Henna hair - love it or hate it?

Hey everybody

This is my first new post and am really keen for some advice. I'm a new natural (3c) after doing the BC last month following a long transition. I tried henna last week and am pleased with the results. My hair hangs better, I love the subtle colour in the sun however I have one issue. I am no longer able to get 2nd day from my TnC. It's driving me crazy. I usually sleep with my hair in a high ponytail but now when I take it down in the mornings, it's a matted mess with a few curls poking through...!!!

I would really appreciate your advice. I don't want to co-wash and restyle everyday as my hair hates it. Any suggestions?

Many thanks in advance xx

Hi have you tried using a styling cream for curly hair to bring out your curls? I use henna and it loosened my curls some nothing major but now I use a curl enhancer and it makes my curls more defined.I use curls souffle, or komaza's cocconut hair lotion, I have also used samys styling cream.

Thanks for your advice. I will try to find something to enhance them. Unfortunately I have limited access to products since I am based in the UK. Hopefully I can find something that works. I don't want to stop using henna but my hair doesn't seem to be coping too well. It looks amazing on day one but as I said 2nd day hair is not happening for me anymore... I've also though about moisturising and re-twisting nightly as an alternative...

I recently ordered some henna and indigo, but I'm a little hesitant to use it for this very reason. I'm a recent BCer and I would hate for my textrure to change before I even get a chance to enjoy it.

Well I've read lots of posts about the curl returning after a few washes so let's hope it does. Have just clarified this morning to see if that will help. Will keep you ladies posted :-)

When doing a henna treatment- It will dry your hair out. So after I henna, I do a deep conditioner.

I did a henna treatment- left the henna on for 4 hours. Rinsed it out thoroughly. Then I mixed almond oil, avocado oil and conditioner- let that stay on all day. Rinsed it out to apply more conditioner and a styler.

A henna head from another forum was the one that told me to always Deep Condition after doing henna.

I HAVE to because I am protein sensitive!

NylaCoils wrote:When doing a henna treatment- It will dry your hair out. So after I henna, I do a deep conditioner.

I did a henna treatment- left the henna on for 4 hours. Rinsed it out thoroughly. Then I mixed almond oil, avocado oil and conditioner- let that stay on all day. Rinsed it out to apply more conditioner and a styler.

A henna head from another forum was the one that told me to always Deep Condition after doing henna.

I HAVE to because I am protein sensitive!

I just finished a henna treatment around 2 this morning. This is my second treatment and I also deep conditioned after each one, however I notice this time my hair seems VERY dry. My deep condish was Aubrey Honesysuckle Rose+honey+jojoba and EVOO. I slept in it overnight. I don't know what went wrong or if it's just temporary since it's still fresh. I styled my hair this morning (leave in, oil, then gel) ran some errands and then when I came back in I spritzed it with water because it was looking dry.

Well, low and behold the water was running down my face and it was blue/green looking so I co-washed my hair like 3 times. Then I put in a little leave in, coconut oil, and some Qhemet Amla & Oil Heavy Cream. It feels a little better but I don't want to have to keep putting a bunch of product on my hair and end up with build up and have to co-wash daily.

Should I do another deep condish? Or will my moisture eventually return?

Any advice is appreciated.

Henna is very drying especially if you are protein sensitive. Are you? I would recommend watching this video- because you definitely want to seal in moisture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KHfs4TxPk8

Blue and Green? That doesn't sound right at all. henna should be red when washed out unless you used a mix, then I think it should be a range from light brown (cassia) to very, very dark brown if you used indigo. What henna did you use?
Deep condition with lots of moisture!!!

NylaCoils wrote:Henna is very drying especially if you are protein sensitive. Are you? I would recommend watching this video- because you definitely want to seal in moisture

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KHfs4TxPk8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KHfs4TxPk8[/quote[/url]]

@Nylacoils-thanks for the video recommendation....I am watching right now.

Maybe I am protein sensitive and don't realize it.

Sorry DvaAuNatural, I see you used a Yemen henna. Saw your pick and it is very shiny.

I also had to switch oils- evoo- dries my hair like the sahara dessert! So i use almond, grapeseed, or avocado.

swoodward wrote:Blue and Green? That doesn't sound right at all. henna should be red when washed out unless you used a mix, then I think it should be a range from light brown (cassia) to very, very dark brown if you used indigo. What henna did you use?
Deep condition with lots of moisture!!!

Indigo is dark blue to green by itself. Remember it only becomes brown on the hair when it blends with the red previously hennaed hair but when it washes out it will be dark blue. Quite normal!

