Henna gloss too wet - other suggestions?

[Retromaid]

I dye my hair with henna somewhat frequently, and when I do that I just mix henna with lemon juice and water into a paste and slather it on. I decided to try doing a henna gloss recently to help blend in my roots without getting too much more colour (OK, and it was because I only had a little henna powder left but was too lazy to drive across town to buy more...).

I mixed the henna with a little bit of lemon juice and left that overnight to get dye release. I then mixed that with conditioner (Tresseme). However, when I put it on my hair I found it was REALLY wet and drippy. I did my normal thing of wrapping my head in a plastic bag and then a towel, but I had constant dripping that I kept having to wipe off with paper towels. It was messy and annoying.

Maybe I used too much lemon juice? Maybe there's a thicker conditioner I could use? Or some other recipe? I know a lot of people use yogurt, but I've read that the sugar in yogurt can cause dandruff (feeds the dandruff fungus or whatever) and since I can get sort of dandruff-y sometimes I don't want to do anything to encourage that.

Thoughts? What do you use for your henna glosses?

[browneyedsusan]

xanthan gum

I don't know where you are, but here in the Midwest, it's available in the gluten-free or baking aisle of the grocery. It comes in a little bag and is usually close to the rice flour. (I've found it at Kroger)
My mix is about 1/3 dye released henna, 2/3 cheap condish, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum; all whisked together. (I usually aim for a cup of goo to put on my roots, sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less. Depends on how much henna I have, how fast it thaws out...)

Xanthan gum is a thickener, and gets thicker the longer it sits. It does not rinse out with conditioner, though! You'll have to alternate shampoo and condish in the shower to get your hair rinsed. Condish will remove the henna, and shampoo will remove the xanthan gum. Just alternate between the 2 until you get it all out.

I have similar concerns about my hair getting too dark. Strawberry blonde would be ideal, but as long as it's red, I'm fine with it. (The more gray I get, the brighter it is though! When I'm an old lady, it'll be bright and coppery, eh?)

[Salmonberry]

I've had a lot of luck with a brand of conditioner called Everyday Shea. I use the vanilla mint conditioner. It's relatively cheap for an all natural brand too. I can usually buy a big 32 oz bottle for $10. It's usually available in natural food stores like Whole Foods or Sprouts. It's really thick, really conditioning, and I get no drips with no extra additives necessary. The slip isn't great, you you may need to use another conditioner to rinse it out though.

[Isilme]

You can mix in some cassia if it gets watery. And you don't need to use lemon juice, it is perfectly alright, maybe even better to use warm water (warm, not boiling) But if you like using lemon juice continue to do so :)

[Anje]

Apply it to dry hair instead of damp.

If you're already past that point and don't have many ingredients in hand, I'll bet a little corn starch will thicken it up.

[Retromaid]

Ooo, I'm celiac so I've got xanthan gum in my cupboard already. I'll definitely give that a try that with the conditioner next time, browneyedsusan. I will look into Everyday Shea brand as well! I always apply henna to dry hair already, so that wasn't the issue.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

[Retromaid]

Ooo, I'm celiac so I've got xanthan gum in my cupboard already. I'll definitely give that a try that with the conditioner next time, browneyedsusan. I will look into Everyday Shea brand as well! I always apply henna to dry hair already, so that wasn't the issue.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

[Bagginslover]

You only need the tiniest bit of the gum, it works really, REALLY well to thicken up the mixture :)

[browneyedsusan]

You only need the tiniest bit of the gum, it works really, REALLY well to thicken up the mixture :)

^this^

The first time I used a tablespoon, and the henna thickened to jello in my hair. (On the upside: It didn't drip at all! :rollin: ) It took a LONG time to get all those henna curds rinsed out. They stuck like glue!

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of mix should be pretty close.

[Retromaid]

^this^

The first time I used a tablespoon, and the henna thickened to jello in my hair. (On the upside: It didn't drip at all! :rollin: ) It took a LONG time to get all those henna curds rinsed out. They stuck like glue!

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of mix should be pretty close.

This is good to know, I definitely would have overdone it. I'm excited to try it! It's time to make a trip to the Indian grocery store!