Need Advice: Will this henna still work?

[teal]

Basically, I need to know whether to bother attempting to use this batch of henna, or just pitch it and use fresh stuff.

Background: Once every several months I mix up a batch of henna from powder, with warm water and a bit of amla powder to help keep my waves/curls. Once the dye has released, I portion it into ziploc bags and put in the freezer for easy use later. (Cut one corner and I've got a piping bag for direct application to roots! If you haven't tried this, I recommend it! Anyway...) When I want to henna, I take out a bag, let it defrost at room temp, and then apply as usual. If I get delayed for some reason, I put it in the fridge and use it later or the next day, and I haven't noticed any issues with dye strength from doing this.

Cut to this week, where I screwed up. On Monday mid-afternoon, I took a bag out of the freezer expecting to use it that night. It didn't happen. Late Monday evening, realizing I wasn't going to get to it, I put it into the fridge. Sickness happened, and now it's Thursday and it's still in the fridge (hasn't moved, in fact). Is it going to be any good? Or should I just call it a loss and fetch another one from the freezer?

[hennalonghair]

From Monday to Thursday in the fridge is a long time. Im not sure what strain could last that long.
It might have 'some' stain left in it but not a predicable one. I'd opt for starting over but that's just my opinion.

[Chromis]

I'd say go ahead and try it! I've henna is pretty forgiving. Worst case is it won't stain much, but you should still get the conditioning benefits.

[teal]

It's HennaSooq's Red Raj (http://www.hennasooq.ca/red-raj) - the highest lawsone content I could find! ;)

One for trying, one against... oof. On one hand I would appreciate the conditioning, on the other it's a lot of setup to go through for a "dye job" that may or may not take. Back to the first hand, most of my hair is hennaed to saturation. Back to the other hand, I may have to redo it again soon and I don't get a lot of me-only time, which the henna process qualifies for. Decisions, decisions...

Maybe I'll cut the corner and see if it stains my hand. Wish I'd thought of that earlier. Derp!

Edit: When I do henna, it's an overnight thing - apply, cover, go to bed and rinse in the morning. So, if it's capable of dyeing, it'll have lots of time to do its thing.

[hennalonghair]

Another thing to consider is how cold your fridge is. My fridge is a bit colder than most so when I take something out of the freezer and put it in the fridge, it can take quite a while to defrost. If it took a day to defrost then that would make it less than 48 hours . I've used henna that I've forgotten about and it's been 36 to 48 hours and it still was good. I often leave my henna for a full 24 hours before using.
And the great thing is you placed the henna directly into the freezer. It's not like you waited for dye release and then froze it .

Maybe add some fresh henna to the batch. By now it's demising even more:lol:Good luck either way.

[Anje]

See if it stains your skin. If it does, great. If not, chuck it.

[Chromis]

You don't need to leave it on very long for conditioning! If it fails the skin patch test for staining that Anje cleverly recommends, I would just leave it on for a shorter time.

I used to do overnight henna, but it is so much fuss. Now I only leave it on for about two hours or so and it still works just fine. I don't care much about the colour since that always fades a lot on my hair, but I get the same conditioning even for shorter periods. I finally tried a henna gloss with some leftover henna and I only left that on for 15-30 minutes and it still cleared up the scalp itchies great and left my hair thicker and much shinier! Think of it like a hair masque.

[teal]

You don't need to leave it on very long for conditioning! If it fails the skin patch test for staining that Anje cleverly recommends, I would just leave it on for a shorter time.

Yeah, I suppose if it doesn't stain my skin then I won't have to go to lengths to prevent it from staining other things, too, so the setup would be less onerous. (Which is really why I only henna once every two months or so... I let the roots get noticeable (to me) before I bother: as my hair is fairly dark and has natural red tones already, no one else besides DH seems to notice. Not that I've asked...)

Alright, it's decided! I'll see whether it stains my skin. I'll update with results.

[texangrrl]

Hi teal!! Any updates? Just curious since I use the red raj too. :popcorn:

[teal]

Yes, updates are here! :popcorn:

I remembered putting a hand on the bag when I put it in the fridge on Monday and it was feeling relatively warm, not like something still defrosting. I didn't smoosh the bag, though. It's been pretty warm days these last few days (over 10C) so I was pretty worried that it was all for naught. Then I checked the fridge temperature and it was surprisingly cold. When I took the henna out of the fridge, there was some red dye pooling, but the package was quite cold. I put a bit of the henna on my hand and it stained after about one minute (maybe less, it was torture sitting there looking at it!) so I decided to go ahead with the full routine. It turns out I needn't have worried - I have bathed myself twice, the kids once, and washed my hands several times... I can still see the little test splotch stain on my hand.

