Posted by
If you’re reading this, you’re probably into the idea of having RED! (and seriously, with henna you need to type it like that) hair without putting your tresses through the wringer with conventional hair dye. WELL, COOL, ’cause I’ve been dying my hair with henna for over a year, and I have a few tricks of the trade up my sleeve.
Preliminary notes
- Henna takes some time: seriously. You’ll need to wait twelve hours after mixing for the dye to release and then it needs to be on your head for 1-4 hours, depending on the shade you want.
- All henna is not created equal: go to your local Indian store and pick up a box or bag of henna — you don’t want to use the dyes you can find in some natural food stores. If you don’t have a local Indian store, you can get henna online. (I love Earth Henna because they always have coupons running — if you use coupon code QUA20 to get 20% off your order!)
- Your hair probably won’t look like mine. Henna looks different on every single person that does it. You can follow this step-by-step, and you may not end up with a result that matches what you’ll see in my photos. It may not be drastically different, but the shade of red you achieve with henna depends on what your hair looks like before you put the henna on.
- You can’t get rid of henna. Seriously. Henna gets into the shaft of the hair — so you can’t even really dye over it with over-the-counter or salon dye. I imagine the only thing that would really work is bleaching your hair, so keep that in mind. If you don’t want to commit to a hennaed head or take the time to grow it out, stick with a box dye that’s easier to dye over. Henna is very, very permanent.
- People with all hair types can use henna! It’ll look different for everyone, but you can rock it regardless of your hair color or texture. Also, as long as you’re using body quality henna, it’s safe to dye over chemically treated hair.
- In my experience, henna doesn’t apply evenly. If you can’t stand the idea of every hair on your head not being the same color, you may not want to commit to henna.
What you need
- 100-500 grams of body quality henna (for reference, I use 200g, and my hair is halfway down my back, but I’ve been doing this for a while. The general rule of thumb is 100g for short hair, 200g for collar-length hair, 300g for shoulder length hair, and 500g for waist-length hair)
- a medium-sized bowl
- a spoon
- plastic/saran wrap
- lemon juice (not necessary, but it is for how I do it)
- 1-3 free hours (depending on how intense you want your hair to be)
How you do it
1. Mix your henna
I always mix my henna twelve hours before I want to apply it. You’ll want to put it in a darkish area (I usually put mine in a bowl on the top shelf of my closet and shut the door) at room temperature (around 70F or 21C). If you need to rush it, you can put it somewhere warm (95F or 35C) and it’ll be ready in two hours — however, you want to make sure it’s not TOO hot. Careful, careful!
Here’s my mixing process:
- I pour two bags of henna into the bowl
- Then I add between 1/4 and 1/2 of a 16 oz bottle of lemon juice — you basically want the mixture to have the look and texture of (green) mashed potatoes. If you have sensitive skin, you can water down your lemon juice (sometimes I do half lemon juice, half water), or substitute in orange or grapefruit juice. Some people warn against using tap water, but I always do and I’m honestly not sure why you shouldn’t. Vinegar and wine are also alternatives, but they’ll smell pretty rank (though some people think henna itself is funky smelling) — however, you want to stay away from using yogurt or coffee. If you’re familiar with henna body art: don’t add “terps.”
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Let it rest! I always leave my spoon in the bowl. I don’t know why, really… I just do.
2. Apply your henna
It’s twelve hours later! Alright. Another note: some people think it’s easier if you’ve washed and dried your hair before you apply henna… but I don’t. It’s up to you!
Here’s how the application process usually goes for me:
- Retrieve your henna.
- Put on protective gloves (those latex ones like dentists use are perfect). Henna STAINS everything — if it gets on your skin, your skin will be orange for a day or two. If it gets on the floor, the floor will be also. Eventually it goes away, but if you can’t deal with stains err on the side of caution.
- Divide your hair into sections. One of the biggest differences between henna dye and conventional hair dye is that it’s MUCH harder to make sure you’re covering your hair with henna. If you’ve dyed your hair before, you know that conventional hair dye is very liquid and easy to get onto your hair. Henna is thick, and it is more of a challenge. I’ve found the most effective division process is to go in small sections — I’ll put all of my hair except for one small part up, and then work from there.
- Unwrap your henna and add more lemon juice (or whatever mixture you’re using). After this addition you want your mixture to look more like yogurt. I usually add another 1/4 of the bottle — you don’t want it too runny or too thick.
- Start applying! Try to avoid getting henna on parts of your hair that are pulled up — the parts that you’re not ready to put henna on yet. Henna can really tangle your hair up if you’re not intentionally trying to put it on a certain area.
- You want to REALLY goop it on your head: don’t be stingy. Apply henna in very thick sections for maximum coverage.
