Talk to me about hair.

[smouldering]

Originally Posted by SecretAgentMa'am

Yay! I finally got my hair all fixed up after the beauty college fiasco. It looks fabulous. I went for streaks rather than tips this time, since I'd already established that my hair would deal with the bleach. Pics will be forthcoming very soon.

Sounds great!!
I like going drastic myself I have had my hair all different lengths and for the longest time was dying it blue/black, several months ago I decided to go real drastic and cut it short in the back long in the front, its all black except for in the front where I did have purple and pink, now its a really light pink, but I am thinking about growing my hair back to shoulder length with a bit of bright purple underneath black, it doesn't take long for my hair to grow

[nekohl]

What advice, suggestions, tips would you give someone using henna for the first time?

I've researched the heck out of the pros and cons of henna and am mostly finding pros. I haven't dyed my hair in about 6 or 7 years and its plain ol brown right now. In the past I've been pretty much every shade of red with chemical dyes. Ive read that henna is much less damaging and I have ordered my first batch.

So I'm looking for application tips and maintenance after care

I'm super excited for a little red again!

[SecretAgentMa'am]

Originally Posted by nekohl

What advice, suggestions, tips would you give someone using henna for the first time?

I've researched the heck out of the pros and cons of henna and am mostly finding pros. I haven't dyed my hair in about 6 or 7 years and its plain ol brown right now. In the past I've been pretty much every shade of red with chemical dyes. Ive read that henna is much less damaging and I have ordered my first batch.

So I'm looking for application tips and maintenance after care

I'm super excited for a little red again!

Henna is great for your hair. I always buy mine from a local Indian import store. Regardless of where you buy your henna, make sure it's just 100% pure henna leaves with nothing else added. Some henna products (especially "black" henna) include additives that can be dangerous. If you ever decide to go back to chemical dyes, bad reactions can happen if you've been using henna that includes any metallic salts.

You can use all sorts of different recipes to mix it up depending on the results you want. I mix mine with rooibos tea (to amp up the red tones a little more), olive oil, lemon juice, and lavender oil. All you really need to mix your henna is hot water, something acidic, and something oily, so there are almost endless possibilities. Different teas will give you different tones, you can use any oil that you'd normally use to condition your hair, and while lemon juice is most common any citrus juice will work. Eucalyptus oil is the most traditional essential oil to use, but I prefer the scent of lavender. Just make sure whatever essential oils you use are safe to apply to your skin.

[nekohl]

Thanks for the input

I've ordered 100% pure henna with nothing added. So now I just have to choose what to mix it with. I was thinking lavender.

Have you run into staining on your neck or hairline? I used to do henna designs on my hands back in the college days. But this is a different ball game.

[SecretAgentMa'am]

I mix my henna paste pretty thick to prevent dripping and wear latex gloves to apply it. My scalp does generally look a bit orange for a few days. I applied henna without gloves once when I hadn't been using it very long and my hands were stained for weeks. As long as you're quick to wash off any drips before the henna paste has time to dry, staining is pretty minimal. I always apply the paste, then cover my hair with saran wrap or a processing cap and jump in the shower to get any drips off my skin.

[nekohl]

I henna'd last night. LOVE IT! The color is so rich. It's just what I was hoping for thanks for the tips