First Time Henna User

[endlessly]

I'm in the middle of my first ever attempt with Henna and I honestly don't know what to think.

I went to the mall yesterday and stopped in at Lush since I wanted to replace a few things and while there, opted to purchase their Caca Brun and give it a try. I wasn't given much for directions, just told that if I've ever colored my hair before, it was really similar to that. Today, once everyone was out of the house, I decided to give it a whirl. The directions are wrapped around the bar and are vague at best and I'll paraphrase a bit of it:

"Cut your henna into big pieces...put your henna into the double boiler and cover with boiling water, allowing the hot water to soak in and melt for a few minutes, then mix it up to the consistency of brownie batter. Add more hot water if needed."

It seems pretty self-explanatory, right? Well, the brick of henna is just that - a brick. Cutting it up took a lot of muscle and as for letting it soak, that took even longer. So, I added a bit more water and tried to stir it in, then covered it and let it sit for several minutes. Again, added a bit more water since others who had reviewed it online mentioned it needing a lot of water to actually mix together properly.

Once it was the consistency of "batter", I started applying it, which I already knew was going to be ridiculously messy and once finished, wrapped my head in plastic wrap as per the suggestion of the instructions. Then, I decided to clean up the bathroom since it was far from pretty looking and once I turned and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I was genuinely shocked - the henna is dripping everywhere. Even now, nearly an hour and a half after applying and it's still dripping down my forehead. I know that the obvious answer is that I most likely used too much water, but the instructions said nothing about the amount to use, just the consistency you should be looking for. I'm supposed to leave this on my head for 2-4 hours and I know there's no way I'll be able to stand doing that especially with how drippy it is.

Here are my questions: Is this normal when it comes to henna? Could it be that the plastic wrap is creating too much heat which is making it "melt" and liquify when it shouldn't be? And, most importantly, how is this going to look Will I get any color at all or is this just an epic, albeit messy mistake?

I'll try to post an update later, but I know the longest I'll be able to stand sitting with this on my head is another hour if I'm lucky.

[velorutionista]

I'd say you just used way too much water. Normally henna drips a little, but not much (I go for more of a loose paste than batter consistency, but I use loose henna powder now, which is a bit different)...Lush henna has cocoa butter (or is it shea--can't remember--one of the solid oils) in it, which complicated things because you have to get that to melt as well as get the henna all wet. I'll add that Lush henna is probably my least favorite henna experience because it was such a pain to prep (as you saw) and a pain to get rinsed out--used up lots and lots of conditioner...(though if yours is really runny it may not be so bad). You will probably get decent stain even if it's really runny as long as you leave it on a couple hours and you got your hair well coated to start. When I used lush henna, I would grate the bar on a box grater instead of trying to chop it up, and that helped with melting/dissolving it faster (but dulled the heck out of my grater).

Anyhow, welcome to henna! Hopefully you love the color, and next time (if there is), it'll go a little smoother for you!

[hennalonghair]

I agree that you probably added too much water.
If you are going to start using henna I highly recommend getting a good BAQ henna powder as your main base.

[flickm]

My first venture into henna since the 70s was Lush caca rouge. It was on the light switch, up my nose, the walls, the floor, the wash basin, the cats. And it definitely dripped, even though I mixed as instructed (and THAT was when I managed to actually wrest the required amount from the block!) i think their henna is very coarse, plus mixed with cocoa butter and other stuff, so it doesn't adhere to your head very well. And on me it began to wash out pretty quickly, fading within two washes. Using BAQ henna after that was a revelation: it stayed where I put it, didn't make a mess, washed out like a dream and stayed colour fast.

I'm not discounting what the others have said, but I just think it's difficult not to make a mess and have drips with Lush henna. On the other hand, if you want to see if you like henna, Lush seems less permanent. Even the girl in the shop said it would only last six months, and it certainly faded fast on me. Though don't assume anything as there are probably people who want their Lush henna to fade but can't get rid of it ;)

[texangrrl]

I've never used Lush henna bars, so I can't comment on that specifically, but it sounds like you used too much water. I've done that before and had horrible drippies!!

[ifthemoonsmiled]

Just echoing everyone else. I tried Lush henna once, thinking it would be easier than mixing my own, and yes, it was much, much messier than plain old henna powder. However, the bar was enough for several applications by the last one I got it down better...you really do need to melt it in the double boiler, like you would melt chocolate, and add water little by little... it's very easy to add too much, since the cocoa butter is melting and making it runny at the same time.