- When you’re finished, remove your gloves and wrap your head with plastic wrap. After you’re wrapped, it’s a good idea to start cleaning any spots of henna off your face, neck, arms, etc. that might be there.
- Get comfy: I usually let my henna sit in for three hours. Some people do one, some do four — it depends on how deep you want to shade to be.
3. Wash the henna out of your hair
After the henna is mostly out of my hair I use shampoo for the rest — I always find that it really clings to my baby hairs at my hairline. You can use any shampoo you want. Your hair is going to smell like henna for a day or two — I like it, but some people don’t. If you’re not a fan, you can rinse your hair with lavender after washing it to get rid of the smell.
If your hair is super orange, DON’T FREAK OUT
It takes henna around three days to really show itself on your head — my hair is almost always SUPER bright the first day, then it gradually deepens over a few days. Something that’s really cool about henna vs. conventional red hair dye is that henna doesn’t fade — you just have to touch up your roots as your hair grows.
Also, you can use henna as often as you want — it’s a great conditioner and is wonderful for your hair. Unlike conventional hair dye, it’s totally safe for frequent use. You can do root touch-ups in between full hair applications, or if you like the relaxing effect henna often has, just do full hair apps every time.
Other things you can do with henna
You can also dye your hair dark brown or black with henna (you’ll mix it with indigo), cover up grays, or dye it strawberry blonde. This site has a wonderful selection of various henna mixes people have made.
If you’re still looking for even MORE info, you can download this free 60-page ebook from Henna For Hair. It’s pretty dense, but also pretty amazing.
Hi! I was completely wowed by how much henna could change your hair color!!
I was thinking about doing henna instead of box dyes because of all the iffy things you hear about it being linked to cancer, etcetc…
I also have psoriasis so I didn’t want it to cause too much of a flare-up.
I had some quick questions though:
I have mediterranean skin and black/brown hair; do you think henna would change the colour very much?
I was looking for a natural dye that allows my hair to look red, but not so red that it completely clashes with my skin tone 🙂 Something a bit lighter than what I have would be nice, but from what I hear, henna just makes it darker.
I’m also just a tad bit worried about if it would change my hair colour for good. I really do like my hair colour as it is right now, but I feel a change would be greatly welcome.
Also, I hear many things about using indigo and other compounds like them; is it as good as henna if you want the same side-effects but just a different colour?
Thanks everyone!
Henna is not a traditional dye. Think of it as more of a gloss over your natural colour. So, if your hair is dark, you’ll have auburn highlights. If your hair is light or has light highlights, then the colour will be more noticeable and those lighter highlights will turn a lighter perhaps coppery red.
To start, use about 200grams for short hair, 400 grams for medium, shoulder length hair and 600grams for longer hair. If it’s really long, add 200grams of henna for every additional 6 inches of hair. Use an acid like lemon juice and follow the directions above. Most of us use lemon juice because it is a nicer smell than vinegar.
I have some eczema on my scalp. I’ve found that henna improves my scalp health and have never had a bad experience or side effects from using henna. I’d try it on another part of my skin first and see how that does before committing to putting it on my scalp.
It’s so nice seeing so many women wanting an alternative to harsh chemicals on their hair. I’ve been using henna for more than 10 years. After my husband died, my naturally curly, red hair began losing the red and turning white. This isn’t a look I’m ready to rock so, henna. I had tried chemical dyes but they blistered my scalp and made me sick. Henna is wonderful! It leaves my hair soft and shiny and does not fade. I keep my batch leftovers and use that as a base for the new batch so I don’t have too much colour variation. Since I’m just covering my white, I mix it with lemon juice and add cajeput after 24 hours. Then let it sit an hour before putting it on my roots. I only leave it on for about 90 minutes.
I use the henna from Mehandi.com, that has a 1.4-1.7 lawsome content and save henna with a higher lawsome content for body art. I only want to tint the white hair a copper red, for highlights. If my hair was completely white, I’d use a higher lawsome content henna and leave it on longer. I’m 49.
One word of caution. Henna is a cooling herb. Once it’s on your head, your body will cool down a bit so keep a towel for your shoulders. That will help you manage any chill. So if you ladies thought you were imagining it, nope, you were actually cold. 🙂
I love Mehandi’s henna. I love the fact they test it all for it’s lawstone content. After perusing the LHC forums, I’d read that many like to freeze their henna and have better results with dye release instead of lemon juice and waiting for hours. I tried this and got a nice burgundy after 5 hours. I’ve never had myself feel cooled after applying it, though. In fact, a few weeks ago I did another all over henna and was burning up.
What does the lemon juice do?
