A couple of weeks ago I put henna in my hair and it covered my highlights perfectly to blend in with my dark brown roots.
My hair was soft, shiny, and best of all dark chocolate brown.

All the colour has left my hair, I really don't know what to do. Should I apply Henna once a week? This could get expensive.
I did not mix the henna with anything, and I also applied to dry hair.
I am also doing CO washes and wet my hair everyday, could this maybe be the culprit? Maybe it's the brand of Henna (LUSH)?

HELP!!!
I'm going to go self-tan now! Then I'll try henna again tonight. It's just so disappointing that the colour didn't last any longer than a week. :(

Almondhoney

Hmm. How long did you leave it on? The only thing I can think of is that maybe it wasn't on long enough. Some of us leave it on for hours and hours for best results.

I don't think weekly henna treatments are a good idea. Henna coats the hair, builds up and too frequent use can cause hair to become brittle. I think the most you should do it is most every couple of months.

I haven't used Lush before, I'm sorry I don't have any advice about that.

I left it on for 4 hours, is this not long enough??
Maybe I should leave it on all day or all night?

Almondhoney

Well... 4 hours is a long time! I'm stumped! :?:

Sorry. Someone who has an idea will surely come along.

I know that henna does fade alot in the first week. Which is good if it turns out a little more orange than you wanted :D Maybe you are just noticing the difference between the original colour and the faded colour?

Just a though,

Pol

It may be the Lush henna, but I am not sure. I know that they do mix their henna with other things. I have used Lush before but I am just adding red hightlights to brown hair so I didn't see much of a difference.
I have reciently learned that when you henna you should prepair the mix the night before and cover it with seran wrap. This allows the color to fully release from the henna.
Fox also mentioned that she had heard that it is good to henna twice in a row. I tried it the last time, using the henna twice one week apart and I got good coverage.
I use henna about once a month and have not had a problem with it making my hair brittle. Infact it has been quite the oposite. I find that when I use henna I have far less splits to contend with. Seems to make my hair stronger.

The Lush henna has cocoa butter and other ingredients added. These may add conditioning benefits, but I think all the extra stuff interferes with the colour deposit. I didn't get colour good results with Lush henna when I tried it last year. Did you clarify before using the henna? I use a clarifying shampoo and no conditioner before a henna application. You may want to try Logona or Light Mountain henna. Also, it may take several applications of henna over time to get the shade you want. :wacko:

bunniee

I don't think weekly henna treatments are a good idea. Henna coats the hair, builds up and too frequent use can cause hair to become brittle. I think the most you should do it is most every couple of months.

I use henna about once a month and have not had a problem with it making my hair brittle. Infact it has been quite the oposite. I find that when I use henna I have far less splits to contend with. Seems to make my hair stronger.

Well I'll be darned. Maybe I picked up some bad information, then.

You may want to try Logona or Light Mountain henna. Also, it may take several applications of henna over time to get the shade you want. :wacko:

bunniee

I will definately try the Logona & light moutain Henna.



Nitsa: If I let the henna sit overnight, won't it get dry, even if it's covered?? If it's a little too dry do I rewet it with more water?

I have a henna disability!! Please forgive all the annoying questions!
Almondhoney

If I let the henna sit overnight, won't it get dry, even if it's covered?? If it's a little too dry do I rewet it with more water?Almondhoney

I leave my henna gloss on overnight, and it stays wet. I cover it with a plastic processing cap, then a heavy plastic shower cap, then wrap a towel around that. And I even apply my henna to dry hair, not wet hair! Even if it did dry on your hair, that's not a problem. Some women deliberately let it dry.

In fact, I remember reading that if you don't wrap your hair in plastic and let it dry on your hair, it makes it more brown and less red. Wrapping in plastic enhances red tones.

HTH!
RBR

Almondhoney,

As you may remember, i posted a thread about a month ago with the same problem with the Lush Henna fading and that I added a lot of extras to. Well, in that thread, everyone suggested several things to help: not adding the extras, clarifying beforehand, and leaving it on a longer period of time.

So then, I redid it last Saturday using the above tips. And still the same result. Unfortunately, I think that the Lush Henna does not work as well as some other brands. I wish it did because the initial color is so nice and not at all red.

Hi Karen, yeah it's all coming back to me now!!

I loved the colour it game me too; it was so dark and rich! But faded too quickly. Maybe I'll let the mixture sit in the bowl overnight and see if that makes a difference, and I'll leave it in my hair all night. Then I will try not to wet my hair for a least a few days.

Karen did you use a plastic cap or none? I didn't use a cap on myself for fear of too many red highlight popping up.

Almondhoney

almondhoney,
i did let it set overnight in my refridg.
yes, i did wrap my hair in plastic, just to keep it from dripping.
maybe next time i'll keep it on longer, although i did it for 4 hours this time and the directions only say 2.

Don't let it sit in the refridgerator. I was told to set it in a warm spot so the henna will release it's color.

I just made up a small bit lastnight to do a stand test today. After I mixed it up I covered it with seran wrap and put the bowl on top of my fridge. Today I went to do the stand test and it was still at the same consistency as when I had left if lastnight. If it had not been I was going to just add a small amount of boiling water to bring it back.

Nitsa, when you gave it a stir, did you notice that it was darker the top of the batch?

I just made up a small bit lastnight to do a stand test today. After I mixed it up I covered it with seran wrap and put the bowl on top of my fridge. Today I went to do the stand test and it was still at the same consistency as when I had left if lastnight. If it had not been I was going to just add a small amount of boiling water to bring it back.

Nitsa, do you use the henna when it's hot? I hate to put hot henna on my hair, but I guess the color sticks better if the henna is hot. But I've always wondered if anyone used room temp henna.... :?:

There's an extensive thread about henna on the LongHairCare forum that is well worth reading, IMHO. One of the posters, Hennajoy, explains how mixing other ingredients such as oils with henna can be counter productive, and gives a lot of good information about how to get good dye results. She recommends mixing henna with lemon juice to release the dye and cautions against using boiling water, as this tends to 'cook' the henna and can make your hair hard and stiff.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Women&Number=48449&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

bunniee

That's an interesting thread, bunniee!

I found this comment from Hennajoy partiuclarly interesting (unrelated to dyeing with henna, but it caught my eye):

"The lotus powder (like henna powder) is really messy to use. [...] Its effect is to leave the hair softer. I use the lotus powder as a paste twice a month in between henna applications. Then I use it whenever I want as more of a rinse by using just a tablespoon and a half of the lotus powder with rose water, orange blossom water or a rosemary water infusion I make at home. Pour it over my hair...massage in the hair and scalp...leave on for 10 minutes and then rinse out. I actually haven't used a shampoo or conditioner other than the henna and lotus powder for years."

Looks like another thing to try for the herbalists among us!

Cheers,
Jonobie

i just wrote her an email and asked her to join us and possibly contribute an article when we get the articles section going.

I was thinking about henna-ing because I've always loved red, but then I read in her post that it loosens curl! And that is *not* what I'm looking for ;)

Nitsa, when you gave it a stir, did you notice that it was darker the top of the batch?

Yes, I have noticed that with both the body grade henna that I tried with this batch and also the Rainbow.


Anne, I do not like the henna hot either. Sometimes warm is nice but I don't worry about it because I sit under a heat cap to warm it all up after it is on.

I am still waiting on my Lotus powder to try it. Sounds good and something that would be nice to do between the henna's. I think I am going to also try it as a rinse also.