Using henna long term?

[naturegirl321]

I've heard that henna is great for hair, deep conditions, strengthens, etc, but I've also noticed that some people have grown out their hennaed hair. If henna is so good for your hair, why have some people decided not to use it?

[Unofficial_Rose]

Sometimes the colours that someone gets from henna don't particularly suit their skintone.

Also, it is very easy for henna to end up too dark for a person's liking.

And a third reason is - it becomes very hard to vary your haircolour with henna. Say, if you like to be a little lighter in Spring/Summer and darker in Autumn/Winter, this is easy with chemical colour, whereas henna has to be grown out and cut off.

I've grown my henndigo out and cut it off a couple of times for these reasons, but I always go back to it. :)

[ravenreed]

The henna next to my scalp was too orangy and made me look ill. Over time, henna may darken, but the new growth next to the face, will always be lighter, so for me it was not a great solution. I did like what it did for my hair, however, I really didn't enjoy the process much until I found henna glosses.

[Mirsha]

I'm growing mine out simply because I am too lazy to keep it up. Growing out chemical dye was much easier since it actually faded.. but I just keep thinking: 3 more years till it's gone, 3 more years.. :p

I have gotten a lot of compliments on the colour henna made my hair, and I like it, but what's a lazy girl going to do?

And really, it has taught me a lot about my impulses - I knew henna was permanent when I started.. oh well! ha

[sami]

Slightly off-topic - can you over-henna over time? What I mean is lots of whole head applications. I read a comment on another forum that too much henna build-up can damage the hair??

[little_cherry]

Henna will not damage hair. I've done over 2 years of full head applications and my hair is fine. The only thing that can happen from multiple applications is it going too dark...but some people don't mind that. :)

[PrincessTieflin]

My goal is to henna long term. I love how it makes my hair feel and the color is just what I wanted..

I am thinking the same as the others.. sometimes they just dont like the color/upkeep what have you.

[Stormy1]

I've been using henna monthly for 3 years now. I have seen darkening of color but I love it.

I also notice that henna over the course of 1.5 yrs removed the slight wave I had; my hair is now stick straight. I love that too but others may not like this.

[PrincessTieflin]

I've been using henna monthly for 3 years now. I have seen darkening of color but I love it.

I also notice that henna over the course of 1.5 yrs removed the slight wave I had; my hair is now stick straight. I love that too but others may not like this.


Yup me too, its loosened my curls quite a bit, I love it because it cut down on frizz.. I do love my curls but not the fuzz that comes with it:p

[CopperHead]

I've been using henna for 4 or 5 years now and it is time consuming and requires a commitment, but everytime I go out and someone stops me to tell me what beautiful hair I have, makes it all worth it. I can't see myself ever stopping this remarkable red hair color. :)

[Rini]

I was a full-on henna head for a couple of years. It was the BEST thing for my hair condition-wise and the colour was stunning (bright penny copper on my blonde hair), BUT..... My roots were very obvious against the copper colour and I would have to do them every 2 weeks. It was just a pain and really time consuming for me. Also, henna straightened my hair and I really missed my curl. In the end, I decided that it had to go and I bleached the henna out and lost A LOT of length in the process. Now I can grow my hair long and not have to worry about the colour :)

Still, sometimes I do miss henna....I mean the colour was really stunning (loads of compliments from complete strangers) and I can't get that shine from anything else.....

Must....not...henna....:couch:

[Islandgrrl]

The only downside I see to henna is the upkeep. It's time consuming and messy. For me, it's worth the roots-only application every 3-4 weeks. I can not have salt & cayenne pepper hair that way. :)

Henna WILL NOT ruin the condition of your hair.

[naturegirl321]

I've been using henna monthly for 3 years now. I have seen darkening of color but I love it.

I also notice that henna over the course of 1.5 yrs removed the slight wave I had; my hair is now stick straight. I love that too but others may not like this.

Fantastic, I'd love to have straight hair.


I've been using henna for 4 or 5 years now and it is time consuming and requires a commitment, but everytime I go out and someone stops me to tell me what beautiful hair I have, makes it all worth it. I can't see myself ever stopping this remarkable red hair color. :)
That's fine with me. It'll be an excuse to do nothing :) or at least grade papers whiel I have henna sitting on my hair.

[Dark Rosaleen]

I used henna for several years and loved what it did for hair, but once I moved to a new state it just didn't seem to work as well for me. Maybe it's the change in water, I'm not sure.

I've also started to get more gray. The orange color that my gray hair turns just isn't a good look for my complexion. And...I just missed being more natural so I'm growing out my natural color.

[prosperina]

I've been using henna for 3.5 years now. And it's a win win situation. I'm a medium gingery honey blond color naturally, so since I mix henna with lots of cassia, I'm at the point where roots don't show much at first. I can wait much longer than I used to be able to. Even when I had redder hair with blond roots I found that the difference between roots and henna was less abrupt, more gradual than with chemical dye.

