Henna Hair Dye

gnarlydorkette

gnarlydorkette

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Henna coats each hair shaft with a natural, semi-permanent protein called hennatannic acid. Heat causes the hennatannic acid to cling to the proteins found in the hair (or nails and skin, if desired). because henna coats and seals the hair shaft, it helps protect the hair from damaging effects of sun, salt, chlorine, wind and pollution in the environment. It can help minimize split ends and acts as "hair insurance" if you spend a lot of time in the sun, surf or wind. In addition to protecting the hair shaft, henna will tighten the hair cuticle and create a more solid surface which reflects light; the result is gleaming, lustrous hair.

Rather than producing dramatic color changes, henna enhances and deepens existing color. The darker your natural color, the less drastic the change will be in your natural color. Because color from henna is transparent or "see through," henna cannot lighten dark hair; it will, however, add highlights to dark hair and can darken the color of lighter hair. To determine which shade of henna is best for you based on your original color and the desired result, consult the Light Mountain color chart below.

Natural vs. Chemical Hair Color
Most hair coloring agents rely on harsh chemicals like hydrogen peroxide or ammonia to strip the hair and allow it to "take", or absorb, the chemical color applied to it. The word "natural" on a bottle of hair color doesn't necessarily mean chemical-free; some brands commonly found in natural products stores rely on peroxide to prepare the hair for their colorants.

What effect do these chemicals have on the hair?
First, they weaken and destroy the hair shaft over time. Additionally, many of the chemical hair colorants use various petroleum of coal tar-based ingredients derived from the environmentally harmful processing of oil or coal-tar processing ingredients that have been found, over time, to increase the long-term risk of various forms of cancer.

In contrast, henna has a long history as a safe, gentle hair color. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a monograph that approves henna for this use; henna is one of a select group of natural products to achieve official FDA recognition.
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From http://www.bytheplanet.com/Products/Henna/storyofhenna.htm


1) What is Henna Hair Dye? 100% pure ground up leaves from a shrub with natural dyeing properties.
2) How Does Henna Hair Dye Work? It coats your Hair with Natural Protein.
3) Why Patch Test? To alert you to possible allergies.
4) Why Strand Test? To fine tune timing for color results.
5) Can I Chemically Tint before or after using Henna Hair Dye? Only with Caution after a strand test.
6) Can I Perm before or after using Henna Hair Dye? Yes but with Caution.
7) Can I Lighten hair with Henna Hair Dye? No, Henna can only add color to your hair.
8) How long does the Color last from Henna Hair Dye? Approximately 4-6 weeks varying with each individual.
9) Can I color Gray with Henna Hair Dye? Yes, our Henna for Hair is effective for covering gray on individuals. If you have 10% or more gray please choose one of the colors from the "COVER THE GRAY" sereis.
10) Can I remove Henna from my hair after coloring? Yes, this is best achieved within 24 hours but if hair is light or porous this may be difficult (instructions for this are included with purchase).
11) How much Henna do I need? 4.5 ounces is enough Henna for 1 application on shoulder length hair, 9 ounces is enough Henna for long hair.
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I have been interested in alternatives to chemical hair dyes because I am feeling the damages emerging.
There are several brands: Surya Henna, Light Mountain Natural, Rainbow henna that are distributed in America but there are more from India and other counries.
The price depends on how many you need for your hair. For me, I have short hair so I only need 4oz... the price for 4oz varies from 18bucks to 5bucks...

Best way to go is to get NATURAL henna that has NO metals.. Don't fall for "compounded henna" because it got chemicals in it! And it will turn your hair green (many websites claimed that) or brittle.
Powder henna is good but many people don't have time to mix with other plant extract to get an accurate color. (Directions may be found at this website)

Basically-- IT IS SAFE. IT IS HEALTHY. IT GIVES YOU A VIBRANT COLOR AND MEND YOUR HAIR'S STRUCTURE. IT HELPS YOUR HAIR.
I am eyeing for the Red henna dye... :)

hennahair1.jpg

(NOT me, but a model that I found for a henna-dye product)
 
:thumb: Gnarly, thanks for this topic! I am planning to buy a blonde or dark burnette hairdye product for my hairs but I don't have any knowledge about which is 'right' product for me to buy. Seem that they don't have blonde brand? or I somehow miss that one?
 
Oh there are blonde dyes.

