How to remove henna from...

[Riot Crrl]

Not hair! I want to leave it there. :)

I did something stupid and forgot the gloves once when I was applying. I was hoping maybe it would fade on its own, but it's been a couple weeks and my nails now have 1/8" of normal regrowth and the rest of them look like I soaked them in a bag of Cheetos.

I'm not as paranoid about damage and condition of my fingernails
as I am of my hair, for the reason that they'll completely grow out in two months, but before I break out the Clorox or something I'd like to see if anyone has ideas that may not completely dry them out and split them into smithereens.

Lemon juice? Baking soda? BS and LJ together? Diluted hydrogen peroxide solution? Any ideas?

[prosperina]

If it were me, I'd find a color of nail polish I liked and paint over them. (Sorry, that wasn't much help. :shrug: ) Although I can tell you nail polish remover doesn't work. And, since it's bonded to the keratin in your nails....I'd be curious to see what would get it out. Hope you find something.

[Riot Crrl]

Thanks :)

I was thinking about that too, lol. I'm the world's sloppiest painter though, especially on my right hand hahaha.

Yeah, it would probably help if I'd addressed this right away. I'm sure it's pretty bonded at this point.

[Jeni]

I do henna on my hands and feet alot, and as far as I have experienced nails don't fade, they grow out. Sorry. They may get lighter as the time goes on, but they probably will have a red/brown/orange tint until they grow out and you cut them off. You can usually speed up fading on skin by washing your hands and using lotions (not sure of you have staining on your hands, I'd assume so since its on your nails). Like prosperina advised- use nail polish.

Jeni

On the up side, after I use henna on my nails (I usually decorate my feet, nails included, during the summer) they seem healthier and less likely to tear and chip. YMMV

[Riot Crrl]

Actually they do seem pretty thick and shiny! I'm just not in love with Cheeto-color. I'm sure yours are actually beautiful since you did it, like, with a purpose, and probably terps. :)

I did have stained hands at first, but that left by itself from washing within a day or two.

You are both right, I'll probably just cover it with polish until it grows out.

[khyricat]

hrm.. maybe I'll do the toenails on purpose, if I go dark it would look good...

[Nightshade]

hrm.. maybe I'll do the toenails on purpose, if I go dark it would look good...

I tried this once and it didn't go dark. My fiance called me "plaguefoot" until I painted over them. :o

[Jeni]

Yea, cheeto colored isn't the prettiest color to have your nails. When i do mine I leave it one for a looooong time, they turn a reddish brown (sometimes borders on burgundy), which I like. That being said, the color does sometimes fade to a unpleasant brown/orange which kind of looks like I have a fungus problem....At that point I either redo them or use nail polish to cover them until they grow out, depends on my mood.

It's not a look for everyone that's for sure, that's why I only dye my toe nails. If I don't like it, and don't want to paint over it, I wear socks and no one sees them. Your hands are a lot harder to cover.

khyricat -When I henna my feet in the summer I use a brush and cover the whole bottom of my feet, my toes and the sides of my feet. I make a nice neat line along the sides, with a smaller brush. Then I usually do some sort of decoration about the line around my feet, small dots or like sideways swirly "S", if I'm feeling lazy. If I am feeling ambitious I may decorate the tops of my feet, but usually I'm not that ambitious. I find the henna helps keep my heels from getting really dry and cracking, and protects them from getting burnt on hot sand and pavement (YMMV). A warning- henna stays on your souls, and nails for a very long time, and will not always fade evenly (blotchy feet). Not an issue if you like it, you just redo it when it starts to fade. If you don't like it....well, wear socks. It's definitely not a look for everyone. I'm weird, and have some obsession with India and all things India...

Jeni

[Suldrun]

Jeni my experience is the same as yours. I have not worn gloves the last few times I hennaed and my hands faded pretty quick with exfoliation but the nails nope they fade a little but thats it it does not go away untill your nails grow out. It doesn't bother me but if it did i would just use nail polish I guess.

[Capriquarius]

I tried this once and it didn't go dark. My fiance called me "plaguefoot" until I painted over them. :o

:D I tried this, too! On my fingernails, no less...it just looked like I had very badly nicotine-stained fingertips. Not an attractive look! What's worse is that I am not allowed to wear nail polish at my job. That was a fun couple of weeks.

[Delilah]

What if you buffed the surface of your nails with a nail buffing file? They are like superduper smooth nail files. If the color is just on the surface it may take it off.

[Jeni]

:D I tried this, too! On my fingernails, no less...it just looked like I had very badly nicotine-stained fingertips. Not an attractive look! What's worse is that I am not allowed to wear nail polish at my job. That was a fun couple of weeks.

Oh dear! This is why I do all my henna experiments on my feet, very easy to cover up! I have found that if my hennaed toe nails are too brown, not enough red, if I add a coat or 2 or a transparent purple or red, it makes it look more red then tobacco brown.

Jeni

[Isilme]

I second the buffing idea. When I grew tired of my hennaed toenails I took a real nail file and used it on the surface of the nail until most of the henna was gone. Then I had to use a nail buffer to make the nails smooth again. Mind you I have very thick nails, and I'm not sure this will work for fingernails because they are thinner.
Or you could just henna them again, but it'll take some applications to get a decent colour.
ETA, hairbleach doesn't work either, yes I have tried...

[Riot Crrl]

That is another good point you guys, thanks. I was looking around for one of these things at my drugstore, but apparently they no longer have them. They used to.

At the time I looked (a couple weeks ago right when it happened), I'm sure it was all up on the underneath of my nails anyway, but now I have enough regrowth to make it work. That might be worth a Sally's pilgrimage.

[Nightshade]

:D I tried this, too! On my fingernails, no less...it just looked like I had very badly nicotine-stained fingertips. Not an attractive look! What's worse is that I am not allowed to wear nail polish at my job. That was a fun couple of weeks.

LOL Yep, that's exactly what my toes looked like :o

[khyricat]

hrm.. lots to think about.. I think I'll experiment when I get back from Atlanta, so I know what things look like early in summer, adn if I don't like it will have all grown out by the wedding I need to attend in August..

[Tapioca]

And now I'm tempted to henna my feet. I always wear socks and dress shoes to work, so it'd only be visible on my time off. Have to wait until after my brothers' weddings, though.

[Shell]

I henna my toenails and they come out a great dark orange/brown/red color. My fingernails got bright orange, but never darkened. They are now light orange (probably like yours). You could buff or use Hydrogen peroxide, but really they need to grow out.

And, by the way, it's going to take more like six months, not two, for the henna to completely grow out.

[Riot Crrl]

And, by the way, it's going to take more like six months, not two, for the henna to completely grow out.

Hmm, maybe I either have tiny nailbeds, or fast growth, or both. On the smallest one the regrowth is already almost half the quick.

[prosperina]

I have faster growing nails too, and it took from mid October through February to grow out. Not quite 6 months, but long enough. I hope yours grow faster. :) And I just had my thumb nail done too.

[nienna42]

I don't have any helpful suggestions for removal that haven't already been suggested, but I do have one for prevention:

Paint your nails before you henna. It doesn't have to be anything fancy--I just use a single clear coat, and it keeps the henna from getting at the nails.

If you don't mind gloves, I don't guess you need to worry about prevention, but my hair always ends up in the most incredible snarls if I wear gloves when I'm hennaing, so I've stopped wearing them. I prefer having orange hands for a couple of days to doing massive damage to my hair.

[Blu11]

I would go with the nail file, I have this fine file for cleaning the nail surface. I always use it when they get colored from fruit/henna... ;)