Henna gave me dreadlocks

[sunshinelady]

I decided to do a henna straigthener from Mahaliee's review today. I used Hesh Mehandi henna, lime, coconut milk, and water and left it on for 4 hours. I have no idea what went wrong, but when I rinsed it out my hair was super hard. I knew that was normal, so I put Phyto Vital Force creme bath in my hair and let it stay for 15 minutes.

As I was rinsing out my hair, I started to feel where my hair had matted together in the crown and in the back. It took me two hours to get the dreads out. I think I still have a few, but my water started to get cold. I have no idea what I did wrong, but it was terrible. I lost a lot of hair. I guess no henna for me.


My hair is natural 4a/4b, tightly coiled.

 

[caribeandiva]

i'm sorry but i couldn't help but lmao at the title of this thread.

 

[Empress Yahudah]

Im not laughing at u im laughing at the title and that fact that when i used henna it matted my hair like crazy too!!!...I tried it 2 different times using EVOO,conditioner and water sounds like its should have been more moisturizing just using that but NOT ..i was so mad cuz i wanted some henna bling

 

[Lavendar]

I decided to do a henna straigthener from Mahaliee's review today. I used Hesh Mehandi henna, lime, coconut milk, and water and left it on for 4 hours. I have no idea what went wrong, but when I rinsed it out my hair was super hard. I knew that was normal, so I put Phyto Vital Force creme bath in my hair and let it stay for 15 minutes.

As I was rinsing out my hair, I started to feel where my hair had matted together in the crown and in the back. It took me two hours to get the dreads out. I think I still have a few, but my water started to get cold. I have no idea what I did wrong, but it was terrible. I lost a lot of hair. I guess no henna for me.


My hair is natural 4a/4b, tightly coiled.

Why do you say that's normal? Henna never makes my hair hard. I don't think what you experienced was normal or else there would be no henna users at LHCF. Perhaps it was the lime and coconut milk, or maybe that brand of Henna???? I've only ever mixed mine with warm water or warm herb tea, several drops of EO's, and a couple of tablespoons of EVOO. My hair always rinses nice and silky. Something definitely was wrong somewhere in the mix, I'm guessing.

 

[Guyaneek]

Man, my hair gets mega tangles from henna but no dreads yet erplexed is there anything we can do to prevent this

 

[KiniKakes]

Oh gracious!!!!! How traumatic!

Henna definitely makes my hair hard, tangled, and difficulty to comb thru............... but with a good follow-up DC treatment, im usually able to restore most of its softness/manageability.

Gee, Im glad you eventually did get thru the tangles. Sorry, u had to lose so much hair in the process. erplexed I guess everything really isnt for everryone.

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Henna also made my hair hard and dry and I just had to cut an Inch and a half off, Not everyone can use Henna and not everyone will get the same soft silky results. I know how you feel LOL!!!!

 

[PatTodd]

Before the first time I used henna, I put some shed hair in the mix, waited an hour, and rinsed. The hair came out strong and shiny. I put that same hair back in for another hour, then rinsed again. The hair was dry and matted. That's how I found out how long I could leave henna on my hair. I henna infrequently and in fact I will never "straight" henna, but always mix the henna with conditioner.

Sorry this happened to you. I think it was the protein. I once had something just like this happen to me when I used an Aphogee product. It was not pretty.

 

[Priss Pot]

i'm sorry but i couldn't help but lmao at the title of this thread.

I was about to feel bad because I thought I was the only one who LMAO-ed at the title of the thread and how "random" it sounded.

But on a serious note, sunshinelady, I'm so sorry that this happened to you. Just be sure to give your hair some extra TLC so that it can recover from this horrid event.

I once thought about using henna, but it looked too complicated, and I feared messing up my hair.

 

[sunshinelady]

Well, this was my first henna, but I'd read other reviews saying that hair is hard after henna. I am so sad . My hair is really tightly coiled, so perhaps that is the problem.

Another lesson that I am taking away is, detangle your hair before you henna. This is especially true if you finger comb your hair.

I am starting to realize that all this conditioning and protein isn't the answer for me, what I really want is my hair lush and straightened. I guess I am going to have to get a relaxer.

 

[sunshinelady]

Go ahead and laugh, something good ought to come from my misfortune.

 

[Priss Pot]

Go ahead and laugh, something good ought to come from my misfortune.

Oh no, sunshinelady!!! I'm not laughing at what happened to your hair; I was just laughing at the title of the thread. Dreadlocks just don't "up and appear" out of nowhere, so that's why I laughed when I read the title "Henna gave me dreadlocks." I sincerely apologize if my laughing offended you.

