Can someone explain henna to me??

[longmanedreamer]

Ok so this is probably going to sound stupid to many of you but I had no idea what henna was until about an hour ago. Can someone tell me the point of it? Pros and cons?? I have been reading about people doing henna to repair their hair and what not.

[divinedobbie]

Con: very red and very very permanent! Don't think of it as a treatment, it's very much forever.

[Trip]

Yeah pro would be how intense of a treatment it is at least for me the most dramatic change out of any treatment i do. Con is it will change your hair color forever so if you mind that do not do it.

[divinedobbie]

Yeah pro would be how intense of a treatment it is at least for me the most dramatic change out of any treatment i do. Con is it will change your hair color forever so if you mind that do not do it.

I wouldn't go into it for the purpose of a treatment. I myself didn't notice any added benefits at all (did it for the colour and didn't keep it). You can do similar things for treatment without the colour using cassia (minimal colour tone) or Sedr (no colour).

[TatsuOni]

I use henna (and indigo) for a few reasons. 1. No chemicals. 2. Better for my hair than chemical dyes (some people hair and scalp doesn't like henna). 3. It's permanent. I dye it black with the two step method (henna and indigo) and want it to stay black.

Cons. Messy. Permanent (a con if you aren't 100% sure that you want that color "forever"). Time consuming. Can make curly hair straight.

As for the treatment part. Sure, some people really benefit from it while some don't. I really wouldn't use it as a treatment you aren't after the color. There's other treatments that doesn't dye your hair.

[ReptilianFeline]

The powder is a nice scalp scrub as well :)

[hayheadsbird]

It will give a rich deep colour that can look amazing and be totally individual to you, rather than the solid block of colour that most dyes would.
Your individual strands will be thicker and feel stronger
The shine is amazing

It's forever, this is one that's unlikely to fade and will not wash out.
It can disturb curl pattern
Colour will build up over time with repeat applications
Colour will flare orange in sunlight, which you either love or hate
It's messy to apply and takes hours

Personally, I love henna, but am growing mine out because I want to see my grey come in.

[lapushka]

If you don't want to color your hair, don't do it. Yes it can be, "can be" a treatment, but it is secondary to the color. The color is a vibrant red, that tones down the darker your own hair is. It all depends on your starting color.

If you are going to do it, make sure to read through the big henna FAQ here, do your own proper research and strand test the hair; oh, and use BAQ henna powder (body art quality). Don't go near the Lush stuff.

[Katia_k]

What everybody else said. It's a dye first and foremost. You'll get some form of red--I have naturally medium brown hair and get a nice aubern, but another blonde friend uses it and gets gingery orange. We both love our colors, but that tells you the variety.

You can do a henna gloss if you're looking for a lighter color deposit, which is mixing a few tablespoons of henna paste in with conditioner or some other kind of thicker liquid and putting it on your hair. The effects won't last quite so long, and the color won't be *as* much, but it will still be there, so if you're not looking to be some form of red head, there are other herbal treatments.

If you go over to the recipes section of the forum, there is like a 200 page thread about henna that you can read to your heart's content. It's a pretty interesting read. :)

Also you live pretty close to where I grew up. So hello from a fellow Minnesotan. :)