My wave/curl has not, however, diminished with henna use. Which I like, but just so you know, not everyone ends up with relaxed hair.

Henna with cassia also turns my whites a vague yellow-blond, but mostly it doesn't cover them--I only have a few white strands though. The greys go orangey and since that's my color at the moment, it's natural highlights and my hair has enough natural color variation that it doesn't look monotone. I haven't seen anyone's that does.

Henna is very very permanent, but, diluted with lots of cassia, it's great for my hair. :love:

However in countries where they traditionally use henna, I think more of the women have darker hair, so they benefit more from the conditionning benefits and less from the coloring, since henna doesn't change the color of really dark hair.

EDIT: Just reiterating what others have said: Henna will not hurt your hair provided you get good body art quality henna. If it was good enough for Cleopatra and Lucile Ball, it's good enough for me!

[Anje]

Henna upkeep can be messy, and for some folks it can be rather drying, too. Not to mention that it's easy for it to get too dark. I ended up with cherry-red ends not knowing what I was doing. With less henna, more root treatments, and diluting the henna with cassia, I think I've got a better handle on it now. But I probably would simply grow it out if I had to fix roots more often than I do (natural color is close enough that roots don't show) because I'm lazy on upkeep for just about anything.

[naturegirl321]

This is the henna I bought
http://www.amazon.com/Powder-Jaipur-Rajasthan-natural-CALIFORNIA/dp/B002QHB51S/ref=sr_1_15?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1293170414&sr=1-15

I can't wait to use it. Though I'm starting to think that I should have also bought cassia. Oh well, I have a year's supply and won't be getting anymore any time soon.

[prosperina]

What you bought looks pretty good. Most of us that use henna though buy the body art quality henna because of the finer sift and (I think) higher dye content. I know; it's counter-intuititive, buying skin henna for hair. :silly:

That said, I'm not saying what you bought is bad, but strand test first--which is something you would do anyway. Have fun. :stirpot:

[naturegirl321]

What you bought looks pretty good. Most of us that use henna though buy the body art quality henna because of the finer sift and (I think) higher dye content. I know; it's counter-intuititive, buying skin henna for hair. :silly:

That said, I'm not saying what you bought is bad, but strand test first--which is something you would do anyway. Have fun. :stirpot:

Whoops. I thought I DID buy body art quality. What kind is the henna I bought?

[Avital88]

I did 5 glosses before i started to go fully!
Now my hair is a lot straighter , and im not sure if i like that or hate it.

[CrisDee]

I've used henna for almost 2 years now. There was a bit of a learning curve and tweaking process, and I made some mistakes initially.

I had chemically dyed my hair red for 20 years before discovering henna, so being committed to red certainly wasn't a problem for me, it was actually a plus - chemical reds fade like CRAZY, I liked that henna doesn't. I did make the mistake, though, of doing multiple whole-head applications "for the conditioning benefits," and ended up with a dark burgundy that made me look washed out. Once I learned that you can't do that (roots only at this point), plus learned about adding cassia to my mix to get the more natural, gingery color I wanted, I've just loved my results! (See avatar for current color) I currently wash (CO) my hair at night and wrap it to dry overnight, so if it gets a bit too dark for my liking, I just squirt some Sun-In on it before wrapping, and it brings the color back to gingery, getting it away from the burgundy. My hair is still quite short at this point, though, so it remains to be seen how I'll handle the darkening with waist-length hair!

I also had the henna pull out nearly all my wave, but I never liked it anyway so that wasn't a problem, either :D

[naturegirl321]

I'd love to get your colour, but with dark brown hair, I don't think it'll happen :(

[Altocumulus]

I got tired of the maintenance (had to do my roots every 3 weeks or so), and missed my natural color.

[prosperina]

Whoops. I thought I DID buy body art quality. What kind is the henna I bought?

I'm not sure, but it does say in the description that if you want to use it for body art it needs to be sifted. So that made me wonder....:hmm: :confused:

[naturegirl321]

Right, I see. Oh well, that's fine. I can sift it. BUt honestly I'm too lazy and will probably just stick it in my hair.

[sami]

http://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=14.msg4565#msg4565 - this is where I read about henna build-up (supposedly) damaging hair. Further down the guy goes on to say bleach can't be used over henna. And folk here have done exactly that without disastrous results. He seems to be a hairdresser so why make ill-informed comments like this?:confused:

[Madame J]

http://www.hairdyeforum.com/index.php?topic=14.msg4565#msg4565 - this is where I read about henna build-up (supposedly) damaging hair. Further down the guy goes on to say bleach can't be used over henna. And folk here have done exactly that without disastrous results. He seems to be a hairdresser so why make ill-informed comments like this?:confused:

Because hairdressers ARE ill-informed about henna. The henna that is taught about in beauty schools is often compound henna hair dyes, which is a hair dye made from henna with other, non-natural additives, like metallic salts. Catherine at Henna4Hair has a lot more information about it, but suffice to say that if you use pure, BAQ henna, it is perfectly safe to bleach afterwards (well as safe as bleach is, anyway), but it might not lift as much color as expected.

