Used Henna...Now, My Hair Is Extremely Dry. HELP!!!

Hey, ladies. Last Thursday, I had my first henna experience. I used Reshma Henna, green tea, and honey in my mix. I applied the mixture around 11 pm and washed it out in the morning at 7 am. After rinsing out the henna, I deep conditioned for about 5 hours with a mixture of ORS Hair Mayo, ORS Replenishing Conditioner, and Lustrasilk Cholesterol (used heat for about 30 minutes). My hair was still dry. Fast forward to this week, my hair feels dry to the touch still. I deep conditioned overnight once again. I just don't know what to do. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Any advice is welcomed.

Henna acts like a protein, I think ORS Replenishing Conditioner is a protein - that may have been too much for your hair.

If I was in this situation I would DC with HE HH only (1 product), do a ACV rinse , and then put my hair in some twists with something moisturizing (like a leave in condish) and then I would not touch my hair for a week until it was time to co-wash and I would co-wash with one product only. And repeat those steps until my hair was back to normal.

This may or may not work for your hair but it may be worth a shot.

I agree with Tia on the protein aspect. Lustrasilk Cholesterol also has proteins in it so your hair got a triple whammy! I also agree that I would use something like HE HH or another moisturizing conditioner to DC but I might hold off on the ACV rinse for at least a couple of weeks or until your hair got back to normal. Maybe even baggying overnight after adding a little oil to your hair would help.

AfrikanLatina wrote:I agree with Tia on the protein aspect. Lustrasilk Cholesterol also has proteins in it so your hair got a triple whammy! I also agree that I would use something like HE HH or another moisturizing conditioner to DC but I might hold off on the ACV rinse for at least a couple of weeks or until your hair got back to normal. Maybe even baggying overnight after adding a little oil to your hair would help.

I was thinking the ACV rinse would restore the PH. Maybe not?
What are your thoughts?

It could go both ways I think, depending on the person. I know some people complain about it being drying to their hair. Its kinda different strokes for different folks I guess. If after the initial moisturizing DC and a couple of cowashes the hair was still dry I would do the ACV rinse then and follow up with a moisturizing DC. I'm no expert lol that would just be my thought process for my hair.

AfrikanLatina wrote:It could go both ways I think, depending on the person. I know some people complain about it being drying to their hair. Its kinda different strokes for different folks I guess. If after the initial moisturizing DC and a couple of cowashes the hair was still dry I would do the ACV rinse then and follow up with a moisturizing DC. I'm no expert lol that would just be my thought process for my hair.

Ditto this 100%. First order of business is a VERY moisturizing deep condition. If you have a steamer, use it. Look at the ingredients of the moisturizing conditioner and make sure it has NO proteins in it (sometimes, they'll have silk proteins or wheat germ protein). I also agree w/the baggying at night - your whole head. Just put the plastic cap on then tie it w/ur scarf. It will come back .

@AfrikanLatina: that makes since. It kinda like trying one thing at a time to see what really works.

I agree-- make sure to use products with no protein and really DC your hair. A protective style like twists will help to retain moisture in the hair and reduce the chances of breakage/splits due to over manipulating dry hair.

Also, if you decide to try henna again, I wouldn't leave it in for as long as you did. Try a couple of hours next time and see how your hair feels. You'll still need to DC but it should be easier to get the moisture back in your hair.

@Luvvtiffany - I would co-wash daily with a moisturizing conditioner such as Vo5 Moisture Milks until your hair returns to its normal moisture level. I usually just do one DC after my henna and then one co-wash the next day and my hair is right. I also add coconut oil and aloe vera gel to my DC to give it extra oomph.

I agree with the previous posters that leaving out the cholesterol in the future would be a good idea.

Some other things you might want to think about if you want to do henna again:
1. Changing your mix
2. Leaving your mix in the hair for less time - you only really need 3-4 hours once the dye has released. Some people find that overnight is too much for their hair especially if they have fine strands.

Thanks for the advice.

Last Saturday was my first henna. I mixed my henna and allowed it to sit for 14 hours, and left the mix in my hair for 3.5 hours. I used Jamilla and mixed green tea and honey. After rinsing about 10 times with HE HH, my hair was still dry. I then applied Jessicurl DC and steamed, without a cap, for 1 hour. Actually, after 30 minutes under the steamer my hair was soft. I went to bed with the DC on my hair...too tired to rinse it out. The next morning, after rinsing, my hair was still soft.

I also agree with the other posters regarding too much protein.