Henna The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Hello, hello, Hello!

Now if you don't know by now, I'm a die hard fan of henna. I've used this wonderful plant on my locs, and it is a regular part of my loose hair maintenance now. My hair loves henna and I just think it's the bees knees but it's not a perfect product and if you've gone back and forth on whether to try henna I thought I'd leave you with some food for thought, so  here we go:

Pros:
A natural plant based dye
A great strengthening conditioner for the hair which means less breakage
Balance hair porosity
Thickens the hair
Less shedding
Can cover gray hair
easy to mix together and can be customized to your liking
Any leftovers can be saved (in your freezer) for later use
*Might Loosen your curl Pattern

Cons:
Time consuming
Can be very messy
Has a hay like odor that can linger for a few days
Is permanent color
Makes the penetration of man made chemical dyes extremely difficult to color  previously hennaed hair
Must read labels very carefully so that you're not purchasing henna that has been mixed with metallic salts or other toxic chemicals
*Might Loosen your curl Pattern
*For some the loosening of your curl pattern may be seen as a positive or a negative.

So now you've had some food for thought, here are my two cents. I started using henna for the gentle color I reaped and continued using henna when I saw how strong and thick my hair was with using henna. Is it a tedious, messy process? Yes but one I find worth it because of the all benefits my hair reaps. Now to address that odor problem, I've found that mixing in some orange peel powder (great for the hair), cinnamon or essential oils greatly masks or eliminates the odor which to be honest doesn't really bother me (but that's me). And as for the loosening of the curl pattern on my kinky, coily hair I haven't experienced this but perhaps someone with fine, thin hair or a looser curl pattern might experience this. Hope with this information you are armed to make an informative decision on whether to henna or not to henna.

Cheers:)

Henna Hair Challenge

Hello Loves,

Yes I know it's unfair informing you so late about  my new hair challenge. I was inspired by the blog post from the minimalist beauty http://www.minimalistbeauty.com/weekly-henna-challenge, who did a weekly henna challenge for two months. I love henna and what it does for my hair and sr I've been doing monthly henna treatments since last August (I think). Initially I started to henna my hair as a safer alternative to chemical hair dyes and stuck with the tedious routine because of the wonderful conditioning benefits it gives my hair. I notice when I henna, my hair is stronger, has great sheen, definition and looks healthier. So now I'm two weeks into my henna hair challenge and entering my third. I've changed my mixture just a bit, instead of a full henna treatment, I'm doing more of a henna gloss. Since I still want the color payoff from the henna I allow the dye to release fully and once that has occurred I add conditioner to the mixture. This is my process:

Step 1: Mix the henna ( I didn't measure), along with 2 Tbs. orange peel powder (great for the hair) and  2 Tbs. Cinammon (this really helps with the smell) with warm water(you can also use green tea or chamomile tea) and about 2Tbs. apple cider vinegar (you can also use lemon juice). I add enough warm water until the henna has a cake batter like consistency. I let this mixture sit overnight to allow the dye to release.
Step 2:  I add in coconut milk, avocado oil and lots of conditioner (use a moisturizing conditioner, preferably without protein) to the henna mixture.
Step 3: I apply my henna condition mixture to freshly washed, towel dried hair.
Step 4: Cover my hair with a plastic cap and sit under my heating cap for about an hour. Then leave the mixture in for an additional 3 hours.
Step 5: Wash out the henna, you can co-wash the henna out if you want. Then I towel dry my hair, add my leave in conditioner and style my hair.

henna conditioner mix

styled my hair in twists

I know it's a process, but my hair lurrves it! Adding conditioner and oil makes the application and rinsing out the henna much easier, it also doesn't leave your hair so dry.  So far I haven't noticed a texture change in my hair, if anything my coils are more defined because of these treatments.  I plan to carry out this challenge for at least the month of April, since henna acts like a protein treatment if my hair starts feeling like it's had enough I'll scale back to my once a month treatment (I'll keep you guys posted). I'm currently using the Ayur Rajashtani henna which I much prefer over the Light Mountain henna.  If you've been itching to try henna, join me in my challenge!

Ciao
P.S. google henna gloss for different recipes.

