Cassia--Duh! Winning! (Pics)

Ok, I have been shunning Cassia and Henna for quite a while because a) it was just too foreign to me; b) I wanted to master my hair, moisture, and care with minimal product/work; and c) Holy Grinch! I didn't want to deal with the messy, mustard green mixture on my clothes and bathroom counter. Well, I was utterly bored with my hair so I bit the bullet and gave Cassia a shot. I've seen great results (in person) that naturallynola gets after thorough research with henna, but I didn't want the color change (although her color is very minimal, but I know it can go either way even with precaution).

NeeC1 posted about a placed called Mystical Henna in the DFW area that sells body art quality henna, natural indigo powder, and pure cassia powder. I bought the cassia and indigo.

Mixture: 100 grams cassia powder, water, 3 spoonfuls of my oil mixture (avocado, evoo, and castor), 2 spoons of Hugo Naturals conditioner, and a spoonful of honey. I mixed it up to a thick-yogurt like consistency and applied it to my hair. It went on smoothly and smelled like fresh-cut grass. It was messy as hell and was on my clothes, in my ears, and everywhere around me. I let it sit for 3 hours, washed it out in 20 minutes and didn't feel any immediate difference. Later I did something different and I was blown away. I wet my hair, applied oil, Hawaiian Silky and just conditioner to my hair. My hair curled by itself without the usual parting and shingling KCCC through my hair! I twisted the loose front of my hair and called it a day. My hair drew up in the back, which is a change from the limpness that I usually have back there. My hair is supremely soft right now.

Cassia
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Results with Oil, Hawaiian Silky, and Conditioner! The back still grows faster and lower than everything else, but it didn't look bad!
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6 Hours Post-Cassia--My hair drew up nice and shiny after I added more water and conditioner throughout the day. What I really want to show you is this flower headpiece my 15 year old niece made for me. She used basket weaving and sanded ice cream spoons to make the flower!! Artsy folks are something else!
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Oh your hair is gorgeous! Worth the mess isn't it. I set a stool in my shower and apply henna there. That way all I have to do is rinse the shower. It does get better with practice. Last time there were hardly any splatters.

Artsy folk are great. That flower headband is beautiful. If you hadn't said she made it, I would have asked where you bought it. Throw some baby's breath on it and a little lace and you have a wedding headband. It is very nice.

Thanks Madeaj! A shower stool is a great idea! The splatter was ridiculous. Even after careful application, it was dropping off all over the place. Like you said, it'll get better with practice.

About the headpiece, originally she was supposed to make it for a wedding I'm in on Saturday, but she couldn't find the velvet sash she was looking for. Instead she made me another piece using ribbon, silver beads, and a comb. I couldnt pull that off to save my life.

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:I'm so glad you tried this! I have been on the fence about trying Henna and Cassia as well. I nixed the Henna idea b/c I like my hair color and Idk about loosing my hair either. I'm definitely going to give the Cassia a try. Do you feel you will need to up your dc'ing any more as a result? Is the grassy smell still lingering? Love the headband, I too thought it was store bought!

Hey Tiff! The cassia was easy to apply and it was moisturizing because I stuck with ingredients that were moisturizing for me. I didn't add any coconut milk, teas, lemon juice or other acidic properties. Oil, honey, and a creamy conditioner worked really well for me. I did a strand test first and it felt great so I put it on my entire head. I dc'ed once in the shower and still had soft hair. I didn't notice a difference until I put in some conditioner during styling and it held up the entire day. Also, the limp parts were not as lifeless so that was a big plus for me. Oh and the "lawn smell" went away when I rinsed and deep conditioned.

First of ...your hair came out gorgeous!!!!!!

Since i am a Henna Head i always like to see first timers and their experience....great job.

@Madeaj...like the idea of using a stool in the shower...will def try that next time.

And that head piece...priceless

Girl you're brilliant! I was wondering about what additives I would use. I will stick with the things that I know my hair already likes. I wanted to use teas but I know they can be drying on the body so its likely true for the hair also. I have not found a creamy conditioner that I like yet but I am sure I will run across something. I'm excited again about trying Cassia. Thanx Fleur!! <<-----Running around to find some, lol.

