All About Henna Pt. 2

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I told myself I want to try Henna before the end of the summer, which for me means by the end of this month. So I've been researching more & more about Henna until I came across this great article on Henna. This answered all my questions I had concerning Henna, so I know it will answer a lot of questions out there. It is lengthy, but I did my best to highlight certain things that get right to the point for a quick read. I will be ordering these products soon & will definitely be doing a video tutorial on my whole Henna experience. Should be interesting.

By: Maureen Jones of EveryDay Mehndi and Body Art Central

If you want healthy hair that is strong with beautiful color and have been looking for a safe and natural way to accomplish this, it is time to become acquainted with henna.

Henna powder comes from the processed leaves of the henna bush. Typically, "henna" refers to the leaves or powder from the leaves of the henna bush. Henna is a natural plant. The botanical name for henna is Lawsonia Inermis. Henna, Lawsonia Inermis, is one of many natural dyes. The pigment found in the leaves of the henna bush releases as a dye when added to a liquid such as water or an acidic liquid such as lemon juice. What separates henna from many other natural dyes is its ability to stain the skin and hair more effectively and for longer periods of time than most natural dyes are capable of doing.

The henna powder purchased in the US is imported from other parts of the world. Henna is processed by manufacturers who purchase huge quantities of henna grown on henna farms. The leaves are harvested from the henna bushes and allowed to dry. These leaves are then taken to factories where machines grind them into powder. Most often, henna powder is created by blending a number of types of henna leaves from different areas of a country or from different countries and from different types of henna plants in order to produce the henna powder the manufacturer desires. After grinding, the henna is then sifted. The sift of henna that can be obtained can range from poorly sifted to ultra finely sifted. Poorly sifted henna will contain visible pieces of leaf and veins. Ultra finely sifted henna powder is talc like and contains no leaf and vein pieces. The sift is often more important to people who use henna for body art. However, more and more, people using henna for hair are enjoying the benefit of using finely sifted henna powder for their hair. The finely sifted henna powder used for hair creates a much smoother paste and leaves no leaf and stem parts in the hair that become a problem to remove.

When the henna powder has been sifted, it is then packaged for the market. It is then imported into countries like the US and made available for purchase.

Henna is spelled and pronounced in many different ways depending upon the specific region of the world. Henna has many uses that are also closely connected to the different parts of the world and the people of that location who are using it. In the Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Morocco, India…the Middle East, South East Asia and Northern Africa, there is a long history and tradition of henna use. Henna is applied to the hands, feet and hair in order to keep cool in very hot climates. Henna may be given as part of a dowry. The night before the wedding the bride and sometimes the bride and groom are designed with henna. For religious observance and celebration, henna is often brought out. Textiles are dyed with henna. And hair is dyed and conditioned with henna.

What makes henna beneficial to hair?

Henna provides two types of benefit to the hair simultaneously. Henna will condition and color the hair. As a conditioner, henna strengthens the hair, is an anti-fungal and reduces the occurrence of dandruff, conditions the scalp, slightly loosens the curl pattern, helps to detangle and make hair more manageable and provides a natural and healthy sheen and shine to hair. As a natural source of color, henna colors the hair red - not a bright cherry red, but rather a beautiful and natural red for hair.

Henna does not color hair like synthetic dyes. Henna coats the hair shaft with a transparent red coloring. As applications of henna are repeated, the color deepens. Henna does not and cannot lighten hair. However, it provides red and reddish highlights on dark hair. Henna on black and dark brown hair will eventually become dark auburn to burgundy/black with red highlights in sunlight. Henna on blonde hair can shift the color to a natural red. Henna on red hair will make the hair a deeper richer red. Henna on brown hair can range from a natural red to auburn to dark auburn depending upon the shade of brown. Henna on white hair will make the hair, orange/red to natural red to deep red.

A benefit to using henna is that it will both condition and color your hair in a way that is both natural and safe.




How to use henna?

Using natural henna to color and condition the hair requires patience and a slight learning curve. There are things that henna loves, needs and wants.

• Henna loves an acidic environment for optimal dye release.
• Henna loves a warm and humid environment for optimal dye release.
• Henna loves to take her time to release her dye and must be given the required time to do so.
• Henna loves a warm and humid environment to color the hair optimally.
• Henna loves to take her time when coloring the hair and must be given the required time to do so.
• Henna loves a long lingering rinse in order to be removed from the hair and scalp thoroughly.
• Henna loves skin and textiles and will happily stain your skin and clothing unless you wear gloves, old or protective clothing and cover your rugs and shower curtains.

