Sawdust/straw/grit in Henna Sooq's Red Raj

:mad: Last time I henna'd my hair using Red Raj for the first time, I noticed it was hard to rinse out and left a grit or sand of some type in my hair. Thinking maybe I was just imagining things, I used Red Raj again today. As I was applying the henna, I pulled a 1 inch long piece of straw out of the henna....it at least looked like straw. After I did my mermaid soak and washed/conditioned/rinsed like crazy, I went to clean my tub. Sure enough there is a sandy grit in there, along with what looks like sawdust. It's like whatever that 1 inch piece of straw was ground down into smaller pieces. It was all over the bathtub too. Red Raj gives a great henna stain, and I'll use up what I have...but I'm NOT ordering it again. This isn't BAQ....

I have never had that problem. Sounds like you got a batch that was not as finely sifted. Speak to Henna Sooq, their customer service is fantastic so you should get some satisfaction from them

Just give it a quick sift before using it. Yemeni henna is also very gritty and I always sift it at least twice before mixing it:)

I've seen this complaint a few times, and it surprises me, because my batch was so very smooth and whooshed right out of my hair.

Is a bit of debris enough to dump a product? I'm genuinely asking. I mean, I eat organic veggies, I get the odd bug. It seems like a bit of irregularity is part and parcel of using natural body care stuff. I can get the fuss if you're using the henna to draw a design, but in our hair? Eh.

it just requires a little more attention paid to rinsing it all out. It's not really a big deal for me, at least. The trick is to do a mermaid wash and then get a large sized water bottle and concentrate on each section of your hair. Do that a few times, drain the bath, and then do another mermaid soak. Then take the water bottle and again concentrate on each section of your head (front, back, side etc.) then do a few final rinses and...VOILA! You are done!

Hey everyone :)

Yes please ask Henna Sooq directly if you have concerns, it's always nice to ask.

The term BAQ is a marketing term and I just want to clarify that. Whereas we use it to understand the type of henna powder we use and that's fine. I don't mind the term but keep in mind it's a marketing term.

Pure henna powder does not mean it's not safe to use on hair if it says it's hair quality.

Let's break this down.

BAQ stands for body art quality. Only henna (no other herbs) can be BAQ as it's used for body art, whereas other herbs are not. Body art quality means a henna artist will use it to apply henna as skin art/temporary tattoos. (I'm also a professional henna artist).

For example Jamila has 2 qualities. One is for hair, and one is BAQ. The difference is that for 1 they are both pure henna powders and neither contain harmful ingredients or anything else at all. But one is a hair quality which is great for hair is not true BAQ but it's good for hair and doesn't make it an unpure henna. It just is really not great for body art usage.

BAQ means it's a henna powder it can be used for body art use and hair usage. It's of a higher quality henna powder (great color) and is generally having a good sift and is very fresh. But the sift can vary between henna powders that are BAQ.

It can be confusing at times, but all this being said Red Raj is a BAQ henna powder. It's pure, and some sifts are as good as others and to note there is no comparing any henna powder to the sift of Jamila henna powder. I also use Red Raj is my henna body art recipes.

So if anyone has used Jamila and tried other henna powders they'll note that no henna powder compares to Jamila henna summer crops. These are the jamila found in foil packages.

I hope this helps.

Jamila is what I am used to. I have used it for many years and recently used Twilight from mehandi.com. Both Jamila and Twilight were wonderfully sifted with no additional sifting needed prior to use. Perhaps I am spoiled....

I wouldn't want straw or sand in my henna either, whether it's for hair or not. It's kind of expensive and I don't want to pay for sand!

Nothing compares to jamila. It's just really fabulously sifted and if the twilight came in foil packages like jamila with some red writing on it, chances were it was also from the jamila company and is one of their henna powders.

There is no sand in Red Raj but there are some bits of thin leave fragments that pop up here and there. The vacuum seal method that Red Raj comes in, was a bit more difficult with the sifter that was used.

The Red Raj I've been using is 2010 crop from Henna Sooq and I haven't found any straw or grit in it, so maybe the henna you bought is from a more recent crop? It's not as super smooth as Jamila but smoothness is only one aspect of a good henna, IMO. I like both kinds and like to switch between them.