If loving Henna is wrong, my kinks/coils/curls don’t wanna be right!

Ok, it’s official, I’m a HENNA HEAD! As of yesterday, I took the plunge and completed my 1st Henna treatment and decided to share my experience with you guys! So that I don’t forget anything, I’m going to share my experience in the form of questions that I think others may have, here goes:

What is Henna?

Lawsonia Inermis, also known as Henna, is a flowering plant  that’s native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australasia. However, when we think of Henna, most of us are referring to the dye commonly used in the ritual art of skin painting, known as Mehndi, or for temporary tattooing.  Well, quiet as its kept, Henna is also used by many people as an organic hair dye or an all natural way to add protein and mega strength to the hair.

Why did I decide to use Henna?

For the past year, I’ve been hearing so many naturals talk about the strengthening property of Henna and how they love the results they get from an application but, since I also heard others say they ended up with dry, “straw-like” hair after using it, I would raise on eyebrow then let the thought pass. However, given my goal of having a head of natural hair so big that I block people’s view at the movies or in church, I began to take another look at ways to retain the length/fullness of my kinks and, after weeks of reading blogs, scientific information, reviews, etc., I decided that my hair could actually benefit from an occasional protein treatment, however, since I don’t like the ingredients in most of those on the commercial market, Henna was my final choice.

What Henna did I use and how did I prepare it?

If you research using Henna on the hair, you’ll find so much information that I promise your head will spin! But, luckily, I ran across  Henna for Hair and Curly Nikki – two sites that have just about all the information you need, in the form of one-stop-shopping! After reading through both sites about the many versions/brands of Henna that are out there, I decided to buy the Jamila brand, however, given my latest commitment to being more fiscally responsible and not spending money on things that I can find cheaper elsewhere, I decided to trek to a local Indian market and see what they had on hand and I ran across the Reshma brand.

I remembered seeing many people mention using this same brand and I was so excited that it was only $3.99 for a 2oog box, while the Jamila brand was $7.98 for a 100g box online, plus shipping and handling! Anywho, since I wasn’t sure how I would like the whole process, I fought the PJ in me and only allowed myself to buy one box and it turned out to be more than enough for me to cover my shoulder length (when stretched) napps PLUS my sisters hair (hers is pretty much to the scalp – she has a BOMB caesar). Ok, so here’s my recipe:

1 box (200g) Reshma Henna

1.5 – 2 cups distilled water, at boiling temp

Honey (didn’t measure)

So, I dumped the entire package of Henna into a large, plastic bowl then begin to add water – mix – add water – mix until I had a smooth, almost Play Dough consistency. I then put the top on the container, hopped in the shower, did a quick co-wash with V05 and finger combed. Once outta the shower, I added enough honey to the Henna and mixed it until it was a creamy, pudding or frosting consistency then begin to apply it to my hair, in sections. You’ll find that the Henna is very mud-like and can be heavy so, instead of applying it by pulling it through the hair, its best to “smoosh” it through until all the hair is covered then, when finished, pile the hair onto the top of your head and cover with at least 1 plastic cap. After that, I started the clock and watched football, tweeted and trolled around FB!

Four hours later, I begin the tedious process of rinsing the Henna out and here’s where the honey really helps! After four hours, the “mud” was definitely set but it wasn’t brick hard and I didn’t have to put unnecessary stress on my hair to get the Henna out. What I did was rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse (get the picture?) then I begin to co-wash, again with V05, paying careful attention to my scalp, and do another long rinse in between. I repeated the co-wash – long rinse cycle probably 5 times before the water ran completely clear then I applied my favorite homemade DC (a mix of avocado, banana and honey), let that sit under a plastic cap for about 30 minutes, rinsed that out and applied some oil to seal and, voila, my first Henna treatment was done!

What are my results?

Prior to the treatment, I wasn’t really plagued with dry or hard hair but I was so amazed to find that my hair came out even SOFTER and more thick and lush than before!! I can definitely tell that my hair was in need of a deep, protein treatment because it’s responded by sitting up, reaching towards the heavens (even more than before) and issuing a great big, thank you! Now, the surprise that I wasn’t expecting?!! THE COLOR!! I now have  coppery yet still dark chocolate coils that I’ve lovingly renamed “Cajun Chocolate”!! Although I’m very, very surprised that I got a color change after only FOUR hours, I’m so pleased because I think that was the little change/shakeup/umph I could use in my life and, guess what?! I was able to do it through ALL NATURAL, ORGANIC means that didn’t put any harmful chemicals into my body/scalp…YEAH!

What did I learn?

Well, so far, I’ve learned that Henna is a great conditioning treatment for my hair but I’ve also learned that it’s not true that dark haired folks can’t get a color change when using this! So many people, via blogs, etc., said that Henna WILL NOT lighten or color black, dark brown or other darker shades of hair, even if left on over night but I’m glad I went with my heart and decided to try it for a shorter time, at least in the beginning. Can ya’ll imagine what would have happened if I would have slept with the Henna? I probably would have ended up looking like Carrot Top or something but, hey, I might be fierce with that too!! LOL

In the end, the main thing that stood out from this whole process wasn’t a new concept for me, it is simply the truth that each of our heads is different and, therefore, although we can use others experiences as guidelines, we MUST learn our own hair and get to know how it reacts, what it needs and what it doesn’t. Everything isn’t for everybody but I really think that Henna can be a great tool for those who would like to add more strength to their hair, with an all natural product!

What’s Next?

At this point, I KNOW that I will continue to Henna but, given the amount of color I achieved, instead of doing so bi-weekly (like I originally planned) I’m going to embark upon the Henna journey monthly and I will probably cut the time down to 3 hours but, hey, who knows…I just might be in the mood to see where the color will go if I do another 4 hour treatment! Will it brighten, get more red?

Until later…peace and blessings and, oh, stay tuned for pics!

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