Henna Hut Vs. Ancient Sunrise Celebration

[Dolly]

OK, now first I want to say, I am not putting down either company. I love both companies, the products are very good and the service is excellent. I just want to do a comparison for some henna newbies.

I started out with Henna Hut for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted a true red, and I had stripped old dye out of my hair. My hair had been previously fire engine red, so my very dark brown natural color had been lightened within an inch of its life, and was VERY LIGHT. While orange, a lovely color, is gorgeous on some people, it is extremely unattractive on me! So, Henna Hut was perfect.....I didn't have to do multiple applications to get the true red, didn't have to "find" the right mix, strand test forever, or wait a long time for dye release. Henna Hut was simple, and it gave me a gorgeous vibrant color. HOWEVER.......I am just the opposite of many henna heads here......my roots are MUCH darker than my red length, making them VERY OBVIOUS. So, I wanted the layers of henna to build up. I WANTED to reach color saturation. If I could get the length to darken, then my roots wouldn't show up as bad, and I could just start touching them up every so often without having to do a full-head app. And, I do not want to use indigo either, in the off-chance that I may want to go back to chemicals one day. Yes, I know that henna is permanent, and that if I want to do that, it will take bleach and all kinds of nasty stuff.....and that will most likely NEVER happen......but, on the off chance, just for arguments' sake.......

SO, here is what I found out. Henna Hut does not really build up. At least not on me. The true red fades to an orangey-red over a few weeks, and then I would need to re-apply. My roots were becoming SERIOUSLY VISIBLE. The Henna Hut would color my grays red, but the dark root hairs would take on NO RED.

So, I decided to go with Ancient Sunrise Celebration from Catherine. So glad I did! I mixed it with room temp Chamomile Tea and a squirt of lime juice (didn't have any lemon)......it only took about an hour and a half for dye release......I applied and left it on for 2 and a half hours. At first, it was quite orangey, and my roots were still pretty visible.....but by this morning, it is starting to oxidize nicely. It is deepening and my roots are becoming less noticeable (Color in my new avatar). They have taken on a slight red tint (YAY), the grays are a nice red, and the length is coming along great. It may take one more app to get as dark as I want, but I am going to wait a week or so for oxidation to complete before I make that decision.

Others things to note......I actually used LESS Celebration Henna than Henna Hut. I ended up freezing over half of the 200 grams I mixed up. Even though they were mixed to the same consistency, it was like the Celebration was silkier and spread easier.......not nearly as grainy......it also rinsed easier as well......normally on Day 2 after Henna Hut, my first shampoo would make my shower look like a murder scene. In contrast, I shampoo'ed this morning, Day 1 after Celebration, and had very little bleeding.

So, I guess my point is that if you want a color that is a true red on the first app, and don't want to mix and wait for dye release and all that, go for Henna Hut.....it is a great way to start with Henna. Their products don't contain metallic salts (I know, because I tested some of my harvested Henna Hut hair with some peroxide......it didn't do anything weird)......BUT, they do contain a lot more stuff than just henna......and that stuff will not stick to your hair like the henna does. It will fade, leaving orangey henna shades behind. If you don't mind re-applying every 3-4 weeks, then it will be a good fit for you, and is much better for you than chem dye.

Now, I will say this about Celebration......it WAS easier than I anticipated......I used a very basic mix, and it worked beautifully. It also released a lot quicker than I thought it would. I am sold. Totally in love with it, and getting ready to order more. Much MUCH more!

OK, end of Public Service Announcement! Hope this helped someone!

[Marjolein]

Great post Dolly! I liked it a lot!!

[Dolly]

Great post Dolly! I liked it a lot!!


Thank you! I just wanted to give an unbiased comparison.....I do really like both companies' products, and each have their pros and cons.....just depends on a person's specific needs at the time.....

