Henna on 4a/4b hair

Hey ladies

Thought I'd throw my 2 cents into the mix. I henna once every 3-4 weeks, just depending on my schedule (I have super coily 4c hair that is naturally a very dark brown). It definitely is a great strengthening treatment, and the stronger the acidic liquid you mix it with (ACV, Lemon Juice, Green Tea) the dryer your hair will be, so make sure you do a really good DC afterwards, especially if your hair tends to be dry like mine!

As for curl loosening, I wouldn't put too much faith in a big change in curl pattern (from a 4-type to 3-type). But you may notice some difference (I've been doing henna treatments for the past 6 months consistently, but my hair is definitely still kinky!) But i do notice that my coils tend to cooperate with each other more. Jc at the Natural haven has a really great description of how the "curl loosening" theories work out. check her out here: http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2009/04/henna-curl-loosening-theory.html

I'm a huge fan of the color though! It's subtle, but my color is definitely a warmer brown, and maroon-ish in the sunlight. Loves it!

Have a good one, and good luck to those who haven't tried it yet! (and do NOT forget to wear gloves!!! the cheapie ones from the grocery store work great. Unless orange hands are your thing [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] )

--asanterochelle

I'm no expert but I tried henna about 2wks ago and I love the touch of color it gave to my black hair. However I'm 4b and about 9wks post relaxer and I swear my hair seems straighter and not curl loosening but straighter like a flat iron r something like that. It made my tight curls straight.. So I'm on the fence in trying this again. Other than that it was a wonderful experience for thickness. But it made my hair straight. I love curls.. Could be since 4b maybe I didn't have to many curls to begin with. I'm not sure.

I thought you weren't suppose to henna after having a perm in your hair because your hair would fall out. Oh well, yours didn't. What kind did you use?

@asanterochelle,

I posted the very same link yesterday in another thread! It's a fantastic blog isn't it? I find the science behind hair very interesting and love it when she busts some myths. I'm not sure I agree with her thoughts about DC not really doing anything beyond regular conditioning though.

@ brown eyes vandaleur - you can henna after a relaxer or a chemical treatment such as hair dye. Some relaxed ladies henna.

@mizzy247: Do you still have relaxed ends? the weight of the henna in your strands could be adding to the weighing-down caused by having the relaxed ends, and that could be why your curls seem straighter. But of course, as @R2D2 says, henna-ing relaxed hair is not a problem at all.

@R2D2: I LOVE her blog! Clearly I'm a science nerd, so I [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] having the actual scientific background behind what I put in my hair. lol

--asanterochelle

@asanterochelle... I'm really new to this natural journey and to be honest I'm going to say yes for the most part. I will have to take a picture.. I would like to know.. I have some interesting acting hair..lol

I have a combination of 4a, 4b, and 4c hair and just did my first henna application last night (used Jamila). The color is fabulous and my curls have loosened significantly.

Significant enough that when I applied my eco styler to my hair in the usual fashion that it looks strange. I love what the henna has done for my hair, but now I'm going to have to go through the process of figuring out how to use my styling products again lol.

Just out of curiosity, once you do henna, do you have to do it again?

Hello vcoutureex3,

The most wonderful thing about henna is that it doesn't fade like box haircolor does! You know how some ladies walk around with that faded-out white skunk stripe in the middle of their crown?

Henna no do that.

Since I use henna and indigo, my dark indigo tint will diminish after a few weeks, but the coppery henna tint remains on my gray hair.

I choose to maintain my color intensity with regular henna+indigo applications.

HTH [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

p.s. vcoutureex3, I neglected to note your age!! You won't have to worry about gray for a long time!

If you henna your hair, the henna color will remain for a while since henna binds to the protein in your hair.

Most people do it again because they want to enhance the henna color. How long the color stays in the hair may vary from person to person. IMHO there are too many variables to say how long the color lasts or how often you have to apply it to get the color you want; what brand of henna did you use, what did you mix it with, how long did it age, how long did you leave it in, what was the condition of your hair? Understand what I mean?

