Thawing and Re-freezing Henna??

[Yarn Muse]

I mixed up a bag of Punjabi Prime henna, took out a tablespoonful for my gloss, then was in a hurry to leave the house so I put it all into a plastic freezer container and froze it. I'm just not ready to do a full-strength henna yet. Can I thaw this out, put it in TBsp. sized globs on a cookie sheet, and re-freeze? Will I hurt the henna?

[Yarn Muse]

BUMP

Does anyone know the answer?

[ddiana1979]

I'm not the best person to answer this, because I henndigo. From what I've heard though, you can freeze henna & it won't lose its dye activity.

You can't freeze indigo though.

[marisa]

I'm really not entirely sure, but it might lose some of its potency.
Perhaps for this batch just break off a chunk each time you gloss and keep the bulk frozen.

For next time though, that cookie sheet freezing method sounds great!

[halo_tightens]

I know from experience that you can freeze and thaw henna several times without hurting its potency. Many of us have found that it actually makes the dye stronger... possibly relating to the breaking down of cell walls.

The cookie sheet sounds like a good idea. I do something similar by using an ice cube tray. After they've frozen, I pop them out and store them in a bfreezer bag. It's nice to have small "single-serve" portions, and be able to pull out one or five or ten, whatever is needed at the moment. :)

[caribou55313]

Sure you can do this, I re-freeze henna 3-4 times before it starts to lose potency. Just keep in mind all the time it spends at room temperature, its little lifespan is ticking away, so minimize the time it spends outside the freezer. I break off chunks and/or thaw part of it quickly in warm water, then rush it back into the freezer.

[Yarn Muse]

Thank you, everyone! I'm going to thaw the henna today. I will make sure I do not leave it out too long at room temp.

[madeline_]

Excellent idea with the icecube tray!

[CurlyTresses]

Excellent idea with the icecube tray!

Yes, great idea about ice cube tray. Also wonder if I could fit the frozen ice cube into a bottle tipped container to do root touch ups - will have to try this. Thanks for this idea.

[CurlyTresses]

Sure you can do this, I re-freeze henna 3-4 times before it starts to lose potency. Just keep in mind all the time it spends at room temperature, its little lifespan is ticking away, so minimize the time it spends outside the freezer. I break off chunks and/or thaw part of it quickly in warm water, then rush it back into the freezer.

Another great idea is freezing henna mix after dye release. Have been doing this and really notice how much more intense the henna color is. Thanks caribou55313 for this great idea. ;)

[Stormy1]

I usually mix extra when doing a full head henna, dump the remainder in a baggy and freeze it.

I then defrost and take out a few spoonfuls for a roots-only application and refreeze the rest. I've never noticed any lack of dye quality amoung the samples.

However, I think the icecube tray idea is fantastic --- I plan to try this next time.