What has your experience been?

Did you find henna to be conditioning? Did you see more growth?
Did it loosen/stretch your curl? If so, how much?

I find it to be very conditioning when mixed with the right products! I find my hair doesn't like honey and prefers when I just use water mainly and a lil ACV. Im not sure if I see more growth or not because I have been hennaing my hair since my transitioning days which was about 2 years ago. It always immediately loosens my hair texture but once it dries its back to my normal curl.

It may have been the brand I used, but I found it to be a bit drying for my hair, however, my hair is stronger and much thicker. I've experienced hardly any shedding or breakage and when I detangle, hardly any hair loss.

Hey chicas!

You know what my experiences have been

-stronger hair that doesn't split or break as often
-shiny hair (seriously blingy)
-smoother texture--less tangles, hangs longer cause it shrinks less
-awesome color (looks different in different lighting)
-longer hair...for whatever reason

I have tried Henna yet but because of all the wonderful things I hear about it, I might have to give it a shot

I use Surya Henna because it is easier for me to handle and apply without messing up the entire bathroom. I LOVE it and won't do without it. I keep various colors on hand at all times. It conditions extremely well and stretch my 3b/3c curls very well. My hair seems to be thriving even more than normal since I started using it. I just deep conditioned and applied some today. I am over 85% gray and it covers it superbly in 30 mins. I could go on & on - but I won't.

*CurlyNikki* wrote:Hey chicas!

You know what my experiences have been

-stronger hair that doesn't split or break as often
-shiny hair (seriously blingy)
-smoother texture--less tangles, hangs longer cause it shrinks less
-awesome color (looks different in different lighting)
-longer hair...for whatever reason

hmmmm....I have actually started thinking about trying henna...I am just afraid that the top(the curls arent as tight as I would like them to be...) of my hair may become a little more lose than it already is...IDK, I think I am still gonna give it a try. I sounds awesome!

I just heard it may losen your curl pattern a little, but then I heard it is only temporary...can anyone fill me in about this?

I have tried brahmi treatments a few months back and I loved it!

i have also heard so many good things about henna, and i am thinking to give it a try...does it do well with 4a/4b/4c hair?? What are the drawbacks of using henna? Has anyone heard of any bad experiences with using henna??

The loosening is temporary, and if you want to avoid it all together, just mix in 1/4 amla. It'll retain the curl...some people don't have issues with curl loosening at all. I've noticed that people with corkscrew curls are less likely to experience the loosening (and more likely to experience increased definition), than s waves. I have fine s waves.

As far as bad experiences, I've heard of people having dryness problems (combatted by deep treating), as well as green hair if they use the black henna...instead of pure indigo. No bad stories to speak of

I want to try henna, but I am horribly afraid! I have jet black hair with a few brown streaks in the summer. I am worried that my hair will turn brown and I don't want the indigo to turn my hair green

MahoganyCurls wrote:

*CurlyNikki* wrote:Hey chicas!

You know what my experiences have been

-stronger hair that doesn't split or break as often
-shiny hair (seriously blingy)
-smoother texture--less tangles, hangs longer cause it shrinks less
-awesome color (looks different in different lighting)
-longer hair...for whatever reason

hmmmm....I have actually started thinking about trying henna...I am just afraid that the top(the curls arent as tight as I would like them to be...) of my hair may become a little more lose than it already is...IDK, I think I am still gonna give it a try. I sounds awesome!

I just heard it may losen your curl pattern a little, but then I heard it is only temporary...can anyone fill me in about this?

I have tried brahmi treatments a few months back and I loved it!

I understand that if you add Amla to your henna mixture it prevents any loosening of curls.

TerraD wrote:I want to try henna, but I am horribly afraid! I have jet black hair with a few brown streaks in the summer. I am worried that my hair will turn brown and I don't want the indigo to turn my hair green

The ladies at hennaforhair.com recommend harvesting some of your hair and doing a test run. Before doing hennas, my hair would shed alot, so I had no problem gathering a gang of hair from the floor and various places to test beforehand. There are plenty of recipes on that site to help you get the color combination that you'd like.

