Help me make henna not smell nasty!

[melrose1985]

I know there are a couple of threads about the smell of henna.

I’m using Lush henna bar and last night when I was grating it up for use tonight or tomorrow I noticed that it smells like pot to me. I don’t do drug and have never tried them….but I know what pot smells like and I think it smells NASTY! I don’t not want to smell grassy or like pot.

Can I nuke honey (so it doesn’t lighten) and add that to kill the smell? I also have coconut oil too. I might have cloves (the little black things) at home. But I don’t have any of the EO’s most people talk about. I do have some of this perfume oil in a roll on bottle, Not sure what’s really in it but I like the smell of it. can that maybe be used? I use Sauvé conditioner and I have the coconut, sea breeze, and cherry blossom one, any of them kill the henna smell after when I’m washing it out?


Thanks!

[wintersun99]

I don't think honey or coconut oil will make any difference. Besides, LUSH henna bars already contain a huge amount of shea butter (I think) so it's already super moist. Not sure if this will work with LUSH but when I use the powdered henna form (from H4H) adding powdered cloves just before application works great (if you like to smell like cloves) I've also read that vanilla EO seems to work well.

ETA: is this your first time using LUSH? if so, I would try it once and see how it goes, before adding anything else. My memory of LUSH bars was that it already contained heavy fragrance and didn't smell like "the henna grass" at all, afterward. It smelled quite perfumey, actually.

[amaiaisabella]

I added cinammon and it diffused the scent a lot. Once I rinsed it from my hair, I had no scent whatsoever; when I did the application before that, the scent stayed in my hair almost a week :( I didn't notice any change in color, maybe a touch redder? Not a bad scent either :)

[manderly]

I'm no big help, because I always thought it smelled like the alfalfa we used to give to the horses at the stable as treats. It smells nice and earthy to me :D

I second the cloves, do you have any BPAL or anything? There's not really much you can do :flower:

[manderly]

Be careful with the cinnamon.....a member posted big red marks left on her skin from cinnamon. Test before you put that in all your henna.

[melrose1985]

Cloves are the black things you put on hams (or something like that)?

If so i'll have to seem them and see what i think. Cinammon is good is yummy but i'm scared it will burn my head!

And i feel like a dork saying this but what's a BPAL?

Also the purfume oil-Auric Blend Perfume -the kind they used to sell at Life Styles it came in a roll on tube. I have a "black coconut" and "chinese rain" one.

[Euphony]

I've put a handful of cloves in a coffee filter and tied it closed with a rubber band, put it in about 4 cups of water and threw it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Then I let the liquid cool to room temp or so and pulled out the 'bag' of cloves. I've used that 'tea' as part of my liquid, it smelled good - but the henna scent was still prevalent. Though I've only ever used powder henna, I've never bought from Lush.

One thing I do now is add some anise eo to it, I smell like a bag of candy for about a week :D

[manderly]

Sorry, BPAL is Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs.....it's a popular scented oil company.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=453&highlight=BPAL

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/

[melrose1985]

I've put a handful of cloves in a coffee filter and tied it closed with a rubber band, put it in about 4 cups of water and threw it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Then I let the liquid cool to room temp or so and pulled out the 'bag' of cloves. I've used that 'tea' as part of my liquid, it smelled good - but the henna scent was still prevalent. Though I've only ever used powder henna, I've never bought from Lush.

One thing I do now is add some anise eo to it, I smell like a bag of candy for about a week :D

Smelling like a bag of candy would be great!! hence why if the honey lingered i would use that.

[melrose1985]

Sorry, BPAL is Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs.....it's a popular scented oil company.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=453&highlight=BPAL

http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/


Oh okay i have since that before on here. Thanks for letting me know what it meant though.

I think the purfume oils i have at home are kinf of like this, i email the people who make my oil stuff for the make up of whats in it. So i guess i'll see and maybe use the one of them.

[Anje]

I seem to remember reading somewhere on H4H that powdered ginger kills the smell of henna, if you really don't like it.

I'm kinda fond of it. It smells green and earthy to me.

[melrose1985]

I seem to remember reading somewhere on H4H that powdered ginger kills the smell of henna, if you really don't like it.

I'm kinda fond of it. It smells green and earthy to me.

Does it have to be fresh ginger? Does ginger even come in a powder?

[melrose1985]

By the way Anje, your hair is really pretty!

[serabelle]

Ginger definitely comes in powdered form. I bought mine through H4H and it works just fine.

Honestly though, after about six months of using henna - I just got used to the earthy smell. I make a little cocktail of various herbs and spices from the cabinet and add them to the mix - but you'll never cover up the scent 100%.

And I know it's been said before, but be careful of adding *anything* to your mix, especially EOs. Test first!

[Eden Iris]

I may not be much help because I kind of like the scent of henna, but I put about a teaspoon of freshly ground cloves in my henna mixture (after dye release as it stains the whole thing brown), and the scent lingers for several days.

Euphony, I never thought of using anise. I love licorice! I wonder if fennel seeds would work.

[Euphony]

I may not be much help because I kind of like the scent of henna, but I put about a teaspoon of freshly ground cloves in my henna mixture (after dye release as it stains the whole thing brown), and the scent lingers for several days.

Euphony, I never thought of using anise. I love licorice! I wonder if fennel seeds would work.
mmmmmmmmmm fennel seeds could work! I have a large shelf dedicated/full of essential and fragrance oils. When it dawned on me that anise is skin safe so it'd be fine for my henna I haven't looked back!!! And it's super cheap for an eo :D

[melrose1985]

Ginger as a podwer... can i get it a supermarket?

