Post Henna Hair Earthy Smell

Henna smells like it should-earthy-lol and so does my hair after a session. What is good to add to hair to freshen up?

my hair basically kept that earthy smell until i washed and deep conditioned again a couple of days after my henna treatment. henna has a pretty strong scent!!

In my own experience you have to fight fire with fire.

The only shampoos & conditioners that I know get rid of and/or cover the smell of henna are ones that have essential oils as their fragrance. I also find that spicey smells get rid of the scent better than sweet, fruity, or clean smells.

My faves to wash out the henna smell are Aveda's Brilliant line(but that ish is $$$) and Nature's Gate Herbal Shampoo & Conditioner(which is MUCH more affordable - plus you can get it at Whole Foods or Vitamin Shoppe).

Thank you ladies! Much appreciated

I like to add spices and essential oil to my henna to curb any smells from the jump. I tend to add them in at the beginning rather than waiting to add them after the dye release, but I think it would work either way.

I use cinnamon, ginger, and clove essential oil, and my hair basically smells like those spices until my next wash.

Some people can be sensitive to those spices (they give the henna a bit of a warming sensation--I find it pleasant!). If that's the case for you, you can add some lavender essential oil. You can get essential oils from a healthfood store, GNC, or online.

I add rose water and peppermint and don't have a problem with the scent lingering after that day. My issues are allergies--but I guess no pain no gain, right--lol

lol right nola! thanks!

I used clove and cinnamon an dactually got comments! But, even those smells went away after a couple of days.

I make sure that I rinse my hair really well and then I follow up with a co-wash to get all the henna out. Usually after my DT and my usual styling products, I no longer smell the scent.

I will share this though, I can't drink green tea anymore, because it reminds me too much of henna. The smell almost makes me sick...LOL

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Are you a Ride or Die Christian?

i love the rich, earthy smell...it's relaxing to me

I used Suave Professions Shea butter almond conditioner to detangle after my henna treatment and I used Carol's Daughter Some of Marguerites Magic hairdress when I plaited my hair and I could no longer smell the Henna. Today I have dampened my hair with a spray bottle and put a small amount of Aubrey Organics Honeysuckl Rose conditioner in my hair to freshen up. I hennaed my hair on Saturday and I couldn't smell it at all on Sunday. My son or my husband could smell it Saturday night.

i add peppermint essential oil to my mix. it completely masks the smell & it adds cooling tingle while the mix is on my head

Do any of you ladies add amla to your henna mix? If so, do you think it changes the color?

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Chicken and Christians

@MelMelBee

Do you want to change the color of your Henna? If so, a lot of ladies here know about combining indigo and henna. I mix in cocoa powder in my henna so my grays don't come out orange.

I've only known of folks using amla to preserve their curl pattern and otherwise treat their hair, but maybe someone more knowledgable will weigh in.

bpjedi wrote:@MelMelBee

Do you want to change the color of your Henna? If so, a lot of ladies here know about combining indigo and henna. I mix in cocoa powder in my henna so my grays don't come out orange.

I've only known of folks using amla to preserve their curl pattern and otherwise treat their hair, but maybe someone more knowledgable will weigh in.

I've read that Amla can tone down the orange..but I've not seen any noticeable change...I was just wondering because I don't want it to change the color. Since I've been doing henna, the coppery orange glow has changed to a beautiful cherry cola-ish color....Love it!!!

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Christians and Chicken

[quote="MelMelBee"]

bpjedi wrote:@MelMelBee

I've read that Amla can tone down the orange..but I've not seen any noticeable change...I was just wondering because I don't want it to change the color. Since I've been doing henna, the coppery orange glow has changed to a beautiful cherry cola-ish color....Love it!!!

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Christians and Chicken

Gotcha

I've always added amla to my henna mix and still get the orangish hairs that were once gray. However, they tone down to auburn color after a few days. I use the amla as an additional conditioning property and to maintain my curl pattern. The one time that I did not use amla was when I did a henna gloss and i could tell that my gray hairs were a brighter orange than normal.

@aj...I think you are right that the amla helps with the following "tone down" of the bright orange. I love the auburnish color. At any rate, I'm going to be henna'ing in 2 weeks, and I think I'm going to try the peppermint oil

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Christians and Chicken

@sydnisd183 I thought I was the only one

i must have rinsed my henna out amazingly well this last time cause I did not smell it linger after rinsing. Also, the deep condish I used has an interesting scent that just knocked out the henna smell completely. I used the Bee Mine Deep Conditioner. I think it only comes in one scent. Not sure whats its called but it smells like clean & freshness to the maxx! Almost like a cleaner of some sort, but in a good way. It was great for the henna smell.

I mixed my Deep Conditioner in a bowl with peppermint oil, it really helped get rid of the smell!

bpjedi wrote:I like to add spices and essential oil to my henna to curb any smells from the jump. I tend to add them in at the beginning rather than waiting to add them after the dye release, but I think it would work either way.

I use cinnamon, ginger, and clove essential oil, and my hair basically smells like those spices until my next wash.

Some people can be sensitive to those spices (they give the henna a bit of a warming sensation--I find it pleasant!). If that's the case for you, you can add some lavender essential oil. You can get essential oils from a healthfood store, GNC, or online.

Do you think tea tree oil could work? I'm not allowing myself to buy any more oils.

Jo Somebody wrote: Do you think tea tree oil could work? I'm not allowing myself to buy any more oils.

Sure. I think that you can use any essential oil that you like the smell of. It's funny; my husband just decided that he doesn't like the smell of cloves, so the last time I hennaed, I used lavender, and it worked fine.

Also, spices tend to be less expensive than essential oils (you can find them sometimes at dollar stores, too), and some, like ginger, cardamom, and clove (the spice is as fragrant as the oil) can get rid of the earthy henna smell. More info can be found here.

I wanted to henna this weekend for the first time but the talk about color change has me concerned. My hair is what I call a dirty brown with some gray. I definitely don't want red or auburn hair.

I added a LOT of cinnamon to the henna along with fresh squeezed lemon and orange juices (for color release). That's basically what it smelled like and the cinnamon turned the henna brown. I could still smell the henna even after rinsing the indigo out but conditioners covered up the smell.