Newbie With Henna Questions

**mirth-matter** · August 21st, 2010, 10:18 PM

I'm having a hard time finding the information about henna in one place, and it's getting overwhelming. So, I thought I would just ask outright.

I've hennaed my hair four times before, but only with Lush Caca Hennas. The first three times I used Brun, and the last time I used Marron. I'm interested in using BAQ henna the next time I do my hair to get a richer, easier application.

I have three questions:
- How much henna should I use on my thick, curly, BSL-length hair?
- What are the colour differences between Rajasthani, Jamila, and Yemen henna?
- Where do you recommend buying henna from, and if you get it from Mehandi, which henna is which?

Thank you for your help.

**CopperHead** · August 22nd, 2010, 02:30 PM

You can always buy more than you need and freeze the leftovers. It will make the henna stain much darker when thawed out. I would start with 300 grams and see how that works. I'm sure you will have some leftover.

All henna is an orangey red and it oxidizes to a darker red in a few days. The only real difference in them is the dye content. Rajasthani has a lower dye content and Yemen has a high content. Jamila is a very popular choice for many. I use Celebration from Mehandi.com and it has the highest dye content and gives me a nice ruby red. A good thing about henna is you can try all the different ones and not damage your hair.

I'm sure the Lush hennas had some indigo mixed in, so using a pure henna powder will be a different red. The more you use it, the darker red you will get.

**little_cherry** · August 22nd, 2010, 02:58 PM

How much henna should I use on my thick, curly, BSL-length hair?

I'd go for 250 grams-300 grams to start with.

What are the colour differences between Rajasthani, Jamila, and Yemen henna?

All three have darker staining abilities and have a very strong dye content:

Rajasthani: 2-4 hour dye release, similar to Yemeni, but can get darker.
Yemeni: 3-4 hour dye release time, ruby red after a few applications
Jamila: A bit more orangey than the two, but with multiple applications, turns a lovely deep ruby.

This varies from crop to crop...not every crop is exactly the same.

Out of these three hennas, I've tried the Jamila and Yemeni.

Where do you recommend buying henna from, and if you get it from Mehandi, which henna is which?

I get my henna from henna sooq...but the site seems to be down today.

**mirth-matter** · August 24th, 2010, 12:16 PM

Which henna did you prefer? Jamila or Yemeni?

**saippuakuplia** · August 24th, 2010, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by mirth-matter

Which henna did you prefer? Jamila or Yemeni?

I haven't used jamila, mut yemen is good. But my favourite is karishma. I gives just nice orangeish red shade.

**Heidi_234** · August 25th, 2010, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by little_cherry

I'd go for 250 grams-300 grams to start with.

I use under 200 gr on my quite thick hip length hair.
It just depends how thick/runny one makes the paste, and how it is applied.

**little_cherry** · August 25th, 2010, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by Heidi_234

I use under 200 gr on my quite thick hip length hair.
It just depends how thick/runny one makes the paste, and how it is applied.

I was thinking of a first time use thing..also, when one first uses henna, it's hard to gauge just how much water to add.....left over can be frozen and the OP can figure out just how much she needs. Also, I assume that curly hair would require more henna...once again, it's hard to gauge. Better to have left over henna than too little henna.

**Heidi_234** · August 26th, 2010, 01:58 AM

Originally Posted by little_cherry

I was thinking of a first time use thing..also, when one first uses henna, it's hard to gauge just how much water to add.....left over can be frozen and the OP can figure out just how much she needs. Also, I assume that curly hair would require more henna...once again, it's hard to gauge. Better to have left over henna than too little henna.

Well that makes much more sense. When I read it I thought you meant the OP should prepare 200-300 gr and dump them all on her head. After your clarification I agree with you. Although personally I don't do the dye release waiting time thing, so if I don't have enough I just mix more on the go.

About the also - I have curly hair too

I don't see how the texture matters. We all have straight-ish hair when it's damp, so it's more of a function of thickness and length.

**little_cherry** · August 26th, 2010, 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by Heidi_234

Well that makes much more sense. When I read it I thought you meant the OP should prepare 200-300 gr and dump them all on her head. After your clarification I agree with you. Although personally I don't do the dye release waiting time thing, so if I don't have enough I just mix more on the go.

About the also - I have curly hair too

I don't see how the texture matters. We all have straight-ish hair when it's damp, so it's more of a function of thickness and length.

Hehe...yeah, sometimes the stuff in my head doesn't seem to make it to my fingers..

I must say that you get an incredible stain!

My mother in laws' hair is very curly..so when she hennad, she used much more henna than I at the same length...I just assumed..

Different stroke for different folks.

**PeonyGarden** · August 25th, 2010, 10:59 AM

I have a question about henna too - I hope you don't mind me asking it here.
It's about Henna:indigo ratios:
If you need 100g of henna to dye your hair, but want to do a henna indigo mix, say 1/3 henna to 2/3 indigo, does that mean you should use 33g of henna, and 66g of indigo?
Or does that mean you should use 100g of henna, and 200g of indigo? I feel like this should be straightforward, but I'm just confused

.
Maybe I should just buy a box of colour, like from Lush or from Mehandi to do my first henna-ing?
Anyway, thank you for your help in advance