Long coarse hair need henna help-tangles and mess!

[mslala]

Hi ladies. I'm a lurker on this board, I joined a while ago but never post. I notice that there alot of you all knowledgeable about henna and I need help.

AFter much research I did my first ( and maybe last) henna treatment yesterday. I have 4a/b kinky hair that is WL when stretched.

The application went fine and then I let it sit 4 or 5 hours. I used Reshma henna mixed w/water. ( I did a strand test prior to make sure there were no problems). The color took to my hair very well and I can tell my hair is stronger. BUT, I had a big mass of tangles after rinsing out. I did a DC w/Silk Elements moisturizing Treatment and I used Tresseme Natural condish to rinse. I ended up having to rinse before and after my DC to get all the henna out. I rinsed in the shower on the strongest setting I could put my shower head on.
Usually I wash my hair in braids or sections to prevent tangles but it was very hard rinsing out the henna the way I usually wash my hair. Plus I had to rinse soooooo much and I think all that manipulation contributed to the tangles. It took me 2 hours to rinse out the henna and 6 hours to get all of the tangles out my hair, :poot:I have never had tangled hair like that. Not to mention my tub was an absolute disaster area when I was done. There was residue everywhere.

Any suggestions on how to eliminate tangling like these when hennaing and how to clean up or make less mess? Did I perhaps use too much henna?:confused:

I like the results but I don't think I can go through this again.However I have a whole batch left that I don't want to waste

[Gabriel]

Hi mslala!

I don't have the same type of hair as you so I don't know how much help I can give you but it will help bump this up so maybe someone else can see and offer some better advice for you.

I've never used the type of henna you used, so I don't know if that matters much either.

Henna leaves a light resin type of coating on the hair. Some henna more than others I've noticed but mostly all do. It takes a few washes for it to go away on it's own. If you rinsed your hair out and the water was running clear but still felt kind of coated and tangly, that's about right.

If possible, just stop rinsing at that point and add some conditioner that will help you detangle it and go from there.

I've used a henna that really had a lot of tangling for me and what helped me is putting a lot of cheap conditioner through my hair before even rinsing. I mean really working it in. Then I filled a bucket with warm water and dunked my head in it and worked that around gently and carefully. Empty bucket and repeat conditioner and bucket dunk a couple of more times.

Finally I would rinse it in the shower using more conditioner if necessary. This whole routine probably would take me about a half an hour at the max.

The henna I use now is a dream to work with though and easy to rinse out.

Hope someone can offer some better advice for you though!

[Bene]

You didn't mention how you applied it. Maybe thoroughly detangling and sectioning before applying the henna can help, sort of combing it through each section. Did you use plastic wrap or something to keep the henna moist? I know it's a pain in the ass to rinse out when it dries. Also, adding a cheapie no-cone conditioner to the mix makes it easier to rinse out.

I'm not sure about the consistency of henna, but I think it's similar to cassia. I normally stand under the shower for a good while to rinse as much as possible before I try running my hands through it. I try to make sure the water runs clear, and then I wait a little bit longer, before I use conditioner. I think some people soak in the tub for a while with their head in the water to loosen up the mix.

[ravenreed]

I had a lot of trouble adding henna straight to my hair. When I decided to try a henna gloss, which is henna mixed with conditioner, the application was much better and my hair was less coated feeling and tangly afterwards. I did find I had to do a clarifying wash after hennaing, because I don't normally use shampoo, and the resin buildup was more than I could deal with.

[jeanniet]

I agree with Ravenreed. Try glosses instead. You can do fairly heavy glosses or just do them more often. If I do straight henna, it takes me forever to get it out and I lose a lot of hairs to detangling afterwards. Now at the very least I add oil to the henna mix, and usually just do a DT along with it.

[CurlyTresses]

Agreeing with what's already been posted. I use Yemeni henna from HennaSooq; and I've only hennaed 3 times, but I do a mermaid soak, filling up tub with water and laying back with hair sitting in water. The water helps loosen the henna. I then put loads of cheapie conditioner (Suave, Vo5...) letting it sit a bit then either mermaid soak again or rinsing off the rest in shower. I'm thinking of trying the dunking hair in bucket rinsing method next. Sounds like this would work well also.