[morecowbell]

Seriously, thank you for posting this!!! :) I have just recently decided to go back to henna (after growing it out for a year, lol!) and I used henna hut's Red too. I did notice that the beautiful red I got faded out to orange which I didn't like.
So do you think that the Ancient Sunrise henna has a red enough tint? It's not really orange-y?
Thanks again :)

[Dolly]

Seriously, thank you for posting this!!! :) I have just recently decided to go back to henna (after growing it out for a year, lol!) and I used henna hut's Red too. I did notice that the beautiful red I got faded out to orange which I didn't like.
So do you think that the Ancient Sunrise henna has a red enough tint? It's not really orange-y?
Thanks again :)


It starts out pretty orangey, but it is maturing nicely.....I have talked to some people who have dark hair, and they say it goes to a deep ruby shade.....the color in my avatar is less than 24 hours after applying......

[firebird]

Great comparison! I just hennaed my hair for the first time (pics in my album) with henna from Catherine, and I think I made the right choice for what I wanted from the henna. It started pretty orange but has toned down a bit now, but I started with fairly light-colored hair, so I was prepared for that! The color hasn't faded at all though, just gotten deeper and richer (I did it 2 weeks ago today).

[Dolly]

Thank you Firebird! I saw your pics in the henna thread......your color came out really pretty!

[PeacenQuietGal]

Dolly I really appreciate you posting this comparison! Last saturday I applied my second application of HH Deep Red, hoping that it would take better on the second app. Well I still am having the same problem of it really being blood red on my virgin roots, and gorgeous red on the rest. Yet every CO washing more henna color washes out, except the root area. I am so sorry that I do not have pictures to show you, but I need my DD's help with that. I will have pictures soon! But anyway, i have been thinking seriously of the Celebration. I feel that now that my confidence is a bit increased, I may venture on over tothe Celebration henna. Though, like you I have been very impressed with HH and the color it yeilds and the ease of use, its just that it only sticks to my virgin roots!!

Anyway, Thank you so much for sharing your henna story. I feel like I'm following in your footsteps on the journey to perfect henna head! :pinktongue:

[Dolly]

Dolly I really appreciate you posting this comparison! Last saturday I applied my second application of HH Deep Red, hoping that it would take better on the second app. Well I still am having the same problem of it really being blood red on my virgin roots, and gorgeous red on the rest. Yet every CO washing more henna color washes out, except the root area. I am so sorry that I do not have pictures to show you, but I need my DD's help with that. I will have pictures soon! But anyway, i have been thinking seriously of the Celebration. I feel that now that my confidence is a bit increased, I may venture on over tothe Celebration henna. Though, like you I have been very impressed with HH and the color it yeilds and the ease of use, its just that it only sticks to my virgin roots!!

Anyway, Thank you so much for sharing your henna story. I feel like I'm following in your footsteps on the journey to perfect henna head! :pinktongue:


You're very welcome, and good luck!

[ddiana1979]

I also use Ancient Sunrise Celebration from mehandi.com, as well as their Indigo & Amla, after graduating from "beginner henndigo" Rainbow Research in Persian Dark Brown (which is a good product IMO and give nice color, it just fades somewhat quickly).

I just wanted to agree with everything Dolly said above. Their henna is extremely high quality, finely sifted, washes out well, doesn't bleed the next time you wash, and completely covers grays. The Celebration especially has very high lawsone content (3.4%), so you end up with permanent results & don't have to keep re-dyeing to keep your hair dark. Also, I agree that you need much less of the henna/indigo (etc.) than suggested on the website. My hair is straight, but BSL, and I only use 100g total, which gives plenty of coverage.

Thumbs up for Ancient Sunrise Celebration.

[PeacenQuietGal]

Well tomorrow is payday. I will order my Celebration! how long do y'all think I should wait to re-henna? Till I have more roots? Actually my too red-red roots are kinda bothering me, so, sooner would be better. A Whole-head application too is probably best, I suppose, since it is a new product?? Oh I wish I had pictures!!

[Dolly]

If your color is bothering you, and since it is a product change for you, I would go ahead and do the whole head......that's what I did!

