Best henna mix for a WO-er?

[LaceyNg]

i plan on doing a roots-only application, as my ends havent faded, but i'd still like the most gentle henna "formula" i can get.

my henna mix prior to going WO was a cheap cone free conditioner, a splash of ACV, a bit of water, and the henna and cassia (ACV added right before putting it on my head).

this time i'd like to stick with more moisturizing ingredients, as henna always seems to leave my hair dry. i plan on using both water and rose water, and was thinking about adding on some honey-- is this an ok idea? is it ok to use honet with henna? i'm not worried about it lightening my hair at all.

i may also add some cinnamon as well to possibly help lightening.

do i absolutely NEED something acidic in the mix for the henna to "take". if i do, do you think a tea or some yogurt would be best?

sorry for so many questions, and if this has already been answered somewhere else, i apologize, and can you please send me off in the right direction?

thanks so much, guys and gals!!!!!

[akurah]

Don't bother with acid, it's not necessary. Acid may be able to affect the color or how vivid it is, but in my experience, it's simply unnecessary.

The only problem I see with you being W/O is getting the henna *out*. I suspect it may take more substantial rinsing than it might with a product to help it along.

Why would you want to add "lightening" ingredients? If you're looking for a lighter mix, make a henna/cassia blend imo.

[PolarCathy]

I remember I had the same question when I wanted to henna first on WO hair. I didn't get any effective reply so I had to experiment. I wanted to do a two-step henndigo so I needed some good henna "foundation" for the indigo to stick to, yet I didn't want to give up on my WO routine.

In my experience yogurt will "reeplace" your sebum with milk fat and at first it will feel soft but then it goes limp and flat. Yuck. I hennaed with yogurt a couple of times and I loved it right after henna every time but I hated it afterwards...

For me this has worked best:
Mix henna with just water or some tea. Do not add acid. Freeze it right away. Defrost it when you are ready to henna (instant dye release this way).
Oil hair heavily (yes, "dirty", WO, unwashed, non-clarified hair), if possible, overnight, with something that soaks in. Leave the henna on for as long as you wish and rinse it out with plain water (takes 25-30 minutes). It will strip the hair to some extent (most of your sebum will be gone) but because of the oiling, it won't feel dry. The sebum will come back in a few days (hopefully).
I don't know if the oiling inhibits dye uptake (and how much).*

Personally I never use henna without heavy oiling first and I still can see it showing (around my hairline where my hair is much finer).

*However, I have black hair, I don't want the henna color to show if possible. I get the conditioning effect but I never tested it on my greys or anything because I don't have so many).



i plan on doing a roots-only application, as my ends havent faded, but i'd still like the most gentle henna "formula" i can get.


P.S. I never did root-only, only full head applications because this is also my way of "washing" my otherwise hardcore WO hair, sometimes. Henna will make it squeaky clean.

[Pierre]

My mix for roots only is this:
15 g henna
7.5 g amla
7.5 g cloves
90 g water.
The water is three times the total of the powders; this gives good consistency for a root shooter. I apply immediately and leave in overnight.

My hair gradually accumulates sebum and jojoba over the weeks between hennaings. Henna gets it out, even though I don't cover all the hair with henna. I braid the length and whatever is left in the bowl when I can't get it out with the root shooter goes on the length, just to refresh the color.

I don't see anything wrong with honey; it's added to henna when drawing on the skin for consistency of the lines.

[Valfreyja]

Sorry for butting in, but...



For me this has worked best:
Mix henna with just water or some tea. Do not add acid. Freeze it right away. Defrost it when you are ready to henna (instant dye release this way).
Oil hair heavily (yes, "dirty", WO, unwashed, non-clarified hair), if possible, overnight, with something that soaks in. Leave the henna on for as long as you wish and rinse it out with plain water (takes 25-30 minutes). It will strip the hair to some extent (most of your sebum will be gone) but because of the oiling, it won't feel dry. The sebum will come back in a few days (hopefully).
I don't know if the oiling inhibits dye uptake (and how much).*

Personally I never use henna without heavy oiling first and I still can see it showing (around my hairline where my hair is much finer).


Do you not wash out the oil before you henna then? Just oil, then henna directly afterwards?

[LaceyNg]

Don't bother with acid, it's not necessary. Acid may be able to affect the color or how vivid it is, but in my experience, it's simply unnecessary.

The only problem I see with you being W/O is getting the henna *out*. I suspect it may take more substantial rinsing than it might with a product to help it along.