Lemon juice or any citris juice helps in dye release because of the acidity. Mehandi actually sells citric powder that you can mix yourself with water, then add to the henna. I’ve found I prefer mixing with just water, freezing it, then letting it thaw before I use it. When I visited the Long Hair Community, one woman explained that as it thaws, the dye release is instant. If you decide to freeze it, put the henna in ice cube trays. You can pop out a few cubes if you decide on a thing called a henna gloss, or henna mixed with conditioner.
Lemon juice doesn’t just help with dye release, it actually changes the chemical construction of the henna and makes the colour oxidise and have depth. Without it, the henna can be brassy looking especially on lighter or greyer hair. X
The only problem I have is that you used a metal spoon. Henna and metal should never be put together.
I’ve used a metal spoon, as have many others on Long Hair Community. Personally I use Mehandi’s henna because they lab test everything. I’ve never had problems, and no one on LHC who’s hennaed for decades have mentioned issues with henna and metal.
Hi! I have a bag of 100% natural henna powder I want to try out soon, but would it work for my pitch black hair? And also, can I just squeeze lemons for the lemon juice?
Yes, just like with orange juice, or any citrus fruit, squeezing gets out the juice. Essential oils go through a different process. So having lemon essential oil won’t be the same as using lemon juice. From what many long haired women at LHC have told me, it’s preferable to use lemon juice instead of water. If your hair is level 1 or level 2 darkness (Black and almost black) then you’ll just get a really nice hair treatment and will barely see a visible difference, if at all. You need to lighten prior to using henna if you want that orange-red that looks more natural for a redhead. Just remember that henna builds up over time, so your first henna on lightened hair will be more orange than a dark reddish color. It won’t look the same as if you added, say, manic panic in Vampire’s Kiss or Vampire Red on top.
In order to get visible results, lighten your hair to a level 3 or 4. You can look up charts. Using a peroxide cream developer (it’s almost like your household peroxide but cream) will lighten effectively, but it takes at least an hour or two with 30vol. Don’t use 40vol unless you know what you’re doing. You can avoid bleach by simply not adding bleach powder to the developer. It’s less damaging this way. Just coat your hair with coconut oil (make sure it’s real) and let it set for about an hour on a test strand before judging how far you want it to lighten.
And don’t forget gloves, with developer or henna! I accidentally had 40 volume a couple finger pads, and it left them feeling numb at first, then sore the next day, like a burn had healed over. Try not to get it too close to your scalp, much like having a very thin line as a buffer for your scalp. Developer gets a bit tingly and some people can’t handle that. I usually watch TV or do busy work while lightening, so I never notice.
Henna will certainly stain, so make sure you put down plastic bags all over your surfaces (even the wall!) just in case you sling some. While it does come off, it takes careful scrubbing. Without gloves your hands will look like a bad spray tan.
EDIT: Also, you may see stronger results if you freeze it solid instead of waiting on the dye release. I suggest testing about 6 grams frozen, 6 after waiting overnight on dye release. Test a couple strands and see which you prefer. If you like the frozen version, mix the rest and put them in a spare ice cube tray. Then just pop out the amount you need. Either way, save the rest by freezing it. You can do a white conditioner/henna “gloss” all over to get your roots. It helps build up your current henna color and touch up the roots at the same time. I’ve read a lot of forum posts that suggest this method. It’s good for your hair anyway. 🙂
Absolutely right ‘Jane”. Essential Oils work different way than acidic juices when mixed with henna . One got to mix and make a paste accordingly for a better application in order to use henna hair dyes in proper way to avail it’s all useful properties for hair nourishment. Also choose trusted company for 100% natural Henna and essential oils. Just try ” THE HENNA GUYS” brand. I am satisfied with their products in hair and beauty. I am using their deep red henna , lavender , orange, clove, eucalyptus essential oils and argan oil for better skin. So far so good.
I thought it may be of little help.
http://www.thehennaguys.com
Just hennaed my hair for first time ever today (and I’ll be 50 next year). Yay me! 🙂
It is still wet at this moment, so I don’t really even know what it looks like dry yet.
My hair does feel as though the henna has left it a bit dry. Anything I need to do do remedy that? My hair is coarse and fairly thick.
Be the way, I looked at your before and after pics and while you are a pretty young lady either way, you look especially fantastic with the henna! The color suits you very well!!
Hi..
I have been dying my hair orangy- gold since my hair began to grey..but have been told by my doctor to stop dying my hair with chemical hair-dye and switch to henna..no hairdresser uses that so to begin dying my hair with hanna ( and get the orangy gold shade )which hanna should I use..
thank you for your advice..blessings!
Vanessa
you should use 100% pure & natural Henna that is available on http://www.thehennaguys.com/ The henna guys offer 100% natural henna for hair.