DvaAuNaturel wrote:

NylaCoils wrote:When doing a henna treatment- It will dry your hair out. So after I henna, I do a deep conditioner.

I did a henna treatment- left the henna on for 4 hours. Rinsed it out thoroughly. Then I mixed almond oil, avocado oil and conditioner- let that stay on all day. Rinsed it out to apply more conditioner and a styler.

A henna head from another forum was the one that told me to always Deep Condition after doing henna.

I HAVE to because I am protein sensitive!

I just finished a henna treatment around 2 this morning. This is my second treatment and I also deep conditioned after each one, however I notice this time my hair seems VERY dry. My deep condish was Aubrey Honesysuckle Rose+honey+jojoba and EVOO. I slept in it overnight. I don't know what went wrong or if it's just temporary since it's still fresh. I styled my hair this morning (leave in, oil, then gel) ran some errands and then when I came back in I spritzed it with water because it was looking dry.

Well, low and behold the water was running down my face and it was blue/green looking so I co-washed my hair like 3 times. Then I put in a little leave in, coconut oil, and some Qhemet Amla & Oil Heavy Cream. It feels a little better but I don't want to have to keep putting a bunch of product on my hair and end up with build up and have to co-wash daily.

Should I do another deep condish? Or will my moisture eventually return?

Any advice is appreciated.

Yes, keep co-washing every day until you feel happy with your hair's moisture level. It sounds like the mixture wasn't entirely washed out hence the blue/green water and this can contribute to the feeling of dryness. I squeeze in a very heavy co-wash straight after rinsing out the indigo and before I deep condition to ensure that everything is washed out.

Also, what was in your henna mix?

swoodward wrote:Blue and Green? That doesn't sound right at all. henna should be red when washed out unless you used a mix, then I think it should be a range from light brown (cassia) to very, very dark brown if you used indigo. What henna did you use?
Deep condition with lots of moisture!!!

The blue green color came from the indigo. I didn't wash it out enough. At first I was nervous and like WTH! but then I remembered the instructions from Mehandi.com indicate that after using indigo your hair may have a greenish color that fades in a day.

After I co-washed a few more times I was fine. Still dry but no more blue/green colored water running down my face...lol.

Thanks!

It looked VERY black. I have about the same amount of grey. Looks promising...
My hair was very dry after I used henna lasttime so i am now thinking I didn't rinse enough afterward.
Any recommendations for a particular conditioner for co-washing? I just B/C'd yesterday and have the Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose. That one seems like a top choice.

R2D2 wrote:

DvaAuNaturel wrote:

NylaCoils wrote:When doing a henna treatment- It will dry your hair out. So after I henna, I do a deep conditioner.

I did a henna treatment- left the henna on for 4 hours. Rinsed it out thoroughly. Then I mixed almond oil, avocado oil and conditioner- let that stay on all day. Rinsed it out to apply more conditioner and a styler.

A henna head from another forum was the one that told me to always Deep Condition after doing henna.

I HAVE to because I am protein sensitive!

I just finished a henna treatment around 2 this morning. This is my second treatment and I also deep conditioned after each one, however I notice this time my hair seems VERY dry. My deep condish was Aubrey Honesysuckle Rose+honey+jojoba and EVOO. I slept in it overnight. I don't know what went wrong or if it's just temporary since it's still fresh. I styled my hair this morning (leave in, oil, then gel) ran some errands and then when I came back in I spritzed it with water because it was looking dry.

Well, low and behold the water was running down my face and it was blue/green looking so I co-washed my hair like 3 times. Then I put in a little leave in, coconut oil, and some Qhemet Amla & Oil Heavy Cream. It feels a little better but I don't want to have to keep putting a bunch of product on my hair and end up with build up and have to co-wash daily.

Should I do another deep condish? Or will my moisture eventually return?

Any advice is appreciated.

Yes, keep co-washing every day until you feel happy with your hair's moisture level. It sounds like the mixture wasn't entirely washed out hence the blue/green water and this can contribute to the feeling of dryness. I squeeze in a very heavy co-wash straight after rinsing out the indigo and before I deep condition to ensure that everything is washed out.

Also, what was in your henna mix?

@R2D2-I used orange juice in my henna mix...nothing else. To try to restore moisture I did another DC last night using Oyin Whipped Pudding. I water sprayed my hair just a little and applied the product and donned my plastic cap. I slept in that overnight and then shampooed this am with the Oyin Poo Bar. Nex I used Giovanni Smooth as Silk condish and did my normal shower routine, rinsed and then applied my Oyin Honey Hemp condish as my leave in and added a little jojoba oil to seal. No gel today since I am just in the house.

