Instruct me on hennaed hair

[Anonymous]

I have thin, straight hair. It’s part caucasian, part asian.
Color: dark brown with white hairs at the temples.

Can I color my hair with natural henna?
I understand it has a very subtle effect on dark hair. Will my white hairs turn red and will that look terribly jarring?
Will some henna wash out each time I wet it, and stain the tub/pool/clothes?
How long will it cover white hair until I need to dye it again?
Are there other side effects or considerations?
Are there professional salons that do this in the DC area?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Gray and white hairs will turn fire engine orange. Henna is for adding depth not coverage, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Can I color my hair with natural henna? Yes

I understand it has a very subtle effect on dark hair. Will my white hairs turn red and will that look terribly jarring? Bright orange and yes

Will some henna wash out each time I wet it, and stain the tub/pool/clothes? Yes

How long will it cover white hair until I need to dye it again? Henna stains hair permanently. New growth has to be touched up. But as previously stated, henna is not a good idea for white hair. Try indigo instead.

Are there other side effects or considerations? If you choose to proceed, use body art quality (BAQ) henna. You buy this as a powder and prep it the night before you plan to apply. If you've ever used any other hair dye, you definitely want to use BAQ. Commercial "henna" dyes have metallics in them that will react harshly with dyed hair.

Are there professional salons that do this in the DC area? I doubt any salon does real henna. Maybe "henna" dyes. The real thing (making a paste out of the powder, letting it rest, applying, sitting around for hours while it sets, and rinsing thoroughly) is a time-consuming and messy process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Will some henna wash out each time I wet it, and stain the tub/pool/clothes? Yes

Disagree with this. I get a little bit coming out for the first couple of washes, but nothing after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gray and white hairs will turn fire engine orange. Henna is for adding depth not coverage, sorry.

This is not true, you can find black and brown henna for hair dye.

To OP - it will fade, it won't wash out and stain anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gray and white hairs will turn fire engine orange. Henna is for adding depth not coverage, sorry.

This is not true, you can find black and brown henna for hair dye.

To OP - it will fade, it won't wash out and stain anything.

(I should say that my mom has dyed her hair with henna for 40+ years, so I know a little bit about this)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have thin, straight hair. It’s part caucasian, part asian.
Color: dark brown with white hairs at the temples.

Can I color my hair with natural henna?
I understand it has a very subtle effect on dark hair. Will my white hairs turn red and will that look terribly jarring?
Will some henna wash out each time I wet it, and stain the tub/pool/clothes?
How long will it cover white hair until I need to dye it again?
Are there other side effects or considerations?
Are there professional salons that do this in the DC area?

Thank you.

If you can find a salon that caters to Middle Eastern or South Asian women, you should look for one of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gray and white hairs will turn fire engine orange. Henna is for adding depth not coverage, sorry.

This is not true, you can find black and brown henna for hair dye.

To OP - it will fade, it won't wash out and stain anything.

No such thing. All true henna is green in its powdered form and turns hair orange/red. Anything advertising any other color is NOT true henna, it's just hair dye that has henna as an ingredient. If you are trying for a brown or black color, you want to use indigo. You can experiment with different shades by mixing henna and indigo (more indigo for darker shades, more henna for redder shades).

And yes, the first few days it absolutely will stain pillowcases, collars, and towels. You have to rinse for a REALLY long time to get all of the excess henna out the first time, and most people don't have endless hot water to do that comfortably. Wear dark clothes for a week. After that, you're good to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have thin, straight hair. It’s part caucasian, part asian.
Color: dark brown with white hairs at the temples.

Can I color my hair with natural henna?
I understand it has a very subtle effect on dark hair. Will my white hairs turn red and will that look terribly jarring?
Will some henna wash out each time I wet it, and stain the tub/pool/clothes?
How long will it cover white hair until I need to dye it again?
Are there other side effects or considerations?
Are there professional salons that do this in the DC area?

Thank you.

If you can find a salon that caters to Middle Eastern or South Asian women, you should look for one of those.

OP here. Thank you everyone.

Anyone know of such salons in this area?

[Anonymous]

New poster here. I put henna in my hair for about 17 years as I started to gray at a very early age. I am South Asian.

First of all there is only one type of henna. It is a green powder which you add water to (black tea is good as well) and it will turn your hair deep red or deep orange depending on how long you put it on for. For the best results. you sleep with it. The most pure henna comes from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Since it is not readily available here you can get a box at your local South Asian grocer that comes from India or Pakistan although I cannot vouch for the purity. Henna boxes promising specific shades are adulterated with chemicals. Do not use them.

Henna is perfect for dark-haired people because it covers the white hair and it seems like you have reddish highlights. It also conditions and strengthens the hair. I would literally have no hair loss for weeks after applying henna and my hair would be glossy. It only stains the towel after the first two washes and not after the others.

Keep in mind that you cannot switch up regular synthetic hair dye and henna on your hair. The synthetic hair dye will simply not work on henna-treated hair. I stopped using henna when I had too many white hair. My husband commented that in the sunlight my hair was looking too reddish. Now I have to use synthetic hair dye every three weeks which I hate because I'm afraid of cancer etc and my hair fall even more when I apply that dye.

For your first application, I would ask a South Asian friend or her mother for help in using it. Or get it done at a South Asian salon. Once you see how it's done once you can easily do it yourself.

Good Luck! It's great for your hair.