Preparing your hair for henna application:

Your hair needs no special preparation for henna application. There are some recommendations that may be helpful. Do not prewash your hair. The natural oils that are in your hair will be sealed in rather than stripped from your hair when you apply your henna. Prewashing your hair may strip these natural oils from your hair and you will therefore miss this benefit from your henna usage. This is particularly the case for people with very dry hair. An exception would be for people who use excessive amounts of oily hair products that build up on the hair. While henna will still clean the hair and conditioning it regardless of the buildup of oily products, the oils may create a barrier to excellent coloring.

If you feel that your hair can benefit from a deep oil conditioning prior to your henna application, apply the oils and deep condition your hair the day or night prior to your henna application. If conditioning rather than color is your priority, do not wash the oils out and henna your hair knowing that the henna will seal in the conditioning oils. If excellent color and conditioning is your priority, then pre-wash the hair to remove some of the oil.

Resist the temptation to scratch your scalp with your fingers or comb prior to applying your henna. If you have scratches or any sort of outbreak on your scalp that has broken the skin, put off your henna application until these heal. A mixture of marshmallow root powder and aloe vera gel can help heal and soothe your scalp.

Mixing your Henna Powder:

Users of henna for hair have recipes that are varied…some effective and some not. Some effective and safe…some not. I recommend a pretty basic recipe for making henna paste for your hair. Get to know what the henna will do for you on its own. Then add to your recipe from that place of knowledge and awareness. Using someone else's recipe that works for them may or may not provide you with the same outcomes they report. Your hair reflects you and your individual system. Understanding what your hair needs and wants and what makes it thrive is what is important. The additions that any other person adds to their recipe for henna paste that works for them is a reflection of what their hair needs and wants and what makes it thrive. Know what is best for your hair and use those things as additives only after you know and understand what henna will do on its own.

My basic recipe for henna paste for my hair is:

• Henna powder
• Lemon juice (the one in the bottle)

How much henna you will require depends on the length and thickness of your hair. Rule of thumb is 100 grams per every 1 foot of hair. If your hair is short, use 50 grams of henna powder to make your paste. Know that any left over henna paste can be frozen and saved for your next henna application. If your hair is extremely thick you may need to add another 50 grams of henna powder per foot or simply thin out your paste with more water or lemon juice.

Put the required amount of henna powder in a bowl. If color is as important to you as conditioning with henna, add to your powder a mixture of lemon juice (concentrate in the bottle will do) and distilled water at a 50/50 ratio if you want to be conservative. Know that it is safe to use the lemon juice in the bottle at full strength without further dilution with water. It is important that your water is not hot. Too hot water will cook your henna and impair the positive results you desire. When conditioning is important but coloring is not, reduce the amount of lemon juice. The lemon juice helps the dye to release and therefore helps the paste to color the hair more effectively. Add the lemon/water liquid to your powder until you achieve the paste consistency like pancake mix. You don't want your paste too dry and you do not want it too thin. You want paste that you can scoop up with your gloved…yes…always wear plastic gloves…fingers. When your paste is at the desired consistency, cover your bowl with a lid, or plastic wrap and foil. Place your bowl in a place that will keep your paste at a temperature around 75 to 85 degrees!

A too-cool environment will retard the dye release and too hot an environment will either cook your paste or cause the dye to release and overshoot. Too little dye release or too fast dye release and demise will provide you with a paste that will condition your hair still…but you will not get optimal coloring. Allow your paste to "sit" for 8 hours. (But know that your paste can sit 12, 24 or 48 hours and be just fine as it releases its dye.) Uncover and stir your paste well to mix back in the dye that has been released.

(When you have mastered the mixing and timing for your paste and have some applications under your belt, you may want to experiment some. Some options you may wish to try later are the substitution of a tea brew for water…adding 4 to 5 drops of tea tree, lavender or rosemary essential oils to your paste…)

Applying your Paste to your hair:

Separate your hair to make application easier. Part your hair down the middle using your fingers. Then separate each of these two sections into three. Begin applying your paste to the back sections of your hair. Take your time and make sure that you have covered all of your hair with the paste from roots to ends. When you are sure that you have all of the hair covered thoroughly, cover your hair with a plastic cap. Then cover with a towel or scarf. Leave the paste on your hair for the length of time required to get both the coloring and conditioning desired. This can be anywhere between 2 and 8 hours. A harvested hair test performed on hair harvested from your comb or brush will provide you with timing and coloring information.

