new thread
What does it do to your hair?
I used it once to my hair and it turned from black to light brown but its get back to black now( maybe its cheap brand )
so as far as i know its like natural Dye..
I have used it many times a long time ago. There's blonde, brunette, two types of red (Egyptian and Persian), black, burgandy, and neutral. It's a plant. One of the earliest hair (and skin!) dyes known to history. It comes as a dessicated plant derivative powder. Ya have to mix it w/ boiling water, which turns it to a paste, ya put it on yer hair after it cools a little bit (use gloves!), and it's temporary, not permanent, as would be chemical hair dyes (which're the SAME things as photo-developing chemicals! Blegh!). Pick a colour that suits you best. Worth the effort. Have fun. I used to purchase mine fresh from two different organic herbal apothecaries in NYC, Angelica's and Aphrodisia, hence much less of a chance for cross-contamination and/or chemical adulteration. They're both still in business, even though my experience wuzz 30 years ago.
Yours in natural hair-colooring AAAND longhair'd camaraderie,
Quenyan
Sorry, but he's wrong.
Henna only comes in one color, and neutral henna is cassia, with black henna being a blue dye called indigo. Other forms of henna color that commercially exist are compound dyes, and INCREDIBLY dangerous.
However, it's possible to get different color combinations based on what other herbs you use in the dye, like cassia, indigo, walnut, etc.
To find out more, try hennaforhair.com
And you should mix it with lemon juice. Works better. xD
i hennaed my hair once; it makes hair shiny and smooth (4 days after the application,until that time your hair may feel a little coarse)
i applied it to all my head and noticed a small increase in hair loss, but that might be a personal problem.
You'll also have to get used to the smell of it as it remains for like a month...
and above all,be sure that you don't want to dye your hair; henna is VERY permanent ;)
oh, and since your hair's lighter than mine, don't feel scared if your hair looks orange, it will darken to a nice red colour after 4 days.
Beforehand, DO A STRAND TEST and watch how it looks and feels like after 4 days of time.if you're pleased, try it on your head :)
There's also colourless henna but i can't help you there :)
Just wondering which henna you used on your hair that cause more hair loss. I was thinking about using neutral henna, which is actually cassia, do you think this would have the same effect?
i used indian henna which gives red colour...i don't know about colourless henna (not that it damages the hair,it's just because scalp cannot tolerate anything that's put on it.If you apply henna to the hair strands and not touch the scalp,it will be ok)
OH, and something very important, be sure that you use body art quality henna because there are many hairdyes claiming they're pure henna and contain metallic salts.
It's a herb that coats your hair with a red/orange colour.
I think it can be removed using mineral oil, but it's intended to be permanent, and I understand that it's very hard to remove and may not all come out. The thought of applying mineral oil to your hair sounds like a desperate measure to me, as that seems like something that belongs in an engine! Have you ever got engine oil in your hair? I have and it stinks, literally. Maybe they mean something that smells better than that? Henna does fade over time, but it doesn't disappear, and doesn't come out with ordinary washing.
There are many henna mixes that achieve different colours, but they all have a red/orange base unless they don't actually contain any henna (and some of them don't). Many people use the word henna loosely to include any herbal hair dye. AFAIK, none of them lighten hair colour, whether they contain real henna or not, which is the major justification for synthetic dyes, i.e. to create bottle blondes, LOL!
Although henna does improve the condition of your hair, it can make it dry and crunchy for a little while after you use it. That changes over a few days, as does the final colour. OTOH, 'neutral henna', which doesn't colour your hair, makes it feel great from day one, although it isn't actually henna! Don't confuse that with natural henna, which means henna not mixed with anything else.
The dangerous part is that some mixes contain metallic salts, and these can react with synthetic dyes to either cook your hair, so it needs to be cut off, or if you're lucky it just turns green!
Carla suggested using only 'body art quality' henna to make sure this can't happen. That would work, because it's pure, but it's very strong, so you might wind up with very red hair, and it doesn't let you get different colours. Most women have probably used synthetic dye before they try henna, so it may be sound advice if you have dyed your hair before with synthetic dyes.
OTOH, I have only used henna products on my hair, never synthetic dyes, so I am safe if I keep to henna and henna mixes and keep away from commercial synthetic dyes. IMHO, most guys won't have used synthetic dyes, so keeping away from them is a viable alternative. Be aware, though, that having long hair means you have old hair that has been on your head for years, so you really have to have been clear of synthetic dyes for many years to be safe.
Synthetic dyes, or at least the permanent ones, damage your hair even without doing anything else. To use synthetic dyes and avoid serious hair damage, it is probably necessary to get your roots done professionally, instead of dying your own hair, which tends to repeatedly apply the dye in the same place, which the hair can't withstand over the life of long hair.
This is why so many longhairs use henna, because it at least can't cause damage when used by itself, and avoiding damage is more and more important the longer the hair, as the hair is older and older as it gets longer.
I have used at various times either natural henna, or neutral henna (which isn't henna!) or a brown henna mix that claims to be herbs only, but doesn't say which ones are in it!
There is a web site called www.hennaforhair.com that you should take a look at. Some of the example 'recipes' are even shown on guys' hair.