Henna, amla, keeping the henna red and my curl. Please help

[ThisDreamer]

Hello, im new to the long hair community and am not totally sure how navigate around here, so if im posting in the wrong area or something of the like please forgive me.

I started off using henna huts red and deep red, and while they produced beautiful colors they did not last long at all, washing most of it down the drain within the next few washes. So next i went onto henna from hennasooq and while henna hut did not loosen my wave i bought alma and added in 3tbs to my mix to ensure straight henna would not either. It has anyways, my hair was quite wavy and alot of pieces would curl, those that didnt wanted to, after it was so much looser and did not curl at all. Tonight i put organic amla paste all over my hair and while it has helped it has not returned it to its previous state, and, my hair is much more brown/orange virtually no red .

How can i get my wavy/curl back? My plan was to full aplication once more for desired color then roots only after that. Except when i used amla in the henna it pushed it more browner then too, my goal is more fire red. Is the any ideas or expierences someone may have for getting my red hair and keeping my texture? Anything other than amla i can use? Im getting pretty desperate.
Thanks.

[jackie_brown]

Hi!
What kind of curls do you have?
I'm a 3a/b and after heaaing for almost 2 years i'm now a 3a curly head
I don't mind this change, henna covers your hair shaft weighting your hair down, it is normal.
I successfully wake up my curls using flaxseed gel on wet hair (after wash) and every morning after lightly spraying my hair with water
Take a proof

About color: it depends on your natural haircolor... if you got medium/dark brown hair you can't obtain a red... to limit the color 'loss' i suggest you to use pure henna (without chemical)

[Shatam1]

Hi Thisdreamer

I lost a lot of curl too due to henna and my hair was really very curly. Now it is only wavy. I do Amla treatments some times and I mix it with cocnut cream and a bit of honey to keep my hair from drying cause Amla can dry it up. This makes my hair more fluffy and a bit more curly but never like my old time normal curl.now I use a curling iron sometimes on low setting to inhance my curls. As for the color, amla darkened my color too, but not to brown. I actually got a deep read using henna and Amla. You can check my profile. But my natural color is a light strawberry blond and I have a lot of grey now as well. So this depends on your starting color. If you have brown shades then don't use Amla and use Indian or Pakistani henna, like Jamila . Morrocan henna is light in color but tends to go brown than Pakistani. Yemmeni is very dark red but on brown hair I would say will go too dark. So choose according to your natural color. Hope I was able to help and good luck

[ThisDreamer]

Thank you both for replying.

Jakie Brown: I am not sure what kind of curls/waves I have, I'm not familiar with 2a,3b,ect. kind of system.

If the curl loosening comes from weight wouldn't other chemical dyes do the same thing if they to are depositing color? I have also heard of a select few that have seen their hair actually get curlier after henna.

As far as my natural color it's like a dirty blonde/very light brown that has a red cast in the sun. This morning it seems as if the brown has faded just a bit giving it more of its red back, but my mother says she can still see the difference. Amla did do the front of my hair justice when it come to giving me back some texure, I was seeing some curls (I'm hoping this will last, I've heard some say it takes multiple amla's to get more permanent results) And boy was my hair soft and shiny, It's the back it did not seem to help...
As far as curling my hair I've pretty much sworn off curling it, it's to stubborn to stay either curled or straightened (same for braids), always has been, but seems happy to hold it's own out-of-the-shower texture.

I had read somewhere online that someone hennaed for the first time and resulted in her hair losing all its wave and going practically pin straight. After that she swore off henna, chopped it off and let it grow back. Sometime later she got the urge to try it yet again, and wondering why people with lots of curl seemed to have much less to non-permanent texture loss than people with waves theorized it might have something to do with the way henna sat on the hair, so she applied it to her hair and then proceeded to put her into curls, whether it was with rollers or simply curling it then sticking a bobby pin into it I can't remember. The result she said was no loss of her waves.
I really want to try this but I'm afraid in still losing yet more texture, I have a love affair with my post- last henna application curls, and rolling your hair with henna in seems it would be somewhat hard to do. I really wish I could re-find where I read this.

