Henna and Amla

[Wrathgara]

Hi.
I have ordered the Jamila henna powder , the 2009 batch as some reviewers seem to have been happy with it and Amla powder to use instead of lemon juice. According to a great article I read, http://www.thecrunchywife.com/2010/02/dying-hair-with-henna-part-two-of-two.html, the woman was advised to mix the Alma powder with henna instead of lemon juice, tea, wine , vinegar whatever. I LOVED said woman's results and intend on following her steps to the letter.

I'v scoured some posts to research what people have been using to mix their Henna and have not found a appropriate response regarding using Amla to release henna dye.

can someone please clarify this or direct me to the thread that answers this question?

thank you in advance for your time ladies :)

[little_cherry]

I've done this before and it worked just fine. I made the pastes separately and then mixed them together for dye release.

Some people use acids in henna, and some people don't.

[Wrathgara]

Thank you so much for the reply. I'v seen you participate in quite a few forums and really trust your experience. My hair is already somewhat dry and naturally coarse in some areas and I am thinking that lemon juice might just be a little harsh. (used lemon juice once to tone that the canary yellow hair i ended up with when i thought i could dye my own roots blonde, it worked but made for some straw hair )

Digging deeper into research, I'v noticed a couple of posts regarding irons darkening henna'd hair. Anyone have any first hand experience with this ?

[little_cherry]

Thank you. :)

Many people use chamomile tea as their liquid base. It's very gentle. I have added a little acid or just used plain water for my henna mix. Personally, with amla in the mix, I'd use something like hibiscus tea or chamomile; I use hibiscus because it's slightly cleansing, conditioning and slightly colouring.

I also used to straighten my hair prior to LHC. From my experience, it did darken hair, but my hair felt dryer, too. I went darker applying henna multiple times. HTH.

[sibiryachka]

Not sure whether this will answer your question, but I do use amla in my henna mix with no other acid ingredient. I found so much conflicting information about what adding lemon juice, etc, actually does - speed dye release? increase dye uptake? inhibit dye uptake? darker color? - it made my head spin, so I decided to just keep things as simple as possible ;) After about a year of monthly experiments, here's what I've settled on:
I've been using the 2009 crop Jamila. I mix 100 g of it with tepid tap water to a thick mashed-potato consistency, and divide the paste into 2 zipper bags, which I then put into the freezer. This way I don't have to wait, or keep checking, for dye release; it's ready when I am.
On henna day, I thaw one of the bags; yes, only 50g of henna, since I only use it on the roots now. While it's thawing, I mix 1 tablespoon amla powder with enough warm water to make a fairly runny "soup". I combine that with the henna paste in a plastic squeeze bottle, with a little more water and lots of cheap cone-free conditioner (about equal to the amount of henna/amla paste) to make it a nice loose yogurt/pudding consistency.
I can't judge whether the amla affects dye uptake; my purpose in using it is to tweak the final color more toward auburn. It works for that, on my head anyway. :shrug: As for dye release, freezing/thawing accomplishes that just fine.

[princessp]

I always use amla in my mix too. It works very well. Good luck!

[Wrathgara]

@littlecherry: Thank you so much, I am feeling super overwhelmed as well with all the acid bases I can use and truly believe that like any hair product, it's all about what works for certain people. There is never just one way of doing things. I really liked th results of the crunchiewife and her step by step process because I thought that her color was beautiful!
I adored your 2 ziplock bag approach for your roots and to apply when you want to apply because life happens, I will def. be assimilating this nifty trick in my routine.
I too ordered the 2009 crop from a reputable seller as I have heard stories of people selling the fake kind.
I think I will also be using cheap conditioner in lieu of yogurt only because I think it will be healthier for my hair as it is somewhat dry
Thank you for the fantastic reply and taking the time to answer my questions and share you experience!! I missed this site :)

[MsEvans]

F
Not sure whether this will answer your question, but I do use amla in my henna mix with no other acid ingredient. I found so much conflicting information about what adding lemon juice, etc, actually does - speed dye release? increase dye uptake? inhibit dye uptake? darker color? - it made my head spin, so I decided to just keep things as simple as possible ;) After about a year of monthly experiments, here's what I've settled on:
I've been using the 2009 crop Jamila. I mix 100 g of it with tepid tap water to a thick mashed-potato consistency, and divide the paste into 2 zipper bags, which I then put into the freezer. This way I don't have to wait, or keep checking, for dye release; it's ready when I am.
On henna day, I thaw one of the bags; yes, only 50g of henna, since I only use it on the roots now. While it's thawing, I mix 1 tablespoon amla powder with enough warm water to make a fairly runny "soup". I combine that with the henna paste in a plastic squeeze bottle, with a little more water and lots of cheap cone-free conditioner (about equal to the amount of henna/amla paste) to make it a nice loose yogurt/pudding consistency.
I can't judge whether the amla affects dye uptake; my purpose in using it is o tweak the final color more toward auburn. It works for that, on my head anyway. :shrug: As for dye release, freezing/thawing accomplishes that just fine.

How do you thaw your henna? I was thinking how could you thaw it in a way that preserves the lawsone.

[sibiryachka]

F

How do you thaw your henna? I was thinking how could you thaw it in a way that preserves the lawsone.

I put the zipper bag in a bowl of warm water, keeping the zipper part above the water line; usually by the time the water is cooled off, the paste is ready to use.

[Pierre]

I use 2 parts henna, 1 part amla, and 1 part cloves, mix with water, and apply immediately. It releases dye straight into my hair (and nails) and comes out beautiful. I use 12 g henna, 6 g each amla and cloves, if doing only hair and fingernails, and 15 g henna and 7.5 g each amla and cloves if I'm also doing my toenails.