It would seem that there are so many all kinds of ready-made hair dye products: dyes, mousses, and all kinds of tinted shampoos - even the eyes in the store run up, but the question all the time is tormented by the secret - after all, it's all pure water synthetic preparations, but why take a more natural one?
And the most natural remedy known since time immemorial is henna, a powder of which is obtained from dried and crushed leaves of a bush called lavsonia. Lavsonia grows mainly in India, Sudan, Egypt, Iranian henna is also well known .
I personally shrugged it off for a long time, considering that dyeing hair with henna was already yesterday and some older women use it the old fashioned way, and it can only turn red, until one day I noticed how amazingly bright one’s hair shines pretty young colleagues. Unable to restrain herself, she asked why she dyes her hair? And she was surprised to learn that this is ordinary henna. In addition, she said that she dyed her hair not so much to get a color, but in order to strengthen her hair, and also helps against dandruff. But the shade turned out amazing, even if she didn’t achieve this consciously - just don’t take her eyes off, such overflows of color in the sun! In general, one solid pluses, as it turned out.
So how to dye henna, if it is so wonderful, at home?
In reality, dyeing henna hair at home is not so easy, and frankly, dirty, but the result is worth it!
According to the recipe, henna (powder) must be diluted in very hot water, heated to 90-95 degrees (almost boiling water, but not very cool). The amount of powder is taken based on the length of the hair. For relatively short hair, say a haircut of the type of medium length "caret" will take about 70-100 grams (depends on the density of hair).
The principle is this - you need to carefully mix henna with boiling water in a ceramic cup until a homogeneous, mushy (rather creamy) mass is obtained. It is necessary to begin coloring as soon as the mixture cools slightly.
Prepare medical gloves so as not to stain your hands, and grease your forehead, ears and neck with some oily cream to avoid accidentally staining these parts of the body. Cover your shoulders and protect your neck as much as possible.
Yes, henna coloring must be done without fail on washed, towel-dried, but wet hair - this is important!
Henna hair dyeing itself is conveniently done with a flat brush, dividing the hair into strands, starting from the back of the head, first at the roots, then distributing along the entire length of the hair. Better of course, if someone will help you, since the consistency of the mixture is very different from the usual ready-made artificial dyes, and the henna, when dried, quickly crumbles, so it is important to do the painting quite energetically. I heard that, in order to facilitate the distribution of henna through the hair, a small amount of burdock oil is added to the solution, but I have not tried it myself.
Having distributed all the henna on your hair, you need to wrap them in polyethylene and then in a towel, and soak to the desired color intensity - the longer you hold, the brighter or darker (depending on the color of your native hair) you will get the result. For blondes, 20 minutes is enough to become a fiery red-haired one, but brown-haired women must be kept from 40 minutes to an hour to achieve intense color, and burning brunettes can withstand henna “under a hat” from 1.5 to 2.5 hours . And if you want to achieve a bluish-black hue, then it is recommended to stain with henna and basma at the same time (first with henna, and then immediately with basma).
Rinse the henna with warm water without shampoo, and very thoroughly, while always protecting your hands with gloves.
An important note - unlike synthetic paints, which affect the middle layers of the hair, henna, as it were, envelops the hair from the outside and makes it impervious. You probably noticed that in all instructions for dyeing hair with permanent dyes, it is stipulated that they are not recommended for use on hair recently dyed with henna. And it’s true - henna, until it is completely gone, will not allow another paint to calmly penetrate deep into the hair, so this is a warning for a reason. And it is also dangerous to apply henna on newly dyed synthetic hair - the shade can turn out unpredictable.
And yet, I recommend trying to do henna hair dyeing and sincerely hope that you will not regret it, at the same time strengthen your hair! Good luck in getting the desired shade!