Help! Henna didn't work?

[Rose J.]

I bought a quality henna mix (not pure henna), and applied it to a small section of my hair last night, but it didn't color it at all! I'm not sure what I did wrong. I need expert help, please! :) I mixed the powder with hot distilled water (just below boiling), stirred it, covered it with plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 3 hours in a warm place, stirring occasionally. Then I froze it overnight, thawed it the next day, mixed it half and half with some VO5 conditioner, and applied it to my hair and left it for 5 hours. Rinsed it off, conditioned my hair, and let it dry. These are the possible issues I can think of:
Not adding some kind of acid (which the instructions didn't say was necessary).
Using a metal spoon (which some people say causes a problem, but others say it doesn't).
Possibly using water that was too hot.

Orrrrr, maybe I'm missing something totally obvious. I am new to henna. Oh, and my hair is dark brown, but I think the henna should still show up, right? This is my normal color, no henna. The hennaed portion looks exactly like this. :p

http://i44.tinypic.com/vs1hyg.jpg

[cheetahfast]

I would guess too hot water, you may have killed the henna. I don't use just before boiling water, it is much too hot, I use water that I can stand to stick a finger in for a bit.
Acid is not really needed, I just use tea.

I use such a small amount of henna and I get the color in my siggy, so I doubt it was from not enough.
To test dye release you can apply some to the inside of your wrist for a half a minute and wipe off if it is orange it is ready. I find that my hand get orange from apply the henna to my hair which is another way to tell.

[shutterpillar]

I am going to guess out of the options you provided that the water may have been too hot. Warm (not hot) water works fine for me.

I've never needed to use an acid. Just warm water. Did you test a patch on your skin before applying to your hair?

[Rose J.]

I did try in on my skin, and it didn't stain, but I thought maybe I hadn't left it on long enough. (I also used gloves to apply the henna, so I wouldn't have noticed it staining my hands.) I didn't realize the heat could kill it till I looked it up afterwards. The instructions said hot, but not boiling water. I'll try again!

[shutterpillar]

Yeah, you need a nice orange stain on your skin like cheetahfast mentioned, then you know it's ready to go. :) Good luck next time!

[Wavelength]

Acid is not really needed, I just use tea.



Actually, tea is mildly acidic. It contains tannic acid.

[cheetahfast]

Actually, tea is mildly acidic. It contains tannic acid.

I know, I meant that acid like lemon juice, or strong acid is not needed. I said not really needed, not that I don't use any.

[Kaelee]

The hot water is the only thing I can think of. If you used water that hot, you should have used it immediately after mixing.

I've been hennaing for 6 years, always used a metal spoon and never had a single issue. I think that "metal and henna" thing is a myth- at least when you're talking about high quality, pure henna.

[coffinhert]

I mix my henna in water as hot as I could drink. You should see orange fluid coming on the top when the dye is released, try poking it with your finger and see what color comes off. Finally, your henna may have a low amount of the dye chemical. Different hennas have different percents. It can take a couple applications for your hair to initially pick up the henna, and honestly your hair already has a subtle red tone like low percentage henna would accomplish. Think of henna as watercolor, if it's diluted and your hair is dark it might not he obvious. Try letting it sit in heat for 8 hours and leaving it on your hair overnight.

[Rose J.]

Well, I mixed another test batch, and let it sit for a few hours. It still doesn't stain when I test it on my wrist. Even if my hair won't show much color, it should still stain, correct?

[cheetahfast]

Well, I mixed another test batch, and let it sit for a few hours. It still doesn't stain when I test it on my wrist. Even if my hair won't show much color, it should still stain, correct?

Yes, even a little. Perhaps, the mix has expired henna or henna that does not work. The stain on your wrist will be a light color. Was the water a good temperature?
You can leave the mix longer if you want. Also your hair is not dark enough to not show the henna stain, people with black hair can use henna and will get a red/orange glow in sunlight, despite not seeing anything indoors. I would think that your hair is light enought to get a very bright henna stain.

[shutterpillar]

I've read some henna takes quite a few hours to dye release... try letting it sit overnight and see what happens, maybe?

