Henna Thread, take two

**DKSABS** · June 19th, 2014, 11:50 PM

Marika, Decisions, decisions.... Your hair turned out so beautiful! I've been wondering about how the roots will work too. It does seem that the new growth might always be lighter than the rest of your hair (especially if you have grays like me), because it doesn't always take the first time with grays, or doesn't get as dark over the grays until you've henna'd that section of hair two or more times. I've been wondering if I'm going to have to do a root touch up twice each month to try to keep the roots matching the length and get the grays well covered.

I've managed to stay up till almost 1am without rinsing yet, so it looks like I'm going to make it the full four hours plus more. Time to go start filling the bath tub so I can get this mud rinsed off and see my new hair!

**elsieivy** · June 20th, 2014, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by DKSABS

Marika, Decisions, decisions.... Your hair turned out so beautiful! I've been wondering about how the roots will work too. It does seem that the new growth might always be lighter than the rest of your hair (especially if you have grays like me), because it doesn't always take the first time with grays, or doesn't get as dark over the grays until you've henna'd that section of hair two or more times. I've been wondering if I'm going to have to do a root touch up twice each month to try to keep the roots matching the length and get the grays well covered.

I've managed to stay up till almost 1am without rinsing yet, so it looks like I'm going to make it the full four hours plus more. Time to go start filling the bath tub so I can get this mud rinsed off and see my new hair!

Be sure to post pictures! I'm sure it'll look great. My natural hair color is ash brown and my henna'd color is auburn. My roots actually aren't very obvious at all. I'm not sure if it'll be different with grey but henna is generally pretty forgiving as far as roots go.

**DKSABS** · June 20th, 2014, 01:25 AM

I'll definitely post pictures! I hope that my roots are as unnoticeable as you've found yours to be. That would be awesome. I'm out of the shower now and anxiously waiting for my hair to dry enough for me to get an idea what it will look like before I go to sleep. It's still dark now, because it's still wet, but the top layer that dries faster is looking like a pretty color so far. The ends are still very dark, but I'm hoping that's because they're wet. It's a good thing I have tomorrow off and don't have to wake up at 6am. I have a massage at noon and that's my first appointment/errand of the day tomorrow so I can sleep until 10 or 10:30. It's already 2:30am here now.

**martyna_22** · June 20th, 2014, 02:15 AM

I haven't had much experience with henna just yet, but my mom's been using it for over half a year, and she is beginning to get grays, and you can't really see the roots.. Even after 3 months or so after hennaing, the roots aren't noticeable at all, but she chooses to henna them anyway, because *she sees them* in certain light, when I guess she wants to see them

. I'm still too fresh to henna to say anything about myself, but the roots that I've got didn't seem bad, as henna looks really natural and somewhat washes out, the demarcation line isn't as obvious, and what's more, the hair underneath isn't bleached.

**DKSABS** · June 20th, 2014, 07:51 PM

martyna-22, thanks for sharing your experiences! It's nice to hear that roots can be less obvious with henna! I posted pix of my newly henna'd hair on the "Show me your henna'd hair" thread at the following link:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...=1#post2746106

But here's one photo of the henna outdoors today:

and what it is usually looking like most of the time when I'm indoors:

**Isilme** · June 21st, 2014, 05:18 AM

I see references to using chamomile tea all the time, does it make for any colour differences or is it just to calm and soothe the scalp?

**Cania** · June 21st, 2014, 10:44 AM

You look great, DKSABS! I'm getting so impatient for my sample to arrive, everyone seems to look so good with henna.

**DKSABS** · June 21st, 2014, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Isilme

I see references to using chamomile tea all the time, does it make for any colour differences or is it just to calm and soothe the scalp?

The henna instructions say to mix with an acidic liquid, such as lemon juice (or lemon juice mixed with water), but some people find that too drying or it irritates their scalp. Chamomile tea is more soothing but will also cause dye release. This is what is recommended by Nightshade in her herbal henna mixes. I made my chamomile tea using Distilled water so there wouldn't be any minerals or other hard water components that could cause any problems.

Originally Posted by Cania

You look great, DKSABS! I'm getting so impatient for my sample to arrive, everyone seems to look so good with henna.

Thanks! Hopefully your samples will get there soon! Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

**Isilme** · June 21st, 2014, 01:09 PM

Thanks, there has been some controversy over acid and a member who doesn't post anymore actually made many test where she proved that acid inhibits dye release. That's why I'm so confused about the tea.
I'm lucky that Sweden has some of the world's finest tap water, miles better than bottled

Originally Posted by DKSABS

The henna instructions say to mix with an acidic liquid, such as lemon juice (or lemon juice mixed with water), but some people find that too drying or it irritates their scalp. Chamomile tea is more soothing but will also cause dye release. This is what is recommended by Nightshade in her herbal henna mixes. I made my chamomile tea using Distilled water so there wouldn't be any minerals or other hard water components that could cause any problems.

Thanks! Hopefully your samples will get there soon! Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

**DKSABS** · June 21st, 2014, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by Isilme

Thanks, there has been some controversy over acid and a member who doesn't post anymore actually made many test where she proved that acid inhibits dye release. That's why I'm so confused about the tea.
I'm lucky that Sweden has some of the world's finest tap water, miles better than bottled

Interesting! I've been doing a lot of reading and have been seeing lots of conflicting info on what to include as the liquid in the henna mix, how long to wait for dye release etc, and at least one of the articles said that it you used an acid in the mix you might have to wait overnight for dye release. I decided to follow the instructions that came with my henna blends from Nightblooming and things worked out well. Her instructions suggest chamomile tea and placing the mix in a warm spot for at least 2-4 hours but no more than 6 hours and then leaving it on your hair for 2-6 hours. I did the dye release for 4 hours and then froze the mix. Then I thawed and left it on my hair for 4 hours before rinsing.