Henna for hair color ( new pics)

It's been a very long time since I wanted to dye my hair with henna and two weeks ago I finally did it. A friend of mine had gotten 3 packages from Canada and I was too lazy to order one myself and too excited I couldn't wait to try it so she gave one to me. Now I wish I had been more patient, did some more research and take it slowly. There is a lot of information on henna on how there are different ways to prepare it, how thick it should be, how long you should leave it on, and all these depend on you hair texture, hair color, how intense you want the color to be etc. This means it is going to work differently on everyone. If your hair is very dark don't expect your hair color to change drastically. It may only tint your hair a little red. However I will share my experience hoping it will help at least a little.

Safety:

First, you have to make sure that henna is absolutely safe for you to use. I found this information on a henna website regarding G6PD enzyme deficiency.It shares some links that are very informative.

Now, henna itself causes an orange, red pigment to your hair. Any henna box mix that claims to color your hair other than red is not pure henna.Info here.

Where to buy:

It is very important to find a high quality henna or else you are going to end with straw-like hair like me. The package I used was 4 dollars and mixed with herbs that moisturize your hair but that didn't help at all. I've read that many people recommend using body quality henna. And there are 3 sites that are recommend most : Hennasooq, Hennaforhair and renaissancehenna. There can be many other good sites that sell good quality henna except  these three. Wherever you want to purchase you have to read the reviews, not only on their site because everyone who is trying to sell something will say that their product is good. Be patient and do some research.

Preparation:
My hair is layered, fine-medium textured and you can see the length and the color I began with, here. My hair was very oily when I applied the henna so it doesn't matter how your hair should be before you apply it. Even though some people say that it works best and it is much easier to apply henna on damp(not wet) hair.
I used 150 gr henna for my hair and I made the mixture kind of thick, like a paste, or like yogurt, not runny. The thicker the henna the more intense and noticeable the color. So you can prepare it depending on how you want the color to be. I mixed henna with warm water and nothing else. My friend has told me than when she adds a little almond oil in the mixture  it gives her orange undertones and when she uses olive oil it gives her reddish undertones(black tea will give reddish undertones too.)


The application:
Wear an old shirt. Take an old towel and wrap it around your neck. Apply some oil with a cotton pad on your forehead, temples, ears and the back of your neck so henna doesn't stain these areas. Advice: Have a friend to apply the mixture. It's difficult to do it yourself, specially if you have long hair like me. Tell your friend to section the hair in small sections and make sure they are done well because if henna gets in those sections you haven't began with yet it will make your hair a mess. Then apply henna generously on hair and make sure the application is even. If it is taking too long to apply and some areas become dry spray them with water (keep near a spray bottle filled with water). When finished wrap your hair with saran wrap to keep your hair wet and warm and leave the henna on for 2-4 hours. I left mine for 4.I  think that's enough, but you can experiment.

How to remove:
Afterwards I got in the shower and got in my knees so henna wouldn't stain everything around and rinsed my hair until the water became clear. Then I shampooed once but now that I think about it, it would have been better if I used only conditioner a couple of times. One week after I have done so many hair masks and my hair is much softer and it looks good when I flat iron it but it isn't like it used to be. However, I love how the color turned out.

Here are my pics:
I took both pictures with flash. I did this because I wanted to show you that in light the hair looks shinny, but it looks even better in the sunlight.(I will certainly take a pic in the sunlight and I'll post it.)
Even though this is partly because I have conditioned my hair like crazy. The next time I am going to henna my hair I'm going to do it right. What I liked about henna except the color that looks different in different lightning, it is that my hair feels thicker. I feel like suddenly I have much more hair.

If you plan on using henna for your hair I recommend it. It is a safer alternative to chemical hair dyes. Even though I kind of messed up my hair it happened because I was impatient and I didn't research  much. 
Hope my experience helped :)
(Click the pics for better quality)


21.07.2012
I promised you a pic of my hair color in the sunlight and I don't know why I hadn't done it earlier. I should stop being so lazy. I took the pics in my room when the sunlight could get in. So, here... ..I'm sorry that one pic is a little blurry but you can see the color :)

June 27(sunlight)

June 27(sunlight)

June 27 2012.

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And this one was taken in the afternoon. Also, you can clearly see that the texture of the hair has improved a lot and it is not horrible looking like in the first picture.(I apologize for my not- so pretty waves.I was practicing with my new straightener.)