To avoid henna from staining your skin, apply a protective oil or grease like petroleum jelly around your forehead, ears and neckline. To prevent the henna from running from the edges of the plastic cap, place tissue around the edges of the cap.

Removing the paste from your hair:

This is best done while standing in your shower and allowing warm water to rinse the henna paste from your hair. Let the water run over and through your hair and use your fingers to work the water through and paste out of your hair. At some point the water will run clear. Continue to rinse your hair. Repeat rinsing is necessary. Many of the reports of itchy scalp, dull, hair, dry hair and other problems people report and attribute to henna result from lack of adequate rinsing.

While shampooing your hair at this point is not necessary, some people want to. If this is your choice, always use a mild and diluted shampoo. Do not use a shampoo that adds protein. You hair has received sufficient protein conditioning from the henna itself. Apply the mild and diluted shampoo and work through your hair and scalp and then rinse out thoroughly.

Then what?

While your hair is still wet, apply a moisturizer. The moisturizer used can be either the appropriate oil or oils or a moisturizing conditioner of your choice. Again, it will not be necessary to use a conditioner that contains protein. What you want is a conditioner that is developed for the purpose of sealing the moisture in your hair. The oils will serve that purpose as well as many other moisturizing conditioners that work for you.

While your hair is still moist from rinsing (but not dripping) work your moisturizing oils or other conditioner through your hair with your fingers. You will find your hair to be softer, easier to manage and detangled. Then style as usual.

Troubleshooting

One of the primary problems people have written me about when using henna is that their hair feels dry and looks dull. There could be a number of reasons for this. Most often is an issue with process. Often people do not rinse the henna from their hair and scalp sufficiently. The henna paste must be rinsed thoroughly from the hair. Even beyond the point when the water runs clear, you must rinse the hair a few more times. Well actually…a lot more times. To not do so will result in a feeling of dryness to the hair. When people are not accustomed to using henna, they often underestimate the amount of rinsing that is required and often think they have sufficiently rinsed the hair when they have not. There are often tell-tale signs when the hair has not been rinsed sufficiently: Orange stains on hands, pillow-cases, collars that come into contact with the hair; itchy scalp; dryness and brittleness of the hair. To solve this problem, simply shampoo and rinse the hair again.

People with hair that leans to the dry side of normal should be aware that henna does not make the hair less dry and subject to dryness. If a person with typically normal to dry hair does not thoroughly rinse the henna paste from their hair, a dryness problem can become exacerbated.

Another cause is that often people using henna do not know that they should also use a conditioning moisturizer or oils to moisturize and seal in moisture to their hair. I see henna and a good moisturizer as a one-two punch the hair needs. Henna the hair…rinse thoroughly…then moisturize the hair when the hair is still wet/moist. The conditioning henna provides to the hair is different from the conditioning a moisturizer provides to the hair. Your hair needs both. It is often when people do not have a moisturizer in their hair care regimen that they state that they experience henna as "drying" to the hair. My guess is that because they are not using a moisturizer, that whatever they use, they would eventually find drying. The hair will require both sorts of conditioning in order to get into and remain in balance.

And second to not effectively rinsing the hair, the reason most often for the experience of dryness when using henna has been the addition of henna to a hair regimen without eliminating other products. When using henna, I suggest carefully looking at what other products one is using and eliminating the protein products and cholesterol.

Another culprit to the experience of dryness and brittleness can be the water in your area. If you have hard water, it will effect your hair when you rinse it. Often, just using distilled water as the final rinse can make all of the difference in the world. Some people have also found that having water filters installed have resulted in better hair results with whatever shampoos and conditioners they use.

One of the lovely things about using henna is that you can create your paste recipe specifically for your hair. Many people who may have concerns about dryness add carrier and essential oils to their paste. Many who do not like the smell add essential oils and floral waters to their paste. Many who want to shift the coloring add other natural dyes to their paste.

When you are not sure of what effect you will obtain with henna (or any new item) and not sure if you will like the results…please perform a strand test or harvested hair test on strands of the hair that is not readily visible or hair that you harvest from your comb or brush. Just taking the time to perform a test will provide you will a lot of useful information regarding color outcome, timing requirements, rinsing requirements, and conditioning.