Happy Henna Results

henna on freshly washed hair

So once again I used henna on my hair and this time the experience was far more pleasant and successful than my last debacle. I did make some modifications to my henna mixture that I will continue to do in the future. The henna I used was Light Mountain Natural in the color red. The brand only uses all natural organic ingredients. I've decided that next time I will use a different brand of henna (I'm not sure which yet) because I found the sift of this particular color too grainy. On to what I did this time that was so different. First I "cured" the henna overnight by adding warm distilled water, 2 Tbs.  of cinnamon and 3 Tbs. of apple cider vinegar. The consistency I  ended up with was that of yogurt. The following day I added olive oil, 2 Tbs. of coconut cream (from Trader Joe's) and a bit more distilled water. I did this to make sure the henna was more conditioning this time and to get the consistency back to a cake batter consistency (what I forgot to do last time). I also found that adding the cinnamon and coconut cream greatly cancelled out that hay/manure like smell that henna has. I applied the henna on freshly washed hair (co-washed with VO5 clarifying conditioner + a teaspoon of Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus shampoo) that I  towel dried, then I wrapped my hair with saran wrap and covered it with a plastic cap and sat under my heat cap for about an hour. I kept the henna in my hair for a total of 4 hours and then rinsed it out. I love the results! My hair definitely feels stronger, has sheen and looks fuller. Although the henna process is tedious, I love the results so much that I will continue to do a henna treatment once a month. I know some people worry that using henna might "relax" their natural curl pattern. I haven't found this to be the case with me, my curls/coils do appear more defined but no change in my curl pattern thank God! Each head of hair is different so I can't speak for everyone. The color payoff I get is extremely subtle. Henna doesn't lighten your hair, but when I stand in light or in the sun I have a beautiful red highlight that I love.  Have a lovely week-end!

Cheers:)
p.s. If you're interested in using henna but have done some form of chemical dye it is suggested to wait 2 months. Always make sure the henna you use contains only henna or natural ingredients such as indigo, alma, senna if you want different color variation, beware of henna brands that have metallic salts in their ingredients list.

Color and Condition With Henna

As I write this I'm watching Scarface (classic!) and have my hair  covered in henna and covered with a heat cap. Love Sundays and I'm loving how I've been able to to kill two birds in one stone: color and deep condition my hair. I've always been lax in the deep conditioning department but everybody and their mother professes how we must deep condition our hair. Personally I think deep conditioning should be on an as need basis, but I've found doing my once every other month henna treatment does the trick. I've noticed my hair feels stronger, fuller and I get the subtle color that I desire. I usually do a dark brown but now I'm trying auburn (you know my love of red) and I was curious to see how the Light Mountain brand works in other colors (all their ingredients are 100% natural and organic). I just mix the powder with water and some lemon juice, let it sit overnight and put it in my hair the next day. Once I've put the mixture in my hair, I sit with a heat cap for an 30min to an hour and then let the mixture sit in my hair for a few hours (today so far 3 in total). I then rinse out, follow it with a moisturizing conditioner and done. Yes using chemical color is quicker, but I wanted to lay off the chemical color for a while and with the added conditioning benefits, henna is just right.  Remember if you are going to use henna make sure it is body art quality henna and the other ingredients are all natural a great site for more information is http://www.hennaforhair.com/.  Have a great Sunday evening:)

Cheers!

Henna on the Locs!

So in the midst of packing (I'm moving to a new building and very excited about it!)I figured why not dye my hair! I had ordered my from Mehandi.com, which you can get to from www.hennaforhair.com the henna for hair website, because they sold body art quality henna for the hair which after much research is the safest and highest quality. I chose the one they recommend for African American hair and locs because of the fine sift, anyways check out the website because they do a far better job of explaining than the butcher shop paraphrasing I'm doing now. I mixed the powder I squeezed 3 lemons and an orange then added room temperature water until the mixture was like cake batter. I then covered it with saran wrap and left it overnight on the kitchen counter (they recommend leaving it for 12hrs). The following day I added a little bit more water and some jojoba oil, mixed some more until the mixture was more like yogurt. I then just began applying the paste, coating my hair really mixing it in and then wrapped my head with saran wrap and covered it with a shower cap. I left it on for about 6hrs most people leave it on for 3 but I really got into a packing zone and couldn't tear myself away. I then hopped in the shower rinsed my hair for about 15 min, which let me tell you is a long Ass time to rinse your hair! Anyways after that I couldn't be bothered to follow with a hot oil treatment which a lot of women do, I just rubbed some more jojoba (it's the only oil I haven't packed away. The color is subtle but I can see the red highlights, I'll get a better idea in the daylight (I'll do follow up photos). You definitely need to condition your hair after because while rinsing I could tell my hair was dry but rubbing the oil seems to help and my locs look tighter like after an ACV rinse. The other thing is that my hair smells woodsy would be the best way to describe it, it's not an offensive smell or even that strong but it's there. Oh! I forgot to mention that I applied the henna on damp freshly washed hair. WEAR GLOVES!!!!!! Any questions for those considering henna check out the website I found it very informative. The creater of it did thier thesis on henna.
P.S. For those who want more body to your locs, this will do the trick, it's been about 2 days since I did the henna and my hair is fuller, I like it and I think I'll henna my hair once a month.