Which is better- virgin hair or hennaed hair?

[Amber_Maiden]

I've been wondering about this-
Is hennaed hair better (as in stronger, healthier, etc) than virgin hair?
Does leaving your hair 100% virgin and natural make it healthier, or does the added nourishment of henna or cassia make it healthier?



Wondering if this belongs in the herbal board, but considering how it also involves virgin hair I wasn't so sure...
Wondering also if my question makes sense... I'm running on sugar today.... I need tea :(

[Maktub]

My personnal experience (this is not scientific by any means) is that henna helps my damaged hair be a lot more resistant, soft & shiny, and help it not split. I have this feeling it reduces porosity too.

But

My virgin LHC-grown with care hair is completely as resistant, soft, shiny, non-porous and the strands are also more flexible (they are less thick though).

No idea if the others had similar experiences.

[littleizz]

I'm interested to see the answers here, once I can muster up the courage and the cash, I'm DYING to henna my hair.

[Avital88]

Lately i have been growing out the dye..I had like 3 inches of new growth before i started to henna again. my virgin hair with henna is for sure stronger/shinier and healthier looking than just virgin hair..i believe hair with henna is overal stronger because the henna puts a coating around the hairs.

[NaiadOreiad]

I felt like my henna+virgin hair is the best quality my hair has ever been. i have pretty fine hair and with the henna, I could use ghassoul clay and it was soft, shiny and strong as hell. My virgin only roots ( a few inches) are more delicate but I love the color so I am sticking it out!

[the.fee.fairy]

I'm on the flipside of the argument - Henna made my hair impossible to deal with - it went rough and horrible.

So i'm voting virgin hair that has been treated well and looked after.

[Chromis]

It depends on the hair. My hair loves henna, but not everyone has the same experience!

[PrairieRose]

I feel like my hair with henna is stronger and thicker! Plus I love the color:D

[littleizz]

Thanks fee.fairy! I always like hearing the flipside, too. What kind of henna/ what recipe did you use?

[moxamoll]

I'd been babying my virgin hair even before I got to this site, so it was pretty strong, healthy and shiny. It hasn't been hennaed long enough to make any definitive statements, but the biggest change I've noticed so far (other than colour :p) is that it has a lot more slip and is more resistant to tangling.

I expect this is a pretty YMMV kind of thing.

[the.fee.fairy]

I tried plain henna powder mixed with water, then mixed with yoghurt, then mixed with conditioner.

I also tried the Lush henna too.

And i tried indigo once.

None of the mixtures worked for me :(

It's a shame. I love the hendigo colour, that gorgeous blue/purple/burgundy but i just can't get on with it.

[Maktub]

I tried plain henna powder mixed with water, then mixed with yoghurt, then mixed with conditioner.

I also tried the Lush henna too.

And i tried indigo once.

None of the mixtures worked for me :(

It's a shame. I love the hendigo colour, that gorgeous blue/purple/burgundy but i just can't get on with it.

Out of curiosity, could it be the origin of your henna ? Never tried the lush henna, but I had amazig results with henna sooq

[Roscata]

I prefer my hair with henna because: I get no split ends, my hair is shinier, I like that my hair is darker, my hair has more slip making it easier to detangle and combining that with the extra strength I never get breakage either aww yeah.

Sometimes I want to grow it out, but that's just because I either miss my natural hair color sometimes or because henna is a lot of maintenance.

[littleizz]

Honestly, other than not being ready to make the initial investment for good henna for waist length hair, maintenance is the one thing I find daunting. I hope my hair is dark enough to not have ridiculous looking roots, cause I'm too lazy for a henna every two weeks!

[the.fee.fairy]

Out of curiosity, could it be the origin of your henna ? Never tried the lush henna, but I had amazig results with henna sooq


possibly, but to be honest i've given up on the henna now.

I found that it was costing a small fortune to keep experimenting and not getting results, so i stopped.

[Madora]

Virgin hair is more appealing to me.

