How did henna change your hair?

[Blond On Blond]

Besides color of course :D

I found that I'm able to use stuff I couldn't use before:

1. I can finally use coconut oil and not get crunchy ends or a greasy look when I'm a bit heavy-handed, for some reason the oil absorbes now instead of sitting on my hair forever. Same for shea butter. On the other hand, I still can't use EVOO or almond oil. Jojoba and argan oils give me the same results as before.

2. I can use Indian herbs for washing and conditioning, before it was a total disaster.

3. I can wash my hair less frequently, my scalp seems to produce less sebum than before (although I think the Indian herbs may be the bigger contributor to this than henna itself).

4. I can use conditioner sparingly or even no conditioner at all.

If anyone cares to explain this mystery I'm all ears (or eyes, rather).

[owlathena]

My hair is a lot softer :D

[Blond On Blond]

My hair is a lot softer :D


Mine too, but at the same time less prone to tangles. Strange stuff, this henna ;)

[cmg]

Blond On Blond, I notice you have fine hair like me. I pretty much experienced all the things you describe when I started to use henna. The second time around that I use henna (stopped for some twenty or so years) I am not dyeing it as dark as before, so the effects are abit lighter but still the same on white hair. It fills in the gaps. Research has shown that hennaed hair weighs more than natural hair, so it definitively has a noticeable effect on thin hair, and others too. I can also use some EVOO and almond oil but not too often and in small amounts. Mostly I use it in deep treatments, for everyday use I prefer Coconut oil.

[VikingVampChick]

The condition is much better and my dandruff is pretty much gone.

The no-dandruff alone makes it worth it - the only thing that would anything about it was Neutregena TGel shampoo. It laughed at Head & Shoulders.

[ccmso12]

Have any of you guys strand tested prior to applying henna and now since using henna????

Prior to henna my hair had quite a bit of stretch before the snap, since using henna Ive had a dramatic change of my hair snapping with no strwtch, but it takes alot of forse to snap it.

I dont know if this is good and increased strength or bad and indicating sryness?????

I tolerate cocnut oil well where as prior I didnt

[StarryPaint]

I have fine hair and the henna has made it much thicker. My hair has a wave to it now- which I love!

[rock007junkie]

1. It has made it stronger
2. It has made it 'smelly". The smell of henna seems to linger for weeks

[Choctaw]

stronger hair
very little shedding
no tangles
lots of body
nice sheen
greys are auburn

[maborosi]

I noticed my hair was very strong, and it felt thicker for a few weeks. It definitely wasn't very soft for a couple of days after my first application (hennindigo 2 step) but it made it look nice.

~maborosi~

[MissManda]

Let's see...

- Conditioner is not a requirement during/after washing my hair, but I do prefer to use it to prevent my hair from getting too fluffy. I can get away with skipping conditioner for a wash or two.
- I've noticed that my hair is more resilient to splits and breakage, especially when I had lots of chemical damage. The henna helped keep my hair in reasonable condition so I could grow it out to a good length and maintain. I also notice a bit less mechanical damage.
- My hair feels a wee bit coarser and heavier. It hasn't increased my ponytail circumference by any means, but it pushes my texture to be F/M or M. One nice thing about this is my hair isn't flyaway, although I still get frizz if I don't moisturize enough.
- Unless I let my hair loose in strong wind or neglect to detangle my hair for days on end, tangles are not an issue. My hair practically detangles itself after washing, although I do prefer to use more conditioner to further reduce them.
- It does slightly reduce shedding.
- It makes my hair shinier... no wait, it makes my hair SPARKLY.
- Although I get great body with henna, it does straighten my hair a bit. My hair had a bit more bend/wave to it before henna.
- My hair is less prone to dryness. My healthy ends haven't been the least bit dry or crunchy, plus the parched, chemically damaged sections are a little less so.
- I think henna might have slightly lengthened my hair's drying time.

[PixxieStix]

- My hair is much shinier and healthier now, combined with much better care after joining LHC.
- My hair sheds less, and there is less breakage. (My hair stylist always seems surprised when she looks at my hair and says the ends are perfectly healthy and that I don't need a trim if I don't want one!)
-My hair is softer with henna, but even more so when I added AVC rinses to the mix too. Combined = awesome hair!
- Don't deal with tangles much at all.

[Of the Fae]

My hair got thicker and richer :) It looks healthier and has less splits, henna saved my hair after a bleach job :)
I haven't been needing a trim for over a year!

[Lissandria]

Henna gave my hair the protein and strength it sorely needed after years of chemical dye.
It has also restored my curls (they were "mushy" and soft before). It has also made my hair feel fuller and thicker with Shine!

[jojo]

Henna gave my hair more body, thickness and shine, though I preferred glosses and ended up doing hendigos-never again will i use indigo. I ended up removing a lot of it and I actually miss it and thinking of doing weak glosses for just a bit of colour and the other benefits.

[nena_shawty]

Wow. It made my hair so shiny and soft, I get compliments all the time on my hair .
Maybe its nothing ,but people Ive met ,the last few months Ive seen them, have dyed their hair red .Lol. It also made my hair stronger.

[luciferia]

Henna has definitely made my hair feel better. It feels stronger and a bit more healthy. The ends had been dyed chemically, so they're still a bit dry and icky feeling, but because the henna covers both the dyed section and the new growth pretty seamlessly, it has been super easy to let my hair grow and become healthy again.

[cmg]

jojo, what was it about henndigos that you didn't like?

[rach]

richer colour and great for dandruff.

