Old Henna?

[jenni0416]

Alright, so I've been looking into henna lately, and just happened to find an old opened but full henna packet in a drawer that I believe I got from India to do henna art years ago when I was much younger. This literally may be more than 6 years old :o ... I was wondering if I could still give it a shot? It's a pretty large packet so I'd hate to waste it if I could use it as a treatment, even if the effects won't be very prominent. I have dark brown/black hair so color won't be an issue, but I just want to know if there's any possible chance of causing damage to my hair by using this old henna...what do you guys think?

I'm trying to get henna straight from India as I have family members who are over there right now and can bring some for me, so I will still do henna treatments later. ;)

ALSO, just because it's related...I'm intrigued by both pure henna treatment as well as a henna/indigo treatment...I've never dyed my dark hair but wouldn't mind having some reddish tone to it for a change. I wanted to know if I could henna it, and then later on, effectively do a henna/indigo to make my hair a dark black color. :confused:

[SnowGhost]

If its henna for skin art I think its totally different stuff to what we use on our hair. I'm not an expert on this but I used to work with a girl who did the Mendhi (henna tattoos) for friends and family for weddings and she told me that what she uses on skin would never be used on hair and vice versa. She never really explained why though and I can't see that it would cause any damage really if its just henna!

As for doing pure henna followed by henna/indigo mix I've done this several times over. I regularly use a henna/indigo mix (probably once every couple of months) but every now and then I use a pure henna to give it a bit more depth because I find that the indigo fades much less quickly than the henna and it can start to look a bit flat using only the mix. Once you start with indigo its very hard to get rid of, so think carefully before you go for it. :)

[Tisiloves]

If it's for use on skin then it's BAQ and should be perfectly fine for hair, the only problem is in the mix, because for use on skin you terp the henna, which is not generally advised for hair.
I'd at least give it a go, many people are surprised at how well henna keeps, and if it has gone all that's going to happen is it won't give a very good stain and you can just apply some fresh over the top.

[dollyfish]

If it was in a relatively cool and dark place it should still be fine, chemically. I'd give it a go!

[jenni0416]

Alright so I mixed in water and left it in the fridge overnight. Checked this morning and it didn't leave a stain on my wrist/hand. Tried just now and still didn't leave much of a stain... a very pale orange after 15-20 mins...what should I do?

[Tisiloves]

Alright so I mixed in water and left it in the fridge overnight. Checked this morning and it didn't leave a stain on my wrist/hand. Tried just now and still didn't leave much of a stain... a very pale orange after 15-20 mins...what should I do?

Heat is important for quick henna dye release, 24-48 hours in the fridge wouldn't seem to be unusual. I'd either chuck it somewhere warm, or stick it on and leave it overnight, depending on what colour you're going for.

ETA: Just saw you have dark hair, I'd chuck it on overnight.

[cmg]

Yeah, either that or keep it in a warm place for a couple of hours. If you have some tea tree oil you can terp it up (other choices could be cinnamon or cloves).

I have used some very old hennas and they have been as good as they were when I bought them, if they were good quality to begin with.

The only thing I can think of that would be bad for you is if there are too much terps (if it was intended for skin usage) or if the powder is contaminated with mould or bacterias.

/ CMG

[jenni0416]

oh shoot, I read somewhere that freezing the henna mix would help in dye release? :/

I guess I'll thaw it and leave it a warm place...i don't have tea tree oil or many oils at all...I have cinnamon and cloves but not cinnamon oil or clove oil; I think you were referring to the oils.

[Unicorn]

I freeze my henna, after letting it dye release for an hour or two. (warm-hot water) It gives a really good stain. I suspect "fridge", was interpreted, from your post, as the larder section of the fridge rather than the freezer section. That was the way I interpreted it.


Unicorn

[jenni0416]

Yes, I did have it in the fridge overnight but then put it into the freezer later. It's thawing right now... do you know about any other terps I could use? Does lemon juice or ACV aid in dye release?

[Tisiloves]

Yes, I did have it in the fridge overnight but then put it into the freezer later. It's thawing right now... do you know about any other terps I could use? Does lemon juice or ACV aid in dye release?

They can speed it up, but can also inhibit the stain. I'd just let it defrost and it should be fine.

[jenni0416]

Alright so I let it defrost and then left it in a sun window...checked an hour ago and I think it finally did a dye release!! It's so exciting to see that lol I know it's still very weak but I'm gonna leave it on for a few hours and then rinse it out. I have oiled hair right now and gonna just put it on over that. I don't wanna sleep with it, thinking I prolly won't get any sleep.

[jenni0416]

OH and I forgot to ask, besides the coloring/thickening factor, is there any other benefits from using henna on hair? I figure if it doesn't have mych lysome (sp?) to bind with the keratin in my hair which would have made it thicker and also with a red tone, it could still provide the benefits of making it shiny and stronger or no?

[lapushka]

I figure if it doesn't have mych lysome (sp?) to bind with the keratin in my hair which would have made it thicker and also with a red tone, it could still provide the benefits of making it shiny and stronger or no?

Did you mean lawsone...? :confused:

[cmg]

Researchers have found that the hair benefits comes directly from the lawsone molecules. Other effects can be experienced from various other components in the plant, such as resins and oils, but they dont play any important role in hair care.

And yes, I meant the oils, but you can use the ground spice as well.

/ CMG

[ratgirldjh]

I have used old henna and it always worked. Also I usually start the dye release from my henna by adding HOT water (not boiling) and I get dye release in a few minutes. But I use it immediately and then freeze the rest.

I've done it the other way too by leaving it sitting in a warm place for a few hours and both worked well for me.

[jenni0416]

alright, good information to know for future henna-ings. I've had the henna on for about 2 hours now...thinking of washing it now though I could still wait but I'm sick of being locked up in my room lol

[swearnsue]

alright, good information to know for future henna-ings. I've had the henna on for about 2 hours now...thinking of washing it now though I could still wait but I'm sick of being locked up in my room lol

I know what you mean. I look forward to doing the henna and finally get it all smooshed on my head and then I'm tired of having it on after about an hour!

[jenni0416]

SO I ended up washing the henna out with a ton of conditioner after leaving it on about 2 hours. I realized things I would have missed out even if I had read about them such as the demise of the henna after adding liquid...I realized my henna mixture had existed for more than a day at least not including time it was frozen so that may have affected the results. I also should not have put it in the refrigerator at all, but rather used hot water to make the henna mixture and then left it in a warm area and then perhaps frozen it. I noticed some reddish tone that became apparent in sunlight but now that it's been a couple days, it's less bright. I hope to use the rest of the leftover "old" henna by the end of this week so I can move on to some better quality, more potent henna that will be more beneficial to my hair and I'll also have gotten enough practice with the entire process so won't waste any of the better henna. This is exciting :)