BTW, the solution to your hair troubles shouldn't be to just get a relaxer. Just take some extra care of it. Clarify and do some deep conditioning treatments so that your hair can spring back into those healthy coils.

 

[Lavendar]

Oh man, I didn't know so many ladies were having henna troubles. Are you rinsing with a cheapy conditioner? I generally rinse as much as I can without manipulating my hair, just letting the water run through. Then I apply a large amount of V05 and it smooths it out really quickly and the henna runs through really easily. Now to be honest, the first couple times I did have hard hair and I just used lots of V05. It did take a long time to rinse. But then there was a thread about henna freshness and the different types of henna in various boxes that we were purchasing....some had dates, some didn't, some was old, some not, some prepackaged..etc. Well I ordered some fresh indian henna so I could compare with my experiences from the first couple of times, which was really a perfect time because I had used two different boxes from two different popular places we frequently order from. Well the indian henna was as different from the others as night and day. It mixed smoother, so smooth I was able to pour it in a bottle with no problem. The others mixed coarser, more grainy. But the great part was that I have silky, strong hair afterwards and not hard and dry. Maybe my hair just likes this particular henna better....I don't know...or maybe it really is a much better, fresher henna. Maybe at least trying a different kind will help, and check the dates or ask about the crop it came from. HTH!

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Well I bought mine from mehindi & I was doing a Color with Henna/Indigo and I followed the directions and I used Lemon Juice because it said the the acid would make the color produce or something, I wanted to add but I didn't know because I didn't want to mess up the color, Now the color came out nice but I had dryness, Ididn't use a cheapie conditioner either to rinse and I left my conditioner in for a long time and I even sat under the dryer, My hair just stayed dry I just couldn't take it so I just cut it off.

Someone said to use Apple Cider Vinegar next time, and add coconut milk but I don't know how that will work for the color black, I had also left the henna/indigo on for like 3-4 hours because they said the longer it sat the better the color would come out.

 

[sunshinelady]

Oh no, I am not upset at all. Folks have to see the bright side of things.

Mine came in a prepackaged box called Hesh Mehandi. I just rinsed some more conditioner out of my hair and I do still have locks down by my nape. I have no idea what could have caused them. The ones that I have combed out don't have any goop in them.

I didn't use cheap conditioner, I used Phyto vital force creme bath, $33. I will keep co-washing and hopefully it will get better.

 

[ladytq]

I am so sorry about the henna disaster. My first 2 experience with henna was awwful!!! I swear by this recipe and take note my hair is natural, very fine and easily tangles.

I do not add any water to my recipe. According to henna for hair I should be using at least 300g of henna. I only use between 50g to 75g grams of henna and the rest conditioner, coconut milk, and olive oil. I sometimes add apple cider vinger and alma powder with noooo adverse affect.

The recipe give me the benefits of henna, strong and thicker tressess!

 

[mturner0516]

I can relate....I already have thick hair, but i've mixed henna w conditioner (silicone mix, nexxus humectress) water, and amla(no citric acids) and I had the same experience. I only let it sit maybe 30 mins The only thing that felt strong about my hair, was the different strands stickin together But i'll try it again, I won't give up on henna.

 

[amwcah]

Okay, you'll are really scaring me! I think I will stick with my cassia and alma powder for dying my hair. Now I need to sell all this henna and indigo I purchased.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

I'm so sorry that you had problems with henna.

I hope everything works out ok.

 

[Tee]

I hope you get your hair back 'right' with lots of TLC. This is why I was nervous to try Henna. I see alot of good reviews but I see bad ones also. I guess I will just stick to what what works. Sorry again you went through this.

 

[Isis]

I decided to do a henna straigthener from Mahaliee's review today. I used Hesh Mehandi henna, lime, coconut milk, and water and left it on for 4 hours. I have no idea what went wrong, but when I rinsed it out my hair was super hard. I knew that was normal, so I put Phyto Vital Force creme bath in my hair and let it stay for 15 minutes.

As I was rinsing out my hair, I started to feel where my hair had matted together in the crown and in the back. It took me two hours to get the dreads out. I think I still have a few, but my water started to get cold. I have no idea what I did wrong, but it was terrible. I lost a lot of hair. I guess no henna for me.


My hair is natural 4a/4b, tightly coiled.

I'm sorry this happened to your hair, Sunshinelady.

I remember when I used coconut milk and lime here on LHCF (about 3 years ago or so) to naturally straighten my hair, it made my hair very, very hard. I think it was the protein of the coconut milk and the oil it naturally has.

Henna is also protein and combining it with another protein like coconut milk may work with some people but not everyone. IMO, leaving it on for 4 hours is like an extreme protein treatment and the lime adds dryness to the mix.