Another thing that has really helped me with henna dryness (well, has worked for me;)) is couple days before hennaing, I'll apply lots of olive or coconut oil (sometimes adding shea butter) throughout hair and just let that marinate in hair for couple days. This has helped with detangling before hennaing, also makes detangling after henna much easier; in fact leaves my hair extremely soft.

Hope this helps. ~:) :)~

[kmouse43]

Two things that help me get the henna rinsed out well: 1. I put coconut oil in my damp hair before I apply the henna. and 2. I dunk my hair in a tub (or sink) of warm water and gently work the henna out of my hair and off my scalp for a few minutes before I start rinsing it out. Maybe that will help.

[jeanniet]

One other thing I thought of--when I first started doing henna/hendigo, I'd apply it by leaning over my tub and flipping my head/hair upside down. Big mistake. It caused way more tangles and shedding doing it that way. Now I get into the shower and apply the henna standing up, then I just rinse any residue off. That's really helped reduce tangling.

Also make sure your henna mix isn't too thick. It's easier to apply if it's runny enough to work it in without having to move your hair around excessively, and it squishes in better and rinses out easier. It'll drip more, but I'd rather live with the drips. :D

[little_cherry]

Hi!
As stated here, lots of people use conditioner to wash their henna out.

Something I did when I used to do a full head henna was to oil the night before with pure coconut oil and then dampen with water and apply the henna over that. Don't worry; it won't affect the colour or anything, but it will make it easier to wash the henna from your hair and keep it moisturised. It takes me 20 minutes to wash the henna out. The reshma is a coarser sift of henna so it would feel grittier than say Jamila or Yemeni.

Tangles should really be an issue when you henna unless you have buildup underneath. It is advised to have hair without build up prior to henna (excepting oiling)...any coating over build up is going to produce lots of tangling throughout your hair.

[mslala]

Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone! You all are giving me hope that I can try henna again.


Hi mslala!

I don't have the same type of hair as you so I don't know how much help I can give you but it will help bump this up so maybe someone else can see and offer some better advice for you.

I've never used the type of henna you used, so I don't know if that matters much either.

Henna leaves a light resin type of coating on the hair. Some henna more than others I've noticed but mostly all do. It takes a few washes for it to go away on it's own. If you rinsed your hair out and the water was running clear but still felt kind of coated and tangly, that's about right.

If possible, just stop rinsing at that point and add some conditioner that will help you detangle it and go from there.

I've used a henna that really had a lot of tangling for me and what helped me is putting a lot of cheap conditioner through my hair before even rinsing. I mean really working it in. Then I filled a bucket with warm water and dunked my head in it and worked that around gently and carefully. Empty bucket and repeat conditioner and bucket dunk a couple of more times.

Finally I would rinse it in the shower using more conditioner if necessary. This whole routine probably would take me about a half an hour at the max.

The henna I use now is a dream to work with though and easy to rinse out.

Hope someone can offer some better advice for you though!

Thanks for the suggestions. My hair did feel as you described. I think I will try dunking or soaking as a couple other ladies suggested.


You didn't mention how you applied it. Maybe thoroughly detangling and sectioning before applying the henna can help, sort of combing it through each section. Did you use plastic wrap or something to keep the henna moist? I know it's a pain in the ass to rinse out when it dries. Also, adding a cheapie no-cone conditioner to the mix makes it easier to rinse out.

I'm not sure about the consistency of henna, but I think it's similar to cassia. I normally stand under the shower for a good while to rinse as much as possible before I try running my hands through it. I try to make sure the water runs clear, and then I wait a little bit longer, before I use conditioner. I think some people soak in the tub for a while with their head in the water to loosen up the mix.

I detangled my hair and shampooed as I normally do in 4 sections. I then applied the henna in those sections. I didn't put any condish in my mix though. I used plastic wrap, 2 plastic caps and a twistie turbie towel to hold in my body heat.


