Yay! Just bought from hennasooq!

[amberpotamus]

Must share my excitement over my purchase! :cheese: I've just bought my first BAQ henna! I used henna a lot as a teenager (well, health food store plant mix "hennas" like Light Mountain and Rainbow), and I loved what it did for my hair scalp, but I haven't done it in years. I have a chemical red dye in my hair, and being on this forum made me remember how much nicer henna can be (especially because I tend to have dandruff), so I decided to upgrade to some proper, strong henna. I order enough Rajasthani henna for several applications, and, to get to the $50 for free shipping since I was already spending so much anyway, I got some Amla powder and some Camellia oil since it was on sale. I'll probably use the Camellia oil for scalp massages, but I was wondering about the Amla, which I've never used (or smelled for that matter) before. I think the most common method (other than mixing into the henna to tone down the red, which I don't want) is to mix with water to make a paste and apply--but, if I remember correctly, Amla is quite acidic, so I was wondering if maybe I could dissolve a fairly small amount in water and use it as a rinse, in place of an ACV rinse. Might that work? I'll have to search the forum to see what others do with Amla...

[Blond On Blond]

I order enough Rajasthani henna for several applications

I use Rajasthani from Henna Sooq - beware! ;) After 3 full applications my hair is a very deep, cool red, I guess I'll have to follow up with glosses and do roots only in order not to end up with purple. The current effect is fabulous however, both color and condition.


if I remember correctly, Amla is quite acidic, so I was wondering if maybe I could dissolve a fairly small amount in water and use it as a rinse, in place of an ACV rinse.

I use amla. It doesn't dissolve in water, but you can make "amla tea" and use it as a rinse (I do that after washing with shikakai) or mix it into a paste with water and apply it to your hair and scalp for conditioning effects (something I don't do as amla dries out my hair to much when used this way, even if I heavily oil beforehand). BTW amla paste is great as a face wash. I love the smell too!

[owlathena]

I use Rajasthani from Henna Sooq - beware! ;) After 3 full applications my hair is a very deep, cool red, I guess I'll have to follow up with glosses and do roots only in order not to end up with purple. The current effect is fabulous however, both color and condition.

I just ordered some yesterday! I hope I get such great color, I'm TRYING to get to purple :D I've done 5 apps of full head jamila, and I'm not thrilled with the orangy-ness I have right now.

[Blond On Blond]

I just ordered some yesterday! I hope I get such great color, I'm TRYING to get to purple :D I've done 5 apps of full head jamila, and I'm not thrilled with the orangy-ness I have right now.

No orange for me either - I look bad in warm tones. That's why I decided to use Rajasthani. I followed the directions for dye release from the website for my first application, and left it on my hair overnight. For the next two applications I left the mix sit for 10 hours (as for body art) and on my head for four hours. Stunning result! Only distilled water, no lemon juice or other additives. Hooray for red! ;)

[amberpotamus]

I actually picked the Rajasthani for the high dye content--the chemical color I use now is a bright, cool red, and I'm thinking, since my natural color is only a pretty light brown, this henna might be close at saturation point... Or, if I do decide it's gotten plenty dark, I'll start just doing my roots at that point.:)

Thanks for the info on the Amla tea!

[amberpotamus]

I should probably correct one of those statements--my current chemical color is a dark, cool red out of direct light, and a bright, slightly warmer red in direct light... So I think I should be able to reproduce something fairly similar with this henna... I'm hoping, anyway, lol.

[McFearless]

You can make your own amla oil. Heat it up in coconut oil and apply that to your scalp. It is said to reduce shedding, clear dandruff and speed up growth.

[cheetahfast]

Henna Sooq is wonderful. I ordered Wednesday morning before my first class and the package had been shipped by the time I returned home (a couple hours later). I recieved it the next day.

I also got amla and I mixed it into EVOO, warmed it up, and applied it to my hair, left it on overnight. My hair felt funny and dry with it on, but once I rinsed it out my hair felt wonderful and has been less frizzy.

I think if you mix it as a paste and leave it on it is supposed to enhance or revive curls that have been henna-ed.

[amberpotamus]

Yes, the curl reviving will definitely be something I'll need in a few more months! I don't really have enough to curl (or I guess whirl is more accurate, lol) yet. I mostly got it in hopes of growing faster. I'm going to London for Christmas, and I really want to have--well as much more than I do now as I can because there'll be lots of picture taking. I'll definitely try it in evoo (or maybe coconut oil) on the scalp!