[kjirstiben]

Personally, I found that henna made my fine hair a little thicker (as in, each individual hair becomes thicker), which in turn made it less tangle-prone and, oddly, it seemed to relax the curl pattern in my hair.

I think it is equally healthy either way, but found that with my light-colored hair, the upkeep required (and the color I started getting after multiple henna applications) wasn't worth it to me.

[HintOfMint]

My mother used Henna for conditioning and volume, as well as to tint her white hairs red. Her hair is finer than mine though, so I can imagine the volume for her was far more welcome than any additional volume for me.

[Carolyn]

I wouldn't want red hair so any health benefits of henna wouldn't be worth it to me.

[spidermom]

I didn't like henna on my hair. It felt dry and seemed more brittle, at least at first. All that calmed down by a month or two after coloring, but I never did it again. I let it grow out and fade out.

[myotislucifugus]

I've found my hair to feel thicker and less susceptible to snapping...but I have to be really careful to oil. Henna dries out my hair if I'm not careful.

[MonaLisa]

This is very good thread. So far majority votes henna :)
I used it just once and therefore won't speak yet.
No bad things about that 1 time henna though!

[auburntressed]

I feel that my hair is definitely stronger and healthier with henna. I would never have the amount of shine that I have without henna. But more importantly, my hair has stopped tangling since using it. It is why I am so dedicated to keeping my roots up even though the color difference is minimal.

[Kaelee]

I think henna definitely improved my hair.

[Mayflower]

I prefer my hair with henna (and indigo) a lot! Almost no tangles or splits, insanely shiny, gorgeous colour and it took me from being a F/M to a M/C with mostly coarse hairs!
Although I have to say that several months before I started using henna I used a semi-permanent dye that washed out after 8-12 washes, so I'm not sure if I had 100% virgin hair.

It is expensive though. And the most ****ty job in the world (headaches, nausia, headaches, it stinks, headaches). I did my henndigo a few days back (I always like to do a full-head because I love the feel of my hair afterwards, and to boost the darkness) and I realised that I may have to reconsider my goal of HL hair. I'm back to waist now after a trim and it already is a huuuuge PITA.

And though I absolutely love the colour now, I know some day I'll wanna go back to my natural colour for some reason or another, and I would not know what to do. I seriously do not want to walk around half blonde half black.

[balticbabe]

Other than color change I haven't noticed any difference in my hair.

[gazelle]

After multiple henna applications, my hair is better in thickness and condition. My hair color doesn't change drastically since I have dark virgin hair, but I wish it would.

So I like my hennaed hair more than my virgin hair. Since henna is natural, I don't feel myself guilty about changing my virgin hair

[Cjatje]

I love my hennaed hair. It was already very slippery, but now with henna, it's even more slippery!
I also feel like it has thickened a bit.

[rock007junkie]

My personal opinion is that virgin hair is good but henna makes it better. My hair feels really strong now that I use henna.

[Anywhere]

Henna helped my damaged ends be stronger and healthier, but I'd say it didn't change my virgin hair at all (except for the color, of course).

[pepperminttea]

Unprocessed/virgin hair for me. Cheaper, and no roots maintenance. :) And sometimes with henna the colour can come out quite muddy, almost like terracotta, which isn't something I'd be going for.

[LaDollyvita33]

A friend of mine, who also happens to be a professional hair stylist, once told me that the healthiest hair is always virgin. She also warned me that while henna is pretty, its impossible to get out and/or put color over. She had this horror story of a client back from India with red henna in her hair that she hated, and there wasn't a whole lot she could do to help! :(

[jeanniet]

I liked the way henna felt on my hair (which was virgin prior), but during every application process I shed a ton (and I shed quite a bit normally and had to do a conditioning process afterward, which was a little frightening. I gave it up because I couldn't get anything dark to stick on my grays and the henna stuck out too much on those, but I don't know if I would have kept up full hennas because of the shedding. Glosses weren't too bad, though, and that's always an option for someone who doesn't want to do a full henna.

[Safira]

Henna made my hair stronger, shinier and healthier. My hair loves henna and my haircare is now more simple than before henna. My hair doesen´t split anymore. I love henna.

