Henna and apple juice?

[naturegirl321]

I've ordered henna off amazon and will be hennaing my hair for the first time in February. I've seen that many people use lemon juice or ACV, but I'm worried about the drying nature of lemon juice and the smell of ACV if I leave it on for 4 hours. Anyone had any success with using apple juice?

[madeline_]

If you are worried about drying out your hair, I would use chamomille tea. From what I've read it seems to be the mildest yet most effective way of mixing your henna, ànd it minimises the oxidation (if that is what you are going for).

[naturegirl321]

OK, thanks. Does other tea work? I'm not sure I can find camomile here.

[ddiana1979]

The smell of henna itself is so strong (alfalfa hay or grass smell) you probably won't notice the ACV. Per one cup of water, I add 1 Tbsp. ACV (to help cover grays), and I can't smell it. As far as drying is concerned, last time I also added 1 Tbsp. of EVOO, and my hair was very well conditioned at the end, quite soft, and the henna was SO EASY to rinse out this time (didn't have to do any of that crazy mermaid rinsing, etc.). I should clarify that I use henndigo instead of straight henna. I will definitely continue to use the EVOO. . . it made things so much easier, and I also had less shedding this time.

If you want to try apple juice, just try a strand test, unless someone here happens to pop up & says that it works really well.

[Nae]

When I was reading about henna I am pretty sure I came across someone who successfully used apple juice with henna but I have been searching and have no idea where I read it. I am sorry.

[naturegirl321]

hennaforhair.com has lots of info.

I'll have to go grocery shopping. I've seen every kind of vinegar, corn included, except ACV. And I can't find camomile tea either. Maybe' I'll jsut use corn vinegar. IT's got to be the same, right?

[caribou55313]

All that matters is that it's mildly acidic, so any kind of vinegar or fruit juice is good. One of the mods at H4H uses apple juice. Wine also works - I used just a splash of wine and water for the rest of the liquid once and it worked well. The only kind of juice I've heard isn't so great is pineapple - apparently the enzymes in it mess with the dye release somehow. A pinch of citric acid works also, but be careful not to use too much or you'll delay/inhibit your dye release.

You can even use plain cool water, but that will mean your dye release and demise will happen faster. Just avoid boiling water because of rapid fading.

Teas are fine too. Green tea is a favorite of some. Herbal teas like rosehip, hibiscus, red zinger or lemon zinger are good.