Henna resin coating the hair can prevent moisture from reaching the hair, the same way oil or 'cone buildup can, but I don't think this damages hair. It just means you have to remove the coating to make the hair accessible to moisture once more.

[virgo75]

I've been using henna for about 2 years.
I'm starting to get sick of it for several reasons:

1)Application is messy and it needs to be left on for several hours which is annoying.
2)I have some grays and it takes takes a lot of applications for them to turn anything other than orange. It's actually lightened my naturally black hair to a dark, reddish brown. So I wouldn't mind my grays being burgundy if it took less than 3 applications to get them there.
3)I miss my black hair. :(
4)Results vary based on mix, temperature, and the crop of henna itself. There are too many variables so that even if I do the same thing this month that I did last month, there's no guarantee that my hair will be as red.

And the worst one for me:
5)It's coated my hair so much that I get buildup with e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. :rolleyes:
My hair is baby fine and I used to be able to use a variety of hair products, but now so many ingredients build up on my hair that I have closets(plural) full of products that give me tangles after 1 or 2 uses because of the henna. Glycerin, protein, shea butter, oils, everything gives me buildup. I HATE it. And because of this my ends are also kind of dry since moisture can't penetrate. :shake:



As for the pros that have kept me using henna even though I'm 80% sick of it:
1)It's natural and I'm afraid of having bad reactions to hair dyes.
2)It has made my hair feel a bit thicker.

....

Wow. That's about it.

I'm probably gonna go back to dye. lol

[Dolly]

Well......I am a fairly new henna head, and I don't think I will ever go back to chemical dyes. Yes, sometimes I miss the fact that I could do a root touch-up in 30 min rather than an hour or two, and sometimes I miss knowing exactly what my color will look like.

But then, I feel my hair. Wow. That makes it all worth it. My hair NEVER felt like this with chemical dye. And, it really doesn't matter how dark mine goes, because I actually have the opposite issue of most here.....my roots are DARKER than the rest of my hair, because my natural color is dark brown (with lots of gray.....lol).......the length has been lightened in order to get the vibrant red shades with chem dyes. So, building it up on the length will just bring it closer in shade to my natural color.

I also love the shine and am getting used to/enjoying the fact that it can look like a totally different color in different lighting situations.

[Lemur_Catta]

I used henna on and off for 4 years, I loved the color and the condition, but it was just too much work, and I ended up staining EVERYTHING. I have stained pillows, headbands, even the inside of my taekwondo helmet is now permanently orange. So now I have decided to grow my natural color, and every time I get the urge to henna I just look at the orange stain on my wall :D
Besides, to get the color I really wanted I had to lighten first with peroxide.

[Fethenwen]

Right, I see. Oh well, that's fine. I can sift it. BUt honestly I'm too lazy and will probably just stick it in my hair.
I think it should be just fine, I never use finely sifted henna because it's more expensive. The reason people use baq-henna is because it's easier to apply and rinse out, but I don't think the end result should vary that much between finer and less finer sifted henna.

[fairystar32]

How would you remove this coating if it built up?

Because hairdressers ARE ill-informed about henna.

Henna resin coating the hair can prevent moisture from reaching the hair, the same way oil or 'cone buildup can, but I don't think this damages hair. It just means you have to remove the coating to make the hair accessible to moisture once more.

[virgo75]

How would you remove this coating if it built up?


I'd like to know this too?

It's been months since my last henna and I've washed with harsh shampoos and tried using mineral oil for a few hours followed by shampoo and I still have build up. :confused:

I don't care about removing the color because my hair is black and I'm planning on dyeing over the henna anyway. But I don't know how to get rid of the built up coating that makes my hair tangle and my ends dry no matter what I do.

[Unofficial_Rose]

I'd like to know this too?

It's been months since my last henna and I've washed with harsh shampoos and tried using mineral oil for a few hours followed by shampoo and I still have build up. :confused:

I don't care about removing the color because my hair is black and I'm planning on dyeing over the henna anyway. But I don't know how to get rid of the built up coating that makes my hair tangle and my ends dry no matter what I do.

I removed some of my henna build-up with yoghurt - put yoghurt on dry hair for 2-3 hours, shampoo out. You might want to do it a couple of times.

[virgo75]

I removed some of my henna build-up with yoghurt - put yoghurt on dry hair for 2-3 hours, shampoo out. You might want to do it a couple of times.