[Lissandria]

On myself, Henna hands down. My hair is definitely healthier and stronger and thicker with henna so the root maintenance is well worth the benefits IMO. Not to mention other benefits such as shine and colour. Colour aside, If I had strong thick hair I may well prefer my own virgin hair, but we are not all blessed in this way unfortunately.

[Hairwish]

I get more shine with henna.

[two_wheels]

If I could have the thickness and shine that henna gave me, but keep my ash blonde colour, I would go back in an instant! But the roots were too much hassle even in winter :rolleyes:

[XcaliburGirl]

For me, my natural hair. I didn't see much of a color change, henna takes too much work/time for me, and my hair is fairly strong as it is. (Note: I used Lush Caca Rouge, but I think my reasons still apply.)

[Deborah]

I much prefer natural hair. I don't trust any chemical that makes a permanent change to one's hair, so I'll never use it. Also, the hair usually looks dyed to me (aka fake) and I don't like that look.

[ladylowtide]

I love my hennaed hair! I get the worst tangles unless I henna once a month. Also it is so much thicker. I used to have the tinniest pony tail and now I have a respectable one. The color change is noticeable but my hair doesn't change much so it has a more natural look to it. Over all I believe that hennaing my hair will be the reason I will be able to grow my hair to a longer length then I have in a long time. I have also noticed much faster growth than I usually see... so I can't stop raving it!! :D Henna is the best.

On the topic of virgin hair, I greatly envy those women I see with beautiful virgin hair. I think it is rare in our society and very special. I would definitely opt for virgin hair but my hair is too unmanagable at longer length left natural. But more power to you virgin hair girls!

[katsrevenge]

Henna. For color, for shine, for the texture.. all of it.

[PixxieStix]

I think *if your hair likes henna*, then virgin hair + henna = the strongest, healthiest you can get. Yes, it comes with color, and for those of us who want more red in our hair it is amazing, but it adds in protection and extra slip, at least that has been my experience. I plan on using henna to get my auburn hair more red until I go gray, and then let the silvers come in. :)

[Mesmerise]

I think it's hard to say... I henna my hair because it's the most natural way to cover my gray hairs AND because I love red hair. I didn't really henna over virgin hair though, so I have no real comparison. Even the first time I hennaed my hair (over 20 years ago now!) I think my hair had been lightened with sun in, and I'd probably put some other semi permanent colours in it as well, so it wasn't virgin hair.

What I do know is that when I've had virgin hair I've never had a single split end (it has been a loooooong time since I had 100% virgin hair though).

It has to be said though, that if I didn't have graying hair, I doubt I'd be colouring my hair at all. My current feeling is that I'd be aiming for 100% virgin hair instead of 100% chemically virgin hair (which is to me the difference between henna vs nothing lol).

I will say I don't notice that henna particularly makes my hair a better quality. But again, no virgin hair for comparison.

[Autumn]

Having tried both hennaed (for about 2 years, maybe 8 henna applications, good quality henna) and virgin hair, I would say that my virgin hair now is in better shape than my hennaed hair was before. Henna does make fine hair thicker-looking, but IMO, it is because of damage. The henna color does look cool in sunlight though, even on dark hair, especially after several applications.

The benign neglect policy (which you've probably heard here a thousand times already :)) is a good baseline rule for haircare if you want the healthiest possible hair. If you have other priorities, such as having red color from the henna, I think henna is better than commercial dyes, but it still does some damage.

[akilina]

Henna has done absolute wonders for my chemically dyed/bleached/etc... hair.
I think maybe it differs from person to person.
Now, I'm not really sure exactly so no one quote me but what would cassia do for hair? I've heard that cassia doesnt really change the color of the hair and you could use that if you wanted to benefits of henna but not the color???
Not exactly sure though. I'm sure theres some virgin hairs out there that would totally benefit from it.

[ladonna]

Ive found that henna is not worth the trouble, it dries my hair out and I think its the reason ive been losing so much hair. My hair is still thick but I feel like ive lost so much that I'm afraid to even finger comb. Henna is the only new thing that's been added to my routine.