Please go to the mehandi dot com site to learn more! Nikki has a link to it. The site has lots of color pictures of henna in hair.

HTH

thankyou soo much for your help ladies, when i do henna i'll keep you posted.

Also if i do henna i won't have to reapply it later in life if i like the results right, my sister's hairdresser says i shouldn't do it because its not good for hair, she had negative ideas about it. She also said that its like a perm, because i'll have to keep reapply it, is that true?

My mother has decided to believe our hairdresser because she knows more about hair, how can i convince her that henna is good and that it won't need to be reapplied.
thankyou in advance for al your help <3.

Look at this site. It will tell you what henna is and what henna does. Hennapage dot com.

http://www.hennapage.com/

Click on the "HAIR" tab, then click on FAQ in the heading block at the top of the page... The line that begins with "My hairdresser tells me that henna isn't safe..." will hopefully answer your questions.

My daughter stated that a co-worker came in with green hair one day! I don't know what sis put in her hair, but it can happen.

Do your research.

HTH

Be blessed!

thankyou sooo much that article was very helpful

Vcoutureex3,

Yes you will have to reapply it because your hair grows and you will need to at the very minimum touch up, especially if your natural colour differs considerably from your hennaed hair.

I've spaced out doing full treatments as I don't want my curls to loosen much more, so most of the time I only touch up my new growth as I have grays.

thankyou very much R2D2, your information has been very helpful to me, when i do henna i'll be sure to touch up my roots and not the whole hair again, if i like the results.

My hair type is 4a.

I've only been natural for 2 months after 6 months of transitioning. I really want to henna, but I'm afraid about the whole curl loosening thing.

I'm not sure if I really want to loosen my curls!

So my questions are:

Do you guys like the fact that your curls loosened?
And how often do you all henna??

I'm with kanishanashay!

I have been transitioning for 7 months, and I have 4b/4c hair (about 2"-3" stretched). [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I still have quite a bit of relaxed hair, maybe 4"-5" [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I am thinking of the cassia treatment to condition my hair and potentially loosen my curl pattern.
Does anyone have any good results?

Also, cassia just gives a shine to the hair, right? Does it color?

I was thinking of mixing the cassia with coconut milk AND LIME to get the double pow of loosening kinky hair.
Yay or Nay?

EbonyQueen, I use Cassia!

It does NOT loosen your curl pattern, like henna.
And also, if your texture is 4b/4c, you might not want to henna
because it could potentially straighten your curls.

Cassia gives shine and it makes your hair feel nice & strong.
Also, it doesn't give color.

In the words of KinkyKurlyQueen,
it's like a henna treatment without all the side effects.

I only mixed my cassia with conditioner and oil.
Coconut milk sounds good, but I don't know about the lime.

Straighten as bone straight or straighten to like a wave? And straighten it over 1 use, maybe 5...?

Stupid questions...more than likely, but this is so new to me. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Please have patience with me.

I have a 4a/b hair type and my first henna experience consisted of some wack henna, coconut milk, red zinger tea, and olive oil.

My hair was super dry afterwards but after co-washing and DCing overnight, I was happy with my lil' reddish brown tint in the sunlight.

I'll be hennaing for the 2nd time tomorrow and my mix this time consists of henna, brewed hibiscus flowers, and honey. I'm feeling good about this round...I just tested the mix on my hand and the dye is releasing nicely..yay. I'll let ya know how it goes and try to post some pics!

Oh! I also added a dash of cinnamon!

Can't wait to see the results, Naturally Nu*!!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Ok ladies...this is a pic of my hair immediately after my 2nd hennaing. Considering my hair is naturally very dark brown, borderline black, I was surprised by the turn out & loved the results!

Before Henna...

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After Henna... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

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Oh my damn! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

That's amazing!!!!!!!
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Your hair turned out beautifully! You inspire me [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]




Did you straighten you hair in the last image, or did you pull it?