[Dolly]

I just ordered 500g more Celebration! YAY! I am hooked. My color is deepening to a gorgeous shade. It is probably going to take one more full-head app to get it to match the roots as closely as I would like, but it is turning out gorgeous! My fiancee and I had to run to Lowe's yesterday to pick up some landscaping materials for my office, and while the cashier was ringing up our purchase, a cashier from two rows over walked up and said...."I just had to come over and tell you that I really love your hair!"

[morecowbell]

I just ordered 500g more Celebration! YAY! I am hooked. My color is deepening to a gorgeous shade. It is probably going to take one more full-head app to get it to match the roots as closely as I would like, but it is turning out gorgeous! My fiancee and I had to run to Lowe's yesterday to pick up some landscaping materials for my office, and while the cashier was ringing up our purchase, a cashier from two rows over walked up and said...."I just had to come over and tell you that I really love your hair!"

That's the thing I miss most about henna! :D Having a haircolor so fiery and beautiful that people go out of their way to say something!:cheese:

Congrats on your awesome hair, Dolly! :D

(I ended up ordering from Henna Hut for the time being, and after about a month, I'll be ordering some Ancient Sunrise henna to deepen the faded color... I'M SO EXCITED I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE MY CAPS LOCK IS ON! :p)

[Mesmerise]

I first tried henna over 20 years ago which I bought from the Body Shop. Last year I started hennaing again with henna from Lush... but I was reading on the forum that Lush henna fades faster cause there's stuff mixed in with it (and I did notice that it faded quite fast). Sooo...I ordered some from the Henna Hut.

Now, I guess I'm puzzled cause when I looked at the ingredients of the one I ordered it said it was 100% henna, but here someone said it is mixed with other stuff?? Maybe it was cause I bought the pure henna colour which a lot seem to avoid cause it gives orangey/red (which is kinda what I like on my hair as I think it makes me look like a natural redhead - at least I HOPE it does LOL).

Anyway, I'll try it when it gets here and see how it goes ;)

[Dolly]

Yes, the natural orange henna from Henna Hut is ONLY henna. The other colors are created by mixing other stuff with it.

[Mesmerise]

Yes, the natural orange henna from Henna Hut is ONLY henna. The other colors are created by mixing other stuff with it.

Okay, so pure 100% henna for me, and we'll see how it goes! I am sick of having fading hair...

[hennahut]

I also use Ancient Sunrise Celebration from mehandi.com, as well as their Indigo & Amla, after graduating from "beginner henndigo" Rainbow Research in Persian Dark Brown (which is a good product IMO and give nice color, it just fades somewhat quickly).

I just wanted to agree with everything Dolly said above. Their henna is extremely high quality, finely sifted, washes out well, doesn't bleed the next time you wash, and completely covers grays. The Celebration especially has very high lawsone content (3.4%), so you end up with permanent results & don't have to keep re-dyeing to keep your hair dark. Also, I agree that you need much less of the henna/indigo (etc.) than suggested on the website. My hair is straight, but BSL, and I only use 100g total, which gives plenty of coverage.

Thumbs up for Ancient Sunrise Celebration.


I disagree, if you are adding tea, coffee, or concentrate lime juice to our henna you are not getting the full effect and you are certainly not following the directions.
Lime juice and lemon juice in a bottle is loaded with preservatives. It loses its acidic level and does not work like fresh cut lemon.

[Dolly]

I disagree, if you are adding tea, coffee, or concentrate lime juice to our henna you are not getting the full effect and you are certainly not following the directions.
Lime juice and lemon juice in a bottle is loaded with preservatives. It loses its acidic level and does not work like fresh cut lemon.

So if you do not follow OUR directions you will not get the results you want. It is that simple, Just add water.
If you are adding anything else to our product, you are not following our directions. Not to mention if you leave it on for over an hour.


