Henna Thread, take two

[moontree]

Why are roots so much harder/messier to do than a whole head application o_o Seriously... Also, I am, of course, out of conditioner, so my choices as to washing have become decidedly more limited, unless I want to run to the store with my head covered in plastic. But mmm that henna smell!

[patienceneeded]

I have made the decision to become a henna head! I've been mulling if over for months! I haven't colored my hair in almost 4 years. I do like my silvers, but just don't feel like I'm ready to be silver yet. I'm not even 37...

Plus, I saw some pics DH took of DD and me while on a hike and my head glows WHITE in the sunlight. I look like my Mother!

I bought some Kinsune Henna from Nightblooming and did a test. Then, I decided to just dye the underlayer of my hair, to see what I thought. Figured it would look interesting. It's been 2 weeks and I REALLY love the color. So, I will be doing a whole-head application after I come back from my vacation in Mexico. I decided to hold off on Hennaing until after my vacation, as I will be swimming a lot in the pool and the ocean. I thought salt, chlorine, and sun on new henna might not be the next best thing.

[Winter Fox]

patienceneeded: I hope we get some pictures once you did the whole head application!

I'm doing Fire Genasi from Nightblooming right now and hope that it gives me some red color although I have dark brown hair

[TrapperCreekD]

I use cheap cone-free conditioner until my hair is almost completely free of residue. Then I shampoo once, conditioner like usual, and rinse thoroughly. Do NOT use shampoo for the entire rinsing process. It will dry your hair out so much that it will just be a giant ball of dry frizzy fluff for at least a week.

ETA: This last time I used V05. It's less than a dollar a bottle and one bottle should be enough.

That's what I was picturing - I was just a little worried about the suds running down the length might interfere with the stain. Don't worry, I wouldn't consider shampooing the mud out... extra shampoo on my length

TrapperCreekD, have you tried henna on clean hair? I've washed with SLES shampoo and conditioned as normal (even leave-in conditioner) right before hennaing and got good results. I've also washed my hair the next day after hennaing and it was fine (no fading or dryness). I guess you can pretty much do whatever you like I use just conditioner when I rinse out the henna mud (around 4 fl oz).

Only during the strand testing to see if there was color difference (there wasn't). I was hoping to do it on dirty hair so there'd be less hopping in and out of the shower. Now I just have to find the time!

[Autumnberry]

I have made the decision to become a henna head! I've been mulling if over for months! I haven't colored my hair in almost 4 years. I do like my silvers, but just don't feel like I'm ready to be silver yet. I'm not even 37...

Plus, I saw some pics DH took of DD and me while on a hike and my head glows WHITE in the sunlight. I look like my Mother!

I bought some Kinsune Henna from Nightblooming and did a test. Then, I decided to just dye the underlayer of my hair, to see what I thought. Figured it would look interesting. It's been 2 weeks and I REALLY love the color. So, I will be doing a whole-head application after I come back from my vacation in Mexico. I decided to hold off on Hennaing until after my vacation, as I will be swimming a lot in the pool and the ocean. I thought salt, chlorine, and sun on new henna might not be the next best thing.

I don't think the sun and chlorine will make much of a difference, although if you want your hair to be exposed to more sunlight BEFORE the henna so you will be hennaing on lighter hair (and will get a brighter red, possibly), that might make a difference. Henna is supposedly a sunscreen, so the hair should lighten less after hennaing. I will say that although my hair has been hennaed for six years, and I have had fairly regular trims, my ends are signficantly lighter (and redder) than my roots. When I put my hair in a bun, it is a red-looking bun, while before hennaing (virgin med. brown hair), I had a strawberry blonde bun . Best of luck with the pending full head henna--your hair is already so healthy with beautiful waves!

[butter52]

Yay I did a henndigo gloss instead of mud and came out so nicely! I got the dark burgundy sheen (my hair is black so is just a kind of reflection) and without that HORRIBLE smell i got from using it as a mud.

Now...my hair got super fluffy...is that normal?

[kdaniels8811]

Yes, it is. Henna can be drying but the long term benefits (IMHO) are well worth it. To counteract that, I oiled my hair before applying henna this morning. Now I hope I do not have to shampoo it out after rinsing the henna!

[YGDW]

I did a henna overnight treatment last night. The color is nice, but the last 5 inches feel horrible now. They are both stringy and brittle at the same time. Could this be a protein issue? I applied a mixture of coconut oil, some conditioner (no cones), jojoba oil and castor oil to counter it this afternoon, but it still feels odd. Is there anything I can do to save my hair?

[moontree]

YGDW, have you washed it since then? I find that when I don't wash all the henna out it gets crunchy, but ever since I followed the advice here and washed the henna mud out with conditioner, it's really silky instead of dry. Try CO washing and see if that helps.

[YGDW]

Thanks Moontree, I washed my henna out with a sulphate free shampoo, but perhaps there were still some residues left (I always find some little pieces of henna in my hair and on my shirt when my hair has dried). I will try and co-wash it tonight. Hope it helps!