A bit over two years ago, I started dyeing my hair regularly with Henna. I do it roughly every six weeks- really for the roots, but most of the time I go ahead and do all of my hair each time. I've actually been meaning to document my henna routine for several months, but I kept forgetting on henna day, or remembering when I had already done part of the process. This time I remembered!
Some general notes about henna:
- Henna is extremely healthy for your hair and your scalp. It is entirely natural and non-toxic, meaning if some gets into your mouth you don't have to worry. It is also totally safe to leave on for however long you want. It may be possible that some are allergic to henna (although I've never heard of that) but other than that it is fine.
- Henna is not a typical hair dye, in that it does not change your hair to a specific color. It adds a red tint to whatever your hair color already is, meaning if you have naturally dark hair you will see very little difference. Your hair will light up beautifully in the sun though, since it shows up best in sunlight.
- Henna has a very distinct earthy smell, like freshly turned dirt in a garden. Some people dislike this smell and find it to be a downside, but personally I really love it. Either way, the scent lingers in your hair even after several washes, (usually about a week in my experience).
- Henna has been used as a hair dye for hundreds of years in many parts of the world, although it originated in the Middle East (I'm pretty sure.) A number of cultures also use henna to draw semi-permanent designs on their skin in various sacred ceremonies, although you need to use a higher quality of henna for that than for hair. In India this is called Mehndi. Yemenite and Morrocan Jewish women often have Henna ceremonies shortly before their weddings. I've been to a fair few of them as my classmates started getting married, they're beautiful events.
Here are my ingredients:
- Henna (middle): In Israel and probably most of the Middle East and India, you can buy this most anywhere that sells spices by weight. I usually use ~120 grams. I have waist length wavy hair, not very thin but not very thick either.
- Cinnamon and Ground Cloves (left): These don't really do much to the color or nutrition, but they add a nice autumn-y smell to the mixture, and if you don't like the smell of Henna, they go a long way towards making it bearable. The cloves have some tannins that are supposed to be good for hair, but I don't think I use enough for that effect.
- Chamomile Tea: I actually cut the tea bag open and pour the loose contents right into the mixture. Chamomile has a very mild lightening effect, which helps the red to show up better against my medium-dark hair. It's also a very soothing for the scalp and supposedly reduces dandruff. Also it smells wonderful, adding complexity to the scent.
- Lemon Juice: This one is a must. The lemon juice helps release the dyes from the henna and seals them into the hair. There are science-y reasons for this, but I'm only science-y enough to mostly understand them, not really explain them. Lemon juice also has lightening properties. I usually use a roughly 1:1 combination of lemon juice and water in mine, but beware: lemon juice is also very drying. If your hair tends towards being dry and brittle, I would suggest using a lower proportion of lemon juice.
The rest of this post is less wordy but fairly picture-heavy, so I'm putting it under a cut.
