So I have been threatening to henna my hair for a while now but I didn't have the guts.... I have been highlighting my hair for about the last 10 years because I just felt like my hair was too dark for my facial features.... While I love the look of the blonde/copper highlights, I think that putting the bleach on top of my already relaxed hair is just asking for breaking and damage.... So I finally jumped in and did the henna...
Here's how it went down....
I mixed the henna with beer, coconut milk, olive and safflower oil, covered it and let it sit overnight... I washed with a clarifying shampoo, braided my hair and went to bed.
The next morning I mixed the indigo with black coffee and safflower oil.
Then I took the braids down and applied the henna to my air dried hair and covered with a plastic shower cap... I had intended to sit under the steamer but henna was all over my bathroom floor and sink so I spent the entire hour cleaning it up (I had to mop my bathroom floor.. this stuff goes every where).
I co-washed the henna out in the shower and let me tell you it was gritty and it took a 22.5 oz bottle of conditioner to get it all out.
After co-washing, I applied the henna and then sat under the steamer for about 20 minutes. Then I spent another hour in the shower and another 22.5 oz bottle of conditioner to get it out.
I was exhausted after all that so I literally slapped in the DC, put on a plastic bag and a satin scarf on it and then went straight to bed.
THE RESULTS:
hmmm.. well my hair is darker and it severaly toned down the highlights but it did not cover all of them.... I think that part of the problem was that I didn't order enough henna.... They said 100 grams for shoulder length hair and my hair is longer than shoulder length but I did not want to order 50.00 worth of this stuff when I didn't even know if I would like it. The good news is my hair does feel stronger...
What I liked:
Stronger hair
Nice color
What I didn't like:
Gritty and messy ( I wore clothes that I didn't care about but this stuff was falling all down my shirt, despite weraing gloves my nails currently have a green tinge which I find a little embarassing)
Took forever to get out of my hair
Will I do it again???
At least once more... I need to cover all of these highlights so I will do it at least once more.... After that I might consider doing it once or twice a year but I cannot see doing this every month or every other month like some other people do...I don't enjoy torture that much...LOL
Okay the pics.... Okay so I did not take good care of my roller set because I was really disappointed in the fact that all of the highlights weren't covered... So I will take better pics....
the henna
the look I wanted
the before
the after
Here's how it went down....
I mixed the henna with beer, coconut milk, olive and safflower oil, covered it and let it sit overnight... I washed with a clarifying shampoo, braided my hair and went to bed.
The next morning I mixed the indigo with black coffee and safflower oil.
Then I took the braids down and applied the henna to my air dried hair and covered with a plastic shower cap... I had intended to sit under the steamer but henna was all over my bathroom floor and sink so I spent the entire hour cleaning it up (I had to mop my bathroom floor.. this stuff goes every where).
I co-washed the henna out in the shower and let me tell you it was gritty and it took a 22.5 oz bottle of conditioner to get it all out.
After co-washing, I applied the henna and then sat under the steamer for about 20 minutes. Then I spent another hour in the shower and another 22.5 oz bottle of conditioner to get it out.
I was exhausted after all that so I literally slapped in the DC, put on a plastic bag and a satin scarf on it and then went straight to bed.
THE RESULTS:
hmmm.. well my hair is darker and it severaly toned down the highlights but it did not cover all of them.... I think that part of the problem was that I didn't order enough henna.... They said 100 grams for shoulder length hair and my hair is longer than shoulder length but I did not want to order 50.00 worth of this stuff when I didn't even know if I would like it. The good news is my hair does feel stronger...
What I liked:
Stronger hair
Nice color
What I didn't like:
Gritty and messy ( I wore clothes that I didn't care about but this stuff was falling all down my shirt, despite weraing gloves my nails currently have a green tinge which I find a little embarassing)
Took forever to get out of my hair
Will I do it again???
At least once more... I need to cover all of these highlights so I will do it at least once more.... After that I might consider doing it once or twice a year but I cannot see doing this every month or every other month like some other people do...I don't enjoy torture that much...LOL
Okay the pics.... Okay so I did not take good care of my roller set because I was really disappointed in the fact that all of the highlights weren't covered... So I will take better pics....
the henna
the look I wanted
the before
the after
UPDATE: So over the weekend I had time to really get used to the color and I feel in love.... I will do at least one more henna and then after that maybe I'll henna twice a year because it is very very very messy.... I took it down out of a bun just to take these pictures for you guys so be nice..