I did my first Henna treatment. Yaaay!

Ok so I went to an Indian store in Boca Raton and bought some Henna (I don't know what it is called b/c it was in a different language LOL). And I mixed it with 4 oz of water and 4 oz of coconut milk with a couple drops of coconut oil and let it sit for like almost 24 hrs.

Everything came out great! Except when I finished styling my hair this morning, my hands and fingers were orange. Is the dye supposed to be coming out like that so easily? I don't want to mess up my clothes and stuff like that.....

[b]Congratulations and welcome to the world of henna. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

12 hours is the norm for dye release. If you don't plan to use it right away after the dye release, you may freeze it for future use as long is it does not have indigo in it.

If you are still experiencing orange hands, you need to rewash your hair because you have not washed out all of the henna. Use either shampoo or do a conditioner wash to thoroughly wash out the henna. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

that happens to me each time I henna.. I swear I co wash at least 3 or 4 times AND shampoo on top of that and still I wind up with orange tinged hands and nails. It fades off of the hands pretty quickly but I always end up having to wait for my nails to grow out to get rid of the orange Next time I'm going to make sure they're painted and see if that helps anything.

In my experience, it hasn't ever gotten on my clothes or pillow or anything though.

You HAVE to wear gloves when applying henna. Strangely enough, henna only stains hair, the palms of hands, finger and toe nails and the soles of the feet. It will stain your clothes too but it won't stain your face, ears, neck, arms.

You should start using gloves now when washing your hair since it does sound like you still have henna in your hair

Ok because I washed my hair like 4 times, but I'll just wash again. Thanx!

Four washes is pretty normal, actually four washes PLUS. It takes a lot of water and conditioner to rinse out henna. I usually rinse until my finger tips wrinkle then rest, then rinse some more.

I usually stand over the kitchen sink and use the spray hose thingy to get the majority of the henna out. I'll do this for a few minutes with just water (no shampoo or conditioner), and then go to the shower and rinse it some more. After all that rinsing I'll shampoo my hair, and then condition. I never had to wash my repeatedly with shampoo and conditioner just to get the henna out.

I find that adding honey to the mixture helps the Henna powder rinse out easier! Usually about 3 tablespoons full

I made the mistake of applying henna to my hair without gloves and came out with orange hair and fingernails. I had job interviews the next day and I was so ashamed of going in there with Oompa Loompa orange hands and nails! I kept my hand under the table. DH said I looked jaundiced!

I also rinse my hair until it is clear, then apply a condish with a dollop of shampoo in there to help lift the henna out.

Have you tried running a tub/sink full of water and dunking your head a few times before you start rinsing? That seems to get out the majority of the mud. I second what Mel said about the honey. Although I never had orange hands/ clothes after henna'ing, I have noticed that there is a slight orange tint to the water on my next wash day.