Henna for the hair UPDATE

[Globetrotter]

I had posted about this some time ago. Well, I finally did it and thought I'd post about my experience, since there was some interest initially. I went to an Indian salon and had henna done for my hair, for $20. They painted it on in thick layers, covering every bit of my hair. Then I had to wait 10 min. while it dried (think of the coneheads, expect my hair was GREEN!) and finally I went home and let it sit for five hours!!! It started to peel off a bit, and those pieces fell on the floor, so next time I would be more careful and wear a good shower cap (I had a flimsy one, and they put cotton around it.). THEN I washed it off with water only, in a bucket, and dumped the mix in the toilet, and oiled my hair overnight. In the morning I washed it out.

PHEW

It was messy, but I LOVE the results! My hair is black so it gives a very slight reddish tint, especially in the sun. On lighter hair, the results would be more extreme. My greys have become reddish brown. It's a great conditioner, too. I think I'll have to do this every 4-6 weeks, and though it is a pain, I think it's well worth it, plus this way I avoid chemicals!

Kris

[brittone2]

Thanks for the review! If I end up having to color my hair down the road, I'd definitely want to do henna, and I'd definitely prefer to find a salon that can do it vs. the entire mess at home!

Thanks for posting your experience...it sounds like you are very happy with it and I'm sure it looks great!

[Marisa6826]

Kris-


I have my hair professionally coloured to get rid of the ever-multiplying greys. Problem is that now with swimming, my hair is getting dried out. What do you use to oil your hair? Do you just slime it on and braid it? I've got quite a mop of thick, long hair (it's all one length for the most part and is roughly long enough to hit the bottom of my bra strap) and have never actually oiled it at home. How hard is it to get the oil out of your hair?

I read somewhere that coconut oil is good since it is technically a solid that you warm in your hands.
Thanks!

-m

[Globetrotter]

I used coconut oil :) I just massaged it in my hair and tied it back with a ponytail holder, but braiding would have worked better, I think. It came out easily with the shampoo, but my hair is very dry (unless I neglect to wash it for a few days, and then it gets greasy - lucky me) so it absorbed the oil easily.

Kris

[Globetrotter]

I forgot to mention that I could have had them wash it out for me for $5, which may have been worth it considering the mess! However, I had the initial appt. in the evening, so I needed to wash it out at midnight!

Kris

[aliceinwonderland]

I SO want someone else do it for me at this point. ANyone know of a hena salon in NYC, please LMK!!! I am sure they exist, I just can't find them!!

[aliceinwonderland]

I have used coconut oil for years for my hair...I put it all over my hair and face and let it sit for as long as I can, sometimes I massage it into my skin, it warms up and feels awesome. Washing it out of the hair is a bit of a pain (it is an oil after all), but I love my face when I wake up in the morning after a coconut oil session. And I think my hair looks pretty okay too, esp. since i never style it as such :)

[Marisa6826]

I bet you could find a place in Queens. Otherwise, they're definitely in Jersey City.

-m

[Marisa6826]

Sounds like we have the same hair ;)

The coconut oil I saw was at Whole Foods by the regular cooking oils. It's a white solid (kind of looks like Crisco) in a jar. Is that it?

Thanks again

-m

[Aarohismom]

Marisa, You can also easily find the coconut oil at any Indian grocery shop. Parachute is a good brand.

[trumansmom]

I used to henna my hair at home when I was in college. I remember it being messy, but not overly so. However, I quit doing it because I thought the grey hair looked funny. I can't remember why. (I started going grey when I was 11!) Now I'm pretty much salt and pepper. I don't color my hair. Would henna be a total disaster?

TIA-
Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04

[Jo..]

I've been using henna on my hair since high school, and I never stopped. It's not too bad to do at home, a little messy and gloppy. Make sure you clean up as you go because it stains. I only do mine a few times yearly because I'm lazy and it doesn't really leave major roots so it never looks like you *need* to color your hair.

