Henna

Though it’s been a long time since I posted about it, I finally henna’d my hair. And I love it :-). I used Logona Henna and would really recommend it to anyone wanting to give it a go. I had let my grey hair grow out for the last 4 or so months.

So I thought I would give those that are interested a blow-by-blow account of what I did.

They say you should have clean hair and it should be SLS shampoo free. So you can either buy product to strip out the yucks or give it a few days of bicarb action. Not a problem here, I’ve been no poo for ages but I’m an avid believer in colouring dirty hair. An old hairdresser friend told me colour takes better to dirty hair (and if you’ve ever had your hair dyed at a hairdresser you’ll know they don’t wash your hair before colouring it).

But I digress, I then mixed the henna with steeped black tea (which really draws out the colour).

Hair before (very grey)

Forewarning: using henna feels quite literally like putting mud all over your hair. There’s no other description for it. It’s a messy gloopy process (though I think once you’ve done it a few times it gets easier – a handy helper is also good – thanks Granny B). I used Moo Goo scalp cream around the edges of my face and ears to stop the henna staining / dyeing my skin.

I then put on the shower cap that comes with it and wrapped my hair up in a warm towel. I then left the henna in for 2 very long hours (well it felt really long to me LOL).

Now washing it out can only be described as “fun”. It looks like dirt all over the bottom of your shower. My hair (which is shoulder length) felt matted and dread like as I was washing it out. Luckily I was forewarned so I was ready with my trusty Moo Goo conditioner once it felt more or less washed out. I then ran conditioner through it and finger combed the rest of the henna out.

One final condition and my hair felt clean and great. I then air-dried it and it came out really glossy.

NB: I was turning the shower on and off during this process. I’m also told having a bath and soaking your hair in it is another way of doing it. But with a 3 year old and being time poor this isn’t an option for me.

The end result!!

The result has been great. My grey hairs have gone a goldey brown and look like highlights. My hair is really rich and glossy and feels great. In the pics you can see my hair inside and outside (but outside the flash makes the grey hair look much more yellow than it is plus it wasnt quite dry yet).

Would I do it again? You betcha – this is the only way I’m going to be colouring my hair from now on. I’d rather have grey hair than put anything toxic on my body or my hair anymore.