How long after using henna did you see a difference in your hair???

I just did my first henna treatment this past week, and I am soo excited about continuing to use it after hearing all the great short term-long term results from other curlies! I definitely noticed that my hair was a lot softer after using it! My question to all of you is how long had you been using henna treatments on your hair before you started noticing the benefits of it...examples; thickening, softness, more hair length & growth, etc.????

That's the question I am asking too. I did my first henna yesterday and didn't see any difference. Please let me know.

I actually noticed a difference immediately. When i was rinsing my hair, I could feel a difference. Now i did use my sisters henna concoction. She mixed it up and applied it for me. I had her email it to me (see below). I also noticed significant less shedding. I was expecting a little more of a red hue in the sun but i guess that may occur in time. I did notice a noticeble thickness, shine, strength and less shedding. Oh yeah, she put it on at noon...i went home sit under the dryer for roughly 2hours but didn't rinse out til 6p. I deep conditioned with Carol's Daughter Smoothie.

Henna recipe:
I used this one last time:
http://www.amazon.com/Ayur-Rajasthani-Henna-Mehandhi-Powder/dp/B000OZP754

In a bowl, I poured about 1/3 of bag and green citrus tea 'til pudding like. It mixes green but in the morning it is brown. I added about 1/2 of this coco cream:
http://www.veryasia.com/104249.html (You can find it at Walmart in ethnic section)
Coco oil
A bit of moisturizing conditioner
A dollop of Dead Sea Mud
Sprinkles of Amla

I had my first henna experience today! I applied last night around 10ish and followed Nikki's tutorial. I rinsed this morning and IMMEDIATELY felt the difference! My hair seemed so much stronger and it was so much easier to detangle. I felt like doing a w&g but I'm trying to maintain protective hairstyles, so I just did two strand twists all over...

From what I've read on the threads, most people really notice a change in the 2nd or 3rd application. If that's true, I don't think I'll ever discontinue henna use! It's awesome!

msqueenie wrote:I had my first henna experience today! I applied last night around 10ish and followed Nikki's tutorial. I rinsed this morning and IMMEDIATELY felt the difference! My hair seemed so much stronger and it was so much easier to detangle. I felt like doing a w&g but I'm trying to maintain protective hairstyles, so I just did two strand twists all over...

From what I've read on the threads, most people really notice a change in the 2nd or 3rd application. If that's true, I don't think I'll ever discontinue henna use! It's awesome!

@msqueenie Yeah, I've been hearing a lot of people say that after about the 3rd treatment is when they see a big difference! Im really excited about continuing the treatments! I think Im going to Henna twice in December....so my hair can be super fly for Christmas! LOL!

I can't wait to do my second henna treatment. I am planning to do it on saturday and i am going to add some amla too. Has anyone used amla in there henna treatment?

Did my second Henna treatment Thursday, and washed it out on Friday! My hair is loving Henna already and its only my second time! I went out last night and got sooo many compliments on my hair! Im sooo loving this treatment and will keep up the consistency of doing them on a regular! I think I have enough Henna left over to do one more treatment this month, so I think imma go for it! Maybe right before Christmas! Also, I can tell that my hair color is getting an auburn tint to it once you get under the light. Its not super noticeable, but it is...if that makes sense!

Im loving Henna! As of right now, I've been noticing that my hair is super soft. Hopefully in a few more months, I'll start noticing the thickness and growth that everybody else experiences!

what kind of henna are you using?

@Maricopa I've been using the Jamilla Henna!

Thanks can't wait, I just used another product called Henna/placenta it's a conditioner and it left my her super soft. So I can just imagine what the effects of "Jamila Henna" will do!

I also heard some other ladies talk about mixing hennas with another henna not sure what the name is.

@Natural 83

Your pic is pretty! Do you still love the henna? How much did you use? I purchased 2 boxes of the same kind that Nikki uses in her hair in late Nov. I'm scared to try henna..I don't want henna to loosen my curls. My hair type is 3c/4a. Did you notice any changes in your curls or texture? What is your hair type?

@Natural83

I was also curious about whether henna loosened your curls (or curls in general, I hear ppl go back and forth on this one), and also did it affect your hair color at all?

Thanks [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

@Flyychik23 Thanks for the picture compliment! And yes, Im still loving Henna!!! Im actually going to try to start doing it twice a month now! Hopefully I can keep that promise to myself! LOL! When I first tried Henna, I too used 2 boxes only to find out that that was way more than enough! So now, I only use one box! If you have any left over, you can always freeze it! As far as my curl pattern loosening, I did notice at first that my hair seemed to be more stretched, which I looooved it that way! I tend to have a lot of shrinkage, and the Henna seemed to give me that stretch that I like...on the flip side, it doesn't last! (the loosening of the curl). But I do absolutely love doing the treatments! After seeing how well it did for a lot of the other curlies, and CurlyNikki herself, I knew I had to jump on board! I mean, these ladies showed more growth, thicker hair, and everything! You should definitely look at some of the henna growth pics on some of these ladies albums and fotki's...amazing!!!! Or better yet, check out CurlyNikki's growth process when she first started using henna! That inspired me to do it!