I don't think it was the henna alone that did it. My first henna experience was very different and yes, at first it's hard but it gets very soft as it's being rinsed out and especially after deep conditioning.

 

[GodsPromises]

I can relate....I already have thick hair, but i've mixed henna w conditioner (silicone mix, nexxus humectress) water, and amla(no citric acids) and I had the same experience. I only let it sit maybe 30 mins The only thing that felt strong about my hair, was the different strands stickin together But i'll try it again, I won't give up on henna.

I believe that I read somewhere that you shouldn't use conditioners with cones in it w/henna. I'm not sure why not but it doesn't mix too well together. I always use VO5 with my henna and my hair loves it.

 

[Cayenne0622]

I'm sorry this happened to your hair, Sunshinelady.

I remember when I used coconut milk and lime here on LHCF (about 3 years ago or so) to naturally straighten my hair, it made my hair very, very hard. I think it was the protein of the coconut milk and the oil it naturally has.

Henna is also protein and combining it with another protein like coconut milk may work with some people but not everyone. IMO, leaving it on for 4 hours is like an extreme protein treatment and the lime adds dryness to the mix.

I don't think it was the henna alone that did it. My first henna experience was very different and yes, at first it's hard but it gets very soft as it's being rinsed out and especially after deep conditioning.

I agree with this 100%. I'm so sorry, sunshine, that you had problems with henna. I mentioned this on someone else's 1st henna thread...Sareca advised me to only leave the henna on for 1 hour the first time I used it and she was right on point with that advice. I only remember experiencing dryness one time from henna and I believe it was due to the ACV I put in it. Now, I only use henna, indigo, evoo, conditioner, amla powder and maybe another essential oil or something. I add Elasta QP DPR11 to my henna mixture (its very thick and creamy and moisturzing). I never have to deep condition afterwards because I get the combination of strengthening (henna) and moisturizing (elasta). I rinse clear and my hair feels strong and silky but I do a final rinse with NTM Conditioner and that gives it superb slip!!!
Good luck, lady! Maybe you should try the elasta or the ntm at your next conditioner wash. I believe they will help to unmat the remaining tangles.

 

[joemerald]

I know how you feel. This happened to me a few weeks ago. The first time I used henna, I mix EVOO and conditioner with henna left it for 1 hour rinsed and deep conditioned, but the initial rinse my hair felt strong and looked shiny, after deep conditioning it was beautiful. I did this twice, same results. The third time, same mixture I left it on about 2 hours , horrible locking, I conditioned for hours after and days after, nothing. I lost so much hair. I refused to give up so next time I left it for half hour, same mixture, but a little more henna. Results dry and tangled. What helped a little was shampooing after and deep conditioing, better just not the results of the original trial. next time I will use little henna, lots of conditioner and leave on no more than 1/2 hour. I believe we have to experiment to find what works and what works in my experience is not the same everytime for everyone.

Good Luck.

Jo.

 

[Lavendar]

I know how you feel. This happened to me a few weeks ago. The first time I used henna, I mix EVOO and conditioner with henna left it for 1 hour rinsed and deep conditioned, but the initial rinse my hair felt strong and looked shiny, after deep conditioning it was beautiful. I did this twice, same results. The third time, same mixture I left it on about 2 hours , horrible locking, I conditioned for hours after and days after, nothing. I lost so much hair. I refused to give up so next time I left it for half hour, same mixture, but a little more henna. Results dry and tangled. What helped a little was shampooing after and deep conditioing, better just not the results of the original trial. next time I will use little henna, lots of conditioner and leave on no more than 1/2 hour. I believe we have to experiment to find what works and what works in my experience is not the same everytime for everyone.

Good Luck.

Jo.

Aw man Jo, I'm really confused by this. erplexed Did you use the same brand/date of henna each time? I'm reading a lot of ladies are having trouble with leaving it in for a while. I leave my henna in for no less than 6 hours each time. Seriously, I have my henna in all day while I work on Saturdays. I have never had my hair mat or tangle from the henna, especially since I started using the indian henna, and my hair is extremely fine. I only rinse with V05. I don't have to do any deep conditioning afterwards. I thought that additional shampooing and conditioning too soon afterwards might diminish the color, so I wait a week and don't have any issues with residual dryness. I do know I won't use any amla or citrus juice or ACV cause those are seriously drying....just water/tea and oils. I'm really sorry so many ladies are having problems with henna, it can be so beneficial for the hair....at least it has been for mine. I'm still thinking that maybe scaling back on the mixes might help some.

By the way, I still have to do my heavy Aphogee treatments every 6 weeks or my hair suffers...that lead me to believe henna did not have a lot of protein, especially since it more so affects the outer shaft of the hair and not the inner....I need protein to repair my hair from the inside....I don't know...I sure wish I could come up with something that would help.......erplexed

 

[JustKiya]

Verrrry interesting!