[Shatam1]

Thank you both for replying.

Jakie Brown: I am not sure what kind of curls/waves I have, I'm not familiar with 2a,3b,ect. kind of system.

If the curl loosening comes from weight wouldn't other chemical dyes do the same thing if they to are depositing color? I have also heard of a select few that have seen their hair actually get curlier after henna.

As far as my natural color it's like a dirty blonde/very light brown that has a red cast in the sun. This morning it seems as if the brown has faded just a bit giving it more of its red back, but my mother says she can still see the difference. Amla did do the front of my hair justice when it come to giving me back some texure, I was seeing some curls (I'm hoping this will last, I've heard some say it takes multiple amla's to get more permanent results) And boy was my hair soft and shiny, It's the back it did not seem to help...
As far as curling my hair I've pretty much sworn off curling it, it's to stubborn to stay either curled or straightened (same for braids), always has been, but seems happy to hold it's own out-of-the-shower texture.

I had read somewhere online that someone hennaed for the first time and resulted in her hair losing all its wave and going practically pin straight. After that she swore off henna, chopped it off and let it grow back. Sometime later she got the urge to try it yet again, and wondering why people with lots of curl seemed to have much less to non-permanent texture loss than people with waves theorized it might have something to do with the way henna sat on the hair, so she applied it to her hair and then proceeded to put her into curls, whether it was with rollers or simply curling it then sticking a bobby pin into it I can't remember. The result she said was no loss of her waves.
I really want to try this but I'm afraid in still losing yet more texture, I have a love affair with my post- last henna application curls, and rolling your hair with henna in seems it would be somewhat hard to do. I really wish I could re-find where I read this.

Interesting!! I mean the part about curling your hair with henna on it. I might try that. Thanks

[ThisDreamer]

If you do let me know how it works for you

[wavykisses]

Hi I have a question regarding amla, Can I add chamomile tea and just a tsp or 2 of Amla to my henna mix?
Can I mix the two amla and chamomille or I will get a weird pigmentation

[krisbb]

Since using Triple Moon Hair Anointing Oil my hair has regained some of its natural "wave" that i lost since hennaing (note:avi pic is hot iron curled)

[Zapookie]

I didn't read all the posts, but I probably wouldn't add chamomile tea + amla to your henna mix. Amla is already acidic in itself, so the chamomile tea isn't needed, water would do.

If you're wanting red, but wanting to keep the curl, don't mix amla in. Just do your henna as normal, either with warm water or some kind of tea. Once you've done the henna, give your hair a few days to chill, then mix up your amla with warm water, let it sit for a little while, then put it over your hair. Whether it works on dry or wet, I'm not sure. I put mind on after shampooing and left it for about 20 mins, then conditioned after because my hair felt a little bit dry.

[isshevital]

I concur, the only time I've ever tried using amla in my hair as a treatment it left my hair very dry and I had to use tons of conditioner. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken, but I think the only reason it enhances curl is because of its acidity (which is also what makes it drying.) I don't think repeat treatments will have any type of cumulative or lasting effect, because it's the same idea as an acidic rinse. Using diluted lemon juice as a rinse makes my hair noticeably more curly, so you might want to look into that. It can dry your hair out just like the amla though (especially if you have any residue on your hair) so proceed with caution.

I'm pretty sure that nothing can restore your curl to its pre-henna texture, or prevent the henna from ruining your texture if that is the effect it has on your hair. I have never heard of applying henna and then setting hair in a curl, but if you are feeling adventurous you should try it out and report back with the result. Of course you also run the risk, then, of your hair becoming even more straight. In the worst case scenario, you could always look into some of the non-damaging methods that LHC members have come up with to curl their hair.