Pure Henna comes from a plant, which means it is a natural substance. It does not only help to cover your grey, it also nourishes your hair with minerals, furthermore it works as conditioner at the same time. There are too many brands of henna hair color in the market. Most important thing is to buy a natural product. If someone claims it to be natural, that does not make it so. You got to try it before you actually decide to stick with one company. I would strongly suggest you to purchase from an Indian Store in your vicinity, if you do not buy online. And if you shop from web stores. I would advice you to try THE HENNA GUYS brand. One of my friends recommended the henna guys pure henna hair color. And since then i am stuck with this company. They have 100% pure and natural henna hair dyes. You can visit them here.
http://www.thehennaguys.com
I have used “Colora” brand henna for over 40 years. (I always mix it in a metal bowl with a metal spoon?). My hair is brunette mixed with black, blond and red, and at 62, now 30% grey. I use the mahogany and it turns the grey red and beefs up the brunette so I have nice red highlights in my hair. Leave it on for one hour under a shower cap, then rinse it out in the shower. Don’t use conditioner on your hair first since it coats the hair and you want the henna to get into the hair. I use half a pack, every 2nd or 3rd month. I tried a few other brands over the years but the Colora brand works best, imo. It sounds easier than some of the fuss mentioned above. I purchase it at the health food store (in Ontario, Canada) but you can order it on line too.
Hi! It’s my first time dyeing my hair with henna (I used Caca Rouge from Lush) and I didn’t get the result that I wanted. I have dark brown hair (close to black) and I really wanted to have that slightly reddish colour. Is it okay to dye my hair again after a week or should I wait a little longer? Thank you!
Lush is rubbish and barely contains any henna. You will never be able to change dark brown/black hair to red with henna unless you bleach it first. Henna (Lawsonia Inermis) is a plant extract which only dyes things red. The colour you get depends on your natural colour underneath. Mine is grey so it goes bright copper red, black hair wouldn’t turn red as henna doesn’t henna doesn’t lighten at all, unless you have any grey and they would turn red. Join Ancient Sunrise henna on FB and they will advise you best. x
Yes, you can re-henna your hair now. For information, you can also go to Mehandi.com. Mehandi is the only place that sends their henna out to a lab to test the lawsone content. The higher the number, the darker the henna. Michelle is correct in that if you have dark hair, no henna will lighten it. What it is is more like a gloss and it’ll cover any light strands and highlight it as a shade of red. Mehandi has an extensive FAQ. Only use body art quality henna on your hair. Don’t give up. It’s worth it.
First Time Using Henna: ( shoulder length hair) i have Straight bleached/damaged caucasian hair lol . Henna is HELPING signifigantly!
Boil 9 ounces of water
put in 12 heaping tbl spoons of Henna (bought from arabic store called olive tree in North Olmstead, Ohio)
one full lemon
let sit on my head for 2hrs .
(some say DO NOT use metal)
Before Picturee: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTxcxOGjQb7szryeTN0Q4QtCygtWbU8NPK-Yao0/?taken-by=baebee_s
If superstious you apply 2x a month: Dye & cut every full moon + dye every new moon.
if you’re not superstious then just dye twice and month and cut once a month
After your first dye use:
boil 3 ounces of water
1 tbl spoon of Henna
half a lemon
for henna you can use a sifter or strainer to have a smoother paste 🙂 i also use a wisk .
After Pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/BT1MjmyDQtoACUbUAV263C295_oEBNzhTkCHK80/?taken-by=baebee_s
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUAUdHEj57SejCvgiLccFEg8tP7ZH_ZdwGe2cE0/?taken-by=baebee_s
BTW: i applied on bleached blonde hair . i still like it! its a lil orange and takes some getting use too but it can still be pulled off . i can see some hair growth happening 🙂 so i will continue using Henna .
Also, there is no such thing as pure black henna. the henna plant is red/orange .. those are the only colors you can get from PURE Henna, if it has any other color then it has additives in it. also I’ve read plenty of articles saying that boxed henna is usually fake. I go to the closest Arabic store which (in my case) is in North Olmstead Ohio for me & it is called olive tree. and I read the back to make sure it is shipped from Lebanon or another European country
A word of caution. I loved henna as a teen – with brown hair it made it auburn.
My daughter has blond hair and she hated the red. Once the reds there – it’s there. Not much to do. She had super long hair and cut it very short. Then I myself (after watching numerous youtube videos) bleached her hair a few times. It is now golden blond but I would not recommend this as we were just lucky no bad reactions, and her hair is still healthy (many coconut oil treatments).
Just know Henna is PERMANENT! If it has any indigo in it do NOT bleach your hair – it will turn a greenish/greyish color.
Best of luck!
Henna is permanent but if you have dyed your hair with pure 100% henna, you can dye over it without any problems. So yes, it is permanent as it stains the cuticle, but can be dyed over.
The result is simply stunning! I love how it turned out and the color is beautiful!