For the record, I added nothing but water and your shelly oil to your product and left it on for the recommended time (I added chamomile tea and lime to the Mehandi henna, and left it on for longer). I followed the directions 100%. And, the color of the henna hut red was beautiful......for a few weeks. I used no deep oil treatments or leave-in conditioners. But the red fades to orange after a bit. There are other people who have had the same experience. It is a really nice product, but I do not want to henna that often to keep up the color.

[morecowbell]

For the record, I added nothing but water and your shelly oil to your product and left it on for the recommended time (I added chamomile tea and lime to the Mehandi henna, and left it on for longer). I followed the directions 100%. And, the color of the henna hut red was beautiful......for a few weeks. I used no deep oil treatments or leave-in conditioners. But the red fades to orange after a bit. There are other people who have had the same experience. It is a really nice product, but I do not want to henna that often to keep up the color.

I noticed that, too... the Red is such a beautiful and vibrant one, but it does fade rather quickly. I think I'll be 'staggering' the products... (doing Henna Hut henna one month, Celebration henna the next, and so on)

[Babyfine]

Dolly did you say you found the Ancient Sunrise easier to rinse out(and apply) than the HennaHut or were they both about the same?
I'm thinking of trying the Hennahut Med brown ( I don't mind if it fades fast, in my case that might be preferable and I'm looking for more brown than red)
But I'm tempted by how easy everyone says the BAQ is to rinse out.
I have very fine fragile hair and I don't want to shed a lot. the Henna Hut sounds like more my speed to start out with as I don't want to do a lot of measuring, mixing,ect.
BTW I'm glad you found the red shade you were looking for, I'll bet your hair looks gorgeous!

[Dolly]

Dolly did you say you found the Ancient Sunrise easier to rinse out(and apply) than the HennaHut or were they both about the same?
I'm thinking of trying the Hennahut Med brown ( I don't mind if it fades fast, in my case that might be preferable and I'm looking for more brown than red)
But I'm tempted by how easy everyone says the BAQ is to rinse out.
I have very fine fragile hair and I don't want to shed a lot. the Henna Hut sounds like more my speed to start out with as I don't want to do a lot of measuring, mixing,ect.
BTW I'm glad you found the red shade you were looking for, I'll bet your hair looks gorgeous!

The Ancient Sunrise felt a little "silkier" to me on the rinse out.....the Henna Hut was not bad, though. Just use some cheap conditiner when rinsing, and it comes out fine.

[Babyfine]

Thanks, Dolly!

[xovictoryxo]

Thanks for the post!
Is there any Shade from Ancient Sunrise that is similiar to the Henna Hut Burgundy shade?

[Dolly]

Thanks for the post!
Is there any Shade from Ancient Sunrise that is similiar to the Henna Hut Burgundy shade?

I don't think so......you would have to do a henna+indigo app most probably.....

[xovictoryxo]

oh bummer. I'll stick with HH!

[Dolly]

oh bummer. I'll stick with HH!


I mean, you CAN do enough apps of henna without indigo and get to a burgundy shade.....Celebration is their highest dye content, so it is your best bet if that's what you want to do.....but yeah, the burgundy from henna hut already has the indigo added in (actually, it is more indigo than henna)......so it makes it a little simpler.......

[Freki]

I'm interested to try Henna Hut, but honestly... I'm so happy with Ancient Sunrise. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I was a little apprehensive about spending so much on it at first, because I didn't spend nearly as much on the henna I was using before... but you really do get what you pay for. The stain is incredible and it washes out so easily.

[Dolly]

I have to say that I am in love with Catherine's Celebration henna! Yesterday I applied to take care of the 1/4 inch of growth in my white streaks.......my grays are snow white, and they are not sprinkled in any more! They are in big streaks! They turn orange at first, but the color is already starting to deepen......I know that after a week or so, they will be ruby red!

[Eolan]

Dolly, your hair is SO PRETTY! :D I have been curious about Celebration, I have been searching all threads about it, now I think I have to order a sample size and do a strand test.

