Henna Demystified – Part 1
The last dirty product I ditched was hair dye. I loved the fun of coloring, but more than that I am very emotional about covering my grey. One day I hope to rock an edgy silver bob, but that’s a decade or two off still.
If you are one of those who embrace your natural aging process—and your grays—more power to you. But if, like me, you want to cover them and stay clean, henna is a great way to do it. It’s also a fun way to play with color, and easy too.
Almost everything I know about henna I learned from Henna For Hair and from experimenting on my own. I highly recommend checking out that site for recipes, techniques, and the chemistry of henna. They cover everything. And they sell the body art quality henna I have used for over a year.
Here are seven things you should know.
1. Henna, in combination with other plants known as cassia and indigo, can do any color from strawberry blonde, through the reds/auburns and browns to black. It cannot do a true blonde, and it cannot make your hair lighter.
2. High quality henna covers grey beautifully, and is permanent. You will need to do your roots as often as you would if you were using conventional dyes. Every so often you will probably want to pull the color throughout your hair, since, just like your natural color, exposure to the elements can fade color.
3. Real, pure henna will not damage your hair and is non-toxic. Sometimes there are boxes at the store that say henna on them, and it might be some version of henna mixed with other chemicals. I’ve never seen pure henna at any store.
4. Transitioning from conventional dye to henna is not as hard or scary as it seems. You can henna over conventional dye. There is a learning curve with henna, but once you get your routine down it is easy. Gorgeous, healthy hair is well worth it to me.
5. You have to plan ahead. The henna I use must be mixed up several hours before I use it to allow the dye to release.
6. Yes, it can be messy. But if you plan ahead and are careful it’s totally manageable. If you get henna on your skin or anything else, just wipe it off with some warm water on a paper towel. A proper mixture is pretty thick and won’t be dripping all over.
7. The color you end up with depends on your color to begin with, your ratio of henna to indigo or cassia, and how long you leave it on. Also, the color will deepen a bit in the few days post-application. The website has a chart with the basics, and many additional recipes. You can call them for advice (I did before my first time). Also, I did some experimentation with hair saved from my brush, and it alleviated my concern that I would end up with a weird color.
In Part 2 I’ll cover my personal recipe and techniques.
Have you tried henna? Do you want to?
They say Cleopatra used the stuff too. Image via
Oh man! Henna… I grew up with the stuff – my gorgeous grandma and all her sisters and most of her friends used it. I think our proximity to Iran and the fact that at the time and in the place (Soviet Union) it was the best option available as quality chemical dyes were pretty much impossible to come by made it so popular. The thing is, though, it basically came in one-color-fits-all (it probably wasn’t all that pure either) so to me henna equates with horrid, fake-red color of varying degrees of darkness. I did always like the smell of it though – so herby, earthy and natural. I think I would actually be happy to try it – my hair is so dark, it would be hard to mess up the color too badly, plus I believe pure henna is actually really good for the hair. Unfortunately (or, rather, fortunately) for me, my husband thinks my random strands of gray are the sexiest thing in the world (weirdo!) and begs me not to color. Seeing as his stance is so enlightened/unusual, it seems uncharitable to ignore his pleas.
I tried Lush’s henna product recently (pics here: http://www.cafblog.com/2012/05/tutorial-how-to-dye-your-hair-poop.html) and while I really liked the end result, it faded really quickly :-( I was trying to cover up a weird greenish cast left by blue Manic Panic last fall. It also had a really intense smell (above and beyond that of regular henna, which I’ve used on skin before) which I didn’t love. But I have 2/3 of the bar left so I’ll probably do it again anyway, and then switch to the pure stuff. (The Lush doesn’t have any weird metallic salts or the other “bad” chemicals that the storebought stuff usually has, but it does have a ton of other herby crap in it and I’m not entirely sure why. Also, cocoa butter. It’s very hard to rinse out.)
I love henna! I’ve been using the caca rouge and marron henna from Lush for about two years. I have been wanting to try the pure stuff for a while, but I am a bit worried about getting the mix right. I have one more application of the Lush henna left (had to use up a gift card) and then I plan to go through the same site you linked to in the article. Great post!
Yes. And I believe that a discussion on henna was the topic of our first “conversation” :)
Although you directed me to your source for henna then, I never made the jump and stayed loyal to the one I was using (Surya Brasil Henna Cream – http://www.suryabrasil.com) for the sheer convenience of being able to use a cream version(that may very well be not the cleanest). Hair coloring was the first red flag I had that my body didn’t like chemicals and not being brave enough to embrace my grays, I found henna and have stayed on it since. I did cut my hair really short thinking that the next step would be ditching hair coloring altogether but every time the roots start showing up, the coward in me rush to cover it.