Be aware of several things. (1) According to Ms. Katherine Cartwright-Jones, the webmaster of hennaforhair.com, when people talk about henna that is any color other than red, they're not really talking about henna. True henna comes from the plant of the species lawsonia inermis and only stains in variations of red. It may look more orange, or more burgundy; it depends on the color of the hair to which the henna is being applied. Neutral henna is actually cassia, which is a different species than lawsonia inermis. Cassia isn't really neutral; to hair that is light enough it can impart a golden or yellow tint. I know this from firsthand experience, because I used it on my own blond hair before I used henna. Black henna is actually indigo. Companies will sometimes use various combinations of these plants, along with other things like walnut powder and other color-imparting plants to try to produce henna mixes that result in various shades. The one I use is called Light Mountain, and they do this.

(2) There are companies marketing a product they like to call henna that may be varying amounts of henna mixed with other things that are chemical rather than biological in nature. According to Ms. Cartwright-Jones, the product you should be putting on your head is body art quality, which will be pure henna with nothing else premixed into it. If you are using a henna mix, read the ingredients before you use it. If it doesn't come completely from plants, Don't Use It.

(3) Henna by itself will not lighten dark hair, but it will stain it. So if you have dark hair, and you're in a dim room, the stain may not be noticeable until you go into bright light or sunlight. Then you may notice a deep red highlight to your hair. If you are trying to get black hair, Ms. Cartwright-Jones recommends staining with henna first, then following with the darker staining plants such as walnut or indigo.

(4) If you have colored your hair with a dye containing metallic salts, Proceed With Caution! Henna has been known to interact very badly with metallic salts in the hair.

Ms. Cartwright-Jones talks about this and everything else I've mentioned on hennaforhair.com, and there is a forum there, so if you aren't yet ready to take the plunge, it is worth your while to go thoroughly investigate the information on her site. Other sites also offer information, but hers is the most extensive and probably the most reliable; she is not only a henna artist and a long-time user of henna in her own hair, she actually researched it for for a graduate degree.

For those of you that use henna, how long does the whole process take? Thanks for providing the website, I'll have to look into it.

wow!!! thanks, cygent!!!

Ditto on the thanks to Cygent!

Tam wrote:For those of you that use henna, how long does the whole process take? Thanks for providing the website, I'll have to look into it.

Mine is a 2 day process. I mix my henna when I receive it and put it in the freezer. This causes the dye to release quicker. I remove it from the freezer the next day and apply it that evening. I wrap my head with saran wrap and a do rag and go to sleep. When I get up I rinse it out until the water is clear, then I do 3 co-washes. Afterward I put a Pantene conditioner in and leave it.

all the good testimonies, but I am intimidated but this. I will sit this one out for now....

I have only used henna twice so far, but I've seen a bit of a difference in my hair. It has more of a shine, its a little more red, it and it feels a bit stronger BUT it is dry as a mug afterwords. I deep condition really good after I henna in order to combat the dryness. I'm going to continue to henna once a month and see what other benefits it can offer.

sweetdrk1 wrote:all the good testimonies, but I am intimidated but this. I will sit this one out for now....

ditto

I used to henna monthly, but I've cut it back to every three months (due to laziness). I love the effects of henna on my hair. It feels much stronger, I shed less and the super-kinky area in the crown of my head has loosened up a bit.

I fell off for a little while [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ....however, since going natural for the 2nd time I found my love all over again. Besides I want some big hair [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and have added Henna to my monthly budget...

Will check my 'fresh' in 3-6 months for the benefits and added improvements, growth, strength etcc....

I've used Henna several times now...I might just be weird, but I love going through the process the most lol.

So far the benefits I've noticed are elongated curls & cool color in the sunlight.

I looove the rich color, stronger feeling hair and manageablity. Plus it feels like im pampering my hair! That reminds me, I need to do one tonight after class :-)