Dryness after henna

[EvilPigeon]

So, after my very first henna the dryness was unbareable. Terrible tangling,even after brushing and gobs of conditioner. I did a coconut milk soak & smt,chamomille tea rinse and wash. I then used a moister pack from Sally's(one of those 99 cent things) and my hair feels alot better,but still relatively dry. Is there anything I can do to farther releive the dryness?

[prosperina]

Hmmm... this just tends to happen to some people I think. For those that this happens to, I've heard their hair is dry for a while, then returns to normal/more conditioned state. Did you use a lot of lemon juice in your mix? If you did, you can totally eliminate it next time. You don't need it. Tap water works fine.

ETA: try oil. extra virgin olive oil or coconut.

[Elfling]

What did you mix the henna with? If lemon juice/orange juice/vinegar anything like that in quantity, there's your culprit.

[khyricat]

acid in the mix makes it awful, though if I don't use my conditioning rinse and a touch of oil post henna it is on the dry side, it doesn't take more than that to remove it. One of the things henna does is strip all the natural oils off and they need to replaced or given time to replace themselves... but add acid and you have an entirely different ballgame.. and a lot more dryness that isn't as easy to get rid of..

Amie

[salamander]

Deep oil treatment. Olive is heaviest. I like to leave it on damp hair overnight. It'll fix some really severe dryness. And, like everyone else has said, use less acid in your mix last time. Also, how did you wash the henna out? Using a thin conditioner instead of shampoo works really well for a lot of people, and really mitigates henna dryness.

[jojo]

id try either a deep oil treatment or maybe a SMT. Ive read this before and im sure its just a temp thing

[EvilPigeon]

I used 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the rest was tap water in 300 grams of henna. I rinsed it out with a whole bottle of VO5 conditioner and shampooed,then conditioned again. I will try the olive oil though. Thanks everybody =]

[Kirin]

make sure any moisture treatments or conditioners you use are protein free, which i found on henna/dry hair, made it worse.

[EvilPigeon]

Would an oil treatment(i.e, leaving olive oil on overnight) remove some of the henna? I like the color alot, so I don't want it to go anywhere. =P

[MeMyselfandI]

According to the honey page, honey coconut oil and olive oil have peroxide in them and they may remove colour.

First of all is all the henna powder out of your hair? Do a mermaid soak and make sure there is no henna powder left in your hair.

I also experience drier hair after my first henna application. I started out with damaged hair. I used the SMT, coconut oil, then I did a coconut/honey treatment. It left my hair soft. I did not do the vinegar rinse after the coconut/honey treatment and my hair felt very tangled. I could not get my fingers though it no matter how much conditoner I used. (something similar to what you described.)

I was pleasently surprised that after my second henna treatment, my hair did not feel like it did after the first treatment.

I use chamomile tea for my liquid.
The last time I also used a Vit C, and some conditioner.

Honey thread - from TBB and bits from old LHC

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=148

[Lexie]

My hair was always dry and Velcro-like after henna. After 2 1/2 years, that becomes a pain to deal with. And then I just happened to try chamomile because I had all these dried flowers sitting in the fridge for about a year. That was the first time I was able to even finger comb my hair just post-henna. Ever since, I haven't stopped using it. And I had been using water only for a long time, so added acid wasn't my problem. I just needed something conditioning mixed with it.

I did a coconut oil treatment overnight 4 days after my last henna and it didn't strip it at all as far as I can tell. Might be because it had oxidized within the first 12 hours.

[Elfling]

I haven't noticed oilings taking any color out of my hair.

Second the chamomile notion. The second henna/indigo treatment that I did, I used chamomile tea and no acid; it made my hair incredibly soft.

I've heard a few other people say too that a second henna takes away the crunchies; you might try doing another and use chamomile tea and see if it helps.

[Nightshade]

Would an oil treatment(i.e, leaving olive oil on overnight) remove some of the henna? I like the color alot, so I don't want it to go anywhere. =P

It may, but it's going to be unlikely :) And it may take out some of the smell. You can always add a few drops of EO for scent too.

[Kirin]

if any oil treatments lighten your henna color, its only temporary. I've had that happen with some treatments, lighten up, but the henna re-oxidizes darker in a few days.

The next time you henna, try adding a few drops of coconut oil (I use carrot oil and it didnt impede the uptake at all) and it make the mix silky, rinsed out great and my hair felt wonderful.

[Morag]

My hair tends to be dry, and doing a plain henna pack definitely makes it much dryer, so I usually add about 1/4 cup of olive oil to the henna mix as I am making it. That way I get the benefit of a warm oil treatment at the same time I am doing the henna. It's possible that the oil may cause the color to take differently, but I'm not sure about that because I also add a couple TBS of ACV to help set the color when I want to cover my gray.

I also usually throw in turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, primarily because they make the whole thing smell a lot better. I think they affect the color too.

[squiggyflop]

my hair loves it when i do either a mayonaise deep treatment or a hot oil treatment with camellia oil right after henna... avacado also workes great but make sure that you make it a smooth consistansy and rinse really well

[Delilah]

I use oil in my henna and indigo. Maybe 2 tbs worth of coconut oil in a full-head application.
I've never gotten terribly dry hair after henna. It does seem very cleansed though.

[zift]

I haven't noticed oilings taking any color out of my hair.


I've noticed that even after two weeks of my henndigo treatment and when it's stopped bleeding ,when I do a deep oil treatment I see the water turns to dark blue/green. Probably it takes the indigo color out but leave the henna in.

[Lexie]

Maybe your indigo just didn't really bond very well with your hair. When I tried the amla+olive oil treatment to remove indigo, it did very little. Only a few bits were dark red and the majority of my hair remained black.

[zift]

Maybe your indigo just didn't really bond very well with your hair. When I tried the amla+olive oil treatment to remove indigo, it did very little. Only a few bits were dark red and the majority of my hair remained black.
You're probably right Lexie about the indigo not bonding because after three weeks I had to redo the henndigo because indigo always washes away:(