HENNA QUESTIONS (again)

[pet]

Hi girls!

Before you get all upset with me, I have searched the forums and have read almost every thread that has to do with henna....lol. Actually, I'm a little bit more confused than before!

Ok.....so I want to do something different with my hair for the new year, and I have decided to do some coloring (highlights). Currently, my hair is pressed and is dark brown (some even say that it is black.....but it's brown), and I want to try henna since it is natural (I have never put chemicals in my hair).

I have already ordered 2lbs of henna from fromnaturewithlove. SO...here is my question....I have read that after a henna treatment the hair can come out hard.

1. What can I add to the henna mixture so when I do rinse it out my hair is soft?

2. Also, how much lemon juice do I add to the mixture? (I think you add enough water to make the mixture lumpy..., but a specific amount of something acidic)

3. I absolutely do not want my entire head read, and would prefer auburn highlights mixed in with my dark brown hair. I have read the explanation on the hennaforhair website and it says that if you have dark brown hair, you will get red highlights. How can I make it more to look an auburn/deep wine color? Will a little bit of indigo do the trick?

4. Also, if you have a basic recipe for your mixture...do you mind posting it? I rather not go all crazy with the mixtures......I'm a simple person.

I have added a pic of my pressed hair, just for you to see what is my hair color.

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[BeaLady]

You have pretty hair. Looks healthy and thick.

Many of the ladies on this board have experience hard and dry hair with lemon juice and Apple Cider Vinegar. Some have suggested adding honey, yogurt, a little conditioner and Evoo(extra virgin olive oil).

If you add indigo it will make it darker. It might should give you the color you are looking for. I'm not sure of the proportion of Henna/Indigo that would give you that color, maybe 2 parts henna to 1 part indigo. Henna deposits red color on your hair. It's translucent so you may not see unless you're in the sunlight. After repeated applications you should see more of the undertones. Some have suggested adding Amla powder to bring out a little brown color.

I'm also natural. After spending a long time researching I did my first henna this week. It didn't come out hard but it was just a little dry. This was my recipe:

100 grams henna
50 grams amla powder
50 grams indigo
2 tsps. honey
2 tsps. evoo
a squirt of Suave conditioner
1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar(I was warned not to do this step but I wanted to make sure I had the optimal dye release. This probably contributed to my slight dryness).
Water

I didn't use yogurt because I've read that it can inhibit color deposit. I plan to keep to the basic recipe until I've had a few henna treatments. After that I will begin to experiment with different recipes. My mixture came out thick, like mashed potatoes. I didn't want to make it too runny because I read how messy it could be.

I mixed it up at 10pm in a plastic bowl, covered with saran wrap and left it on my counter. I began applying it at 11am. I rinsed it out around 5:30pm. I filled my kitchen sink and dunked my head to loosen it up as I worked it out of my hair. I ended up filling only 3 sinks of water. When the water was looking a little clear I rinsed the rest out with conditioner. I used a half a bottle of Suave conditioner to finish the job.

I have gray patches that I was trying to cover up so I followed it with an additional indigo treatment because my grays were very orange and I didn't want to wait to see what color it darkened to. I now have black hair with a couple of reddish/brown streaks.

I hope this helps. I'm a novice so hopefully some of the more experienced users will also add their input.

 

[pet]

Thank you so much BeaLady! You have been very informative.

 

[carameldiva]

My recipe is
100 g of henna
25g amla powder
25 g shikakai powder
25 g fo-ti powder
25 g of neem or tulsi powder

add honey - several squirts
add 3-4 splashes of acv
add tablespoon or two of castor oil
add 2 heaping ladels full of yogurt
add a lil hot water

that's it

hope this helps.

 

[BeaLady]

Thank you so much BeaLady! You have been very informative.

You're very welcome. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[pet]

Thank you for your recipe Carameldiva!