I had a lot of trouble adding henna straight to my hair. When I decided to try a henna gloss, which is henna mixed with conditioner, the application was much better and my hair was less coated feeling and tangly afterwards. I did find I had to do a clarifying wash after hennaing, because I don't normally use shampoo, and the resin buildup was more than I could deal with.

What conditioner do you use in your gloss? I did a strand test w/a henna gloss but I don't the conditioner I used mixed well w/the henna.


I agree with Ravenreed. Try glosses instead. You can do fairly heavy glosses or just do them more often. If I do straight henna, it takes me forever to get it out and I lose a lot of hairs to detangling afterwards. Now at the very least I add oil to the henna mix, and usually just do a DT along with it.

Oddly enough I did not lose alot of hair, my hair felt so strong. But it took me 6 hours to get all the tangles out slowly. I wasn't about to ruin all the hard work I put into growing my hair out.


Agreeing with what's already been posted. I use Yemeni henna from HennaSooq; and I've only hennaed 3 times, but I do a mermaid soak, filling up tub with water and laying back with hair sitting in water. The water helps loosen the henna. I then put loads of cheapie conditioner (Suave, Vo5...) letting it sit a bit then either mermaid soak again or rinsing off the rest in shower. I'm thinking of trying the dunking hair in bucket rinsing method next. Sounds like this would work well also.

Another thing that has really helped me with henna dryness (well, has worked for me;)) is couple days before hennaing, I'll apply lots of olive or coconut oil (sometimes adding shea butter) throughout hair and just let that marinate in hair for couple days. This has helped with detangling before hennaing, also makes detangling after henna much easier; in fact leaves my hair extremely soft.

Hope this helps. ~:) :)~

So you oil and don't shampoo before hennaing?


Two things that help me get the henna rinsed out well: 1. I put coconut oil in my damp hair before I apply the henna. and 2. I dunk my hair in a tub (or sink) of warm water and gently work the henna out of my hair and off my scalp for a few minutes before I start rinsing it out. Maybe that will help.

Are you shampooing before putting the oil in?


One other thing I thought of--when I first started doing henna/hendigo, I'd apply it by leaning over my tub and flipping my head/hair upside down. Big mistake. It caused way more tangles and shedding doing it that way. Now I get into the shower and apply the henna standing up, then I just rinse any residue off. That's really helped reduce tangling.

Also make sure your henna mix isn't too thick. It's easier to apply if it's runny enough to work it in without having to move your hair around excessively, and it squishes in better and rinses out easier. It'll drip more, but I'd rather live with the drips. :D

I did flip my hair upside down when I started rinsing. I got frustrated because I got out of the shower and saw that it was still in my hair. I did make my mix really thick, it was like paste and I applied a lot. Maybe that was a big part of the issue.


Hi!
As stated here, lots of people use conditioner to wash their henna out.

Something I did when I used to do a full head henna was to oil the night before with pure coconut oil and then dampen with water and apply the henna over that. Don't worry; it won't affect the colour or anything, but it will make it easier to wash the henna from your hair and keep it moisturised. It takes me 20 minutes to wash the henna out. The reshma is a coarser sift of henna so it would feel grittier than say Jamila or Yemeni.

Tangles should really be an issue when you henna unless you have buildup underneath. It is advised to have hair without build up prior to henna (excepting oiling)...any coating over build up is going to produce lots of tangling throughout your hair.

I didn't add oil to my mix because I was concerned about the color. I clarified my hair beforehand so there shouldn't have been any build up. Actually my hair felt kind of stripped. I used a poo w/sulfates to make sure my hair didn't have build up and that's not something I usually do. I didn't know that about the Reshma. Does Jamila rinse out easier?

[little_cherry]

I didn't add oil to my mix because I was concerned about the color.
Adding a tsp of oils doesn't affect the henna colour at all; and that's all you'd need to add. If I don't oil with coconut oil prior to henna, I'll add a little to the mix; it helps with my coarse hairs. I have many silvers and the coconut oil doesn't interfere with dyeing them. Coconut oil has been reported to no interfere with dying with henna and conventional dyes.