Fleur, that turned out great! Welcome to the world of treatments! Your daughter did a great job with the hair accessory. Maybe she can start her own business

Fluer your hair is beautiful. I'm glad you liked the cassia. I have been henna'ing since my transition (for grey coverage) so I don't know what my hair looks like without it. How often do you plan on doing it?

Ladybird wrote: First of ...your hair came out gorgeous!!!!!!

Since i am a Henna Head i always like to see first timers and their experience....great job.

@Madeaj...like the idea of using a stool in the shower...will def try that next time.

And that head piece...priceless

Thanks Ladybird! Yeah, it took me a while to research henna, indigo, and cassia. I haven't henna'ed yet because I already have natural copper/auburn highlights. I want just black hair so I'll be doing an indigo gloss in April.

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:Girl you're brilliant! I was wondering about what additives I would use. I will stick with the things that I know my hair already likes. I wanted to use teas but I
know they can be drying on the body so its likely true for the hair also. I have not found a creamy conditioner that I like yet but I am sure I will run across something. I'm excited again about trying
Cassia. Thanx Fleur!! <<-----Running around to find some, lol.

You are too much!! Definately go for what you know. I don't like surprises, lol.

naturallynola wrote:Fleur, that turned out great! Welcome to the world of treatments! Your daughter did a great job with the hair accessory. Maybe she can start her own business

Thanks J, my neice made it, not my daughter. That artsy gene runs in the family but completely skipped over me, lol.

freckledmom4 wrote:Fluer your hair is beautiful. I'm glad you liked the cassia. I have been henna'ing since my transition (for grey coverage) so I don't know what my hair looks like without it. How often do you plan on doing it?

Well, I have a plan but I don't know if I'll stick to it. First I definately need to get a shower stool. Then I plan on applying the next 3 cassia treatments every 2 weeks for added strength and conditioning before settling down on once a month. Le sigh. I hope I can pull it off. What benefits have you seen since applying frequent henna treatments? A follow up question: How much fire red/copper undertones have you noticed?

Fleur wrote:

Ladybird wrote: First of ...your hair came out gorgeous!!!!!!

Since i am a Henna Head i always like to see first timers and their experience....great job.

@Madeaj...like the idea of using a stool in the shower...will def try that next time.

And that head piece...priceless

Thanks Ladybird! Yeah, it took me a while to research henna, indigo, and cassia. I haven't henna'ed yet because I already have natural copper/auburn highlights. I want just black hair so I'll be doing an indigo gloss in April.

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:Girl you're brilliant! I was wondering about what additives I would use. I will stick with the things that I know my hair already likes. I wanted to use teas but I
know they can be drying on the body so its likely true for the hair also. I have not found a creamy conditioner that I like yet but I am sure I will run across something. I'm excited again about trying
Cassia. Thanx Fleur!! <<-----Running around to find some, lol.

You are too much!! Definately go for what you know. I don't like surprises, lol.

naturallynola wrote:Fleur, that turned out great! Welcome to the world of treatments! Your daughter did a great job with the hair accessory. Maybe she can start her own business

Thanks J, my neice made it, not my daughter. That artsy gene runs in the family but completely skipped over me, lol.

freckledmom4 wrote:Fluer your hair is beautiful. I'm glad you liked the cassia. I have been henna'ing since my transition (for grey coverage) so I don't know what my hair looks like without it. How often do you plan on doing it?

Well, I have a plan but I don't know if I'll stick to it. First I definately need to get a shower stool. Then I plan on applying the next 3 cassia treatments every 2 weeks for added strength and conditioning before settling down on once a month. Le sigh. I hope I can pull it off. What benefits have you seen since applying frequent henna treatments? A follow up question: How much fire red/copper undertones have you noticed?

Fleur, I know your last question wasn't for me, but I've also done regular henna treatments since last July and my hair is soooo much stronger. When I first started, I did full henna treatments every 2 weeks and now I do them monthly. My hair was very damaged when I started and overly porous (it sank during the water test). Now, it's more coarse and it floated on top of the water during the water test. I have far less split ends and my hair rarely breaks. I've actually eliminated all other protein from my routine and just use henna monthly. I LOVE LOVE the color. It's almost a cherry cola color with like a copper undertone. I LOVE IT! It can only be seen when I'm in the sun and appears almost jet black indoors. I do use amla mixed with the henna, as henna alone loosens my curl pattern too much!