You can tell i dont cook much- but i'm tryign to learn!!

[Anje]

Thanks for the compliment!

Yes, you can get ginger in powder form. Look at the supermarket, in the spice aisle.
I found the description of how to alter henna smells: link (http://www.mehandi.com/shop/gingerspice/index.html)

[amaiaisabella]

Be careful with the cinnamon.....a member posted big red marks left on her skin from cinnamon. Test before you put that in all your henna.

Ouch! I used a teaspoon and didn't have any irritation. And I always thought I had a sensitive scalp?

[kimi]

Seems like it's all the pumpkin pie spice herbs that folks use - cloves, ginger, cinnamon. Someday I'll have to try those, cause the only time I ever use them it seems is at Thanksgiving and Christmas, for the ubiquitous pumpkin pie. Right now the henna on my head actually doesn't smell too bad, though, makes me feel like summer's right around the corner. :)

[SimplyLonghair]

Does it have to be fresh ginger? Does ginger even come in a powder?
I buy ginger all of the time for gingerbread and such. I would just go and to the grocery store on the baking isle and get the powdered ginger as it does a great job. :thumbsup:

[melrose1985]

I found some ginger at the store. It smells SOOOO GOOD!! i hope that lingers.

[melrose1985]

Well... ginger didnt kill the LUSH henna smell... in the end i had to go buy some relugar henna and use that.

Regluar henna doesnt smell bad to me really. it just smells like grass. but next time i might add something for fun.

[smilinjenn71]

I usually add some ground Ginger and Cloves. However, I really want to try some Cardamom sometime. I don't really know what Anise smells like.......

[Kuchen]

Lush Henna is full of cloves, so adding more may make the problem worse, if that turns out to be the problem scent.

[rach]

Euphony, I never thought of using anise. I love licorice! I wonder if fennel seeds would work.
ooo interesting idea.
i find the smell rather powerfull when its being put in my hair (experienced only had yemeni henna) but once it cling film i'm ok with it and the smell left in my hair after i kinda like it. i've tried the cinnamon, and didn't really notice much difference in the smell

[Celebrian]

I LOVE the 'after smell' of Lush's Rouge and their Noir! Smells much nicer to me then BAQ henna and indigo - which I've been using recently 'cos it covers the grey better for me... :rolleyes:

You can keep the Lush Marron & Marron, because they have coffee grounds in - and that makes me heave when I keep getting whiffs in my hair during the day/night!

Yes, Lush do put cloves in all four of their henna's.

[RetroKitten]

I've also read that vanilla EO seems to work well.



Will vanilla EO add any color to your hair? Does the smell linger?
Also, any experiences that this is save to use in a henna or cassia treatment?

I have vanilla EO from The Essential Oil Company, it says "Not for Aromatherapy Use", is this safe to use on m skin?

[ChrissieM]

A tablespoon of ginger powder and a about a teaspoon of cinnamon in my henna mix (BAQ) totally killed the henna smell. I got the henna out with Suave Cherry Blossom conditioner, and that's all I could smell. I like the smell of henna, but my husband doesn't. I got the ginger in the bulk section of my local natural foods store, but I've seen it at the regular grocery store, too.

[Themyst]

I buy a bulk container of ginger and dump about 1/2 cup or so in the mix. It works pretty well for me.

[caribou55313]

Will vanilla EO add any color to your hair? Does the smell linger?
Also, any experiences that this is save to use in a henna or cassia treatment?

I have vanilla EO from The Essential Oil Company, it says "Not for Aromatherapy Use", is this safe to use on m skin?

Actually there is no true essential oil extracted from vanilla pods. There is vanilla absolute (a solvent extraction used in perfumery and WAY too costly to use for this purpose) and there is vanilla extract, which is essentially a tincture of the pods ... that's what is used for cooking and works nicely in henna paste. It does not affect the color outcome.

If you see products labeled as vanilla EO, they are probably an extract/tincture, or in some cases they may be a fragrance oil (i.e., partially or completely synthetic).

I have often added 1 Tbsp ground cloves and 2 tsp vanilla extract to 50-100 gm of henna, after dye release (if you add cloves before dye release it obscures the green-to-brown color change in the paste, making it turn brown from the cloves). Ginger and allspice are also very nice in henna. I would avoid cinnamon due to potential skin irritation.

[CurlyLolo]

I used cinnamon in my last Henna, it smelled FABULOUS, but it left my scalp ridiculously itchy for a day or so...

Next time I will try something else!

[hellkitty]

This doesn't help with the smell of henna *as* you are hennaing, but I did a CO with Nature's Gate Herbal Daily Conditioner, and somehow the two of them together came to some scent agreement. Nature's Gate is normally way too heavy a scent to me. It didn't get rid of the scent entirely, but it did take away that 'petting zoo barfed on my head' smell of straight henna.

It's worth a try.

I'd tried the ginger thing and apparently I didn't put enough in, because my henna mix still smelled like henna. Blarg.

HK

[Unofficial_Rose]

I'd tried the ginger thing and apparently I didn't put enough in, because my henna mix still smelled like henna. Blarg.

HK

Haha! Thanks - somehow that made me laugh out loud. :spitting: Think it's the word "Blarg"

I don't dislike the smell of henna or indigo that much, but I realised that when I went to the gym and worked out, the hotter I became, the more I could smell it. Somewhat embarrassing.

So I tried the powdered ginger for my next application, and it worked, although I used quite a bit relative to the amount of henna.

[serabelle]

I think ginger is the absolute best additive - it doesn't necessarily make it smell *good* - but it negates the smell of the henna quite a bit.