I took the plunge and hennaed my hair! My experience+ some questions?

[hiighpriestess]

Hi all,

As the title says, I've just hennaed my hair for the first time! I used red raj. from Hennasooq, as I'm working towards getting burgundy hair (It was orangey-brown, faded from having my hair chemically dyed red).

It dye released within 1 and a half hours, after which I popped it in the freezer as I had to go out. I came back about 4 hours later and thawed it out (which gave out EVEN MORE dye!) before slapping it on.

Putting it on was a 2-hour-long (!) process, even though my boyfriend was helping me put it in, and I wanted to keep it in overnight for my hair to absorb as much dye as possible.

Even with numerous layers of cling-wrap, a shower cap and an old t-shirt wrapped around my head, the pesky stuff kept dripping and running, most notably around my ears and down my neck. I slept terribly. The huge turban restricted me from sleeping in any comfortable positions, and my head itched everywhere, and the DRIPPING I guess my mix was too runny- it seemed like the perfect consistency when I put it in, but after being exposed to the warmth of my head, it began liquefying..

Needless to say, even with countless wipings and stuffing of tissue into my turban, I still managed to stain through the two t-shirts protecting my pillow..

7 hours later, I couldn't take it any more. I hurried to the bathroom, got the turban off and rinsed my hair out. It rinsed out relatively easily, but half a bottle of no-cone conditioner and LOTS of rinsing later, my hair still feels like straw..

I LOVE the colour (no pics yet, maybe in a couple of days' time!), it's a sort of mullti-tonal strawberry-orange if that makes sense, almost burgundy indoors but flaming orange in the sun. Fingers crossed it oxidises to become more wine-red and less orange!

QUESTIONS:
1. How long will this gross, stringy, straw-coated feeling last? Is there anyway to get rid of it ASAP?

2. Is it okay to shampoo immediately (in the same day), or do I have to wait a few days before I can wash my hair normally again?

3. While I love the colour results, I hate the feeling of having the henna on my head and I don't think I'll ever try sleeping with it on ever again.

What is the shortest recommended time to keep it on for maximum results? I do have a heat cap although I didn't use it last night (my boyfriend told me I might microwave my head with all the cling wrap, let alone with the heat cap- lol!)- does 1 hour with a heat cap = 2 hours without? So would a 4 hour session with heat cap be equivalent to 8 hours normally?

4. Is it okay to re-thaw henna? As in, I've thawed it once but still had plenty left in the bowl (I didn't separate into baggies or anything)- can I freeze and thaw it again for another use? Does it lose dyeing efficiency? How many times can I re-thaw before it doesn't dye as well?

5. As my hair is naturally dark brown, there's a line of demarcation (as I mentioned, I'd previously dyed my hair chemically red which faded to become orangey-brown) and there's about 1 inch of dark roots, which is now russet-brown.

Would it be possible that with enough henna-sessions, the length of my hair will become dark enough to match my roots? I hope that question made sense.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading! Any answers or advice would be much appreciated

[hiighpriestess]

Edit: (sorry, I don't have the 25 posts to edit my original post yet!)

6. I used a protein filler prior to hennaing my hair- would it be useful/necessary to use it again during my next henna session?

Thanks again!

[mrs_coffee]

You might need to rinse even more. My middle daughter used Red Raj for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was very stringy and difficult to rinse out compared to the Yemeni she had used previously. We used an entire bottle of conditioner, three separate applications, to get her hair completely rinsed. The amazing color was worth it, though. She is in love with the Red Raj.

We leave our henna on for 4-5 hours. I've never slept with it on and doubt that I could. I don't know about the re-thawing for sure, as I've never frozen henna. Someone else will know the answer to that and the rest of your questions. I'm glad you love the color!

[luciferia]

The first time I henna'd, my hair was like straw for weeks. I could barely wash it without it becoming a huge, tangled mess. I'm starting to think it was mainly due to the fact I used quite a bit of lemon juice in the mix, but it could have been the huge protein overdose the henna gave my hair. Anyway, eventually my hair just started feeling normal again. I don't know what I did to change it but it eventually turned stronger and shinier and prettier, but no longer really dry and straw-like.

Perhaps coating it with coconut oil and letting it sit for a bit will help. Never hurts to try.

[Dolly]

I don't think I could ever sleep in henna. I have heard that 3-4 hours usually gives you the max dye uptake, so I would shoot for that.

As for the drips, get a terrycloth sweatband, and put it around your head, to catch the ear, neck, and forehead drips....you also may want to make your mix a little thicker, as it does thin a bit with your body heat.

I always shampoo the day of or the day after henna. I remove most of the henna with a no-cone conditioner, but use a shampoo with SLS for a couple days after, to get any residue.

[MonaMayfair]

I think the feeling "stringy" thing is pretty common and usually goes in a wash or two (but I use shampoo and I do shampoo the henna out too)
Similar thing with cassia, it makes some peoples' hair feel quite dry after applying, but feels smoother again after the first wash.

I've also read (on Henna for Hair) that all the dye is taken up within 4 hours, but a lot of people do leave it on longer, so I suppose they must see different results with the additional time...

I think if you do it a couple/few more times on the whole head, the color will even out with the extra coverage.

I re- freeze my henna. I don't know how many times you can do it either! But I HAVE re-frozen the same henna around 4 times and it's still dyed my roots OK!

[Roscata]

1. How long will this gross, stringy, straw-coated feeling last? Is there anyway to get rid of it ASAP?
For me it lasts one or two washes. To get rid of it you could wash your hair.

2. Is it okay to shampoo immediately (in the same day), or do I have to wait a few days before I can wash my hair normally again?
From what I have read yes it is ok. It has never made a visible difference for me. However, because you're using henna on previously chemically dyed hair I would give it a few days (3-7).

