New Henna Head

Hey yall:

I took the plunged and Henna my hair today [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ....i use a mix of yogurt, honey and coconut milk only cause I didnt have enough yogurt. Oh my my hair is soooooo soft. I was scared cause I dont do well with protein thats why i tried a mix with honey and yogurt. Im sitting here with my DC in but honestly my hair was so soft I probably didnt need it, but i figure better safe that sorry, cause i think my hair has a mind of its own sometimes so....things i have noticed already.....

1. I had no shedding, normally, my sink is full of hair I had maybe 5 hairs....yeah!!!!!!
2. My hair is soft, my hair is never soft..
3. Its noticiable thicker, my hair use to be really thick but years of perming and other stuff changed that....
4. It was a breeze to wash out....very lil mess did it in the tub

So far I am really really happy, oh yeah my gray is an orangy/copper color, I know it will tone down some in a couple days, so i am not worried, I kinda like it...hehehe.... The plan is to do a twist out when i wash the con out...that should be interesting since ive never done anything like this to my own hair, yes i have put many stylist children through college over the years... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Im excited despite the idea i dont know what i am doing trial and error huh?? My only complaint so far is that the Henna was gritty, and I know it was the brand, Light Mountain, I got it on a whim one day cause I havent been feeling pretty lately just so much going on since I lost my job in july now i am about to move to NC from Atl with my sister so packing is killing me, and i could go on with the drama of my hair, so i thought some henna would help lift my spirits and it has. Just in the future I know to get it from Catherine, ive gotten Cassia (btw made my gray gold, wasnt cute at all hehehe) from her in the past and it was very very smooth, no grit or twigs..etc.

Thanks for all the advice and support ladies I will check in later and let yall know how the twist out went....YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this site [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It is exciting isn't it?

I only mix coconut milk in my henna mix now. To begin with, I used warm water but found that my hair felt extra soft with the coconut milk only and seems to wash out very well. The henna dye still releases just fine.

As a fellow grey, If you get sick of the oranges/coppers you can always add indigo to the mix to darken it. I do a two step process now after having started off with henna only. It looks mostly black but the nice thing is that I have some red hairs now which I really like!

Best wishes and hope you continue to enjoy your henna journey.

I am so new to this. Getting ready to try a henna mix. Any recommendations ladies?

@ ikarialily,

Welcome! Personally, I think newbies should keep their mix simple to begin with and then adjust according to their hair. I'm a KISS fan. I think a good suggestion would be green tea and honey as there is both acid and moisture. This is Curlynikki's mix! Then observe your hair and how it feels after you've deep conditioned and then co-washed it 24 hours later.

If too dry and strawlike for your liking: then try mixing it with coconut milk next time. Other people use oil, conditioner etc.

If you feel you should be getting more colour release then orange or lemon juice. It depends on your henna. With my henna the colour releases just fine with coconut milk alone but with others they may need a bit of acidic push.

Good luck.

I have never used Henna before and was wondering if it should be done on freshly washed hair while still wet, or on dry hair?

allicat36, go to page 24 of the Henna For Hair How To Book http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/hennaforhair.pdf

I washed and dried my hair before I hennaed. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes, I normally do it on wet hair, although I tend to do my wash a day or two beforehand to spread it out a bit more. The whole process is quite time consuming especially when you are doing it for the first time.

Having said that, I've seen posts from ladies who have done it on dry hair and they seemed quite happy with their results so there is no hard and fast rule. Generally, though reasonably clean hair will allow for better colour uptake.

Ive done on wet, damp, dry, unwashed and it worked out all the same for me. The key, however was to detangle in advance to help with application and post-combing ease.

and I started doing yogurt and henna two years ago and that is my staple treatment, although I may experiment with the coconut milk and honey.

there is already acid in the yogurt, so no need to really add more unless you have a particularly fresh batch or making a large mix.

happy henna-ing!

Lina

R2D2 wrote:@ ikarialily,

Welcome! Personally, I think newbies should keep their mix simple to begin with and then adjust according to their hair. I'm a KISS fan. I think a good suggestion would be green tea and honey as there is both acid and moisture. This is Curlynikki's mix! Then observe your hair and how it feels after you've deep conditioned and then co-washed it 24 hours later.

If too dry and strawlike for your liking: then try mixing it with coconut milk next time. Other people use oil, conditioner etc.

If you feel you should be getting more colour release then orange or lemon juice. It depends on your henna. With my henna the colour releases just fine with coconut milk alone but with others they may need a bit of acidic push.

Good luck.

What brand of henna do you use that when you use coconut milk the color still release? I use Jamila Henna foil bag with the date on the bottom.

@R2D2 Thanks for the suggestion.
I went ahead and created a mixture of the jamila henna, with honey, lime, green tea and jojoba oil. It came out well. I co-washed a few days later, and I still havent deep conditioned as of yet. So far I like the results. I think my hair looks healthier. It could just be my imagination. Need to figure out how to post pics :-)!

has anyone purchased henna from "LUSH fresh handmade cosmetics"?did they like it and also
what shampoos and what conditioners should one use period, and what kinds of deep conditioner reciepes should one use often when living in a very dry area(las vegas).
thinking about taking the henna dive, for the deep conditioner feel. i am a little weary about the color aspect, i start med school in the summer, i think a maroon red sistah in a jewish school is a litle scary, let me know what the experts think.
1.where is the best place to purchase henna,
2. if you have dark hair will the noir make that much of a difference in apperance.
3. how often con one use the henna once a month for conditioner purpose?
4. what shampoos do you ladies recommend?
5. what hair oils(i have been using "argan oil" so far i like it) would suggest.
thank you ladies so much. look forward to your response