I know you're thinking what in the heck is that? Well this is a picture of henna (LOL). I learned about henna when I started researching how to cover my gray hair naturally ( I have a gray hairs that decided to hang out near my hairline early on ). According to wikipedia.org Henna is a flowering plant, Lawsonia inermis, used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather, and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes.
It comes in a package and it's actually a green powder that reminds me of wheat grass, Kamut powder that I used to drink when I was training for the Marathon. Anyways it's used frequently by people with natural hair for it's conditioning properties as well as for it's ability to add a slight reddish color to dark hair, which can be seen in sunlight, or a brighter red undertone to lighter hair.
I recently received the following questions via email related to my use of henna:
Hi Barbara. Your hair looks stunning. You mentioned that you just hennaed. What is your henna routine and how do you do it without ending up with a tangled mess? I just hennaed days ago and I think I lost a lot of hair (sigh).
Response from Barbaranaturallyspeaking: Thank you for your complement! I did henna on Christmas Eve and so far I've been able to maintain a smooth surface without a tangled mess. You can check out my henna mix and entire process by typing "henna" into the search bar at the top of my blog to get every detail of how I've hennaed in the past. To answer your question about tangling I will give what I think keeps my hair from tangling. I conditioner wash my hair immediately before applying henna with herbal essence hello hydration conditioner ( I got this tip from curlynikki's sight- shout out to her for details on hennaing her hair). Next I apply my henna and smoosh it in in sections. Once on, lately I leave it on for 2 hours, however on Christmas Eve I left it on for about 3 or 4 hours. If I henna my entire head I fill my tub with warm water and then dunk my head in there 4-5 times to remove a great deal of the henna. Next I hop in the shower and use suave naturals apple conditioner (2-3 co-washes) to remove the remaining henna from my hair. I usually add some indigo and leave in for 45 minutes (however the last time I didn't use indigo). Once done with the whole process I conditioner wash again until product is removed. Next I apply a deep conditioner, which is typically "Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose" which I comb through in sections using a large comb. Next I apply some olive oil to my hands and finger comb it through and then let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour (or more if I'm doing chores or something). I rinse it out and then apply more conditioner and leave it in. Then I apply coconut oil by finger combing it through. My hair feels conditioned and tangle free. The more I think about it, I think it's because I used tons of conditioner from the beginning to the end of the process.
I hope this helps in some way. P.S. I tried a different henna mixture on Christmas Eve. I ended up with a even better and softer result, however I don't want to reveal to much about it because I want to co-wash my hair again and make sure that my curls and kinks are still holding up before giving details on this change in routine. I'll just say that "amla" makes a difference in giving me a more conditioned result with a toned down effect to my orange-red hairs (the color that my gray usually turns after adding henna) once henna hits it. If it works out stay tuned for an upcoming video with details on "My new Henna routine". Take care and thanks for reading! Check back frequently!!
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