I clarified my hair beforehand so there shouldn't have been any build up. This may have dried your hair out if you used a clarifying shampoo.. henna imparts a temporary coating over the hair which can be removed with a shampoo. The coating can give the illusion that the hair is dry. Follow the shampoo with a nice deep moisturising treatment or conditioning soak. Another thing that really helps me is to do a diluted vinegar rinse right after washing out the henna. It smooths the cuticles.


Actually my hair felt kind of stripped. I used a poo w/sulfates to make sure my hair didn't have build up and that's not something I usually do.
Sometimes an ordinary sulfate shampoo may not be clarifying enough


I didn't know that about the Reshma. Does Jamila rinse out easier?
Much easier. It has the finest sift of any henna powder I've ever used.

[CurlyTresses]

Originally Posted by CurlyTresses http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=1396768#post1396768)
Agreeing with what's already been posted. I use Yemeni henna from HennaSooq; and I've only hennaed 3 times, but I do a mermaid soak, filling up tub with water and laying back with hair sitting in water. The water helps loosen the henna. I then put loads of cheapie conditioner (Suave, Vo5...) letting it sit a bit then either mermaid soak again or rinsing off the rest in shower. I'm thinking of trying the dunking hair in bucket rinsing method next. Sounds like this would work well also.

Another thing that has really helped me with henna dryness (well, has worked for me;)) is couple days before hennaing, I'll apply lots of olive or coconut oil (sometimes adding shea butter) throughout hair and just let that marinate in hair for couple days. This has helped with detangling before hennaing, also makes detangling after henna much easier; in fact leaves my hair extremely soft.

Hope this helps. ~:) :)~
Originally Posted by mslala

So you oil and don't shampoo before hennaing?Sorry, I should have added that "Another thing that has really helped...is couple days before hennaing, I'll apply lots of olive or coconut oil (sometimes adding shea butter) throughout hair and just let that marinate in hair for couple days, then I'll shampoo/clarify and then apply henna to clean (no product) hair." :)

[Bellatrix]

My hair is a tad rough after henna'ing, but it goes away pretty quickly.

I find shampooing helps to get some of the sticky residue off...

[ratgirldjh]

I never clarify my hair before henna and I usually use Reshma henna - I have had the best color results from Reshma. I've used Jamilla once and another brand once and from both of these I had the odd coating feeling after.

However with Reshma henna I only leave it one hour and don't have this feeling.

Actually I will use henna when I feel my hair needs to be clarified! It tends to take off all residues from my hair. And I agree with others who say that coconut oil will not affect the results - because I have even used henna on oiled hair without shampooing or conditioning after and it came out great.

I wash mine off in the sink with lots of water until it runs clear.

djh

[Dolly]

I had a lot of the same issues with my first henna. Working some conditioner into the hair before rinsing does help immensely. Pre-oiling with some coconut oil also helps. With subsequent applications, the issue became a lot less problematic for me.

[Anje]

Just curious -- did you cover your hair with a plastic cap or bag while you hennaed it? I imagine the tangling could be much worse if you let it dry, which is the instruction I've seen on some boxes of henna.

As others have said, I'd suggest you incorporate conditioner somewhere in the process. Perhaps as part of the the liquid part of your henna mix, or at least slather it on thick as part of the rinse-out. That helps a lot.

Secondly, I know that Catherine at Henna4Hair sells an extra-fine sifted henna for African-type hair, to aid with the rinse-out. In my experience, finer sifts definitely rinse better. You don't necessarily need to buy a special henna, but you might want to make a sifter from some pantyhose and a coathanger or other ring, and sift your henna yourself again before using it.

[mslala]

Thanks ladies! I'm going to give henna another try next month. I definitely am going to try sifting it again. That's a great idea.


Just curious -- did you cover your hair with a plastic cap or bag while you hennaed it? I imagine the tangling could be much worse if you let it dry, which is the instruction I've seen on some boxes of henna.

As others have said, I'd suggest you incorporate conditioner somewhere in the process. Perhaps as part of the the liquid part of your henna mix, or at least slather it on thick as part of the rinse-out. That helps a lot.

