Has anyone had experience with Henna helping their hair feel stronger and grow long?

[Zombee]

Hello
I have virgin shoulder length hair which I've always wanted to grow long. Sadly I have to keep cutting it because I have so much fall out which makes the ends look so thin when they grow below my shoulders. I've always wanted to try Henna as I've read that it strengthens hair and makes it feel a little thicker. I've been looking at Lush hennas to start with as I've read they do wash out a little, also because of the cocoa butter they're really moisturizing and I have quite dry hair. I have mid-brown hair and I've been looking at the brunn henna from Lush so I doubt I'll have much of a colour change, I'm thinking it may darken a little... I've also been looking at Cassia treatments and I'm not sure whether to try that first instead.
Thank you for any advice.

[Jane99]

My hair is a lot stronger, healthier, and longer than it’s ever been before, due to a lot of different factors but henna is definitely one of them. I had highlights done and then box dyed over it a few months before hennaing, and though my hair definitely has damage, it’s quite manageable and does not break off by the hundreds like it used to, pre dye but with poorer hair care practices. The most noticeable difference that I can tell is the strand thickness and the shine from henna. I’ve done probably about a dozen applications since last year of about a 1:3 henna:cassia mix

[akurah]

Hello
I have virgin shoulder length hair which I've always wanted to grow long. Sadly I have to keep cutting it because I have so much fall out which makes the ends look so thin when they grow below my shoulders. I've always wanted to try Henna as I've read that it strengthens hair and makes it feel a little thicker. I've been looking at Lush hennas to start with as I've read they do wash out a little, also because of the cocoa butter they're really moisturizing and I have quite dry hair. I have mid-brown hair and I've been looking at the brunn henna from Lush so I doubt I'll have much of a colour change, I'm thinking it may darken a little... I've also been looking at Cassia treatments and I'm not sure whether to try that first instead.
Thank you for any advice.

If you don't want orange or red hair, you don't want to use henna. Unless your hair is black, and I mean black, not dark brown, you should not consider henna for strengthening your hair. Henna is permanent and you'll never get the color out.

Caca brun also has indigo in it, which in an of itself is a perfectly fine herb like henna is, but if you ever think you will lighten your hair, you can't use it. It'll turn your hair green as a reaction to bleach or other developer.

With the indigo it will push the hair browner, that is true, that's why they call it caca brun. But henna usually still flares orange in the sun.

[poli]

Yes, in my experience henna helped me grow longer when my hair was bleached and very damaged. I already knew it was orange and how it looked on me, so I decided to grow my hair out and henna to retain some of the damaged hair without having to trim it out. I would try cassia or sedr (Zizyphus spina christi) first so you get the experience with herbs without much risk of color change.

[Hexana]

Absolutely, henna made my hair stronger and thicker. But I was not impressed with Lush henna at all. Yes, the cocoa butter can be nourishing, but it was too much for my hair (made it very dry for over a month after using Lush henna). I would recommend pure henna (and indigo if you want to go darker). Cassia does help strengthen hair as well, but the effects are not as long-lasting.

[BerrySara]

For me, Henna dried my hair out too much. I already had dry hair but with Henna added, I started having more & more breakage and have concluded that Henna just isn't working for me. Also I lost a lot of curl definition as Henna did elongate the curl pattern, but did so in an inconsistent way which made my curls less likely to clump and became more frizzy in general. Combined with drier hair, it just wasn't helpful to my hair.

[blackgothicdoll]

For me, Henna dried my hair out too much. I already had dry hair but with Henna added, I started having more & more breakage and have concluded that Henna just isn't working for me. Also I lost a lot of curl definition as Henna did elongate the curl pattern, but did so in an inconsistent way which made my curls less likely to clump and became more frizzy in general. Combined with drier hair, it just wasn't helpful to my hair.

Similar experience here. It made my hair shine more I guess, but that's about it.

[Dixie Derelict]

I've found henna to be quite helpful in terms of strength of individual strands and overall hair health. I THINK it's promoted growth somewhat. I have lost SOME curl, but I seem to have gained some thickness. I'm about 2 yrs. into it, and it's working well for me.
Don't forget that HENNA IS RED. Redder than you ever thought it could be. Start with a VERY SMALL amount; you can always add more, but it is PERMANENT. (I use less than 2tblsp in my mix, and get a bright copper on my calf length hair! )
I think you should start with Sedr, to see if you like that plant wax(?) feel. If you do, your next step could be a gloss with mostly cassia and a scant tblsp of henna...
There's no end to the variety of mud mixes you can devise. Just remember: HENNA IS RED. HENNA IS PERMANENT.

[Hairkay]

I did henna glosses (henna & coconut milk) which helped my hair ends. My hair is black so I wasn't after colour. I never did straight henna since I found out that this could be drying for hair.

[shelomit]

It probably depends on whether you're more after strength or more after moisture.

Henna can help with hair strength. When I've gone too long without hennaing, I start noticing my hair feeling a little "snappy" and brittle, having more flyaways/wispies, and feeling overall lighter. Unlike the color, the conditioning effect does wear off. I usually notice the change about four months after applying henna.

With "very dry" hair, though, that conditioning might not be worth it. Henna is inherently drying, although there are adjustments you can make to minimize that effect (e.g., using coconut milk as the mixing liquid like Hairkay mentions). A good rule of thumb is to think about how your hair responds to a protein-y substance, because henna behaves pretty similarly. If you can't use something with "keratin" in the name without noticing your hair go weird and breaky, then the henna will probably do more harm than good.

Do know that, starting from "mid-brown," the color WILL still be noticeable (at least in natural light). My avatar photo was taken in front of a window on a sunny day; my natural color is dark brown. And, as akurah mentioned, there's pretty much nothing you can do to get rid of it.