dr del

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

This is so timely! I just had my hair coloured so that my crispy dyed red ends matched my natural brown roots, and the woman recommended neutral henna...she was raving about it. I hadn't gone looking for it until I read this thread though.

Here's what I found:
http://www.mehandi.com/hair/cassiaobovata.html

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See.... now I've got the itch!!! The smell is so great too......... :)

Your hair came out so awesome!
I want to go for a darker, redder coloration; is henna available in colors, or just one shade?

Absolutely, positively, without a doubt GORGEOUS!!!

Steve

Well, it's 6 days later and I must say--the colors HAVE darkened up quite a bit. Which is a little sad--I really wanted to keep that fiery orange. I'm going to post some pics I took today along with a before/right after color/6 days later comparison (it's a little pixely--there's only so much re-sizing one can do in photoshop). One other thing I've noticed as the color's darkened up is that my roots are significantly darker than the hair that was formerly chemically-colored. I'm going to henna my hair again in another week or two (another bonus to henna is that you can do it as much as you want and not damage your hair!), and hopefully I'll figure out a way to get my roots/rest of my hair to match a LITTLE better :)

So The pictures:

(Under Fluroescants with no flash):
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Henna6DL3.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Henna6DL1.jpg

(Under Fluroescants with flash):
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Henna6DL2.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Henna6DL4.jpg

The Before/Directly After/6 Days later Comparison:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r...ore--After.jpg

Kim....you're just movie-star-gorgeous, no matter what color your hair is! Personally, I think the shade in the most recent picture is fabulous!!

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Originally Posted by JLC

Kim....you're just movie-star-gorgeous, no matter what color your hair is! Personally, I think the shade in the most recent picture is fabulous!!

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I agree, and the color in the most recent picture is much more natural looking! Love it!

yeah kim, it really looks great.

looks amazing!