Here's a great site with a TON of henna info, including "henna newbie" stuff.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=35188

[aliceinwonderland]

awesome site!!

[Globetrotter]

OH YES!!! I'm sure there are tons of salons out there. Check out www.sulekha.com ads. Let me know if you have trouble finding one, and I'll help you figure it out.

Kris

[Globetrotter]

I got it from an Indian store, and the brand is Vatika, meant for this purpose. I don't know if it really makes a difference, though!

[Globetrotter]

Your greys would have turned that reddish brown color, which might look odd for some people. If you're in doubt, I would just do a small undersection first to see if you like it. I've seen totally grey women do it, and their hair turns reddish brown!

I know people who do it at home, but they generally get someone else to do it for them. I'm a major klutz, so I can see myself making a huge mess and dropping it everywhere! Definitely keep a large old sheet for that purpose.

[Globetrotter]

WOW! Thanks for posting this.

Also, the salon people told me that they no longer use the black henna because it has chemicals in it, so may as well just color the usual way if you do that. I think there are natural options.

[anamika]

Henna is awesome. I've been doing it myself for a while now. My hair is black and I love love love the way it has red shiny tones with henna. I'm not for doing anything drastic to my hair and I love that henna really conditions my hair too.
And I actually love the smell too (though most Americans won't agree LOL). It's a very cultural thing. Henna is used for all auspicious occassions (sp) in India and for me it brings back fond memories of staying up late with my cousins and applying henna to our hands.
Oh, just FYI, black henna is a dye and a pretty awful one at that. So make sure you get *real* henna Lawsonia inermis/alba.
Here's another site for henna. This person is doing her Ph. D. on henna. How fun!
http://www.hennaforhair.com/

[anamika]

Jeanne, this website has actual pics of henna on gray hair.
HTH,
http://www.hennaforhair.com/gray/index.html

[aliceinwonderland]

I was just recently told that there's synthetic henna and the natural one. I am afrain the Indian brand one I bought recently may have some sort of dye in in, it just works too well (and smells stronger/differently than my previous, Whole Foods purchased Henna).

[aliceinwonderland]

Found them in Queens AND Long Island, thanks :)

[aliceinwonderland]

Very good site!! Found a couple that will work, I think. This is such a huge relief...I hate the process of doing Henna at home, but love the result, so...

[dhano923]

I used to Henna my hair in high school/early college too. It was a pain because my hair was down to my butt, but it looked so good! LOL I've always used the Indian henna and done it myself. I'd add in some extra stuff to it (lemon juice and extra strong coffee) to help with the color and the coffee helps tone down the redness a bit. When I went to India 4 years ago, I went with my MIL to get her hair done and the woman added lemon juice and extra strong tea to her henna, so I was so pleased with myself!

I don't have the time to do henna in my hair anymore, so I just dye, but I like how it looks on darker hair. I don't like how it looks on all gray hair though -- turns it a copper red. Sometimes at temple I'll see an elderly lady and then she's got the fire red hair and I think to myself "ok, I think she'd look WAY better with the gray hair"!

We're actually having henna applied on our hands tonight -- tomorrow is my brother and SIL's first anniversary party, so SIL, my mom and I are all having our hands done. My cousin is a mendhi artist so she'll be doing it for us. My 2 year old DS wants a "tattoo" on his arm too. LOL

PS - Usha, your siggy cracks me up. Everytime I read it, I imagine this little girl singing JDD with such emotion. I love that song. My DS is a budding singer too, but he likes the dance songs like "Meter Down", "Dhoom" and "Kajra Re". ;)

[trumansmom]

Thanks for the link! While that would have been great in my 20s, it's probably more dramatic than I want to be in my (very early) 40s!


Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04

[californiagirl]

I love Lush. I haven't done henna recently (I just do highlights, anyway, which is like putting tea and lemon in your hair) but a friend of mine has had good results with their henna: http://usa.lush.com/cgi-bin/lushdb/catzoom.html?mv_arg=Hair%20Hennas&expand=Haircare