(cries) :(

Do you think it would be a good idea to henna tonight? I am hoping that it will make my hair a tad bit more manageable for the first time...but i don't want a hair disaster for christmas if that's what it turns out to be

Its hard to know how your hair will respond to henna until you do it. For me, since I need time to henna the henna to really be effective in my hair (at least 4 hours) an additional 20+ minutes to rinse, 1+ hours to DC, and more time to detangle, style, etc. I personally wouldn't do it just because of the time commitment.

I try to henna when I have a free block of time, that's why I generally leave it in my hair overnight because that time is spend sleeping; not running errands, etc.

how long does it take for dye release? i think i might make it now and do it on sunday...so after i make it i would put it in the freezer? (i am making my henna with coconut milk, lime, and coconut oil)

I would skip the coconut oil. Henna and oil don't mix well. I think the oil messes with dye release. I don't know about coconut milk though. I would use just the henna, coconut milk and warm water. Or the lime and warm water. You only need a little acid to get dye release. I use white tea, green tea and wildberry zinger (mainly for scent).

The best way to check for dye release is to put a dot of developing henna on the palm of your hand for a minute. i usually start checking for dye release at the two hour mark. However, the henna I have has a fast dye release and I don't want to miss it.

Put it in the freezer after dye release. I put mine in a zip lock bag. Smooshed it flat and then put that in a bag too. Didn't want my freezer food to taste or smell like henna or vice versa.

You can the henna on your hair, wrap it good with saran wrap, a cap and sit up a medium/low bonnet dryer for about 30 minutes to an hour. That will make the dye take faster on your hair. This method you could probably keep it on for two hours with good dye uptake. I did my first henna that way and got real good results.

Rinsing, washing, dcing is still going to take a long time. Make sure you have that time.

Ebony - I wouldn't suggest doing it tonight, maybe tomorrow night if you have ample time on Sunday. I wanted to henna/indigo last night, but didn't get a chance, so I put it in this morning around 10am and kept it in for 6 hours...the rinsing takes a lllloooonnnnggg time; so at 6pm (EST) I am now DC...then going to rinse and try to style it depending on the energy I have or just leave the styling until tomorrow morning...