My First Henna

Henna is no joke !! I purchased Yemeni & Indigo from Hennasooq.com It got to me in a short time. I had an expectation that the henna would be double packaged in the way that indigo was but oh well.



 

 I mixed 75% of the henna with a little less than a cup of warm water.

 The henna was lumpy so I used a hand mixer that I use just for hair stuff to mix it up and it smoothed out the henna. It smelled like spinach..yum

The time release for Yemeni henna according to the directions said 3-4 hours but I let mine sit for a little over 4 hours on top of my fridge covered in plastic wrap.



I mixed 25% indigo with a little bit of warm water.




Directions for indigo release was 20-30 minutes.  I let mine release for 30 minutes.  

While letting it release I shampooed my hair.  This is my hair before the henna process. You can see all my wisdom a.k.a. gray hairs :)

This is the shampoo I used (purchased from Whole Foods)



Before mixing my henna & indigo I made sure I had my gloves ready since both dyes were fully released & I wanted to protect my hands.


I also protected my bathroom :)

I mixed the henna & indigo and applied to my hair starting with the front (hair in sections). Before applying I rubbed petrolatum jelly on my ears, my forehead & the nape of my neck to protect my skin from staining.

After I packed on the henna/indigo in my hair I wrapped my hair three times with plastic wrap then covered with a plastic cap for three hours.

My hair after taking off my plastic dome lol.

I co-washed three times in my kitchen sink with this conditioner (purchased from Whole Foods). Then I followed with Bask Yam Nectar as a deep conditioner for one hour with my head covered with a plastic cap.  I would have deep conditioned longer but it was 10 pm by this time so didn't have time :(

I rinsed out my deep conditioner & did my usual wash day pampering routine; used a leave-in (Koils by Nature shealoe), sealed with jojoba oil, followed by a moisturizer (Qhemet Biolgics Burdock Root Butter Cream). I detangled my hair in sections & put in big twists.  I could feel the grittiness and little twigs from the henna....ewwww. I was kinda grossed out.  I knew that the henna had stems from watching the Henna Sooq video on YouTube but dang lol.

Next morning I untwisted my hair & misted with my Oyin Juices & Berries and put my hair in a puff. This is me on my way to work. I love the red in the sun :)

I could see that my gray hairs were orange but overall I love the red color in my hair.  Also I notice how dry my hair was but I wasn't surprised & was expecting that.  Before & after pics

That evening I blew out my hair on a low setting (misted my hair with water and sealed with grapeseed oil as a heat heat protectant). I put my hair in twists using Qhemet Biologics Aeothiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter.  As I was twisting my hair I felt no grittiness or twigs. I guess the blow dryer must have blew them all away LOL. My hair felt moisturized that night & the next day. So henna's drying effects were short term for me :)

Final Impressions

I would not order the Yemeni Henna again due to the twigs :) I definitely will continue to henna.  I like the color and definitely want to continue to cover my wisdom hairs :) I will continue to order from Henna Sooq due to great customer service and YouTube videos.  I have not noticed a change in my curl pattern but then again this is my first henna :)