Henna and Chlorine Pools

[BrianaFineHair]

I think I've found a great forum to post my question. :) I want to try henna on my 14 year old. She's got dark blond to light brown hair that is on the dry side. It's fine, yet she's got a ton of it! (I'm jealous!). My main question is, since she is a competitive swimmer and in a chlorinated pool several hours a week, what will be the reaction to the henna in her hair?

Also, what color would bring out the natural beauty of her hair color?

I'll be doing my hair too, but I'm dark brown with natural red undertones. Any suggestions for me would be appreciate too. I have only a few silver strands here and there.

Thank you :)

[Isilme]

ok, henna will likely not be affected by the pool water. But Henna is PERMANENT and will go red over dark blonde, because henna stains only red and nothing else. You will most likely get auburn to dark auburn.
I would advise you to do a lot of research before you henna, and make sure your daughter wants to be a redhead for a long time. Because bleaching away henna isn't going to work.

Read everything you can at www.hennaforhair.com

I have used henna over my dark blonde/light brown hair for two years, and I love it. I strengtens my hair and makes for a wonderful copper at the ends and a nice auburn at the crown (I had dyed my hair with permanent red box colours before) just remember that when you reach the colour you want, colour only your roots, because henna builds up (not in a bad way like cones might, but it does) and makes the colour darker each time you use it. And henna is nearly impossible to remove without destroying the hair.
Also, read the henna thread.
ETA, oh, and you silvers will come out lighter than the rest of you hair. You will get something like auburn hair with copper strands where the silvers were.

[kimberlily]

Are you looking to change her hair colour? Because henna will permanently colour her hair, as Isilme pointed out.

If you're only looking for the conditioning benefits, you could do a henna gloss or use cassia. A henna gloss will likely give her a touch of colour, but cassia has the conditioning benefits of henna without any colour.

[prosperina]

I would not henna your daughter's hair. At 14 hair can change anyway since that is about the time of puberty. My hair went through big changes in texture and in color, so I think adolescence is not a good time to alter hair--especially to alter hair with henna since it is so unlike conventional hair dye.

That said, make sure your daughter wants to be a red head from now until, well, forever, or until she shaves her head. Furthermore, make sure daughter wants mom altering her hair at all. At that age my mom did not suggest major hair changes to me, it was the other way around. I'd hate for your daughter to bring up how mom ruined her hair and for you to have to hear about this for the next 20 years.

It sounds like I'm being negative about henna; I'm not. I love it! But it's a lot of maintenance, and it's not an exact science, so it takes a lot of tweaking and experimenting to get the color you want. I used to be a swimmer, and I would not have wanted to deal with this at 14 or 15 since I was a wash and go girl.

Her hair will turn out anywhere from an orange-copper to a dark red depending upon the mix and how long you leave the henna on, and again it is 100 percent permanent.

ETA: briana, I hope my post didn't come off as too cranky. :)Welcome, and I hope you find the answers you are looking for. I've just been looking at my dark blond roots up against my red and they look gray sometimes. (They aren't) and in certain lights they look greenish--due to the way the light hits the red and reflects off the dark blond. I've tons of hair so it's a lot of work! So be forewarned!

[BrianaFineHair]

I know I found the right place now! Thank goodness. I will not henna my daughter's hair now.

My mom used to "henna" my hair and it never changed the color but only brought out the natural highlights and made it feel more thick; more body. Maybe mom used henna gloss or used cassia on my hair. :confused: None the less, YES, that sounds more like what I want for her. Something to just make it look and feel healthier.

I suppose I want the same thing too because I do not want to be committed to touch ups on the roots. I guess I'll have to live with the silvers popping out here and there.

I'll read more on henna and will definitely look more into the henna gloss and cassia. Thank you SO MUCH. :)

[prosperina]

I hope my first post wasn't too cranky. :) You could cassia her hair. That would look lovely on darker blond hair and it would make it look blonder and if mixed with honey and chamomile tea it would make it thick and shiny. It is also non-permanent so it will fade and still look okay as it does.

There are also tons of ways you could cover grey with herbs or teas. The site has been down for a while, so we're missing a lot of our info...but there are alot of people that could help with natural gray coverage. Welcome!

[ktani]

Chlorinated pools can affect hair colour.

see "Bleaching Hair"
"The calcium hypochlorite (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/calcium_hypochlorite.html) or sodium dichloroisocyanurate (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/sodium_dichloroisocyanurate.html) used to disinfect swimming pools also bleaches hair..."
http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/bleach.html (http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/bleach.html)

The underlined words above only open when you open the the sci-toys link itself.

Your daughter can protect her hair by wetting it down before swimming, wearing a swim cap and rinsing/washing and conditioning it afterwards.

[BrianaFineHair]

Prosperina, your post were fine and taken well. :)

Katani, thanks for the link.

We'll do the safe thing and just cassia or henna gloss. You are all a wealth of info here; thank you very much!

[BrianaFineHair]

Ladies, is this the cassia you are talking about, but the info talks about blonde hair (cassia obovata). Daughter and I want no color change, just shine, body, and enhancement of our own color (bring out those natural highlights). My daughter's hair is dark blonde to light brown. In the photo it would be a shade or two darker than the hair on the extreme right. My hair is dark brown. I still have not found plain cassia; if I do, I would rather use that for myself and daughter.

Please excuse my ignorance. :o

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/cassiaobovatabuy.html

[ktani]

BrianaFineHair

From what I have read on the boards about cassia - and you do have the right one, it can turn hair colour - particularly blondes, brassy.

The brassiness has not ben reported to be removed easily, although that would depend on the method used.

It can also in some cases be drying and take time to gradually wash out.

Allergic reactions to cassia are rare but they can happen - if you do decide to try it - I recommend both a strand test for colour and an allergy test- (applying a small amount to skin for 24 hours)

There is no such thing as "plain" cassia - it is a plant and there are different species - cassia obovata is the species most often referred to on the boards - there have been other species tried with similar results. Cassia is sometimes also referred to as neutral henna but this is incorrect - it is a different plant altogether. It is easy to get confused at first.

[Isilme]

to give you something to compare with I can tell that an hour of dye released cassia turned my mother's grey roots a light golden blonde. The whites went a really really light platinum blonde.

[BrianaFineHair]

Ktani, I've seen the cassia referred to as "neutral henna". I will definitely do a strand and allergy test first.

Can anyone direct me to some trusted brands/companies?

[ktani]

BrianaFineHair

I think the colour yielded by cassia would depend on how long you leave it for dye release and the batch of cassia - being natural there are times when certain batches can yield different results either in colour and or intensity.

From reading I have done on henna sites that sell cassia - some cassias sold can contain additives like rhubarb which would affect the colour yielded.