This is perfect timing. I just ordered some henna samples from Henna for Hair and I’m nervously waiting to try them on hair I’ve been collecting from my brush. It’ll be helpful to get a first hand account!
No and yes. :) I’m just waiting for the greys to…multiply :S before I dye as I’m not looking forward to the ongoing maintenance. I have a great, supportive hairdresser and I’m hoping she’ll help with the time comes (for a fee of course).
Thanks for the great link! I had looked into henna at one time, but the sites I was on only had dark red. Very excited to see strawberry blonde – that seems the easiest to use until I’m ready to make the all-grey switch.
For the past few years I’ve been helping my mom with the upkeep of her roots with dirty dyes (I need to keep the bathroom door open because of the terrible fumes). I’d love to encourage her to look into henna and I’m eager to follow these posts. I watched one of the youtubes on the henna for hair site and it made me a bit nervous that they differentiated that the henna will play differently on hair that is already gray as opposed to hair that is still the other “natural” color (in her case, a reddish light brown). Would there be an obvious line of demarcation from the dirty dye to the henna? Also, at this point she’s only doing the roots because supposedly too much dye lightens the rest of the hair too much… Would henna also just be for the roots or would it be all of her hair every time? (She has short hair so all of the hair wouldnt be the end of the world–it might actually be easier for her to do and potentially allow her to do it to herself again instead of needing help. Sorry this got so long, but I’d love to hear people’s personal experiences with henna so I can learn and (hopefully) convert her :P Thanks in advance!
I used Lush’s henna for a while- one of the darker colors. I really loved it! It blended so well with my color as it faded that I didn’t really have to do root upkeep. But, how natural exactly is it??
@Lolly, wonderful to have a partner that appreciates your beauty : ) If your hair is dark the effect would be very subtle, and if you don’t want to do the whole thing you could even try “highlights,” which I’m sure can be done (though I’ve never tried).
@nancy, if you feel pretty with your hair colored, nothing cowardly about that in my opinion! Regarding the convenience of a cream, I still think about the convenience issue sometimes, but I remind myself that going to the salon and the travel and hassle of parking and all that really wasn’t convenient. Of course if people color at home anyway, henna may seem like a hassle until you get used to it.
@nicolem, the big thing with gray is that you have to leave it on much longer to get the color you are after. My next post will give details of my process and that may help you. I did not have any line of demarcation when I transitioned from regular dye. You just have to pick the right ratio of henna to indigo to match the color. I’d recommend calling the henna for hair people for advice and browsing their website. You can just do roots if you want, maybe pull it through all the hair every third or fourth application. You don’t have to worry about overlapping the color a little when doing roots. It’s really hard to make a mistake, in my opinion. Just remember when experimenting you can always reapply to make it darker, but you can’t make it lighter once it’s done.
I used henna early on and have since fallen prey to other products. What brand or type of henna do you recommend? The brand I used is no longer available….
What brands do you recommend?
I ADORE henna! I have been using it for so many years, always in red-copper shade. But in this moment I have for the first time, after so many years of being red, my natural brown hair color. But I’m planning to dye myself red again :) I miss my red hair :)
I’m not familiar with Lush and just looked it up…there are some ingredients I’d need to look up individually, but it lists “perfume” which makes me nervous (as far as being clean), and based on the instructions it isn’t functioning like pure henna. Also, some of you mention it fades, which pure henna does not – but if you are after something temporary that might be a plus.
Can’t wait to read Part 2. I have switched to natural skin care (mostly Tata Harper) and almost all natural makeup, but my hair color still lies in the toxic world. I would love to be able to keep the rich and warm dark brunette that my stylist gives me, but with henna. I have to say I’m a bit worried about the mess and what it would look like, but your article and the link was very helpful.
I am so excited to learn about henna!! I have had my eyebrows dyed with henna at the mall at a threading kiosk and loved the look!!!—-it is so hard to find the perfect match of eyebrow products to my eyebrows and the henna colored my brows and a the skin too so I had the perfect brows-until it wore off. I would love to do my own so look forward to all the reading!!! Thanks NMDL!!!
Perfect timing! I just got my samples from Mehandi/Henna for Hair and I am going to play with them this weekend. I was planning on going grey, but if I can find a henna mixture that works for me, I will go for it! I ordered cassia and two types of henna to experiment with different shades of red and blonde. BTW, you CAN do blonde just not with henna, but with cassia (if your hair is white).