@nulynaturalali Hey girl! Im sure Ive answered your question about the loosening of my curls in my response above. And to answer your other question about if it has affected my hair color at all...yes, it somewhat has! But you cannot tell unless im in the sunlight or directly underneath the light. It shows a hint of auburn, but its not very noticeable. I've only done 2 henna treatments so far....don't know if the color will show up more the more I do it...guess I will just have to wait and see! But I personally like the hint of auburn in it!

I noticed a big difference after I switched to a better quality brand of henna and when I started only using coconut milk in my mix. This was about the 4th time I was using henna. It's hard to know whether it was just an accumulated benefit that I happened to notice at that time or whether the different brand and ingredients made the difference!

What brand of coconut milk are you all using? Does it have any other ingredients in it? And where do you purchase it from? One more question... [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] do you still let it sit overnight or can it be applied after a couple hours?

Niqui36 - my coconut milk is a Thai brand that is sold in my local general grocery store around the corner. It's very easy to get hold of.

I tend to let my mix sit for at least 7 hours, sometimes more. Two hours would be too short unless you had the mixture on your hair for overnight in which time the dye could continue to release while in your hair.

R2D2 wrote:Niqui36 - my coconut milk is a Thai brand that is sold in my local general grocery store around the corner. It's very easy to get hold of.

I tend to let my mix sit for at least 7 hours, sometimes more. Two hours would be too short unless you had the mixture on your hair for overnight in which time the dye could continue to release while in your hair.

I saw on your other post that you had said you use coconut milk...I use to use coconut milk for my deep treatments with my hair steamer and my hair was so soft...I use lemon juice with my henna and then moisturize my hair to off set the dryness....I now do my hennas on the 29th of each month....and as I was reading about you using coconut milk I said I'm going to try it...I use Jamila Henna 2009 and I mix some just this evening...I have it on my hair now...I'm under the dryer with it...but I had mix henna/coconut milk/honey together...put it on my dry hair...as I was smoothing it on..I've notice on my glove the green goop was changing to a reddish-orange...just as if I had use lemon juice...the dye was releasing already....! I can't believe it....I go under the dryer for a couple of hours...when I'm in the mood (tonight I am) to get more color...and keep it on all night...but I just can't believe the coconut milk/jamila henna release the dye within minutes of me mixing...I think I will be changing my mix...I thought lemon juice was the only thing that get a quick dye release after mixing..instead of letting it sit overnight and then apply...so now i can use coconut milk/jamila henna and put it in my hair right after mixing..thanks for your info about coconut milk and henna....

~Nappturall~

@Nappturall,
Interesting to read about your comparison of dye release speed when using coconut milk vs lemon! Would be interested to hear your overall verdict when your hair is all finished and dried I was surprised though that you applied the mixture right away after mixing. I would be interested to know if you get good colour deposit once the mixture has washed out. I usually leave my mixture to sit overnight before applying for 2 hours but if you are getting good colour release without that overnight sitting time I might try that!

You know what? I think that the quality of the henna is probably a very important factor in how well the dye releases. I remember when I first started I used a cheaper henna from the Indian grocery with ACV but didn't get as good dye release as I do now with the better quality henna that I use now with coconut milk.

@R2D2-what kind/brand of henna are you using? I am using Reshma henna which i buy from my Indian grocer. I think the quality must be great because the dye deposit is pretty much immediate. In just a few treatments my hair color has a very noticeable hint of reddish brown and my hair feels alot stronger. i definetly feel that my strands have some reinforced strenght and my breakage has akmost completely stopped. However, I havent experiencced the softness or shine that otehrs are talking about. A little bit of the shine, but im not sure if its just bc my hair was sooo dry b4 or if im not using a good deep conditioner. Are you all using jamila? how are you DCing

I'm using an organic Rajasthani henna that I get from an online vendor. The only henna that the Indian shops around me sell is the Ayur Rajasthani, which I haven't found to be all that good. I'm paying more now but for a much better result. The organic rajasthani stopped my shedding that I'd had for years in its tracks and gave me a much deeper red. I could really tell the difference as soon as I had mixed it - the dye release was fast!

I've heard that Reshma is a good brand. I would probably experiment with your DC and adding oils to it to get the softness and shine? Coconut oil for example is known to give hair a nice shine to it.