[Aqua Gal]

1. My hair appears thicker (yay!)

2. Color lasts, unlike fading box dye.

3. Less breakage on damaged areas.

[McFearless]

Henna gave my hair more body, thickness and shine, though I preferred glosses and ended up doing hendigos-never again will i use indigo. I ended up removing a lot of it and I actually miss it and thinking of doing weak glosses for just a bit of colour and the other benefits. Why don't you like indigo? Is it just a colour preference or did you find it wasn't conditioning?

[jojo]

jojo, what was it about henndigos that you didn't like?

I loved the colour, but then got bored and indigo is really hard on my hair to shift. i prefer my hair more auburn. I did manage to get most of the hendigo out and got my hair to a goldeny brown/blonde and then I went on holiday and the sun bleached the top of my hair but made the bits of indigo that was there go green :eek: (i thought it was all out) any way long story short, I put a chocolate brown semi on and I am now doing glosses which has given my hair a nice browny/auburn colour which looks much better.

Indigo for me just wasn't worth the hassel, my natural colours dark blonde and the only way to cover it was to go darker, which I don't mind with a semi as it fades, hopefully the bits of indigo will fade along with it, just leaving the gloss behind!! thats the plan anyway:D

[jojo]

Why don't you like indigo? Is it just a colour preference or did you find it wasn't conditioning?

I love henna as the shine is lovely but I found indigo dull in comparessment, it sort of lacks the dimensional colour that henna gives. I could never fully give up henna as I love how it makes my hair look and feel but will stick to glosses a few times a year.

[McFearless]

That makes sense. Your hair looks beautiful blonde and red :)

[cmg]

I love henna as the shine is lovely but I found indigo dull in comparessment, it sort of lacks the dimensional colour that henna gives. I could never fully give up henna as I love how it makes my hair look and feel but will stick to glosses a few times a year.
That makes sense. Henna is sort of transparent and lets the light shine thru. Also if you look at the hairs in a microscope. Indigo is filling in, in a duller way and takes some off the light hitting the hair. But henndigoed hair is very shiny still, compared to some natural dark hairs.

[Plume]

After 6 months using henna indigo, amla ect... my hair got thicker, shinier, healthier and at last the right color I longed for a lot time after having spent (wasted???) ages in hairdressers salons trying for the right color dyes and treatments!

[cmg]

After 6 months using henna indigo, amla ect... my hair got thicker, shinier, healthier and at last the right color I longed for a lot time after having spent (wasted???) ages in hairdressers salons trying for the right color dyes and treatments!
Wasted is the right word. Thats exactly how I feel about it too. I had a henna period, then a waste period and now Im back to henna again. :)

[Mayflower]

I seriously went from an M-texture to an M/C. The individual strands got a lot thicker (I now henndigo about two years) and overall I got a lot more body and volume.
My hair loves protein so it obviously loves henna and indigo -when I do a wet strandtest it stretches a little but doesn't break off at all.

Also the shine! It's crazy. Oh and I shed maybe 3 or 5 strands a day now:cheese:

[dragaica]

2009 bad hair partly bleached...
so henna
first experience horror with lush - big loss;
2010 minimize hair loss, improve texture, uniform color
2011 gaining length - more thick hair;
over all- henna saved my hair :) :o

[Iolanthe13]

I've only henna'ed once, with a 50/50 cassia mix, but I can't wait for the next treatment! Although my chemical damage is far from gone (a year of monthly Feria box dyes, followed by a year of salon dyes, tends to have lasting effects), my hair already feels stronger. It's also the colour I wanted in the first place, and hopefully won't fade!

[Mrsbaybeegurl]

Henna is pretty much solely responsible for me breaking a 15+ year cycle of chemically treated hair. It's also responsible for me taking a more natural approach to hair care and allowing me to start growing my hair healthy and one day LONG, which it has never been beyond bra strap.

I started coloring my hair around the age of 12. I was a natural blonde but my blonde was losing it's luster and as a "cool middle schooler" I convinced my mom to let me go a shade lighter. The roots then appeared "black" when growing in so I just colored my hair regularly from that point on. I did take a break from blonde while in my early twenties and went to a brown/red but soon started off with blonde highlights that turned into a full head of it again...and so the root cycle continued.

One day, about 2 years ago I dyed my hair red, loved it and in a few days my blonde was showing more than the red :(...somehow I stumbled across a henna site, it claimed the facts that henna is permanent red...never to fade! (which is pretty true but shocking to those who chemically color with red as its the one color that never stays!) I then read just about all I could for days/weeks and ordered some henna...applied it and NEVER looked back! I'm in love with the quality of my hair and actually take steps to protect it, I rarely have split ends and don't think my hair was EVER this healthy!:cheer:

It's made my hair feel healthier and even thicker. I have less breakage and my hair has done a complete turn around. I love it!!!

[Cimorene]

The condition is much better and my dandruff is pretty much gone.

The no-dandruff alone makes it worth it - the only thing that would anything about it was Neutregena TGel shampoo. It laughed at Head & Shoulders.

This reason ALONE makes me want to try henna. My scalp also laughs in the face of all anti-dandruff shampoos, and the constant itching/flaking is really getting old.

[dragaica]

This reason ALONE makes me want to try henna. My scalp also laughs in the face of all anti-dandruff shampoos, and the constant itching/flaking is really getting old.
Yup
forgot to mention - no dandruff- it's a miracle - also the shampoo with shikakay and sidr help.

[TeaEarlGreyHot]

Aside from color the only other thing I've noticed is less itching and dandruff. I have sebhorreic dermatitis and nothing has ever worked before. The combo of using no cones/SLS and henna has restored health to my scalp. For this reason I do henna treatments every 2 weeks.

[nailzbyamber]

It has made my hair softer, a lot shinier and less shedding.