Henna Heads! Help!

[nubianprincess83]

Happy Saturday! I want to use henna for the benefits of thickness etc and not really for the color. Can I just mix the henna and apply it right away without adding salt, acv, and letting it sit for hours?

 

[Foxglove]

Happy Saturday! I want to use henna for the benefits of thickness etc and not really for the color. Can I just mix the henna and apply it right away without adding salt, acv, and letting it sit for hours?

You might want to look into a henna gloss. I believe curlynikki had a tutorial from back in the day. IIRC the henna is mixed with conditioner and applied right away so the color doesn't have the time to release

ETA here it is
http://www.curlynikki.com/2010/05/curlynikkis-henna-gloss-recipe.html

 

[MzSwift]

Happy Saturday! I want to use henna for the benefits of thickness etc and not really for the color. Can I just mix the henna and apply it right away without adding salt, acv, and letting it sit for hours?

Yes ma’am. That’s how I’ve always done a henna paste, just powder and hot water. I stopped doing the pastes back in 2010 and only do “glosses” now because Henna was too strong for my hair. I add Henna (and other powders when I feel like it) to conditioner and water in an old bottle and use that as my leave in, or to cowash or to DC. My hair has been happier and I still reap the benefits.

 

[Aggie]

If you mix straight henna and warm water and add it to your hair right away and keep it on for about an hour, no color will be released and you will get all the conditioning power and benefits of the henna without any color deposits on your hair. You can also do the glosses mentioned above, plus they are easier to apply and manage than straight henna applications.

 

[demlew]

You could also consider cassia obovata. It's applied the same way as henna and also has conditioning properties but with neutral coloring.

 

[Theresamonet]

Even with doing a gloss and leaving it on a short period of time, henna still tints my hair. If you are opposed to even a subtle color change, I think you should use Cassia instead.

 

[nubianprincess83]

Thank you all!!!! I don't mind the color deposits just wanted to see if I could shorten the wait time if I'm not using henna specifically for color. How long should I let the henna sit on my hair?

 

[demlew]

Thank you all!!!! I don't mind the color deposits just wanted to see if I could shorten the wait time if I'm not using henna specifically for color. How long should I let the henna sit on my hair?

I agree with @Aggie - I think it'd need to sit at least an hour.

 

[MzSwift]

Thank you all!!!! I don't mind the color deposits just wanted to see if I could shorten the wait time if I'm not using henna specifically for color. How long should I let the henna sit on my hair?

I always let my paste sit on for at least an hour. Under a plastic cap because it was harder for me to rinse out dried paste.

My glosses stay on my hair for 1-2 days at a time. Because I use them as my leave in or nightly moisturizer, I rinse them out with my next cowash or water rinse. HTH!

 

[Leo24Rule]

Adding henna straight will give you the color you don't want. And from what I've read you don't want to do a full henna when you haven't used it before.

So I recommend doing henna glosses. Just add in 4 tbsp. of henna, 4 tbsp. of an all natural deep conditioner, 2 tbsp. of aloe vera powder, & 2 tbsp. of fenugreek powder, add hot faucet water and mix until you get a cake batter consistency.

I was like you in not wanting the color deposits but really it's not noticeable with henna glosses. Like only in the sunlight I notice red undertones or my 2 gray hairs are copper colored. You'll be fine, but if you don't wanna go the henna route then opt for Cassia.

 

[Bette Davis Eyes]

good henna starts to release dye immediately. The better the quicker the release. The longer you let it sit even with ( green tea, lemon, essential oil), will add to the hue of the henna and current color of your hair.

Cassia is the way to go when you want to avoid the tint