henna and unwashed hair

[reilly0167]

Hello everyone and bright blessings. Im planning to do my roots for the first time, I have naturally curly hair and that on its own can be challenging doing henna, right now its straight (not chemically) and been adding a very light touch of oil to my hair since my hair is naturally dry. i am cringing at the thought of washing my hair because once my hair hits water POOF! The curls come and i can only imagine doing roots will be challenging and while my hair is straight it will be easier .So i was wondering if anyone has hennaed without washing their hair first and still have same results?

[bunneh.]

I personally always henna on wet, clean hair, because that's what I tried the first time and it worked for me, so I'm sticking to it. I have seen some people hennaing on oily/dirty hair and said they got the same results as with clean, freshly washed hair. A problem I see here might be dry hair. Some people have applied henna on dry hair and have it dyed that way, but I think it would dry up faster and crumble and fall off or something (I can't remember exactly been months since I've read everything about henna). It might also dry hair up more, having all that dry mud on your head.

[browneyedsusan]

I henna my roots with dirty hair, and it comes out just fine! Henna is really drying for me, so the greasier my hair, the easier it goes. The most important things, IMHO, are to get it on good, and leave it on long enough.

ETA: dry or wet hair doesn't seem to make any difference either. I think dry hair is easier, so go that route. Since it all gets covered up with plastic wrap, the henna stays wet under there, and doesn't drip as badly.

[school of fish]

I've done both and have had equally good results using both methods, but personally I prefer applying to dry hair because I can more easily see which sections I've covered and which I haven't. Dirty or clean hair also doesn't make any difference on me.

My hair is a very different texture than yours though, so we may find different techniques easier. When I henna my sister-in-law's roots (she has very curly, VERY thick hair) I need to use a thicker consistency of henna and apply with a brush. We do hers on dry hair too. She's only done roots applications for years now, and her colour is RED!!!

I think you'll find that dye uptake is the same no matter how you do it - it's just a matter of playing around and finding the easiest application method for you

[Obsidian]

my last root application was on 1 day dirty hair and I got bad results. I will clarify for now on, my hair takes up henna so much better when its clean.

[school of fish]

my last root application was on 1 day dirty hair and I got bad results. I will clarify for now on, my hair takes up henna so much better when its clean.

Aha! Proof once again of the YMMV theory
It really is true that there's no one-size-fits-all method

[curly girl fla]

I have curly hair like you, i wash daily, use natural creams(with shea, cocoabutter, etc)/leave-ins/jellies-no silicones, waxes, petroleum...have done it both ways with great results...i am sitting here right now with raj+hibiscus mix on unwashed curls, hour two...it's so much easier and just as effective for me...

[reilly0167]

I just thought of an idea, perhaps if just misted a bit with just water or chamomile tea, couldn't hurt either way. That's why I love henna so much, if one method doesn't take , you can try again soon after another way

[Islandgrrl]

I never wash my hair first. My results are consistent and excellent.

[Anje]

I henna my hair dirty most of the time. Why would I want to wash it twice?!?! It works just fine.