Senna tea for mixing henna?

[cthulhuapproved]

I'll be hennaing my hair for the first time within the next week or so (yay! :D), and was planning on using chamomile tea...but then I got to thinking, I have this senna tea just lying around---I wonder what that would do?

Does anyone already do this? Would it actually make any sort of difference (as compared to the chamomile)?

My apologies if this has already been discussed elsewhere---in addition to searching, I've also been perusing the henna threads pretty heavily in anticipation of my upcoming henna adventure, but I haven't seen this particular situation come up yet.

TIA!

[Shatam1]

If I am not mistaken senna is cassia, could senna tea add more golden tones then to hair color?? Hope someone will answer this question too.. Thanks:)

[cthulhuapproved]

It is cassia! :) Maybe I should have said "cassia tea" in the title instead...

Either way, I think I'll experiment with it when I strand test, which I'll hopefully get around to in the next day or so!

[cthulhuapproved]

Well, for anyone interested, I completed two strand tests yesterday: one using chamomile and the other using senna (cassia) tea. I put ~2tsp of Jamila henna into two identical sour cream type plastic containers, and added enough of each of the teas to make it the requisite 'yogurt' consistency. The tea was pretty warm, but not hot. I covered both containers and put them near a heat vent, and an hour or so later they both had traces or red dye appearing and left the expected pale orange stain on my skin when tested. I put the hair in at this time, smooshed it around, covered again, and let sit for ~4 hours.

To be honest, I wasn't really expecting any difference whatsoever, but as it turns out, the hair with the senna tea actually came out slightly darker/redder than the hair with the chamomile tea. My initial reaction was the suspicion that I had somehow managed to use a slightly lighter clump of hair in the chamomile container. However, I also noticed that, after being washed, the container that had the senna mixture had some noticeable orange stains where the henna had been touching it, whereas the container with the chamomile mixture did not... There was virtually no difference whatsoever between the two mixtures besides the type of tea, so it would seem that this had something to do with it.

Definitely was an unexpected outcome. Either way, one replicate is not enough to convince me that using senna actually made a difference, so I'll just have to use it when I do a whole head application. You know, for science! ;)

[Shatam1]

I will try it next time I henna and let u know. But I have senna pods would they give the same effect?? The tea usually comes out as dark as black tea. I use it for constipation somtimes:o

[cthulhuapproved]

I really couldn't say whether or not the pods would give similar results---the tea I get from the senna leaves is definitely not that dark, but I do indeed have it around the house for the same reason you do!

I look forward to hearing the results if you end up trying it out. If things go as planned, I should be hennaing my hair on Saturday, so we'll see what happens!

[cthulhuapproved]

My hair is officially hennaed! (Well, it has been for >1 week, but this past week was exams week, so I haven't had a chance to post an update.)

I didn't actually try the senna tea mixture this time around...I panicked at the last minute (typical :rolleyes: ) and decided to "ease into it" by just using the chamomile and only leaving it on for 1/2 the time I did with the strand tests. Of course it came out fabulously and I wished I'd just left it on the entire 4 hours, so I did another 2 hour treatment last night. I only used half of my mixed up henna the first time, so I just froze the remainder, which was what I used yesterday. But I will try the senna tea next time around!

[Shatam1]

That's wonderful:) u have to post photos now;) enjoy your henna and be carful not to do too many full head applications. When u like the color start doing roots only . Mine got too dark on me and it isn't easy to lighten it.