Why would you want to add "lightening" ingredients? If you're looking for a lighter mix, make a henna/cassia blend imo.

the bottom parts of my haiar have some old dye still, so after henna the color is a lighter red than my virgin hair+henna. i actually like the lighter color more those, so i was hoping adding honey and cinnamon would help to lighten my hair a little. as it stands now, i DO use a mix of henna and cassia :)

and thanks, i didnt know acid wasnt necessary!


I remember I had the same question when I wanted to henna first on WO hair. I didn't get any effective reply so I had to experiment. I wanted to do a two-step henndigo so I needed some good henna "foundation" for the indigo to stick to, yet I didn't want to give up on my WO routine.

In my experience yogurt will "reeplace" your sebum with milk fat and at first it will feel soft but then it goes limp and flat. Yuck. I hennaed with yogurt a couple of times and I loved it right after henna every time but I hated it afterwards...

For me this has worked best:
Mix henna with just water or some tea. Do not add acid. Freeze it right away. Defrost it when you are ready to henna (instant dye release this way).
Oil hair heavily (yes, "dirty", WO, unwashed, non-clarified hair), if possible, overnight, with something that soaks in. Leave the henna on for as long as you wish and rinse it out with plain water (takes 25-30 minutes). It will strip the hair to some extent (most of your sebum will be gone) but because of the oiling, it won't feel dry. The sebum will come back in a few days (hopefully).
I don't know if the oiling inhibits dye uptake (and how much).*

Personally I never use henna without heavy oiling first and I still can see it showing (around my hairline where my hair is much finer).

*However, I have black hair, I don't want the henna color to show if possible. I get the conditioning effect but I never tested it on my greys or anything because I don't have so many).




P.S. I never did root-only, only full head applications because this is also my way of "washing" my otherwise hardcore WO hair, sometimes. Henna will make it squeaky clean.


thanks SO much for this! i'll try the freezing trick for sure, and leave out acids. and i'll oil my length with the jojoba as well. now i'm excited to try it out :)

(i'll make sure i update here so any other WO-ers can see how it goes)


My mix for roots only is this:
15 g henna
7.5 g amla
7.5 g cloves
90 g water.
The water is three times the total of the powders; this gives good consistency for a root shooter. I apply immediately and leave in overnight.

My hair gradually accumulates sebum and jojoba over the weeks between hennaings. Henna gets it out, even though I don't cover all the hair with henna. I braid the length and whatever is left in the bowl when I can't get it out with the root shooter goes on the length, just to refresh the color.

I don't see anything wrong with honey; it's added to henna when drawing on the skin for consistency of the lines.

thank you!
i never knew honey was added to body art henna! i learn something new every day, thanks to LHC! :)

i think i'll probably do the same, concentrating on roots and then just using the leftovers on the length. if i mix up the right amount hopefully i ownt have too much left over!

[PolarCathy]

Sorry for butting in, but...


Do you not wash out the oil before you henna then? Just oil, then henna directly afterwards?

Yes I just slap it over dirty-oily hair.

[PrairieRose]

I heard that you can replace some of the water you mix in the henna and use oil. I just did a roots application and tried this. I still mixed with some water and a little jojoba oil. It seemed to work well.

[Anje]

Not a WOer currently, but I'll agree with adding oil to your mix if you find henna drying. I know I do, and I've had good luck by adding oil to my mix. (Oiling the hair first would probably also work well, but I haven't tried that.) Mix it really thick with water first, then add oil. If you put oil on the dry henna powder, it tends to form oil-henna clumps that don't mix very well (ask me how I know). I usually would just stick to a blend of henna powder, olive oil, and water. No need to complicate things.

ETA: I have always hennaed my dirty, unwashed, unclarified hair with good results. Don't feel like you need to shampoo beforehand; the henna will take just fine in grungy oily hair.

[LaceyNg]

I heard that you can replace some of the water you mix in the henna and use oil. I just did a roots application and tried this. I still mixed with some water and a little jojoba oil. It seemed to work well.


Not a WOer currently, but I'll agree with adding oil to your mix if you find henna drying. I know I do, and I've had good luck by adding oil to my mix. (Oiling the hair first would probably also work well, but I haven't tried that.) Mix it really thick with water first, then add oil. If you put oil on the dry henna powder, it tends to form oil-henna clumps that don't mix very well (ask me how I know). I usually would just stick to a blend of henna powder, olive oil, and water. No need to complicate things.

ETA: I have always hennaed my dirty, unwashed, unclarified hair with good results. Don't feel like you need to shampoo beforehand; the henna will take just fine in grungy oily hair.

awesome! thanks so much!
do you think jojoba oil would work in the mix just as well? i'm thinking it might be easier to rinse out than olive oil.

[Anje]

Could work, but I haven't tried it.