Reader Tiffany says;
Hey Leila, I have a question and wonder if the BGLH community can help me. I have very fine hair and, after doing some research, I think henna might help to thicken up my strands. But I’ve also read that for some women henna doesn’t work well, and even leads to breakage.
I just wanted to ask your readers to share their henna experiences. Did it work for them? And if not, why? Also, are there any tips or tricks for me to keep in mind? Thanks!
Alright ladies! What have your experiences with henna been like?
I used henna a long time ago and i loved it. It never broke my hair off and I was a teen using it on relaxed hair then. i plan on using it again once i find the real stuff. I never left it in over night and i did at times over do it but still no breakage. The Henna I used had a recommended time on it, if I am remembering correctly.
This is great! I just added the finishing touches to a batch of henna I plan to freeze and use this weekend! I have used Body Art Quality Henna from mehandi.com for over a year and I absolutely love what it does for my hair!
In April of last year, I had such a serious allergic reaction to hair coloring (done at a salon) that I ended up at an ER clinic. My scalp wept from sores, and my face looked like I had gone ten rounds with Evander Holyfield!
I, too, was reluctant to try henna. All the research I’d done indicated it was a safe alternative to permanent hair coloring (which contains metals and PPDs.) Reluctantly, I decided to give it a try.
Last November, I bought henna and followed the directions on the website, mixing it with lemon juice. My scalp was a bit dry from using the lemon juice. I have since hennaed three times, mixing it with apple juice instead of the lemon juice, and have had excellent results.
As the other ladies indicated, it is a godsend to naturals because it colors and conditions! And, the color lasts! For those with grays, it creates nice coppery highlights. In my opinion, it is well worth the effort, especially for those allergic to permanent dyes.
I love henna! My hair’s already pretty thick tho. I use it more for the natural highlights. The best henna is from a foreign company and in powder form. I’ve left henna in my hair for hours and overnight, and I never had issues after it was washed out, but others have. It’s a good deep conditioner to help repair damage. I haven’t used it in more than a year cuz it makes a big mess, but I still have my highlights. So it’s good stuff. But hair stylists would say otherwise. I’ve met some who told me henna is bad, but it depends on each person’s hair
My hair loves henna!
I have type 4 fine and thin hair which is noticably thicker since I started henna treatments.It also gave me a beautiful deep brown/mahogany/red colour.
I leave mine in over night. In my mixture I use tea,let it sit,then add conditioner and oils just before I apply.
Hope it woks for you too.
I’ve done two henna gloss treatments so far, the first time I didn’t sift it so make sure you do, as mentioned before. Days later I still had grains left in my hair. Besides that, I haven’t really noticed a big difference in the shedding which has always been a handful and still is. I’m hoping that’ll improve, and that my hairline will grow in because it has been thinning for the last couple of months.
It does look like my hair is much softer, slightly looser and the shine has improved greatly (I don’t know if that’s only the henna or the oil rinse as well).
I wanna do a full-on henna next time I’ll wash my hair, maybe mix it with coconut milk and amla or another ayurvedic powder. I don’t think I will leave it on overnight though, I’m too scared after Kim’s horror story :P. It does seem like for most of the people who commented, it’s the longer, the better when it comes to henna’ing.
What a timely article/responses, I have debated on whether to Henna or not for a month now, after these reviews…. I will Henna this weekend & thanks for stressing it has to be the pure henna not the chemically altered one. Love you naturels
This is so crazy! I’m on Christmas break from college and I was swearing up and down that I was going to try henna before school started(in case it came out awful…I would have time to fix it). Now I’m convinced and will def. get the jamila type of henna. Thanx ladies!
Hi there — i wont repeat too much of what I have seen posted, but I will point out that..
– henna will make your hair thicker, stronger, more voluminous, and yet easier to detangle – due to the deposit it leaves on the strands. Depending on the porosity of the hair you may get a rich vibrant color, or a more subtle color with highlights that intensifies in richness over time. Don’t forget that your scalp will get a great exfoliation and stimulation as well.
– henna glosses are not to be left on overnight. You may have to keep in mind the conditioner you want to use for a henna gloss, because that will influence the amount of time you want to keep it on your hair. A more pure henna treatment is better for overnite conditioning.
– I’ve been using henna for the last 5 years and it just gets better and better! Fine hair, thick hair can both benefit from henna. There a number of places you can get it if its not local to you
(toot-toot: http://www.thehairshebang.etsy.com )
– For first time users, you may want to make sure you follow up with a deep conditioner to ensure that your hair stays moisturized. Fine haired ladies seem to do just fine with henna, but thick-haired naturals may want to cowash the henna out or use a deep conditioner after rinsing.
– Scared of loosening curl pattern with henna? Use water instead of lemon juice, add amla or shikakai to your henna, or make sure you pre-treat the hair with ayurvedic oils prior to henna…
Blessings and Happy Hair!
Lina of The Hair Shebang
I love henna!!! I’ve been using it monthly since March of this year and have seen my curls soften and also get stronger. I mix about 100 grams with a can of coconut milk. The coconut milk gives great dye release without the drying effects of other acids or tarps. I leave it in as long as possible (3-6 hours). Karishma Henna has a great herbal mix and Jamila Henna gives a beautiful burgundy color. Adding hibiscus powder enhances the burgundy shade even more. I would definitely recommend using henna for healthy hair and beautful color. I think of henna as my deep conditioning treatment.
