Henna?

[Julescarm]

I was trying to find a thread on henna here. Ill search it in the search engine. I was wondering how those with fine hair found it to be. Does it have negative effects if you stop using it? What does it do for hair health? I know this has been asked before but I know it doesn't hurt to ask on my own. Ill be researching this but other experiences would be appreciated. Thanks. :)

[Julescarm]

Now in looking through threads I have also found cassia, and amla. Been researching those as well. What would not color my hair or if so make it very subtle? I'd like to know what can be used for strengthening and moisture.

[Sid0rela]

My sister has fine hair and she used henna recently. It was "chestnut" henna but definitely didnt look as dark, rather reddish.
She didny say she noticed much but she doesnt notice a lot about hair in general.
I thought her hair looked thicker,and it makes sense because henna layers the hair and give the appearance of thicker hair.
I also noticed she was able to stretch washes longer (idk if its related to henna but happened after henna) she didnt have that oily hair.
I know some people use it as a hair treatment,u can use even no color henna ive heard..

[JennGalt]

Henna is strengthening, yes, but also drying and needs to be followed up with moisture for a lot of people. I mix it with coconut milk to make gloss treatments.
Here is the cassia thread (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=406) if you want something that won’t alter your hair color. The recipes, henna and herbal hair care section on this site will be full of useful threads; try checking the first sticky for other ideas. And I believe Curly Proverbz on youtube has some informative videos on henna.

[lapushka]

I have F hair. In my experience henna made my F hair normal, so the individual strands thickened up. Cassia never did that at all for me.

I am now using all of my "Henna Cure&Care" hair masks and they are strengthening but non-coloring. Unfortunately, that mask was taken off the market. It's a nice one.

But maybe try and make your own conditioning treatment by just mixing in the powder into the conditioner or mask without developing the henna first? I wonder if that would do anything at all.

If you don't want color, don't start with henna, there is nothing subtle about it!!! You'd have to do 90 to 95% cassia to 10 or 5% of henna if you want subtle.

What's your hair color?

[JennGalt]

*snip*
But maybe try and make your own conditioning treatment by just mixing in the powder into the conditioner or mask without developing the henna first? I wonder if that would do anything at all.
*snip


I tried that with my very first gloss and only let it sit on my head for about 1.5-2 hours... I don’t recall exactly. I have black hair, so no major change, but I did notice that my natural reddish glow in strong light was considerably intensified. Maybe someone with lighter hair who’s tried that can weigh in, but if color change is an issue, I don’t think simply not letting it develop will work.

[Julescarm]

Thank you for the Input. I read it was drying as well and am second guessing the idea for trying henna due to drying effects. I don't mind moisturizing though. Its Definetly worth a thought or two or ten.

[Julescarm]

Lapushka, my hair is Fine and I thought it was light brown but people have told me its a dark brown. I had dyed it black for the fun of it but it faded very quickly. No one had noticed the hair color difference so I guess its dark brown. Lol.

[Obsidian]

I have find hair and use henna. It does thicken my strands and seems to improve the overall health but thats after multiple applications of pure henna. Its not been drying at all for me.

Using just a little henna in conditioner didn't do anything to my blonde hair besides add a little color and shine. The orange dye molecules are what strengthen hair, you need the color to get the benefits. If you don't want orange hair, don't use henna.

No negative effects from stopping besides the color difference of the roots.

[lapushka]

Lapushka, my hair is Fine and I thought it was light brown but people have told me its a dark brown. I had dyed it black for the fun of it but it faded very quickly. No one had noticed the hair color difference so I guess its dark brown. Lol.

Maybe just a teaspoon of henna to 4 tablespoons of cassia might be OK. But then what would the benefits still be?

I would try cassia on its own first, if I were you.

Ease into this. Maybe you won't even like the mud application! That can be rough.

[reilly0167]

Henna is strengthening, yes, but also drying and needs to be followed up with moisture for a lot of people. I mix it with coconut milk to make gloss treatments.
Here is the cassia thread (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=406) if you want something that won’t alter your hair color. The recipes, henna and herbal hair care section on this site will be full of useful threads; try checking the first sticky for other ideas. And I believe Curly Proverbz on youtube has some informative videos on henna.

Her videos are great, also maicurls has an excellent henna gloss bars recipes that works wonders for me. Please research on henna, its a process, not to be jumped into lightly.

