My first time...

Sooooooo, after weeks of researching and reading about henna I finally jumped on the bang wagon this past weekend and it was so much easier than I expected . I kept it pretty simple. I used Jamila 2010 summer crop Henna and mixed it with about 1.5 cups of chamomile tea. I applied it immediately and left it on for about three hours. Rinsed it out with water very easily and I could see the cherrywood tint to my hair. Hair was relatively soft too after rinsing it out. I applied indigo because I want to stay dark. I left the indigo on for about 3 hours too. Rinsed and DC'd overnight with AO Honey suckle rose mixed with a litte oil. My hair was nice and soft the next morning. I can't quite put my finger on it yet but my hair does seem slightly different. I'm gonna henna again in 2 weeks and probably every 2 weeks thereafter until I really see noticable change. I have a feeling that my hair likes henna so I'm looking forward to seeing where my hair goes from here. So overall, no muss no fuss. No mess at all...even though that's probly do to the fact that I only have a twa now, but whatevas Just thought I'd share my experience. Toodles!

Congrats Newly and welcome to wonderful world of the henna.

I'm curious, you said that you applied your henna immediately after mixing it - did it have dye release? Reason for my question; from personal experience and information I've read/researched, if you're going for the permanent color deposit from the henna, you should let the henna (and indigo too) sit until you get dye release. It's possible to get a very quick dye release if your tea was boiling hot..... just thinking out loud.

Hey AJ!

No, the henna did not have dye release yet. It released while on my hair. I use cool chamomile tea. I wasn't looking for a strong color deposit from the henna. I want to use it mainly for the conditioning properties. I thought I could get black applying the indigo. If I let the dye release before I apply the henna, though, does that mean the indigo will take better when it is applied? To get jet black? My hair is dark, but I still see a twinge of red tint if I look really really close in the light.

If you're only looking for the conditioning properties, and not the color, have you looked into Amla, Brahmi or Maka powders? All of these will provide you awesome conditioning because they strengthen either the hair or the roots, plus you can usually find them pretty easy at local Indian store without the hassle of buying them on-line. Check out the links below on post specific to Aryduveda powders, there's some great information from the ladies and wonderful recipes on mixing the powders to help with conditioning your hair without the color using henna.

http://www.curlynikki.forumotion.com/t4379-ayurveda-101-part1
http://www.curlynikki.forumotion.com/t4326-hairyuveda-challenge

Regarding the Indigo, I'm not sure about if the color will deposit from the Indigo if the henna has not hit dye release previous to applying it to your hair. You can checked out the link below and I'm sure the answer is on there.

http://forums.hennapage.com/

hmmmm....thanks for the info AJ...So much to learn . This is the first time in my life that I've acually starting to "nurture" my hair. I'm trying not to become overwhelmed by all the info

Newly, I hear you girl. When I went natural, i literally absorbed every youtube and on-line blog about natural hair that I could find. Can we just say that information overload is not a good thing

I've since learned that keeping things simple is best; not only for my hair, but also my bank account and my sanity. I stick with my Ayurveda powders and henna for conditioning and color and have reduced my other products down to shea butter, aloe vera juice; both I mix with EVOO and coconut oil and I also use Honey in just about everything. Oh, and my Eco Olive Oil Gel and that's it!

All of the different resources out there are great, but beware of getting to overwhelmed with all of the information.