@ fluer, I honestly can't say what difference it has made since I started using henna before I bc'ed. I can say that my hair is less porous since I first started using it so that would lead me to believe that it is stronger. My scalp is definitely healthier. I also use amla regularly which seems to decrease shedding and help my hair to clump better. I always notice a growth spurt after a amla treatment. My hair is naturally reddish brown, but since I henna so much it has darkened to a wine brownish color, but my grey hair looks like fire:) On my daughters hair, you can only see the reddish tint in the sun, but her hair is dark brown/off black and I only henna her hair once every 3 months or so.

MelMelBee wrote:

Fleur wrote:

Ladybird wrote: First of ...your hair came out gorgeous!!!!!!

Since i am a Henna Head i always like to see first timers and their experience....great job.

@Madeaj...like the idea of using a stool in the shower...will def try that next time.

And that head piece...priceless

Thanks Ladybird! Yeah, it took me a while to research henna, indigo, and cassia. I haven't henna'ed yet because I already have natural copper/auburn highlights. I want just black hair so I'll be doing an indigo gloss in April.

Ambitious_Tiff wrote:Girl you're brilliant! I was wondering about what additives I would use. I will stick with the things that I know my hair already likes. I wanted to use teas but I
know they can be drying on the body so its likely true for the hair also. I have not found a creamy conditioner that I like yet but I am sure I will run across something. I'm excited again about trying
Cassia. Thanx Fleur!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] <<-----Running around to find some, lol.

You are too much!! Definately go for what you know. I don't like surprises, lol.

naturallynola wrote:Fleur, that turned out great! Welcome to the world of treatments! Your daughter did a great job with the hair accessory. Maybe she can start her own business

Thanks J, my neice made it, not my daughter. That artsy gene runs in the family but completely skipped over me, lol.

freckledmom4 wrote:Fluer your hair is beautiful. I'm glad you liked the cassia. I have been henna'ing since my transition (for grey coverage) so I don't know what my hair looks like without it. How often do you plan on doing it?

Well, I have a plan but I don't know if I'll stick to it. First I definately need to get a shower stool. Then I plan on applying the next 3 cassia treatments every 2 weeks for added strength and conditioning before settling down on once a month. Le sigh. I hope I can pull it off. What benefits have you seen since applying frequent henna treatments? A follow up question: How much fire red/copper undertones have you noticed?

Fleur, I know your last question wasn't for me, but I've also done regular henna treatments since last July and my hair is soooo much stronger. When I first started, I did full henna treatments every 2 weeks and now I do them monthly. My hair was very damaged when I started and overly porous (it sank during the water test). Now, it's more coarse and it floated on top of the water during the water test. I have far less split ends and my hair rarely breaks. I've actually eliminated all other protein from my routine and just use henna monthly. I LOVE LOVE the color. It's almost a cherry cola color with like a copper undertone. I LOVE IT! It can only be seen when I'm in the sun and appears almost jet black indoors. I do use amla mixed with the henna, as henna alone loosens my curl pattern too much!

Thank you for responding, Mel. That's what I want--stronger hair. I want a cherry cola hair color too. I've been reading quite a few of your posts in the Henna section and you know your stuff!!!! You seemed to have a nice routine going for you! I eventually will try an indigo gloss before color, but my main concern is strengthening my hair right now. You have me amped up again about giving henna a chance.

freckledmom4 wrote:@ fluer, I honestly can't say what difference it has made since I started using henna before I bc'ed. I can say that my hair is less porous since I first started using it so that would lead me to believe that it is stronger. My scalp is definitely healthier. I also use amla regularly which seems to decrease shedding and help my hair to clump better. I always notice a growth spurt after a amla treatment. My hair is naturally reddish brown, but since I henna so much it has darkened to a wine brownish color, but my grey hair looks like fire:) On my daughters hair, you can only see the reddish tint in the sun, but her hair is dark brown/off black and I only henna her hair once every 3 months or so.

Thank you for responding back. I see the consensus across the board is that henna really does help with strengthening. I'm glad to hear that the color isn't drastic on you and your daughter's hair. I know dark hair doesn't lighten much, but I still get nervous about things regarding color change. However, right now I'm a little more interested in henna than I was before.