Henna on 4a/4b hair

My hair is a 3C/4A mixture and I use "Punjabi Prime" from mehandi.com. I mix my henna with chamomile tea and honey and it makes my hair feel dry at first, but after deep conditioning its all good. I've henna'd about 4 or 5 times and I have only used Punjabi Prime b/c it works great. I love the color and the way it leaves my hair feeling strong and smooth. I haven't noticed any curl-loosening although I was hoping to experience that in my 4A area.

Ok Ladies

I did my henna gloss tonight using some left over henna that I mixed with YTT. I hope it does well.

I have been thinking about trying henna on my daughter's 4 b/c hair. I've been reading all the posts about whether it loosens the curl or not. Having 4b/c hair, she definitely has a tight coil with mad shrinkage, so loosening would be fine, but having curls that clump together in a decent manner would be even better. Will henna help with this?

I haven't seen much of a difference in my curl pattern.... but then I'm convinced that I have 4z hair

I've been hennaing every weekend since I've started (about a month now), however, the REAL results are in my daughters hair. She has 3 b/c hair and I can tell that the henna works. She used to shed like crazy and her hair used to be fragile. Now, she barely sheds and the strands are so strong. I usually leave hers in for 4 hours or so. I'll prepare it in the morning before we leave for work/school, put it in when she gets home and rinse when I bathe her that night. I'm a believer!

Did my first henna on Friday.. I mixed 200g of Jamilla 2010 BAQ henna with a mixture of steeped hibiscus flowers in a pot of diluted lemon juice (about 12 oz of lemon juice and 12oz of water). I let the the mixture sit for 5hrs and then I put it on my damp hair and let it sit for 9 hrs. My hair feels so amazing and I have a burgundy tint in the sun!! I love it.. I will be doing a henna gloss in another week with the left over mixture that I froze. I henna

@ blasiancurly

i'm sure if you do it often enough that it will work immediately. just make sure to deep condition her hair each time you henna her hair. check out curlynikki's story!
http://www.curlynikki.com/2008/10/im-henna-head.html

"
My Routine:
I began my henna journey in October 2007. I henna'ed two to three times a week for the first month. After I read that henna has a cumulative effect (the more you do it, the more apparaent the results), I went overboard, lol. I saw the color and shine after about 2 treatments, but the loosening, de-frizzing and rich shine developed over several weeks. From November 2007-January 2008, I henna'ed once a week, or once every other week, and since then, I've been henna'ing once a month. It can get to be a bit expensive, depending on the frequency of application, but it is sooooooooo worth it!"


@ goombagirl

how old is your daughter (just outta curiosity)?

@ Shrinkage

pics please...


@ KeAnia
pics please...




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I use Dark of the Moon henna from Mehandi.com. It has more of a ruby red tint. I leave it on overnight, rinse in the morning and DC with my Huetiful steamer.

@ EbonyQueen she's almost 6

Great age!

I am so happy that this site exists (God Bless you CurlyNikki and ur family).

I'm glad to see that more and more mothers are stopping the reign of the relaxer with the younger generation. I have to free myself since my mom didn't want me to go natural...

1st post from a lurker-Yay!!

I have been deeply contemplating taking the henna plunge for several months now, and only in the past couple weeks have I gotten all of the supplies together in order to do so.
I found Jamila henna in an Indian grocery store (Cherian's in Decatur for anyone in ATL)...and it's only $1.99, so I'd highly recommend the grocery store angle over the ordering online if only for the price...

Anyhoo, I got around to doing a strand test today with old hair from my brush after a killer detangling session. I mixed the henna with green tea, and about 1t. of EVOO, and 1t. of ACV. Let sit over night, then applied it to the hair. Let that sit wrapped in wax paper in a ziploc for about 12hrs, and then rinsed.

First let me say, I am interested in the conditioning, strengthening, and curl loosening properties of henna...the color...I could take it or leave it really. Its becoming VERY difficult and time consuming to detangle after a wash the longer my hair gets, and it's about APL now.
In doing the strand test...its pretty much a matted ball of furLOL....so I can't really tell anything as far as the loosening...
But I can see the color! My hair is normally a kinda dull/muddy medium to dark brown, and the color now appears to be a rich chocolate (with fiery reddish coppery highlights on my couple of greys)! I like it alright I guess??
Both the before and after swatches of hair feel about the same though...hmmm, I'm wondering if it really made any difference in anything other than the color?? There is slightly more shine, but I did not do a DC on the test strands, just kinda air/papertowel dried...