Here is the perfect one for you!
"Swedish Blonde Henna Cream "
Brand: Surya Henna

http://www.bytheplanet.com/MoreInfo/details.htm?prod=3900136&PropPass=Henna


Bytheplanet seems to be the "fancy" brand by far... along with a good weblayout to give it more professionalism compared to many. This website sells three or four different brands. Some brands don't list all indigrents of the dyes so I am little skeptical about this website. But the brand, "Surya henna" is pretty straightforward with its indigrents... it list EVERYTHING. Rememeber: avoid any that say it has chemical or metals in the dye. (For this haircolor, I see no chemical or metal elements in the dye so it is safe)

[EDITED: To clairfy-- you cannot light up your hair in a snap as if one can do with bleach... it is IMPOSSIBLE with henna dyes. It only ADDS color, so if you dye blonde to black hair, you will get some funky brunette color, i think... it did explain more on websites but I skipped them since I am not lookig to be a blonde! I think you can work it gradually by increasing the highlight... from a brunette to dirty blonde to light blonde then totally blonde... repeat dye as well to increase the intensity of a color. ]
 
gnarlydorkette said:
Oh there are blonde dyes.

Here is the perfect one for you!
"Swedish Blonde Henna Cream "
Brand: Surya Henna

http://www.bytheplanet.com/MoreInfo/details.htm?prod=3900136&PropPass=Henna


Bytheplanet seems to be the "fancy" brand by far... along with a good weblayout to give it more professionalism compared to many. This website sells three or four different brands. Some brands don't list all indigrents of the dyes so I am little skeptical about this website. But the brand, "Surya henna" is pretty straightforward with its indigrents... it list EVERYTHING. Rememeber: avoid any that say it has chemical or metals in the dye. (For this haircolor, I see no chemical or metal elements in the dye so it is safe)
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I gotta kiss you for that! Uh.. it is a figure of speech, you know? (make a peace sign to your lover) ;)

About dyes, yeah that's why I didn't buy any hairdye products for a while... because of these chemicals and metals. I tend to read the ingredients before I can buy any products. I did used the chemical hairdye product to dye my hairs (blonde) and wow, the aftermath effect is not pretty. I can feel 'dull' or 'dryness' when I touch my hairs.

Once again, thanks for posting!
 
gnarlydorkette said:
EDITED: To clairfy-- you cannot light up your hair in a snap as if one can do with bleach... it is IMPOSSIBLE with henna dyes. It only ADDS color, so if you dye blonde to black hair, you will get some funky brunette color, i think... it did explain more on websites but I skipped them since I am not lookig to be a blonde! I think you can work it gradually by increasing the highlight... from a brunette to dirty blonde to light blonde then totally blonde... repeat dye as well to increase the intensity of a color. ]
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*nods* yeah, that's what I'll have to do that if I plan to use natural 'blonde' hairdye products. That is only way to get the 'blonde' hairstyle.
 
Henna is very bad for hair condition.

It coats the hair shaft and doesn't allow conditioners and other products to touch the hair shaft. After using henna, you can't use any other hair services, such as permanents, relaxing, deep conditioning, bleaching, changing the color, highlights, etc. Henna requires a special chemical for removing, and then there are no guarantees.

Henna is very drying and damaging to hair. Also, henna is not truly "natural" as some people believe. Most henna has a stinky smell (ugh).

Professional salons will not use henna.

The only guaranteed way to remove henna is a haircut.
 
Just FYI:

Lawsone (2- hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoquinone) is the principal color ingredient in henna, a color additive approved with limitations for coloring hair by the Food and Drug Administration under 21 CFR 73.2190. The safety of lawsone as a coloring agent in hair dye products has recently been evaluated by the Scientific Committee on Cosmetics and Non-Food Products (SCCNFP) of the EU. The SCCNFP concluded that lawsone was mutagenic and not suitable for use as a hair coloring agent.
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http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scrip...rch/preview.cfm?abstract_id=240&backto=author
 
gnarlydorkette said:
(Directions may be found at this website)
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Website directions:
"Leave the paste on hair/scalp for minimum 45 minutes or up to 8 hours"

Wow, that is a loooonnngg time!
 
Henna Truth

I have been using henna for over 20 years. I have permed over it, bleached over it and dyed over it successfully. I get compliment constantly with my different henna variations. Most salons won't do it, but beautician friends have done process over it for me and I have done blonde streaks and dye over on my own. I love henna, nothing as pretty. Does not fade and stays nice even with lots of pool and sunbathing! Hair will feel dry for the first couple days but then it is very nice. Feels wonderful on the head. Some people like the smell some not. My hubby likes it :)! Only negative I can say about it is that it is very messy! If you don't mind the mess, go for it...you will never go back...well you might occassionally...but will always go back to your henna hair :)!
 
I used a Henna Hair Dye once and my white hairs turned pinks ,and I was not trying to do this!!
 
Hmmmmm......always thought "henna" hair dye was for redheads? My sister is a natural redhead...but uses Henna to brighten it up.
 
rockin'robin said:
Hmmmmm......always thought "henna" hair dye was for redheads? My sister is a natural redhead...but uses Henna to brighten it up.
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Yeah, I'm a natural redhead, and used to use a henna rinse every six months or so just to brighten the color. Also used a henna shampoo for awhile, but it was too expensive. I don't use it anymore because I have a couple of white streaks about an inch wide where I am getting grey, and am afraid it will turn them some ungodly orange color or something!:lol:
 
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