[Dolly]

Dolly, your hair is SO PRETTY! :D I have been curious about Celebration, I have been searching all threads about it, now I think I have to order a sample size and do a strand test.


Thank you!! I really love the Celebration henna....I have about 300-400 grams that are dye-released and stored in the freezer, and another 500 grams dry......I don't ever want to run out!!

Be sure to let your strand tested hair oxidize fully before you judge the color......it starts out pretty orangey.....mine takes almost a full week to completely mature to red.

[Eolan]

Thank you!! I really love the Celebration henna....I have about 300-400 grams that are dye-released and stored in the freezer, and another 500 grams dry......I don't ever want to run out!!

Be sure to let your strand tested hair oxidize fully before you judge the color......it starts out pretty orangey.....mine takes almost a full week to completely mature to red.

That is always a fear for the hair maniacs as ourselves. :p

I will do that. My prior strand tests has only lead to bozo orange and then a dull brown. That was with Yemeni, so I hope Celebration gives me something else.

[Marz Hase]

I've been using Henna Hut, but I'm tired of the bleeding and curious as to what's in it to make it so red... but I love the color! Gah. I used to use Yemeni, and I'm REALLY considering switching to Celebration! I just don't miss Bozo orange...

[MomOf2Gremlins]

Oh thank you so much for this post, Dolly!!!
I'm a henna newbie and just placed my first order for Celebration Ancient Sunrise kit! I'm super excited to get it (I never received an order confirmation but a shipping notice through stamps.com from TapDancingLizard... I'll just assume it'll be alright and arrive..).

So you'd say a strand test is really necessary, yes? (For the chemical dyes I never did.. I'm a 'daredevil' I guess.. A foolish one? ;) )
I think I'll have to read up more about it then as I wouldn't know what to do with the ready mixed henna while I'm waiting for the strand test's result..

Anyway, thanks again; I will post pics as soon as I've hennaed my hair!:)

[Eolan]

Uhm, wow.

I just placed some stuff that I wanted to order from Mehandi.com in their shopping chart, including a sample of the Celebration henna. My total cost would be $19.50. Shipping is $30! So $49.50 for a sample of henna, a lotion bar and a little henna attar.

No can do. :(

[MomOf2Gremlins]

Eolan,
I would try to contact them and see about the shipping! I contacted them as well as mine seemed pretty high (I have a US military mail address, which many still count as 'overseas', but it's actually not since our mail gets collected in NY). Anyway, they refunded me 4$ because I had already paid but the lady offered me also to send a shipping quote if I hadn't paid yet.
I'd think international mail from the US to Sweden isn't that much! 30$ is way too much, I totally agree!!!

[Eolan]

Eolan,
I would try to contact them and see about the shipping! I contacted them as well as mine seemed pretty high (I have a US military mail address, which many still count as 'overseas', but it's actually not since our mail gets collected in NY). Anyway, they refunded me 4$ because I had already paid but the lady offered me also to send a shipping quote if I hadn't paid yet.
I'd think international mail from the US to Sweden isn't that much! 30$ is way too much, I totally agree!!!

Thank you, I will contact them and ask them about that. I order stuff from the US via Etsy all the time, and the average shipping rate there is around $4, so I don't know why it is so expensive at Mehandi.com.

[mrs_coffee]

I've been using Henna Hut, but I'm tired of the bleeding and curious as to what's in it to make it so red... but I love the color! Gah. I used to use Yemeni, and I'm REALLY considering switching to Celebration! I just don't miss Bozo orange...

The first couple of times I hennaed I used HH and it never seemed to stop bleeding. I tried oiling, vinegar rinses, everything I could think of. I switched to Henna Sooq and have no bleeding after the first post-henna wash. My daughter uses Yemeni henna but now with the supply running out we're going to switch her to Celebration.

[MomOf2Gremlins]

Thank you, I will contact them and ask them about that. I order stuff from the US via Etsy all the time, and the average shipping rate there is around $4, so I don't know why it is so expensive at Mehandi.com.
Good luck! :eek: