Adding finely minced FRESH ginger to henna mix??

[amberpotamus]

The last time I hennaed my hair, I added a little each of powdered ginger, cardamom, clove, and cinnamon. It turned out not to be enough to do much for the smell though. I'm going to be using the second half of that mix, which has been in the freezer, this week, and I was thinking of adding some finely minced fresh ginger. I've used oil infused with fresh ginger before, and it was really nice, so I know my scalp isn't overtly sensitive in a bad way to ginger, but I've never actually just put fresh ginger in something I was applying directly to my scalp (and for hours on end at that). Does that sound like a bad idea?

[amberpotamus]

Also, an unrelated henna question that I've searched for the answer to and seen a lot of contradictory information: does adding oil (like a tablespoon or two of coconut or olive oil per 100 grams of henna) affect henna's ability to stain? Everyone agrees that it affects indigo, but what I've seen looks like a pretty equal divide on whether or not it affects henna as well...

[luciferia]

I'm not sure about the ginger, but for your other question:
The one and only time I did not wash my hair the day I henna'd, the stain was not nearly as good as normal, yet the only difference was that my hair was greasy. I read that it doesn't matter, but in my experience, the oil did affect the stain... quite a bit, too.

[Audrey Horne]

Why not to use more of powdered ginger? I can't imagine how well could I really spread fresh ginger... I used it powdered and it worked just fine in the terms of smells.

I think coco oil leaks henna but I'm not 100% sure.

[Plume]

For ginger, sorry, I have no idea, but regarding the henna and oils, yes, it's better to have a clean scalp if you want your henna not to be affected...

[cmg]

I did that. I added minced squeezed ginger twice to my henna and henndigo respectively. I really can't say if it did any difference except for a nicer smell.

To the second question I would speculate, that anything, except for essential oils and tannines, would rather block the dye uptake on the hair, as it coats it a little bit. On the other hand, the positive effects of the oil is perhaps desireable and/or needed and the henna gives plenty enough dye.

[amberpotamus]

Thanks, guys! I'll definitely skip the oil, then.

I'm going to try the ginger, because the smell of fresh ginger makes me want to do a happy dance, whereas the smell of ginger powder just makes me think, "That's nice," and go about my business (although it's not as bad as ginger essential oil, which, undiluted and on its own, makes me think, "Oh, how unfortunate.")