I'm still undecided, and am also scared to apply to my whole head!! I'm insanely protective of it after many years of being scarred by salons who are ignorant to proper hair care for AA's, and I'd hate to do any damage at my own hand!

I'm rambling, but I was just sharing, and wanted to thank all of you for your insight and pics, you have all been very helpful in helping me to make a decision....

Two questions:
1. I can always go back dark with indigo if I dont find I like the reddish tone, correct??

2. Is there a way to overdo it with henna?? I want to "jumpstart" the process like a few of the ladies here did, and start with two applications, then do one a week for a couple months??

Thanks All....

@ Birdlady

1. I'm pretty sure henna wears off after a period, but you can dye you hair black with indigo.
2. The only way you can overdo henna is if you don't moisturize your hair enough. CurlyNikki jump started on her henna experience and her hair is BEAUTIFUL!

This is going off off what I read only. Good luck

Bird,

I was afraid to do a full henna myself. So I did a henna gloss instead (for the first time last week) I did do a strand test on some hair from my brush and after 2 hours, it didn't feel any different. I decided to apply it anyway. LOL

Needless to say, after you rinse out the henna, you MUST MUST do a moisturizing deep condition. This is where you will feel the difference. My hair was SUPER soft after that point. Since I was still afraid, I only left it on for a little over 2 hours. But I love the way my hair feels. I am already itching to do another gloss, so I will plan on doing one next week.

I think you should give it a try. Leave it on for a short amount of time (since you are afraid of the outcome) and then decide if you would like to do it again. If you do, you can leave it on for longer. It's worth at least one try and if you happen to not like it, then at least you gave it a whirl!

BUMP

Hmmmm so, if I want to cover gray and losen curl I need the cassia and the indigo? And why can't they be mixed together and used at the same time. I am about to hit the submit button to order mine so I would really like some help!!! Also what are the best mixes when applying the henna? I like the one curly nikki talked about? Anoyone else have ideas?

I completed my third full henna treatment the day before (did one henna gloss between the 3rd and 4th henna). After my second henna treatment, I noticed that my hair is stronger and I experience less breakage. My hair is also easier to detangle. I haven't noticed a difference in my curl pattern, but I'm not attached to that result. Maybe my hair being easier to detangle is an aspect of that, but I'm not sure yet.

I did notice my hair was very dry this time around after treatment. I made a mistake and used a deep conditioning treatment that had silk protein in it (didn't look at the ingredients closely) and it made my hair feel like straw. Even after co-washing a day later didn't help. I mixed my own DT last night, left it on for two hours with moderate heat and it made a huge difference.

MissyCee wrote:Hmmmm so, if I want to cover gray and losen curl I need the cassia and the indigo? And why can't they be mixed together and used at the same time. I am about to hit the submit button to order mine so I would really like some help!!! Also what are the best mixes when applying the henna? I like the one curly nikki talked about? Anoyone else have ideas?

From my understanding, cassia does not deposit color or loosen curls, henna does.. You will need to henna first (lifts the gray color to a coppery orange color), rinse out and apply indigo mix for 1-2hrs.. You can also combine henna and indigo, depending on the ratio and color you want, it can range from a rich brown to deep dark chocolate brown. Most people seem to do henna first and then indigo, which results in more of natural black to jet black color.

There is plenty info about here.. just search indigo in the search options

HTH

Hi, darkbeautytt!
I have been henna'ing my hair for almost 2 years now. My curl pattern did loosen slightly (I'm a 4a/4b) but not very much, however, my hair has a more silky-type feel now which makes it much easier to "strech" the curls out. My hair is alot stronger and I have very little breakage (I am in the Army reserves so my hair takes a beating when I'm training!)
overall, I love the effects the henna has on my hair. My hair color is a dark brown and you can see the red in sunlight, especially right after I use it, but it looks good to me!
I usually mix BAQ henna with warmed coconut milk, a little coconut oil an olive oil(for the dryness) an conditioner (yes to carrots). Hope this helps!

Hey Guys, Amazon has Jamila baq henna @ $20.95 for 6 boxes of 100g henna
Just though I'd share (and the shipping is ridiculously low/free if you have Amazon prime or spend up to $25)

naijgrl....un r an angel