Henna Haters Unite!

**kdaniels8811** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:16 AM

Henna did wonderful things for my hair condition and color.

I have seen it over and over, strand test FIRST before making the plunge, including allowing time for oxidation since henna affects people differently. That way you know what you are getting.

I am so sorry you had a bad experience, the stuff is incredible for conditioning. And really sorry you had to cut your hair! That is awful. My sympathies.

**spidermom** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:27 AM

I'm a henna hater (on me and a few other people as well). The box said 100% henna, so that wasn't the problem. I mixed with warm water and applied to my hair for 2 hours (to the best of my memory; this was at least 10 years ago). Then I swam in the river until it was rinsed out. The color started out bozo orange, then faded to sort of a dull brick color. It was hideous! To make matters worse, my hair felt so dry and brittle for quite a long time. Conditioning treatments eventually returned my hair to a normal texture. I merely grew the color out and trimmed. Since I just did the one application, the color faded enough that before I cut it all off, you could barely tell where my natural color ended and the henna began. I don't think I'd ever henna again unless a goose that laid golden eggs came along with it.

PS - I don't think it had any conditioning benefit for my hair at all.

**Dreams_in_Pink** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by Svenja

At least now you know what NOT to use! So there's something good in all bad

That's how i calm myself down whenever i look at my shoulder-length hair in the mirror

Originally Posted by Liss

So, on my head I'm a henna hater, but on the general public I love it.

Exactly that

The way it looked wonderful on dark blond fine hair fooled me into henna in the first place!

Originally Posted by MandaMom2Three

I was quite disappointed at how dark my henna turned as well.

Same...who would've thought my hair would go black after henna?

Originally Posted by Unofficial_Rose

I'm another one who likes the pre-oxidisation copper, hates the ensuing burgundy. And then you are stuck with it!

Loved the condition though. Wish I could have my henna-condition on my highlighted hair.

I'd keep on hennaeing if it did condition my hair. It only went dryer

Originally Posted by kdaniels8811

I have seen it over and over, strand test FIRST before making the plunge, including allowing time for oxidation

It looked so good on everyone else here that i never thought things would go wrong

Originally Posted by spidermom

I'm a henna hater (on me and a few other people as well). The box said 100% henna, so that wasn't the problem. I mixed with warm water and applied to my hair for 2 hours (to the best of my memory; this was at least 10 years ago). Then I swam in the river until it was rinsed out. The color started out bozo orange, then faded to sort of a dull brick color. It was hideous! To make matters worse, my hair felt so dry and brittle for quite a long time. Conditioning treatments eventually returned my hair to a normal texture. I merely grew the color out and trimmed. Since I just did the one application, the color faded enough that before I cut it all off, you could barely tell where my natural color ended and the henna began. I don't think I'd ever henna again unless a goose that laid golden eggs came along with it.

PS - I don't think it had any conditioning benefit for my hair at all.

Oh wow, looks like i'm not the only one who had dry hair after henna

But yours could be having metallic salts in it, as you said it came in a box. Besides, you say how it washed out in time. As far as i know, BAQ henna never washes out?

**Tangerine** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:37 AM

I've never used it so I can't call myself a hater, but I am not planning to use it as it leaves me mostly quite meh

I'm really just hijacking to comment on this:

Originally Posted by spidermom

Then I swam in the river until it was rinsed out. .

I love that! You are my hero, spidermom

/end hijack.

**spidermom** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:44 AM

But yours could be having metallic salts in it, as you said it came in a box. Besides, you say how it washed out in time. As far as i know, BAQ henna never washes out?[/quote]

The box said 100% something-lawsonia (henna). I knew to watch out for blends.

Considering that I only used it once for about 2 hours, then swam in the river nearly every day during warm, sunny weather, I'm not surprised that the color gradually faded out. How could it not?

**Nightshade** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:54 AM

Spidermom, I'm quite sure you're correct in that yours was 100% pure henna, so this isn't targeting you at all

But I do think it's important to note that in many instances that isn't the case if a product is packaged outside the US. Many other countries, such as India where a lot of henna comes from, do not have the same package and ingredient disclosure laws that the US has. This is only made worse by the fact that imported herbs not for human consumption are not regulated by any goverment organization, so it's very possible that even in a box that says "Henna" and on the back says "100% Lawsonia inermis" it is entirely possible that it isn't pure henna.

