Help! My Henna is Liquid after 15 hours.

[Kome]

I've henna'd 3 times now and this would be my fourth time. I used red wine instead of grape juice and let it sit a little longer than normal. It was liquidy when I put the wine in and.... 15 hours later... it still is! I used different henna, but it was the same color (light green) and is now a dark brownish green. It's pure henna, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be this way. Here is the recipe I used: http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/wendyg/

Heeeeeeeelp! I am supposed to henna today and I'm not sure what to do. It's literally a liquid. I would have to pour it over my head to get it on. Bleh. I'm so upset. Should I mix in some yogurt to thicken it up and go ahead and put it on? What can I do?

ETA:
Another question. I'm trying to find some information online and it looks like I can put it on the stove? I might as well try it as I can't really use it right now...

[Pierre]

I suggest mixing a little more henna, or any other powder, in it. (I mix amla and cloves in mine.) I would not put it on the stove, as that accelerates the dye release and demise.

[Gulbahar]

Yes, definitely mix in more henna! If you don't use up everything you can freeze the rest and use it next time.

[Kome]

I already made the mistake of putting it on the stove. I am impatient. Whoops. I read on another thread I could use flour. I have that at home already. I'd rather save the henna I do have if I can.

ETA:
Woohoo! I mixed in more henna and it's thickening up. Thanks to both of you. Not freaking out anymore. It sounds like the flour would work just fine too if need be. Thanks!!!

[Gulbahar]

Why did you use this much liquid in the first place? (Just curious...)

[Kome]

Why did you use this much liquid in the first place? (Just curious...)

If you click the link in my first post you'll see the recipe I used. It called for 3 cups of red wine for 100 grams of henna, which I thought was a bit much, but I went ahead and did it anyways.

When I went to check the mix after freaking out, I did find a gooey mix that hadn't mixed in with all of the red wine. I probably should have waited to add the oil in until right before using it. I think that's why it didn't mix as well.

Next time I will probably only use 2 cups of liquid. I'm going to freeze what I have left over. I used yogurt the last 2 times I henna'd, so maybe I'll mix in some of that too. Decisions decisions... so many options! :p

[HairColoredHair]

Just use enough liquid to make your henna the consistency you want. :)

Eyeball it!

[Gulbahar]

Just use enough liquid to make your henna the consistency you want. :)

Eyeball it!
Exactly! Just because the recipe says 3 cups it's not guaranteed that this won't be wrong. Also, may be your cups were bigger than the recipe meant.

[VitaR86]

I noticed the link said to heat the wine. Did you do that? Heating it up would evaporated some of the liquid. Maybe that's why her recipe called for so much.

[Kome]

I noticed the link said to heat the wine. Did you do that? Heating it up would evaporated some of the liquid. Maybe that's why her recipe called for so much.
I did! Perhaps not for long enough though, I'm not sure. I heated it to just boiling and then poured it in. I'll definately just eyeball it from now on though. I thickened it enough to put on, but it keeps dripping down my neck and it's annoying. Oh well! A lesson learned. :)

[kdaniels8811]

You want the consitancy of yogurt. It seems to drip down your neck no matter what, I wrap a plastic trash bag around my head and carry a washcloth to wipe up drips. Good luck, hope it turns out as you want.

[GRU]

You also want to add NON-BOILING liquid. If you boil the wine, let it cool off considerably before you add it to the henna.

And definitely eyeball it, adding a little liquid at a time until you get it the way you want it.

For mixing, I use my electric mixer (like I'm making a cake! LOL). Gets everything mixed up really well, and no lumps!

Also, I never add oil to my henna. I just do a deep conditioning treatment right after my henna.