With trying to keep to natural hair products and my roots looking unbearably long it was time for me to go back to dying my hair with henna! I have used the rouge henna from Lush quite a few times now and have loved the outcome every single time. It gives off such a vibrant red shimmer, especially in the sunlight. As it is a natural product it does not damage your hair but rather conditions it. At £9.25 a block it does seem quite pricey but for my medium length hair I would usually need two boxes of hair dye and this one block is enough for my whole head. Now I’m afraid I have no experience with the other henna colours but here’s how I do my rouge henna:
Step 1: Soak the henna in hot water, (I don’t ever measure how much I use I’m afraid, but you can just start with a decent amount and add to it as the henna starts to absorb the water and soften). As the block starts to soften you can begin to mash it up with a fork. This process will take quite a while as you want the mixture as smooth as possible. You want a gloopy liquid, the thinner the better as it will spread more easy on your hair, but you also don’t want it too watery otherwise it will be too runny and difficult to apply.
Once the henna is ready pin up your hair and get going.
Tip: (or not) You may want to apply Vaseline around your hair line to stop some of the staining, however, this was the first time I’d tried this with henna and I regretted it. Once my hair was up waiting for the colour to process, my head was obviously warm and made the Vaseline melt, meaning I had henna tinted Vaseline melting/running down my neck and I went through nearly a box of tissues trying to soak the Vaseline up. So I don’t know whether this is good or bad, it did help stop the staining though.
Step 2: I always start from the bottom as once the henna is on your hair it’s difficult to comb through or move, so working on strand by strand from bottom to top is easiest in my opinion. And it’s also 100% easier if someone else does it for you, so don’t even bother thinking about the option of doing it yourself haha. My lovely friend Amber volunteered for the job.
Tip: It’s a long process (with my hair length the application took a good hour) so make sure you’re both comfy and put some tunes on.
You can see the henna in the photo above, a yucky thick green gloop.
Note: The henna will continue to absorb water so you can probably add more water half way through application to stretch it (make sure you add hot water though, as the heat helps the development process).
Note: As you can see it’s a super messy application. The henna, once applied makes your hair look dreaded and when it starts to dry, becomes very crumbly, so once you move even a little it can crumble everywhere. Thus make sure you are wearing old clothing (I’m wearing a top but a t-shirt/a towel round your shoulders is far better as it keeps your skin protected. Henna stains horribly so beware) and take care to do this on a tiled floor or one that is easily cleanable.
Step 3: Wrap your hair up in cling film (enjoy looking ridiculous) and leave for about 3 hours (no more than 4h). The cling film retains the heat your head is emitting and helps the colour develop.
Step 4: Wash the henna out. This will take a long time because you will have to rid you hair of all the henna crumbs, like trying to get large bits of sand out of your hair. Once the water is mostly clear and you don’t feel any sandiness in your hair, wash and condition as normal. And voila your done!
Before
After
Hope this was helpful to anyone wanting to try henna. Also note that if you do, make sure to leave yourself lot’s of time, the whole process can take around 5-6 hours.
Carina xo
In Pursuit of Health and Happiness 