If the dye molecules have lost any effectiveness, it is not evident. I took the usual precaution of putting petroleum jelly (Vasoline) around my hairline, and it's a good thing I did. This batch is a bit runnier than usual (oops :rolleyes:) and it still managed to stain a bit of my sideburn area. The henna also stained my wrists below the ends of the neoprene gloves. I've been peering at my roots all morning to see if they're any less bright than the usual day-after-hennaing hair, and I can't see any difference. I took before and after pics and there is the usual difference, as you would expect for strong henna applied for several hours on virgin hair. Unfortunately I don't have any after-pics where my length is at the same saturation level for root comparison.


And the great thing is you placed the henna directly into the freezer. It's not like you waited for dye release and then froze it .

Just to clarify, I did let the dye begin to release before freezing. I think the henna may have been out for 4-6 hours before being portioned and bagged... long enough for some red to pool, but frozen more or less as soon as I noticed it really releasing.

Edit: ^^ That was when I first made the henna. When I took it out of the freezer on Monday, I defrosted the bag on a plate placed on the kitchen counter. It wasn't defrosted in the fridge. After several hours on the counter, plate and bag went into the fridge until late Thursday evening.

[hennalonghair]

Good stuff! Glad it worked for you.

[teal]

Just in case anyone wanted to see the results...

Before:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/transitbum/Hair/before_small_zpsoy61t0dt.png (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/transitbum/media/Hair/before_small_zpsoy61t0dt.png.html)

A few hours after rinsing out:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b335/transitbum/Hair/after_small_zpsnosbxorj.png (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/transitbum/media/Hair/after_small_zpsnosbxorj.png.html)

[texangrrl]

Looks great!!

[teal]

I'm still in a bit of shock that it actually worked. I mean, I guess I had the best case of a bad scenario going on (put it in the fridge soon after defrosting, it was cold day in a temperate region, it was a new batch of strong henna, etc) but I wasn't expecting it to be basically as strong as ever!

[hennalonghair]

I'm still in a bit of shock that it actually worked. I mean, I guess I had the best case of a bad scenario going on (put it in the fridge soon after defrosting, it was cold day in a temperate region, it was a new batch of strong henna, etc) but I wasn't expecting it to be basically as strong as ever!

Yes! You did good. Looks great!

[teal]

I have another update!

I took another bag from the same batch out of the freezer one afternoon intending to use it that evening. The next morning I put it in the fridge (oops) and there it stayed for another week! When I went to use it, the dye pooling was very dark red. I prepped and applied as usual and left it on under plastic and a touque for four hours, and it seems to have worked effectively - even redder, if that's possible! It certainly stained my skin after a short while.

I had put it at the bottom and back of the cold fridge, which helped I'm sure, and the weather has been cool lately. Still, this is some great henna!!

[teal]

I have yet another update, and WHAT an update!! :joy:

So, as usual I took a henna bag out of the freezer and defrosted it. This one also got left out and put in the fridge afterwards. However, this time I left it in the fridge for a whopping 25 days! I tested it on my wrist and, unbelievably, it stained after a minute. So I proceeded with the full henna routine - and it worked!! The colour is just the slightest bit darker than usual for the first day, but it actually looks more like it's oxidized a bit and skipped some of the day-glo stage, not like it has reduced strength. It even stained my neck! (oops) :lol:

I wonder if the fact that it was sealed in an airtight bag had anything to do with it. I'm sure my fridge was also quite cold.

[antler_tines]

Wow, that is a long time! I think it must have to do with being sealed in the bag, no oxygen means no oxidation :) Now I'm thinking I might try the bag trick for next time. My last batch I froze, took out, didn't have time and refroze it at least 3 times and it was an awesome stain :D

[teal]

Wow, that is a long time! I think it must have to do with being sealed in the bag, no oxygen means no oxidation :) Now I'm thinking I might try the bag trick for next time. My last batch I froze, took out, didn't have time and refroze it at least 3 times and it was an awesome stain :D

Having the bag as a ready-made applicator really makes it easy! You'll have to get the hole the right size - too small and it's annoying, too large and it's everywhere.

Wow, you froze it four times and it worked?! :eek: That's good information, not to mention a good score! :cheer: What type of henna are you using? Are you in a cooler climate?

[lil_irish_angel]

interesting..

I have always frozen my henna, the color i get out if it after thaw and freeze colro touch up refreeze and thaw again, its amazing what you get

[antler_tines]

I'm in Arizona right now, so pretty mild. I was kind of surpised as well! The brand was Light Mountain in the red shade which is just pure henna, I'm not sure of the origin but it is organic. They have really improved the sift lately, it used to be gritty. Now it's smooth and easy to rinse.

Now I just need some ziplock bags :D