Many "pure hennas" especially those marketed towards hair have metallic salts, dyes, and other additives.

It's worth the extra money to make 1000% sure the henna you're getting is pure.

I'm not saying this will make everyone love henna, far from it as nothing works for everyone, but I think good henna, doing one's homework, strand testing, and taking the time to do it right makes a lot of difference

PS. I am the first to advocate that when in doubt, do NOT henna.

**MandyBeth** · February 3rd, 2010, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by spidermom

But yours could be having metallic salts in it, as you said it came in a box. Besides, you say how it washed out in time. As far as i know, BAQ henna never washes out?

The box said 100% something-lawsonia (henna). I knew to watch out for blends.

Considering that I only used it once for about 2 hours, then swam in the river nearly every day during warm, sunny weather, I'm not surprised that the color gradually faded out. How could it not?[/quote]

If you used JUST warm water - it wasn't acidic enough for a good dye release, and it may have gotten too hot. Plus, you need to leave it on, wrapped up so it doesn't dry out (or get everything else hennaed), I'm going to say for a good 4 hours at least AFTER a dye release.

If you are using straight BAQ henna and it's going murky brown, from what I've found - it's related to water quality. My tap water is really gunky, and it will make a very murky final quality to a hairball test of henna. It's still red, but it's muddy and blah. If I use filtered or distilled water, the hairball test with the same henna powder, same lemon juice, etc... - it's vibrantly bright red.

As for fade. Meh..... Mine fades some, more going from really bright bright red to a softer red - but it also means so far, I've not had any problems redoing all of my hair - no root worries. Alas, my hair is still refusing to go burgundy like I want, but it's not a problem color, so I'll keep it up. But mine doesn't fade anything like what a chemical red dye will - that stuff is gone in 2 weeks.

Also - not all henna - even 100% henna - is the same. I used the "common" store brand and woohoo, my hair did nothing and it did fade out really easily. I used Jamila from the local store, and I got a fairly orangey-red that had some minor (maybe) fading, but nothing really. I used Dark of the Moon, and that goes fairly deep bright red on me, but it still has that same little fade that I think the Jamila has.

As for condition. Hmmm. Overall, my hair is better with the henna I think, but it's sure made my split ends more visible. But if you have too much lemon juice, that can dry your hair as well.

Plus - allergies. If you are allergic to a lot of things - including plants - you may very easily be allergic to henna. It may cause an itchy case of dandruff then.

I've not gotten any major surprises from henna, but I did patch test and hairball test before using each brand. I know I should hairball test when I redo the DotM, but I haven't.

**bumblebums** · February 3rd, 2010, 11:03 AM

I dyed my hair with a henna/indigo blend about 8 years ago. I got it at a food co-op--yes, it came in a box, but it was organic and produced in the US. I was aiming for a dark brown to black. It was a mess to apply, the color was drab, and it left my hair dry. Worse still, I couldn't cover it with a chemical dye to fix it, since henna and dye do not react well, so I had to wait for it to grow out.

So I'm not touching that stuff again, indigo or no indigo. I think henna-dyed hair looks good on some people, especially on younger women, but I think it looks awful when used to cover grays. It makes me think of old ladies selling peaches at the fruit bazaar (obviously not in the US). So yeah, I'm not a fan of henna.

**MandyBeth** · February 3rd, 2010, 11:09 AM

You can cover straight 100% henna with chemical dye. It's if it's got metallic salts that you can't. Also, indigo doesn't cover and doesn't bleach out.

**spidermom** · February 3rd, 2010, 11:10 AM

Oh I'm sure I could have gotten a better quality of henna if I'd done more research, and my application methods could probably have been better, though I did wrap it as instructed, then put a towel over that. However, this thread was a call to henna haters, which I am even if it's my own fault for making mistakes, so I'm not sure why henna lovers are flocking in to extol the virtues of henna. There have been many threads for that already.