[Isilme]

Oh, henna from Lush is terrible! The sift isn't very good and as you have experienced, a pain to use. You do know that the brun contains indigo right? But reading how you prepared it I don't think there's much indigo left. Get a better henna next time, yes it will still be messy but since you can mix the powder to your desired consistency it is easier to get it right. I aim for it to be similar to pancake batter. Do you have any specific goal colour in mind? If it is light, remember to only touch up your roots when you're happy with the length.
Read The Henna Thread here at LHC and if you want to head over to henna for hair. And read Nightshade's excellent henna article:
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=56615

[endlessly]

Wow, thank you for all the responses, everyone! I definitely feel like I added too much water and like you said, ifthemoonsmiled, the cocoa butter didn't help either! I was able to sit with it on for about 2 1/2 hours before I absolutely had to rinse, I just couldn't take all the drips anymore. Because of the extra ingredients they use in their Henna bars, I had a ton of coarse particles to contend with while rinsing and that alone took an additional 45 minutes, half a bottle of conditioner, and 4 shampoos before I felt my hair was clean enough for me to get out of the shower. I like how the color turned out, it's a really pretty reddish-brown, and I like how my hair feels now - much fuller and more moisturized, but I'm almost certain I ended up having some sort of reaction to something in the henna bar.

Starting Wednesday night, my scalp started itching terribly and it only got worse yesterday. I had to shampoo it again last night (twice), but nothing helped the itching and by today, I couldn't take it anymore. I contacted Lush today just to see what they would suggest I do and they were extremely helpful. The person I spoke to said that because their henna can dry to the scalp like mud, it takes a bit to remove it, and they typically recommend using one specific shampoo bar, which I wasn't told about in store that she offered to ship to me for free - again, very, very nice.

In the future if I attempt to use Henna again, I'll have to look into some other brands that are hopefully a lot less work and significantly less messy because I really like how the color turned out. Thanks again for all of the suggestions!

[flickm]

The itching will be because of all the perfume they put in the bar - I cant even walk past Lush without my skin itching at the smell of their products! (Well, not literally, but you know what I

I have two thirds of a bar of caca rouge left if anyone in or near Oxford (England) wants it.

[aspartame gram]

Oh, yes! I used Lush's henna too and they most certainly use a bunch of perfume in their bars. I'm sorry! Perhaps using some oils will help remove some of the residue.

[Doni]

From my experience the Lush henna dripped A LOT. I think this henna mixes very poorly. No matter how thick my mixture was, the powder itself actually dried on my hair, while water separated from the mixture and started dripping down my neck. Now that I use Jamila, it's still wet after leaving it on overnight. Plus the Cacas have a really unpleasant scent.

Also, I'm kind of bothered by the commercial terms such as brown/dark red etc. henna. Lots of people aren't aware there's indigo in such powders, therefore blue/green hair incidents occur.

[Agnes Hannah]

I used henna for the first time this Sunday, I mixed it up into a thick paste sectioned my hair into six parts and slapped it on. I left it on for a hour and a half then rinsed it off. I used loads of condish to get all the bits out. My hair is a gorgeous colour, I am really pleased with the way it has turned out and my hair feels lovely. The only problem apart from the mess, was the smell. Henna pongs! Any advice on getting rid of the smell? Thanks

[Doni]

The henna itself doesn't actually smell bad - it reminds me of green tea. It's the combination of lemon juice, rosemary and cloves that gives it that awful scent. These ingredients are actually added to make it smell better, but as far as I'm concerned it has the exact opposite effect :D.

[Anje]

The only problem apart from the mess, was the smell. Henna pongs! Any advice on getting rid of the smell? Thanks

The henna itself doesn't actually smell bad - it reminds me of green tea. It's the combination of lemon juice, rosemary and cloves that gives it that awful scent. These ingredients are actually added to make it smell better, but as far as I'm concerned it has the exact opposite effect :D.

Supposedly, a spoon of powdered ginger completely counteracts and masks the smell of henna, if you're one of the people who is bothered by it. To me, it smells like hay, and that's OK.

[Agnes Hannah]

Supposedly, a spoon of powdered ginger completely counteracts and masks the smell of henna, if you're one of the people who is bothered by it. To me, it smells like hay, and that's OK.


The henna itself doesn't actually smell bad - it reminds me of green tea. It's the combination of lemon juice, rosemary and cloves that gives it that awful scent. These ingredients are actually added to make it smell better, but as far as I'm concerned it has the exact opposite effect :D.

Yes it does smell like hay! I guess I am not used to the smell as I have never used henna before, so may take some getting used to. Will try the ginger trick next time to see what happens otherwise, I will have to get used to the smell. Thanks for your advice Doni and Anje