A few weeks ago, dyeing my hair with henna would not have been on my to-do list. I didn’t even know that henna could be used for that purpose, only for tattoos I’d seen people get at the Renaissance festival. Well, one day I was pondering my hair that has gone through all different various forms of hair dye and thought to myself of how I would like to change the way it looked again. However, hair salon visits are extremely expensive, and not to mention damaging to hair, and that was not the route that I wanted to take again.
At the time, my hair was growing out (naturally dark blonde) and was not the prettiest in contrast to the light blonde the rest of my hair had become. I haven’t dyed my hair since July 2015, and was attempting to let the roots grow out. My original intention was to look for some natural hair lightening dye. However, it didn’t take long until I came across henna, a natural plant dye, which will dye hair a shade of red (what exact shade depends on the hair color that you have).
Since that initial discovery and tons of research and watching videos on it, I decided that I wanted to try it and make my hair red. What I learned was that there are countless ways to prepare henna, but a much quicker and easier to get out, less messy, and more nourishing way to do this is a gloss treatment. Another great thing about the method I will showing you is that you can essentially control how much of a red hue you will get out of it, based on how long you decide to leave it in or what type of henna you use.
*I based what I did on one amazing woman named Vita’s video and blog post, with some personal tweaks, check it out here: http://vitalivesfree.com/henna-gloss-treatment/
So enough rambling on my life-changing discovery of henna, and let’s get on to explaining how I did it.
Ingredients (based on the original recipe, though I doubled it since my hair is so thick)
3 T natural henna (pure without any additives)
3 T warm water (or chamomile or hibiscus tea)
1 T raw honey
1 T apple cider vinegar
2-3 T conditioner (preferably natural, but just make sure it doesn’t have any silicones or proteins)
-non metal bowl and spoons for mixing the ingredients
--shower cap or cling wrap
*Optional: though HIGHLY recommended:
-essential oils to mask the yucky hay scent of the henna (I used a blend of lavender and rosehip, along with some regular cinnamon and nutmeg).
-hair dye brush for applying the henna. I got mine here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CDXPG9C?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
-plastic gloves
Now with the henna, I actually mixed two different kinds in order to achieve my desired shade, both of which I ordered from amazon. Here’s the links to where you can purchase them
Hannah henna: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YSTOAG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_6&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Light Mountain in the shade light red (I highly recommend this brand, they’re organic and have a good color chart and a variety of shades to choose from in order to obtain a specific shade):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ACI0QE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
Another thing a lot of posts forgot to mention is that depending on the brand of henna you use, it will vary how long you should allow the henna to set covered while mixed with the water before applying it to your hair. The Hannah henna I let sit overnight, and the light mountain one only 2 hours, so make sure you read the box or reviews on whatever henna you decide to use. This is really key because the henna is going to need time for releasing the dye.
After all of the henna was released, I mixed the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and prepared my bathroom (and myself) before applying the henna. I would highly recommend covering up the floor with newspaper, or using a garbage bag to cover the sink. Also, wear an old shirt you don’t mind getting dirty and cover the back of your neck with a towel. I put lotion all over my face, especially near the hairline so that the henna wouldn’t stick to my skin (vaseline or coconut oil are good options).
Once you have everything ready, including gloves on, you can apply the henna in any way you find easiest, honestly. I attempted to divide my extremely thick hair in sections, but in the end it was a tad bit tricky to be neat about it. Make sure you get a thick layer and mainly work it deep into your roots, then smooth the rest down your hair. It helps to have somebody with you to make sure every spot gets evenly coated, especially since it can be hard to see in the back. After it has been applied, put the hair in a bun at the top of your head and either place a shower cap over it, or wrap cling wrap around it.
After this point, it’s up to you to decide how long to leave it. I left my hair in for 3 hours because I wanted a decent amount of color. If you don’t want any color, 30 minutes is good. If you want A LOT, leave it in for up to 4 hours.
Then, I rinsed it out (a bit time consuming). I used a ton of conditioner, the same one I had used in the recipe, and eventually it was set to go, once the color red stopped appearing at the bottom of the shower.
In all, I was pretty happy with the results, although my roots are a different shade of red than the rest of my hair, which I had expected anyways. I received many compliments for my hair, however I do plan to redo the treatment to make it a bit deeper of a red (part of the effect of having used the light red hair color). Here are some lovely before and after pictures for you:
If you have any comments, tips, or questions about dyeing hair with henna, just leave them below. I am very pleased with how it came out, and hope that if you decide to do it, you like your results too! Good luck, and subscribe for more updates and blog posts on here.
Thanks for reading,
Katie xoxo
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