[Rosetta]

I was trying to find a thread on henna here. Ill search it in the search engine. I was wondering how those with fine hair found it to be. Does it have negative effects if you stop using it? What does it do for hair health? I know this has been asked before but I know it doesn't hurt to ask on my own. Ill be researching this but other experiences would be appreciated. Thanks. :)
In case you didn't notice yet, there's actually not just several threads but a whole subforum dedicated to henna here ;)

Also not sure where did people ever get the idea that henna is "drying", as it's nothing of the sort (when properly used)? On the contrary, it's brilliantly conditioning & strentghening. But please research the subforum, you'll find plenty of actual & correct info there :)

[lapushka]

In case you didn't notice yet, there's actually not just several threads but a whole subforum dedicated to henna here ;)

Also not sure where did people ever get the idea that henna is "drying", as it's nothing of the sort (when properly used)? On the contrary, it's brilliantly conditioning & strentghening. But please research the subforum, you'll find plenty of actual & correct info there :)

I used it properly, it still parched my hair. It had the same effect on my hair as bleach did - no joke. It made my hair rougher, from F to normal, and maybe that was part and parcel of it. But... IDK!

No, never again, not for me.

[JennGalt]

In case you didn't notice yet, there's actually not just several threads but a whole subforum dedicated to henna here ;)

Also not sure where did people ever get the idea that henna is "drying", as it's nothing of the sort (when properly used)? On the contrary, it's brilliantly conditioning & strentghening. But please research the subforum, you'll find plenty of actual & correct info there :)

Interesting. I got most of my info from that subforum and my experience was also that henna is drying. And yes, I used it “properly.” There are plenty of others on that subforum who had the same experience as well. OP asked for real world experiences, and drying is something a LOT of people experience from henna. It is amusing that you think your experience is the only valid one, and that others’ experiences are incorrect or didn’t actually occur. As with anything haircare related YMMV. That includes henna.

Henna deposits lawsone by raising the hair cuticle. This also happens during bleaching, except during bleaching pigment and some proteins are removed. If you have low porosity hair, it’s possible that your cuticle didn’t stay open long and that’s why you didn't experience the drying effect (if you have actually used henna). The cuticle will often stay raised for a while after the henna is rinsed out; this varies from person to person. While the cuticle is raised it is much harder to keep moisture in hair strands, particularly if you live in a dry environment. I used a vinegar rinse afterward to help close the cuticle, but my hair would still feel dry, rough and brittle for about 48 hours afterward.

From my understanding, henna is also a sort of protein treatment—the lawsone attaches to the proteins in hair and behaves like a protein—which many people find drying. Another reason it’s wise to be prepared to follow up with moisture!

OP, definitely dig through the henna subforum and pay particular attention to those who had experiences you wish to avoid, and see what (if anything) they have in common. I skimmed over the parts about henna getting too dark (it doesn’t matter with black hair, lol) but you may want to pay closer attention to those posts than I did. Most of the reason I decided use henna in conjunction with coconut milk as a gloss and use a vinegar rinse afterward was because of info I found in the threads there.

I can assure you that I’ve been using henna for about a year now, and all the info I provided is “actual & correct.”

[reilly0167]

Interesting. I got most of my info from that subforum and my experience was also that henna is drying. And yes, I used it “properly.” There are plenty of others on that subforum who had the same experience as well. OP asked for real world experiences, and drying is something a LOT of people experience from henna. It is amusing that you think your experience is the only valid one, and that others’ experiences are incorrect or didn’t actually occur. As with anything haircare related YMMV. That includes henna.

Henna deposits lawsone by raising the hair cuticle. This also happens during bleaching, except during bleaching pigment and some proteins are removed. If you have low porosity hair, it’s possible that your cuticle didn’t stay open long and that’s why you didn't experience the drying effect (if you have actually used henna). The cuticle will often stay raised for a while after the henna is rinsed out; this varies from person to person. While the cuticle is raised it is much harder to keep moisture in hair strands, particularly if you live in a dry environment. I used a vinegar rinse afterward to help close the cuticle, but my hair would still feel dry, rough and brittle for about 48 hours afterward.

From my understanding, henna is also a sort of protein treatment—the lawsone attaches to the proteins in hair and behaves like a protein—which many people find drying. Another reason it’s wise to be prepared to follow up with moisture!

OP, definitely dig through the henna subforum and pay particular attention to those who had experiences you wish to avoid, and see what (if anything) they have in common. I skimmed over the parts about henna getting too dark (it doesn’t matter with black hair, lol) but you may want to pay closer attention to those posts than I did. Most of the reason I decided use henna in conjunction with coconut milk as a gloss and use a vinegar rinse afterward was because of info I found in the threads there.

I can assure you that I’ve been using henna for about a year now, and all the info I provided is “actual & correct.”

This. I've been doing henna for about 4 years now, and my hair feels dry, but i always do a moisture treatment after, and another one two days after, in my experience, it would feel like that for that amount of time and its fine.

[MoreSky]

I think this article about why hair might feel dry after hennaing from Henna For Hair is helpful: https://www.ancientsunrise.blog/full-coverage-hair-feels-dry/

Did you find the Recipes, Henna and Herbal Haircare subforum? https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21