[Kaelee]

Henna releases dye pretty much IMMEDIATELY when you use hot (not warm) water. If you left it a few hours, it might already have been too late- the henna dye has a life span. It's kind of a curve- dye release, maximum dye release, then the dye starts to 'demise' and become not good anymore.

With water the dye release happens fast. The warmer the water, the faster it happens. It also demises fast. Think of a curve on a graph, the curve is pretty short.

Acidic liquid (like lemon juice) leads to a slower dye release...the more acid, the slower the slower the dye release. I typically use straight lemon juice and let it sit 14-16 hours. With an acid mix, the dye also sticks around longer- you have a longer "window" in which to use it. I've gone as long as 18 hours and still had PLENTY of dye left. Back to the curve on the graph again, this one is a much longer curve.

I'm not sure leaving it longer would help in this case. I would use warm (not hot) water and keep checking it over the course of a few hours, and when you get a stain on your hand, use it. If you use hot water, test it immediately after mixing, 15 mins later, 1/2 hour later....

Hope that made sense. I'm up early waiting for the handyman to fix my door and still kind of fuzzy headed. :)

[coffinhert]

I've left henna sitting for up to 16 hours and still got good dye on my hair. Sounds like the powder is old or something.

[Kaelee]

I've left henna sitting for up to 16 hours and still got good dye on my hair. Sounds like the powder is old or something.

But what did you mix it with? If you mix it with something acidic, you can easily leave it sitting up to 16 hours. If you mix it with water or, even worse, HOT water...not so much.

[Loribelle]

I'm fairly new to henna, but I found Mehandi.com and their sister page hennaforhair.com (check out the free henna for hair book!) to be an invaluable resource!
From what I have read, you may have done a few things incorrectly. Like others have said, hot water 'kills' the henna. It won't let the dye release.
This forum (sorry to promote another forum) gave me all of the answers I needed; http://www.forums.hennapage.com/forum/3
I did my first henna a little over a month ago, and I just LOVE it!!! As soon as I am allowed, I'll post pics. It turned out amazing.
I hope this helps.
Good luck!

[Foxylocks]

You probably shouldn't mix what is already weak color (due to the fact that it is not pure henna) with conditioner. That just weakens it even further. If you must use conditioner in your mix, make sure to use it with pure henna. The too-hot water is also a very prominent factor. Hot water can kill what little henna is in the compound henna mixture.
Hope I helped! :) Better luck next time. Try buying henna without any added ingredients.

[cheetahfast]

You probably shouldn't mix what is already weak color (due to the fact that it is not pure henna) with conditioner. That just weakens it even further. If you must use conditioner in your mix, make sure to use it with pure henna. The too-hot water is also a very prominent factor. Hot water can kill what little henna is in the compound henna mixture.
Hope I helped! :) Better luck next time. Try buying henna without any added ingredients.

I use a mixed henna that is mainly cassia and add conditioner and have no dye uptake issues, I do no think that is the issue here. It seems there is no dye release rather than weak :shrug:.

I too think it's most likely the hot water that's the issue.

[coffinhert]

But what did you mix it with? If you mix it with something acidic, you can easily leave it sitting up to 16 hours. If you mix it with water or, even worse, HOT water...not so much.

Ah, I always use chamomile tea.

[Nightshade]

Hot water doesn't kill henna, actually. You get dye release much faster, but I've done experiments with flat out boiling henna and while the dye does release and then subsequently demise faster, it doesn't cook it.

Every time I henna it's steaming hot chamomile tea in henna, covered for 3 or so hours and applied for another 3. Works fine :)

Depending on the blend you used, too, if it was already a weaker blend and then you cut it with conditioner and the dye was already on the demising end of the spectrum I think you wound up with just not as much potency as you needed to get it to show color.

Maybe next time don't cut it with conditioner and don't freeze it :) You can also make sure it's dye-releasing by testing a dot of it on your hand. Check it every hour after you mix it and when you see a pale orange dot left behind on your hand after letting it sit for a minute, you're ready to go!

[spidermom]

P.S: Try clarifying your hair before the next henna test. You might have too much buildup. I know henna is a lot different, but directions for temporary vegetable dyes say to clarify, skip the conditioner, and apply to dry hair. Worth a try, right?