@nancy – Surya henna has almost no henna in it and a lot of coal tar derived dyes which are really bad for you and, I believe, even banned in Europe.
@Jana, I use the henna and indigo sold on the website I mentioned, this is the direct link to ordering: http://www.mehandi.com/shop/hair.html
I don’t know of other brands that are pure henna, but maybe someone else does.
Hair dye is the last, untouched frontier in my ever-growing lean towards crunchiness (although, not having coloured it since March, it looks like I have decided to give it up!). Could indigo be used alone, without an initial application of henna? I remember trying it in my teens and loathing the sandiness that it left behind on everything. That said, I have become so sensitive to chemicals since as a result of some major health issues, I had already begun a search for a healthier hair colour and look forward to more info on this topic!
Jeanine: thanx for the tips & warnings about Surya henna. Its getting about that time in my life where I may need to blend the white hairs. Is Mehandi/Henna pure?
Thanks for these tips… I’ve recently been considering henna. The link is helpful but, well, the site is pretty confusing? If I wanted to buy an auburn henna for the first time, over medium/dark brown hair that has been dyed, where do I go? The link seems to take me to pages with more links.
Anyway thanks-
Michele
@Silvy, the Lush Henna ingredients are here: http://www.lushusa.com/Caca-Brun-Mama/00675,en_US,pd.html?start=3&cgid=henna-hair-dyes
The only thing too objectionable, I think, is the Perfume… though a lot of the ingredients just seem unnecessary. I reaaaallly wish they’d leave the perfume out because it’s kind of gross.
@Alex What kind of a name is that! lol!
Translation from French: Brown Pooh Mama… no thanks.
Thank you so much for this post Rebecca! I have looked at this website (mehandi.com) and had my eye on Henna for quite sometime now but have been too scared to try it. My natural hair color is a light strawberry blonde but I have had my hair bleached at the salon for years (eek! I know!). I have been wanting to return back to my natural color (or as close as I can get it) and wanted to do so by trying henna. I was worried that the results would turn out too red but I found some great info. on the site on Cassia and some good recipes for different colors (like mixing the Cassia with a bit of Henna for strawberry) and I think I’m ready for some samples! Now that I know to test the color first on some hair collected from my brush (how did I not think of this before? Brilliant!) I think I will be able to achieve some great results. Thanks again!
@Melanie, indigo alone would make your hair blue (the name is literally meaning the color it gives). It needs to be mixed with henna to get brown or black. The henna I use doesn’t leave behind any sandiness, on surfaces or on my hair.
@Michelle, henna is just henna, so you aren’t ordering different colors of henna. What you need to figure out is what proportion of henna and indigo you want to use. For what you want, I’m guessing maybe 2 parts henna to 1 part indigo. I highly recommend calling the henna for hair people for advice. This is the link that shows different mixes: http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/index.html
@Priscilla, I believe the Mehandi/Henna for hair is pure, and their website goes over the importance of purity. As a super sensitive type, I’ve not had any bad reaction to the henna or indigo they sell.
I’m a big believer in Henna! I dye my hair right before I go to bed; I put the stuff on, plastic wrap/towel wrap my head and then sleep.
About a year ago I decided on a complete whim to go blonde. My hair is a natural dark gingery brown. I regretted this decision immediately and used henna to go back. I have psoriases, but only on my scalp, and it hadn’t really acted up in ages, that is up until the moment I bleached my hair. My skin came off in chunks. It was nasty and awful. The henna soothed my scalp, and gets rid of any psoriases breakouts I have gotten since. I never thought my scalp would go back to normal so quickly. I am in love!
I better get my act together.. Thanks Jeanine.
@ Rebecca .. It isn’t the feeling prettier with coved grays but rather being unable to get rid of the overall perception that women with gray hair is seem as unkept ..
@Sara, psoriasis is awful (I used to have it on my face), good to know henna helps!
I’ve been using and loving henna for years! I purchase body art quality henna from local Indian grocery stores. Depending upon the henna crop, the dye that releases can vary slightly in color. Instead of using lemon juice for dye release or other tarps, I mix my henna with coconut milk for extra conditioning and very easy rinsing. The natural acids in coconut milk add in due release just as well. Otherwise henna is very difficult to rinse out completely and can feel like a complete hassle. My hair is naturally a dark brown so you can only see the color well in sunlight. I mainly use henna to strengthen my fine strands and make my hair shiny. It has also added in taking the frizz out of my curly hair and making my curls more uniform. I will be a henna lover forever!
It seems that the “perfume” in the Lush products is clove bud oil, which makes sense as it’s a very intense smell.