I plan to water spray my hair and/or use Oyin Frank/Greg Juice a few times to try to restore the moisture. I sure hope this helps. I already have a TWA. Don't want to have a dry TWA. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

swoodward wrote:It looked VERY black. I have about the same amount of grey. Looks promising...
My hair was very dry after I used henna lasttime so i am now thinking I didn't rinse enough afterward.
Any recommendations for a particular conditioner for co-washing? I just B/C'd yesterday and have the Aubrey Honeysuckle Rose. That one seems like a top choice.

I use Suave or V05 to cowash and the Aubrey HSR to deep condition. Not sure if others have used the AOHR to co-wash with or not but it's rather rich/thick for that IMO.

Congrats on your BC! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I use herbal essence totally twisted or hello hydration for co washing. I also use suave and vo5

nice! Thanks and thanks for the posts!!!

@DvaAuNaturel,

Maybe the mix was too acidic for your hair as it sounds like quite a lot of orange juice. Next time, just as a suggestion to help reduce the dryness perhaps reduce the acid - maybe just a tablespoon of orange juice and the rest water, with a dash of honey. Or you could use all green tea, as this is mildly acidic but not too much. People add honey for moisture. I use only coconut milk, which is mildly acidic and gives me the softest hair out of all the mixes I've tried. I can't remember if you are protein sensitive or not. But anyway, it sounds like your hair is more dry than you are comfortable with and changing your henna mix may be the way to go?

As for the two step blackness of your hair, as it's a first application it may fade somewhat and you have success with going back to a redder/browner shade. It's harder to change black when there are successive deposits.

R2D2 wrote:@DvaAuNaturel,

Maybe the mix was too acidic for your hair as it sounds like quite a lot of orange juice. Next time, just as a suggestion to help reduce the dryness perhaps reduce the acid - maybe just a tablespoon of orange juice and the rest water, with a dash of honey. Or you could use all green tea, as this is mildly acidic but not too much. People add honey for moisture. I use only coconut milk, which is mildly acidic and gives me the softest hair out of all the mixes I've tried. I can't remember if you are protein sensitive or not. But anyway, it sounds like your hair is more dry than you are comfortable with and changing your henna mix may be the way to go?

As for the two step blackness of your hair, as it's a first application it may fade somewhat and you have success with going back to a redder/browner shade. It's harder to change black when there are successive deposits.

R2D2- thanks so much for your suggestions. Yes, I used all OJ as the liquid for my henna. LOL....rookie that I am. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I thought about using coconut milk becuase I have a can in the pantry that I purchased for some recipe and never used it. But when I came back to CN.com of course I couldn't find the posts about henna mixes with the coconut milk. It was late and I was pressed to get it done. Oh well, I will just try again next month. I am determined to get it right.

It's funny too because when I did read the mixes on here I thought to myself, the Mehandi instructions don't mention any use of tea, coconut milk, etc. This is one of the reasons my mother laughs at me about cooking sometimes. She says, sometimes even if the recipe doesn't call for something a good cook knows how to improvise and get what they want. I digress....

Will definitely post my results after my next try. I don't want to do it too soon since I am worried about drying my hair out more.

How can I find out about being protein sensitive? I wonder if I am. In my research I think I read that most/alot of people with coarser texture hair are....I think that was on the Live Curly, Live Free blog.

I found out I was protein sensitive- by trial and error. I was trying to do a banana conditioning treatment. By the time that thing was over, my hair felt like straw. My hair is a combo of 3c- 4a- 4b. I have three types. the 3 c is in the top. the 4a is around the edges and the 4b is in the crown.

NylaCoils wrote:I found out I was protein sensitive- by trial and error. I was trying to do a banana conditioning treatment. By the time that thing was over, my hair felt like straw. My hair is a combo of 3c- 4a- 4b. I have three types. the 3 c is in the top. the 4a is around the edges and the 4b is in the crown.

@Nyla-Love the new avatar...you look fabulous!

I am still in trial and error mode as a newbie so I guess I will figure it out. I think I will err on the side of caution.

Are there any particular things I should stay away from or be cautious of?

TIA!

Thank you for the compliment...I avoid mayo- banana's - coconut milk- avocado- just to name a few. Some of the Giovanni conditioners have protein. Also, I don't henna as much as my gray would like!