I'm also wondering what is going on here - I regularily leave my henna in for well over 12 hours, use cheap conditioner to mix/wash it out, mix it with coconut milk and lime (and leave it in for a full day), and I have some of the tangliest, densest, curliest hair EVER - and I've NEVER had hard hair from henna. It's not the henna, ya'll - it's some combination of henna and situation......

1) What brand of henna are you using?
2) Are you clarifying before you henna?
3) What type of water do you have - hard/soft/high mineral/low mineral?
4) What brand/type of conditioner are you mixing with the henna/using to rinse out the henna?
5) What sort of acid are you using in the henna?
6) When was you last protien treatment before the henna?
7) Is your hair fine/medium/corse (the actual thickness of the strands?)

I suspect, based on what ya'll are saying, that your hair has too MUCH protien in it - and I'm hearing people doing multiple treatments on top of each other - that may be overkill - esp. if you have fine hair that doesn't NEED a lot of strengthing or it becomes overbrittle.

If your hair is sensitive to protien, you have to have a light hand with henna - and you shouldn't henna any more than once a month. If you hair takes protien treatments and demands more, more, more - you can henna more frequently.

 

[sareca]

Sorry 'bout chu hars.

My hair is naturally on the dry side. Henna makes it worse. Protein makes it 10X worse. Lucky for me Aveda DR fixes all.

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Maybe it is the Lemon Juice, Because I have henned before but not for color, and this time I did for color and it said to use acid to make the color activate. I don't know but my hair too is already dry and maybe that was too much protein for me. and that is why it was so dry.

 

[Lavendar]

Verrrry interesting!

I'm also wondering what is going on here - I regularily leave my henna in for well over 12 hours, use cheap conditioner to mix/wash it out, mix it with coconut milk and lime (and leave it in for a full day), and I have some of the tangliest, densest, curliest hair EVER - and I've NEVER had hard hair from henna. It's not the henna, ya'll - it's some combination of henna and situation......

1) What brand of henna are you using?
2) Are you clarifying before you henna?
3) What type of water do you have - hard/soft/high mineral/low mineral?
4) What brand/type of conditioner are you mixing with the henna/using to rinse out the henna?
5) What sort of acid are you using in the henna?
6) When was you last protien treatment before the henna?
7) Is your hair fine/medium/corse (the actual thickness of the strands?)

I suspect, based on what ya'll are saying, that your hair has too MUCH protien in it - and I'm hearing people doing multiple treatments on top of each other - that may be overkill - esp. if you have fine hair that doesn't NEED a lot of strengthing or it becomes overbrittle.

If your hair is sensitive to protien, you have to have a light hand with henna - and you shouldn't henna any more than once a month. If you hair takes protien treatments and demands more, more, more - you can henna more frequently.

Great points and great questions!!! Especially about the water type....didn't think of that. I do clarify and airdry before every henna and henna once a month. I guess that all could make a difference.....great post NW!

 

[RubyWoo]

I decided to do a henna straigthener from Mahaliee's review today. I used Hesh Mehandi henna, lime, coconut milk, and water and left it on for 4 hours. I have no idea what went wrong, but when I rinsed it out my hair was super hard. I knew that was normal, so I put Phyto Vital Force creme bath in my hair and let it stay for 15 minutes.

As I was rinsing out my hair, I started to feel where my hair had matted together in the crown and in the back. It took me two hours to get the dreads out. I think I still have a few, but my water started to get cold. I have no idea what I did wrong, but it was terrible. I lost a lot of hair. I guess no henna for me.


My hair is natural 4a/4b, tightly coiled.

So sorry about your mishap sunshine! I also henna'd yesterday and had a similar experience. My hair was very tangled and there were parts that formed dreads as well. It was a mess after all the henna was washed out. My henna mix only had henna, water, amla oil and vatika oil. I guess should've used more oil and some honey as I initially plannederplexed. Next time, I'm adding some conditioner and honey because I cannot go through that again! Luckily, my deep conditioner melted the tangles and dreads and everything was back to normal. I deep conditioned with Silicon Mix + 1 tbsp honey(for extra moisturizing) for about 20 minutes without heat. Rinsing out was a dream and after I applied my leave in it was smooth sailing again(absolutely no tangles and my comb just glided through my hair). My hair feels soft and silky again. I would also definitely recommend using conditioner with your henna(I wish I did that too) and deep conditioning with moisturizing deep conditioner. I also recommend that you add some honey in your henna mix and your deep con since honey is a natural humectant. Good luck if you choose to henna again!