Preparing Henna for Hair

Yes, you want to henna your hair!! And I'm absolutely happy for you!

Being a hair mixtress can be such fun and I always feel attracted to homemade recipes. Most people do not need an apron but henna preparation for hair can get really messy and stain your clothes so in case you want to try this for the first time.....grab an apron (or an old t-shirt), a pair of gloves, a ceramic or plastic bowl, a plastic or wooden spoon, cling film or plastic bag and let's get on with this.

There are many recipes out there but the standard one goes this way:

You need:

100g to 300g of 100% pure henna depending on the length of your hair.

Lemon or lime juice; anything acidic to enable the dye to release.

Mixing Steps:

1. Put on your apron or use an old shirt to protect your clothes. Make sure you protect your hands with gloves. Improvise with plastic bags if you do not have gloves. Henna stains so be sure to clear your work area of any items that can get stained.

2. Pour your natural henna into the ceramic bowl.

3. Pour your lemon or lime juice onto it a little at a time and stir with your spoon till you get the consistency of yoghurt. Your mixture should be not be watery. In case you run out of your juice, you can add warm water.

4. Cover bowl with cling film or plastic bag and leave in a warm place for some hours or overnight. Your henna is ready for use when a brown film develops on top of your paste.

Application Steps:

1. Part your hair into 4 or more sections to make application easier and less messy.

2. Apply henna thickly from roots to tips of hair making sure you apply enough to the hairline without staining your forehead. Rub off any streaks or runoff with a wet towel immediately.

3. Pile your hair on top of your head and wrap with cling film or cover with a plastic bag. Leave on for 2 hours or more. If you leave it in overnight, cover your pillow with a plastic bag and old clothes to avoid staining it.

4.  Rinse it out thoroughly and proceed to shampoo. Rinsing out henna can take 30 minutes or more for very long hair especially if it is curly. 

5. Remember to deep condition afterwards to prevent your hair from drying out. Do not wash your hair until after 3 days by which time the henna colour would have stained your hair properly.

Very easy, ain't it? My first time was not as tedious as I expected it to be. What I found very helpful was putting my head under a running tap and using the force of the water to rinse out the henna. 

Results:

My hair felt stronger and looked shinier. My new growth was also easier to comb through days after. Having black hair, it is difficult to see any colour change unless I stand in the sun. Even so, the colour is subtle. Nothing wild at all. I loved the experience so much that I couldn't help but henna my mum's hair too a few days ago. Her grey streaks developed into a beautiful red shade !!

What other ingredients can one add when mixing henna?

Cheers,

Star.