Henna/Cassia/Amla Glosses?

[Hairitic]

:confused: What exactly is a Henna Gloss? Recipes/How long/With or Without heat? How does it affect the color of your already Hennaed hair? Is it permanent? How does it affect the new/natural color roots? I'm assuming that they give similar conditioning to a full Henna treatment? Do Cassia/Amla glosses also give the same type of conditioning affects? Do they affect natural or Hennaed color at all? :p LOL, I think that's enough questions for now but if you think of any other pertinent info, by all means, please speak up. ;) Love you all!
:cheese:

[Hairitic]

Hasn't anyone some advice on Henna or other such glosses for me? Please Help before my roots drive me crazier than I already am! LOL

[tigereye]

I do glosses, but only with henna. Henna glosses are basically a diluted down, super conditioning, less colour depositing, henna treatment. I find my hair sucks up colour like nothing else, so glosses let me build it up gradually and stop me from ending up with far too much colour. Also, I think it's easier to keep up with my roots, because the colour would be building up gradually, and there would be least colour next to the new roots, meaning a more similar colour and easier blending than root touchups with full henna would be. At least to me anyway.
I don't already have full henna in my hair, so I don't know the effect on the colour of that. It does change my hair colour significantly, very much bringing out the natural red in my hair, but without making it ultra-super obvious that I've dyed my hair.
I don't have a clue about alma or cassia glosses. I assume they condition hair like henna, but I don't know about any effect on colour.

My gloss recipe is:
2-3 teaspoons of henna powder (I use a half-half of Jamilla BAQ 2010 and 2011 crops, because I'm trying to use up the last of last years, but I like this years crop better) in a plastic tub/bowl.
Make up a brew of rooibos tea (2 teabags in one mug) stirring often, and cool just enough to be able to put my finger in it.
Add to the henna, mixing with a plastic or wooden spoon, until a thick paste. (test here for dye release. Hot tea should have pretty immediate dye release. If not wait ten minutes and try again)
Mix in plenty of cone-free condish (whatever's going at the pound shop (or dollar store if that's more relevant) for me) until you have enough to cover all your hair. If you want to save on the condish, or your condish doesn't make it as runny as you would like, then a little cool water should be fine. You can use more warm tea if you want, but I find that the heat in the henna already separates the conditioner enough. I don't want any more drips, thanks very much.

Apply immediately to dry hair (prevents drips, but you can do wet hair instead if you like). Wrap up with plastic.

Leave for as long as you like. (30-40 minutes usually gives significant enough colour coverage for me. Do a lot less if you want less colour) No external heat. Body heat from your head does fine enough.

Colour is generally permanent for me. Colour washed out eventually first time, but it took a while. Probably just hadn't fully permeated the hair shaft. Now I think it's here to stay.

Also: don't freeze it. Henna paste or powder, fine, but my glosses, no. Maybe some others, but not my recipe. The heat from the tea makes the conditioner separate if left for any length of time. As it cools more in the freezer, it separates more, to the point where the dye-full water freezes. It takes longer, and a lower temp. for the rest to freeze. You defrost it, and it defrosts at different rates, and forms two layers. You try to mix them up again and you just get a horrible gritty mess that's not slick, difficult to cover all your hair with, drips like mad and is much more of a pain to get out.

[juneymoon]

Thanks for that, Tigereye. I will consider using that the next time I want to touch up my roots. I'm right on the edge of my henna becoming too dark for my complexion (especially immediately after I do it.)