Henna’s definitely become one of my staples. I try to henna once a month. Over the past 5′months my hair has become thicker and less brittle. It also fills in the gaps in my strNds from split ends- not repairing them but giving me more time for my hair to grow out before a trim
I’m currently transitioning, 6 months post relaxer and I’ve been toying with the idea of henna to aid in detangling and hopefully reduce breakage (that line of demarcation thing is killing me). What scares me is the colour. I’ve always been a jet black hair kind of girl. i don’t know if I could handle my hair bright. Has anyone ended up with bright/orange hair?
I am so glad you asked this question! I am interested in trying but I do want to get semi-permanent color in my hair this summer and was wondering what negative effects Henna can have on my chemically processed hair (i.e. I am natural but want color. Any opininons on this?
Just something to remember about henna…if you have a lot of gray, white or silver hair, you’ll get orange hair from henna, not red. I spent some time in India, and it’s the dye of choice for old people whose hair is turning or has turned white. Let’s just say that a bunch of Indians are running around giving Carrot Top a run for the money, which isn’t exactly the most flattering choice for a brown-skinned person. It’s shocking and awful looking but the norm and they seem to prefer it to just having grey or white hair.
You’ll probably get nice color results if you still have all black hair, but if you have a lot of grey, beware…
Can you all please state what DC you all use after your henna treatment…tia
@Kim – I had a less than postive reaction to Henna the first time I tried it as well so dont feel bad. I had just cut off my perm and had color in my hair, about a month later I tried Henna. My hair was DRRRRRRRRY, brittle and breaking, I was not a fan. Fast forward 1yr. I have been using Amla powder as a conditioning treatment for a few months not (check out this treatment on naturallyleslie.blogspot.com) and it had my hair feeling GREAAAAT!!!! so I decided to revisit the Henna. I have to say the results this time round were much different and I will be doing it again. It still very dry on my ends were I still have color but the rest of my hair is fluffy and feels stronger. I used a different brand than what forums have suggested. I used Napur that is infused with Amla, and other Ayurvedic powders. I will try Jamilla next time, see if it makes a difference.
@babycakes
In the summertime (I live in the HUMID Midwest) I used Suave Humectant (think I spelled it right) with my hair steamer. Suave is cheap and awesome. And as of right now I’m on the hunt for the perfect winter ready DC. I have used AO- Honeysuckle Rose but I’m only 60% in love with it. Any suggestions for a winter DC ladies? A cheapo and/or a highend please!
Wow, thanks for the info. I think I might go for henna mixed with amla (to retain my kinks) like lina40 suggested.
Henna is GREAT!! If you don’t want the red undertones, simply follow-up with indigo. You can do indigo after for jet-black hair or add it to the henna for brown hair. HTH.
@ Dani, try AO GBP or White Camelia. They work better for me than HSR does.
I have fine strands of varying curl sizes, and they are of moderate density on my head. I have used henna since summer of 2007, and I love it. I primarily use it for the color.
Because I find henna drying for my hair, and my hair already tends to be dry due to hypothyroidism, I make sure to use lots of moisturizing conditioner. For about a year now, I have mixed my henna with conditioner to apply it, and after I rinse it out with conditioner, I apply more conditioner. For me, if I’m going to err, it will be on the side of too much moisture, because for my hair, I’ve yet to find any such thing :-); my hair needs a lot of moisture and loves it very much. If you used henna, and then your hair started breaking, you may have needed to significantly increase your moisture use; try it now if that is your current situation, and see if that helps.
What I’ve heard and observed to be the case is that the darker your hair to begin with, the less you’ll notice the color while in a shaded place. Over time, the henna stain deepens with repeated use. On me, however, if I go a couple of months without applying, the color starts to lighten up again. I have golden-strawberry-blond hair underneath, however, and I’ve heard from other people with albinism that their hair sometimes doesn’t retain color as well, so since I also have albinism, that may partially explain the lightening when I don’t reapply for awhile.
And that thing they tell you about not using oils in your mix because oils interfere with stain? Not a problem for me! If you don’t want the staining so much, however, try adding oil to your mix and see if you get less. Want a stronger stain? Add apple cider vinegar.
As for gray coverage, I’m told walnut powder is good for mixing with henna to give brown results. Black tea also will do it; I know this by experience. I purchased henna from a local Indian market, and it had black tea and other natural powders in it. My hair was dark reddish-brown for quite a while after that. I still have the remnants of that henna powder in my long-term hair supplies storage. But the two-step henna and indigo coloring is the recommended way to go completely black for those who want to do that, and I think it is supposed to do a marvelous job on grays.
And if your henna comes pre-mixed with anything, make sure it’s a plant or food, for instance, chamomile, marigold, hibiscus, walnut powder, tea, amla, shikakai, all of those are common plant and/or comestible ingredients found in an all-natural henna mix. Rainbow Henna is a company that sells these kinds of henna mixes, and there are no PPD’s or other synthesized chemicals in their powders. If your henna contains a synthesized chemical additive, DO NOT USE IT!!!!!
And if you try it and don’t like it, find something else :-)!