THANK YOU!!! :flower:

I'll give it a try(or 5 :p).

[morecowbell]

THANK YOU!!! :flower:

I'll give it a try(or 5 :p).

I'd love to know how this worked for you, virgo75. :) I just made the decision to become a henna-head again after trying to grow out my natural color for a year :o and the thought of tangle-inducing buildup over the years is a little scary...

[ratgirldjh]

I've been using henna for a couple of years now with no loss of wave really - and since mine fades quite a bit I usually end up doing full head hennas every 2 or 3 months.

Before this several years ago - I was using a brand of henna that had indigo and henna so I would get a darker (very dark brown/black) color. When I would use this henna every few months full head (I didn't know any better) my hair became almost straight.

[deko]

Henna will give you a wonderful red. If you like the red. If you will manitain the red by using henna monthly. And always only the roots.

I am a hennahead but thinking of toning down the crazy red and maybe someday I will have my own virgin dark blonde hair back. I love love love the red, but maintenance is my problem. And if your natural color is neutral light brown then the roots will be gray-green. Not pretty.

I will always love the hennaread, but if I manage to grow my own color back I will use only special effects color to redden my hair. It will truly fade.

[yotaka]

I'd like to know this too?

It's been months since my last henna and I've washed with harsh shampoos and tried using mineral oil for a few hours followed by shampoo and I still have build up.

I don't care about removing the color because my hair is black and I'm planning on dyeing over the henna anyway. But I don't know how to get rid of the built up coating that makes my hair tangle and my ends dry no matter what I do.

I've also read about baking soda and lemon rinses on LHC to help clarify and remove build-up, though I've never had to do it because personally I don't have problems with it on my henna head. You might want to try a search to learn more about clarifying in general.

[myrrhmaiden]

I have hennaed and changed color away from henna multiple times during my lifetime. Though I do always keep coming back to henna, the reasons for me to change it have always been one or more of the following:

1. bored and want a change / inspired to try a new look
2. tired of keeping up with the roots
3. compounding applications yielding a darker result than desired

[Shatam1]

I have been using henna for a few years now and I love it. But sometimes the color gets too dark for my taste so I clarify using dish soap. It lightens the color then I deep condition . This works fine for me ;)

[Rose115]

I love all the benefits, but I stop using henna every now and then because it is messy, time consuming, and it has completely eradicated my natural highlights. I used to have so many colors in my hair. This last no-henna period only lasted about a month because my hair started falling out at an alarming rate (I quit birth control) and now I am grasping at anything that will slow the shedding.

[samanthaa]

Yeah, I'm one of those who decided to grow theirs out. Having to commit to root touch-ups every 2-3 weeks, for at least 4 hours a pop, was too much for me. I also did one too many full-head applications and my henna got quite dark, to the point that I no longer liked the color.

CopperHead, I agree with you about the remarks about the color. I'd get a lot of compliments when out from strangers, many of whom even thought it was natural. I do miss that. My hair is kinda a mess right now, with about 7" inches of virgin growth.

[OOnaOwl]

I have been using henna (mostly Light Mountain red, sometimes HS Rajasthani red) for over 15 years. I had a few minor dalliances with chemical black dye during that time, but always return to plain red henna. For me, nothing beats the color & conditioning. My natural hair colour is light brown, now at about 20% white mostly at the front and sides. I plan to use henna until my hair turns all white, then possibly grow it out white at some point. I am also growing my hair to terminal length. Currently below BSL, on way to WL. I can't say enough great things about henna, I love the experience in every way. The ritual, the aesthetic, the history.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I have been using henna (and indigo) on and off for about 5 years now. The first time, it was a mess. I grew it out and cut it out. Now, I'm a bit more experienced and my hair is a nice deep black after about a year of henna and indigo solidly every 3 months or so, but it's so dry. I know people say that henna is good for hair, but for me it was just as drying as indigo was for my ends. I'm going to stop once I've run out of powder, which will take a long long while, so I might end up throwing out the rest of my henna when I run out of indigo. The process is a hassle, but worth the color. The dryness however is not worth it for me whatsoever.

[Lisa Long4Life]

I have been using Henna & Indigo for about 2 years now. Started with light mountain and now I buy separately & mix my own. I like the shine it gives my hair, I did have an ORANGE phase but it's darkened down nicely - so much that I think I need to start doing roots only because I don't want to go darker. I do it about monthly, maybe 6 weeks and I have some greys that need covering.
I don't find it messy. Well it's messy but it's easy to clean up.
When I used Directions THAT was messy. And it was a pain to clean up, and it was messy for weeks after.
I don't get any staining apart from maybe the towel that I dry my hair with straight after. But I use a dark coloured towel for my hair.

I can't imagine having to stop, so I'm dreading it if I do.