3. While I love the colour results, I hate the feeling of having the henna on my head and I don't think I'll ever try sleeping with it on ever again.

What is the shortest recommended time to keep it on for maximum results? I do have a heat cap although I didn't use it last night (my boyfriend told me I might microwave my head with all the cling wrap, let alone with the heat cap- lol!)- does 1 hour with a heat cap = 2 hours without? So would a 4 hour session with heat cap be equivalent to 8 hours normally?
If you want maximum results you have to keep it on for as long as you can stand it. But honestly after you've used henna 3-5 times with full applications to get the maximum build-up/color saturation you don't need to keep it on your head for that long, at the point 2 hours would be enough. I can't say anything about the heat cap because I have no idea. But, if you want to have an easier time sleeping with it you could just wear the saran wrap and a shower cap over it, then cover your pillow with a towel. Some people also use a thick terry cloth headband around their head to absorb any leaks.


4. Is it okay to re-thaw henna? As in, I've thawed it once but still had plenty left in the bowl (I didn't separate into baggies or anything)- can I freeze and thaw it again for another use? Does it lose dyeing efficiency? How many times can I re-thaw before it doesn't dye as well?
I don't believe there is a limit to how many times you can freeze henna, however I do suggest you separate it into bags so that you only have to unfreeze what you will use, in stead of unfreezing the whole henna and then refreezing it over and over again.

5. As my hair is naturally dark brown, there's a line of demarcation (as I mentioned, I'd previously dyed my hair chemically red which faded to become orangey-brown) and there's about 1 inch of dark roots, which is now russet-brown.

Would it be possible that with enough henna-sessions, the length of my hair will become dark enough to match my roots? I hope that question made sense.
It depends on a lot of things (how much you lightened your hair with the previous dye, how much lawsone content your henna has, how many full length applications you did). If after 3-5 full length applications you can still see a demarcation line you could try adding some indigo to your henna mix to darken your hair. Or you could just do that your next time if the color difference bothers you. Make sure you mix and add the indigo right before you apply it, or the dye will demise, indigo has instant dye release.

6. I used a protein filler prior to hennaing my hair- would it be useful/necessary to use it again during my next henna session?
If you want your hair to take the henna color better then yes, you should probably do this until you don't see a demarcation line. However beware of protein overload and make sure you do a deep conditioning treatment like SMT after you hennaed. Protein treatments may leave your hair dry if you don't.

[Pierre]

Welcome to Lawsonia! Many rules, a single hair color.

1. What did you mix it with? I think the feeling you're describing is caused by lemon juice and goes away in a couple of days. I use amla for acid and it comes out feeling fine.

3. I don't know, since I sleep with henna. How much did you use, and with how much water? I find that 30 grams total powder is enough to do roots. To keep it from running, I use 3 grams of water per gram of powder.

[hiighpriestess]

Wow, thank you so much everyone for the answers and advice!

So I couldn't stand the terrible stringy feeling of my hair and decided to wash my hair (as per normal). It still felt really straw-like, so I took it upon myself to do an SMT with a heat cap on for about 20 minutes.. Before reading that SMTs may fade/pull henna out of hair!! I threw my heat cap off as soon as I read it, and rushed to wash it out of my hair.

The water ran pretty orange, but I'm not too sure whether it actually faded the henna from my hair or simply stripped out the excess.

My hair does feel a lot softer, but still a little coarse as though it's been coated in hair product. Hopefully this wears off after a few more washes!

The terry cloth headband is a great idea, I'll pick up a cheapie one for henna/dye use then. I'll also have to thicken up my henna mix to avoid suffering from the drippies next application!

Pierre, I think you might be right, but I added in only about 3 tbs of lemon juice. I did however use chamomile tea for the base as well as 6 tbs of hibiscus powder (which is also acidic, I believe), so I guess the mix was too acidic for my hair!

I used 200g of henna, but I'm pretty sure I added too much water. I thought that a slightly runnier mix would make application easier!

[Roscata]

Wow, thank you so much everyone for the answers and advice!
You're very welcome!

So I couldn't stand the terrible stringy feeling of my hair and decided to wash my hair (as per normal). It still felt really straw-like, so I took it upon myself to do an SMT with a heat cap on for about 20 minutes.. Before reading that SMTs may fade/pull henna out of hair!! I threw my heat cap off as soon as I read it, and rushed to wash it out of my hair.
SMT can pull color out of henna but only if you have not heated the honey in a microwave oven until it bubbled. Doing that to the honey takes its ability to lighten hair. I do an SMT after every henna, and I'm not the only one. I've never noticed a color change caused by it.

The water ran pretty orange, but I'm not too sure whether it actually faded the henna from my hair or simply stripped out the excess.
My water runs orange for a few washes, it's because that extra coating you feel is coming off. It is suppose to, so don't panic. Henna is permanent it won't wash off.

My hair does feel a lot softer, but still a little coarse as though it's been coated in hair product. Hopefully this wears off after a few more washes!
It should wash off soon.

Pierre, I think you might be right, but I added in only about 3 tbs of lemon juice. I did however use chamomile tea for the base as well as 6 tbs of hibiscus powder (which is also acidic, I believe), so I guess the mix was too acidic for my hair!
Stick only to chamomile, lemon juice tends to dry out hair.

I used 200g of henna, but I'm pretty sure I added too much water. I thought that a slightly runnier mix would make application easier!
The extra water will not significantly make it easier to apply, but it will make it easier to drip. For easier application I suggest an applicator bottle. You can use a regular clear, plastic, squeeze bottle or mustard bottle and cut off some of the tip to allow your mixture to come out easy. Also holding your head upside down while bend over a tub, or sink can help make the application process easier.