Secondly, I know that Catherine at Henna4Hair sells an extra-fine sifted henna for African-type hair, to aid with the rinse-out. In my experience, finer sifts definitely rinse better. You don't necessarily need to buy a special henna, but you might want to make a sifter from some pantyhose and a coathanger or other ring, and sift your henna yourself again before using it.

[indigonight]

I hennaed today and despite mixing a bit of conditioner in I had this same problem. I always find conditioning loads helps post-henna, which is what I did and I combed it through VERY gently with a flexipick in the shower until I could comb through smoothly, then I rinse then I repeat.
This evening after NY revelry I had some knots again, I did lose a piece of hair due to a knot while out and about-damn always feel so guilty about those- so when I got home I located the tangly parts and wet those strands and applied conditioner and combed through, rinsed again under the tap using cold water before plaiting my hair up for the night.

I will do a clarify wash either tomorrow or the day after using baking soda and lemon. I always find it helps get rid of the residue which is what causes the tangles in the first place, then do a deep conditioner and tangles will be gone for good!

Hope this helps but I have often had tangles because of henna, so its a normal problem, you just need to condition a lot!

[sedonia]

I'll second the recommendation that you try the fine sift hennas recommended for African hair types. I used a courser henna for my first time and it took forever to rinse out and felt like I shedded 2 weeks worth of shed hair. Last time I used Mehandi's Ancient Sunrise henna (not the one for African hair, but it was still very finely ground) and it rinsed out much easier.

Also, if you are trying to maintain a natural auburn color, most of your subsequent applications will be only to the roots, and just having less henna mud to rinse out will make the process easier.

[Alvrodul]

I am glad that your awful first experience with henna hasn't scared you off - I hope the next time will go better! :)
I have been really fortunate in the rinsing-out department. I have never had much problems with rinsing out the henna mud, although I have always made sure to have LOTS of conditioner on hand - and I have used it with manganimious generosity, too! But the one time I tried to use a bit of indigo in with the henna, I had a real b*tch of a time with the rinsing! I thought I was never going to get the stuff out of my hair! :eek:

[herbalpuppy]

Hello everyone, this is my first post, and I just did my first henna+amla+orange juice and water, left it in overnight and rinsed it out early this morning. :p

I did several rinses in a bucket, since I don't have a tub, and then stood under the shower. Very soon my hair was all tangles. It is very thin and already normally tends to tangle, but it seemed to be aggravated by the henna+amla and the washing motion i used in the bucket. I tried honey rinse, vinegar rinse, but both to no effect.

On top of that, my hot water only lasts for a few minutes, so very soon i was standing with a head full of huge knots under cold water, and no conditioner at home, or available in shops since it was very early in the morning :(

My bf suggested that i just wrap a towel around hair and wait until it dried and shops opened. And guess what, when it dried, the stickyness went away and the hair became real soft, and i could easily unpick the tangles by hand, so i didn't even need conditioner :cool:

[Roscata]

From what I've read coarse hair can have issues with henna. Some (coarse haired) people experience difficulty washing it out, tangles, dryness and even breakage. BUT if you still want to use henna I have these tips for you:
- do mermaid soaks to get it out of your hair: lay your head in water (in the tub or however you want) and let it soak in water for 5-10 minutes, then start rinsing like usual, repeat if necessary
- do a pre-wash oil soak with an oil that doesn't coat your hair like coconut oil and apply the henna on oiled hair
- combine the henna with conditioner or oil (like others have said) to make it easier to apply
- Apply conditioner on the hair after you rinse out most of the henna, and let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse again (I do this twice to get the henna out easier, it makes my hair slippery)
- do a deep conditioning treatment like SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) after to make your hair more manageable and soft
- use a leave-in conditioner after you're done to add more moisture and leave your hair more soft and manageable, Kimberlily's defrizz spray (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=277) is an example, also I've read that Shea butter and aloe Vera are very beneficial for coarse hair, you might want to test those out

I hope you find something that works for you. Good luck! :)