For many years, women have been using henna as a high-quality natural hair dye. It is quite widely used in a wide variety of countries located both in the Middle East and North Africa. You can buy the product in cosmetic stores, pharmacies, supermarkets and even order online. The dye is in demand, since henna on the hair looks quite impressive. How much to keep it during painting? How to use and how much the result will please the eye? All this in more detail in our article.
What is henna and how does it look?
Henna is a powder that is obtained from the leaves of Lavsonia, which grows mainly in countries with a hot and arid climate (Iran, Egypt, Africa, India). Leaves are collected during flowering, dried, and then ground into powder. To create henna, only the lower dark green ones are used, and the upper light ones are often used to create a dye for painting the body, namely mehendi. The composition of henna includes only two natural dyes:
- green chlorophyll;
- Lavson is yellow-red (up to 4%).
Also, henna contains additional substances, such as organic acids, various resinous substances, polysaccharides, fatty compounds, essential oils, vitamin C, etc. It can be stained both at home and in a professional salon.
Thanks to the natural dye, the hair acquires a well-groomed appearance, is saturated with vitamins and useful substances, and becomes stronger and thicker at times. Henna staining can reduce the formation of dandruff and does not cause various allergic reactions that can occur on chemicals contained in household dyes. If the hair began to thin out noticeably, lost its shine and lost its beautiful appearance, make a choice in favor of natural dyes that can restore curls and improve their quality.
So, you have purchased henna for hair (red color). How much to keep? What determines the final result? We’ll talk about this now.
Factors That Affect Henna Staining
How much to keep henna on your hair? Before answering this question, let's look at some details. Having decided to recolor your hair, saturate it with useful vitamins and essential oils, pay attention to such factors that can significantly affect the final result:
- Before painting, be sure to consider your natural hair color, which can play on the shade that will result from dyeing.
- How much henna should be kept on the hair? First, analyze the structure of the hair, because thin curls are much easier to color than more dense and thick.
- Be sure to pay attention to the quality of natural dye (shelf life of the paint). The fresher the powder, the better the staining will occur.
- How long does henna hold on my hair? When painting, it is worth adjusting the temperature (the colder the dye, the slower it will color the hair, and vice versa).
- How much should henna be kept on hair? You will receive the answer to this question later. In no case do not neglect the duration of staining (the longer the henna is on the hair, the more intense the color will be).
- If the dye is planned to be mixed with other substances (basma or lemon juice), it is imperative to control the proportions.
If all these factors are taken into account, then henna on your hair will simply look amazing. How much dye to keep? It is difficult to answer, since this is all individual, but nevertheless there is some “middle ground”, which will be discussed later.
Before dyeing your hair ...
Initially, you need to conduct a small test for the appearance of an allergic reaction. To do this, smear a patch of skin (preferably on the inside of the hand, above the wrist) with henna and wait a bit. If after an allergic reaction has not occurred, then you can safely dye your hair.
How to make paint?
In order to prepare the natural dye of henna, it is necessary to mix the powder with a mildly acidic liquid. Why is the dye not diluted with cold water? The fact is that the red-orange pigment can be released only under the influence of acidic liquids, soluble cellulose, and hot water. The role of acidic liquids may be:
- vinegar;
- freshly squeezed lemon juice;
- wine;
- freshly squeezed grapefruit juice or orange.
If necessary, auxiliary substances are added to the paint, namely:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil if the hair is dry;
- cloves to enhance color;
- ginger (or cardamom) to give colored hair a pleasant smell.
After the henna has been diluted, the container with the dye is tightly closed and left overnight at room temperature. To get a faster option for preparing paint, you can leave the solution in a warm (not hot) place for literally 2 hours. Henna-based paints need to stand a little to free the dye, and the hair received all the necessary nutrients and, of course, evenly dyed.
In any case, it is not recommended to dilute henna with boiling water or very hot water, because the hair can get a copper shade and change its structure not for the better. For dye use hot water, comfortable temperature. The paint container should be used enameled or plastic with heat-resistant properties. Do not neglect the use of gloves when staining, because the skin of the hands can absorb the solution and take on a carrot shade.
What proportions of natural dye are needed?
In order for the hair to be dyed completely, it is necessary to correctly calculate the proportions of henna. So, for short hair (length up to 15 cm) it is necessary to use 50-100 grams, for hair 20 cm long - 200 grams, for hair up to 30 cm - 300 grams, hair up to the waist (up to 50 cm) - 500 grams .
How to dye your hair?
The staining procedure begins with the application of already prepared slurry on the occipital part of the head. The strands of hair are gradually separated and well colored. For greater convenience, it is recommended to apply the paint with a flat brush or sponge. After the hair is dyed, the remaining henna should be diluted with warm water and applied to the ends of the hair.
Already dyed hair needs to be collected in a bun and well closed with a plastic film to create better dyeing conditions. On top of the film, the hair can be wrapped with a towel or a warm scarf.
So, you already have henna in your hair. How much to keep this mixture? Now we find out.
Staining time
How much to keep henna on your hair? There will be no definite answer to this question. In order to get a lighter shade, the paint must be kept from 30 to 60 minutes. To obtain darker hair, the dye can withstand from 60 to 80 minutes.
Many women can withstand natural dye all night, but still the recommended duration of dyeing for dark hair is 1.5-2 hours. And how much to keep henna on red hair? 30-40 minutes will be enough.
Of course, these figures are approximate, because it all depends on what temperature will be stained. If you provide a warm environment during the dyeing process, the hair will be saturated much faster with the molecules of the product than when the head is not wrapped in a warm scarf or scarf.
The final stage of henna painting
After the required period of time has been sustained, the coloring mixture from the hair must be washed off with clean and warm running water. Do not be afraid that the paint does not wash out as quickly and easily as after a household dye. To wash off henna from hair is not recommended by shampoo, but use of balm or conditioner-conditioner is allowed.
Additional ingredients for various shades of hair
In order to give the hair an attractive shade, various additives can be used together with the natural dye, namely:
- replacing water with wine, you can get a cherry hue;
- daisy flowers will give your hair a bright golden hue;
- a couple of spoons of cocoa mixed with henna will give a shade of mahogany;
- the addition of basma will provide a chestnut shade on the hair;
- beetroot juice will help to give curls a purple hue;
- for chestnut color use natural brewed coffee, while finely ground;
- when strong brewed tea is added, the hair will acquire a light yellow hue.
How long does the color stay on the hair after staining with henna?
Henna as a natural dye tends to lose its color on the hair, that is, to fade. Despite this, henna hair coloring should not be carried out often, because the curls can be pretty dry, because of which they will lose their shine and beauty. Staining with this type of paint is recommended not more than once every 2-3 months.
If the hair began to fade, lose its natural beauty, it is recommended to rinse them with this solution: 50 grams of henna diluted in warm boiled water (1 or 1.5 liters).
Henna for dark hair
How much to keep henna on dark hair? The principle of using natural dye for them is the same as for any other shades. If you give the color to dark hair, already before that dyed with household dye, then the curls will acquire only a golden or barely reddish hue, which will play with glare in the sun. To repaint dark (previously dyed) hair in red color is impossible. Henna stains bleached hair well or natural.
Useful Tips
In the photo in the article, you see how amazingly henna looks on her hair. How much to keep - you already know. The only thing I would like to note is that you should not expect a dizzying result from the first time dyeing hair with henna. The desired color can not be obtained immediately. If suddenly the final shade does not satisfy, it can be weakened with the help of oils and masks. A great advantage of henna is that with the help of various additional components, you can give your hair the desired glare and shades, without changing the structure of the hair.