Henna - a few questions

[infinity_girl]

I wanted to do a henna tonight and I have mixed it up just now (10am UK time) and will try and do it for approx 7pm, so it would have 9 hours to develop. Is this long enough or do I really need to leave it overnight (12 hours plus)?

Also, I used mehendi henna and just added a few drops of lemon juice but mostly rooibos tea. Hopefully it will be acidic enough to produce some colour?

[cheetahfast]

You can test the paste before using it to check for dye release. I believe in one of Henna Sooq's videos she says to put a dab on your palm for a minutes and then wipe it off, if a bright orange stain is left on the palm your henna is ready to use.

I'm not really sure about much else.

[gazelle]

Before LHC, I did not know about waiting time for dye release. I used to prepare the mix and apply to my hair. After reading on LHC, I started to let the henna mix wait for 12 hrs. I now get brighter red colour, but in past I was also getting the colour in longer waiting time on my head with henna.

So, if you let the mixture 9 hrs, you may get the colour you want by longer waiting with henna on your head (Sorry for bad Eglish, I wish it makes sense)

[GRU]

I have applied it just an hour or two afterwards with no problems. If you get the browning on the top, or a stain on your skin, you're good to go regardless of how much time has passed.

[infinity_girl]

I have applied it just an hour or two afterwards with no problems. If you get the browning on the top, or a stain on your skin, you're good to go regardless of how much time has passed.

Oh great! I did get the browning on top, so I guess I am ok to go.