[supbanana]

This is a tough one for me. I like my blond color so I use senna. I LOVE the shine and extra strength/thickness, but I feel like my ends split a lot easier than they did before I started using senna. I'm thinking about stopping it though, because it makes my hair yellow (like so: :cheese:) instead of the natural pretty gold tone.

[ladylovecraft]

My hair is much better with henna. Stronger, thicker, less slippy (though still shiny and silky), all around happier hair. I think having fine hair contributes to this, though.

[Kleine Mädchen]

Henna has done absolute wonders for my chemically dyed/bleached/etc... hair.
I think maybe it differs from person to person.
Now, I'm not really sure exactly so no one quote me but what would cassia do for hair? I've heard that cassia doesnt really change the color of the hair and you could use that if you wanted to benefits of henna but not the color???
Not exactly sure though. I'm sure theres some virgin hairs out there that would totally benefit from it.


Thank you for asking!!! (I'm too shy :-( ) I've been wondering about that too! I'm pretty new to the whole henna thing and wanted to do the research before making any decisions. So far it seems like there are a lot of benefits to henna but I really don't want to change the color of my hair and have to worry about the upkeep. I'll be watching this thread with a ton of interest!!!!

[Of the Fae]

Henna works best for me.
The colour is, right now the colour I've always wanted after having done a little lightening with lemon juice and honey to bring out the coppery tones.
It looks heavier, fuller, and since I am very pale it even looks natural. Some people don't even see that I dyed it!
Plus, I haven't had any trims since october 2010, only a minor amount of S&D's that are less than twenty split ends in more than a year's time.
I recommend it because of this! Henna will help me to grow and grow and grow! I have broken my own record and am at APL! Which I never could before :)
It could also be less chemical treatments and better brush tho :p

[Of the Fae]

And indeed, cassia is wonderful! I mix it with my henna sometimes.
It has a pale yellow colour by itself, so if your hair is lightblonde it can leave a goldeny stain. If your hair is dark, however, it will be invisible and leave your hair silky and soft!

[Lissandria]

Having tried both hennaed (for about 2 years, maybe 8 henna applications, good quality henna) and virgin hair, I would say that my virgin hair now is in better shape than my hennaed hair was before. Henna does make fine hair thicker-looking, but IMO, it is because of damage. The henna color does look cool in sunlight though, even on dark hair, especially after several applications.

The benign neglect policy (which you've probably heard here a thousand times already :)) is a good baseline rule for haircare if you want the healthiest possible hair. If you have other priorities, such as having red color from the henna, I think henna is better than commercial dyes, but it still does some damage.

In what way exactly does Henna damage hair? I've always been lead to believe that Henna is actually conditioning for the hair as it adds protein. There is no "lifting" of the cuticle with chemical developers such as peroxide or ammonia so therefore no real alteration to the chemical structure of the hair :confused: I could well be misinformed :shrug:

[Amber_Maiden]

In what way exactly does Henna damage hair? I've always been lead to believe that Henna is actually conditioning for the hair as it adds protein. There is no "lifting" of the cuticle with chemical developers such as peroxide or ammonia so therefore no real alteration to the chemical structure of the hair :confused: I could well be misinformed :shrug:

It can dry some people's hair out, or cause splits. That's what happened to me with henna.

[cheetahfast]

I'm not sure how to respond to this thread.

I only used henna once, I think my hair was less frizzy and less curly from it.
The color was something that I did not like, so I thought henna was not good ;).

My virgin hair, well I've never seen it past a few inches, I will say my hair is pretty strong on it's own so it would be fine without henna.

I might do cassia eventually, but right now I'm trying to let my hair grow for a year without any herbal dyes, since I'd probably try to use the cassia to get more golden hair. I want to see my natural color.

[habioku]

My personnal experience (this is not scientific by any means) is that henna helps my damaged hair be a lot more resistant, soft & shiny, and help it not split. I have this feeling it reduces porosity too.