Beware of Imposters!

There are a lot of things that are sold and referred to as "henna." Some actually have nothing whatsoever to do with henna. In fact, many actually have nothing whatsoever to do with henna.

Henna has been used to color and condition hair for decades in the US. Not widely used, but still used. In recent years, the use of henna for body art, Mehndi, has become very popular in the US. The new interest in henna for body art along with a movement towards use of more natural items, has lead to a renewed interest and recent increase in use of henna for hair.

This increase in interest by consumers for a safe and natural alternative to harsh synthetic chemicals for hair coloring, has lead many men and women to seek out henna along with other natural dyes. But the search can be confusing. Because henna is not henna is not henna. Just reaching for a box with the word henna written on it does not guarantee that you have henna or henna mixed with something synthetic or something with no henna in sight except in the name. So what you read and see in the name or on the label may well not be what you get.

While the term "henna" is added to lots of products and ingredients used on the hair and skin, it is important to seek henna that is 100% henna…That is 100% Lawsonia Inermis when one's desire is to use 100% natural henna powder. It can be very confusing when viewing some of the products on the market with "henna" in the name or among the ingredients to tell if the product is indeed from henna powder, henna essential oil, how much if any of each is in the product and what purpose the henna is serving in the product. Far too often, the word "henna" is attached to a product simply as a marketing ploy…to catch the wave of henna's popularity and to exploit the consumer's desire for a natural and safe way to color and condition the hair.

There are so-called "henna" products sold that contain synthetics and additives. There are so-called "henna" products sold that contain PPD…a synthetic chemical found in many hair dyes that has the ability to cause sensitivity to all dyes from its use. Most of these products provide clues that they are not 100% natural henna. Some may have label warnings related to allergies. Some people using these products containing PPD can experience mild to severe contact dermatitis. Some people experience thinning of the hair and hair loss. For reasons connected to the possible health risks associated with PPD, products containing PPD should be avoided. But when one is seeking a natural way to color the hair, one should know that products containing PPD are not natural even if the product includes henna. When the product contains PPD and you are seeking something natural and safe…put the box down and back away.

There are also "henna" products sold that contain metallic salts. These are called "henna compounds." These also should be avoided. Metallic salts are added to henna to serve as a mordant to enhance the coloring capacity of the henna on the hair. The problem with the metallic salts, however, is that they linger in the hair and can cause reactions with other hair care processes like the neutralizer that accompanies some perms and also peroxide that is used with many permanent hair dyes. Today, other sources of metallic salts in hair care products are semi-permanent hair colors. Some…not all contain metallic salts. However, not all packages are labeled sufficient so that you will know which contains metallic salts/dyes and which does not. So henna compounds and semi-permanent hair colors containing metallic salts should be avoided.

There are also "henna" products sold that contain additives that are not synthetic…but instead the additives are all natural herbs. On these products the label often indicates that they are 100% herbal rather than 100% henna or 100% natural henna or 100% Lawsonia Inermis. These products are safe to use and the additive is typically there to provide color or increase conditioning properties of the henna. These products are most often referred to as "herbal/henna" powders. In such products, henna is used for conditioning and often coloring while another or a few other natural dyes are added for the purpose of shifting the outcome of use from the red coloring of natural henna powder to another color…black, brown, dark brown, mahogany, etc. A true herbal/henna powder is safe to use…provides color choices and conditions the hair.

Add to this, there are products sold with "henna" tacked on to the name that most often do not contain any henna at all or so little henna that it's effect would be negligible. These are typically commercial products that have hopped onto the "natural" product bandwagon and hope that the customer does not notice that 95% of the product ingredients are synthetic. Most of the products in your drug store or beauty supply store that bear the name "henna something or other" or list henna as an ingredient tend to fall into this category.

Using henna or deciding to switch to henna is a commitment. It is a commitment to the process and the time it takes and it is a little messy. But it's also rewarding. Henna provides a natural and safe alternative to harsh chemicals. With henna, as with anything to which you are about to commit, do your investigation…get clear on what you can and should expect as well as what you cannot and should not expect…seek out people who have good experiences with henna and find out how they make henna work for them. Henna users will usually be glad to share their experience with you.

For those of you that have Henna, do you agree with things said in the article?

Is there any tips you'd like to add for newbies to Henna?