But

My virgin LHC-grown with care hair is completely as resistant, soft, shiny, non-porous and the strands are also more flexible (they are less thick though).

No idea if the others had similar experiences.


I agree with that. I used henna for a long time and it coat the hair and made my hair thicker, more resistant and healthy looking. But after I quit henna, I lost this coat and I realized the damage of the hair beneath (just like a silicone build-up). So I would say virgin hair that looks healthy IS healthy and hennaed hair sometimes only LOOK healthy. But this doesn't mean henna is a bad thing in general. I think for healthy hair, henna may protect from friction and other damage.

[Ms Strangelove]

Concerning the discussion of healthy, not-healthy, it is important which henna-colour is used? Does for example brown or black, indigo? henna protect the hair as well?

[Lissandria]

It can dry some people's hair out, or cause splits. That's what happened to me with henna.

That sucks big time. I get that Hennaed Hair isn't for everyone and doesn't work as well for some hair types as it does for others. But that poster implied that the benefits some experience from Henna, like thicker strands were caused by damage to the hair strand. That just seemed different from what I've learned on here and elsewhere about Henna, hence why I questioned it :shrug:

[Cleopatra18]

I would say hennaed hair is better. My hair is virgin but I remember back then when I used to henna regularly, I barely experienced any problems with my hair and it was much more resistant and managable.

[Leisje]

I have mostly virgin hair now, with just a few inches of henna left on my ends. I have to say that my virgin hair is MUCH better than my henna'd virgin hair. There's no chemical damage on my ends now so it's strictly the difference between henna and non-henna.

My virgin hair is softer, more flexible, has more of a glowing sheen and body. The henna parts feel rougher, and are straighter than my wavier virgin hair. If I run my fingers down one strand of hair I can feel when I come to the henna because it's no longer smooth.

I think henna is great if you are trying to compensate for previous chemical damage. It really helped my hair in that regard. But virgin wins!

[Georgies]

I've got to vote for henna. Chemicals have not touched my hair for 8 years but henna (glosses only) has definitely improved my hair in the last couple of months.

[GlennaGirl]

My henna was a bajillion times stronger with henna and was not dry. But it did take out all the wave I had. That didn't bother me, just giving you my experience.

[maborosi]

If your hair and henna work well together, I would imagine henna'd hair would be stronger. Henna has made my hair physically stronger and thicker- even on my virgin roots, my hair was in better condition than before.

That's just my personal experience, though.

~maborosi~

[CurlyMopTop]

I've only done one recent application, so the verdict is still out for me, but I do love the color! :D

[candycandace]

I'm going to have to go with henna. My virgin hair is a lot thinner than my hennaed hair.

[Long_hair_bear]

I vote virgin. I've never hennaed my hair, but if you change your hair color, like I have many times, you have to keep hennaing or dying when it grows out. When you get sick of the color, you have to either cut it out or dye over it.

[Red_Wednesday]

My hair is coarse and quite strong on its own. When I first started hennaing years back, my hair loved it, it looked wonderful. Unfortunately, after multiple applications the henna seemed to built up on my hair like plastic, and I suffered a lot of breakage. Keep in mind, I had no previous underlying damage, my hair was virgin when I first started applying the henna, I was just doing it for color and shine, which it definitely gave me. But once the breakage started I couldn't get it to stop. I had to chop it off and start over again. I agree with those who have said, "it depends on the hair". Sadly, my hair didn't like henna at all after a while so virgin hair is best for me.

[Blond On Blond]

I have baby-like hair, so henna is a godsend for me. It makes my hair thicker, stronger, and shinier. And I love the color :)

[gogirlanime]

My henna was a bajillion times stronger with henna and was not dry. But it did take out all the wave I had. That didn't bother me, just giving you my experience.

Thats sooooo weird because this is the first time in about 10 years that I've had more than an inch of virgin hair (I have about 7 inches now) and I've noticed the virgin is not curly but wavy... almost straight with very very little wave. Do you know, does henna do this to hair "straighten" it, I hope so :)