Benfits of Henna Treatments?

kayla218

I'm thinking about doing a henna treatment...but before i do....what are the benefits of henna?, can i find it in some stores or do i absolutely have to get it online....Please help me because i am pretty much clueless on this topic

EponaBlackhorse

There is a ton of info on these forums about henna. Try doing a quick search on the forums. I do henna treatments about once every 4-6 weeks. I love the color it makes my hair. Plus it helps my hair and scalp stay healthy. I've also noticed it's loosened my curl a little (i.e. I went from a 3a/3b to just 3a).

WurlyLox

First, be aware that henna color is permanent. It strengthens your hair and makes it seem a bit thicker. The added weight it gives hair is why some people find that it relaxes their curl. I never had that problem, but then I always added some amla to my mix to prevent it (see site below).

Anything you find in stores, except maybe in an Indian, Middle Eastern or other ethnic market, is almost certainly not plain henna. Commercial henna products can contain metals, salts and/or other compounds that can make results unpredictable and can actually be dangerous to later try to color over with anything else. If you use the plain henna plant to color, you can later color over it with regular hair color if not happy with it.

I highly recommend checking out www.hennaforhair.com before proceeding. There's also a free e-book available there that is very good.

mermadelove

If you want the benefits of henna without the color, you can use cassia, or so called "neutral" henna. Rainbow henna, which is one that can usually be found in health food stores, is natural henna. Their "red" henna is the only one that is pure henna. The other colors have other herbs like calendula or indigo, added to the mix to alter the shade of henna. KEep in mind that the higher quality hennas are usually sifted more finely than store brand hennas and are usually fresher. You will be happier with your results if you use a good quality henna. There is an ENORMOUS sticky thread called "Experiences with Henna." I think it's in the 4a forum. There you will find lots of info/feedback/reviews, etc on people's experiences with different kinds of henna.
I've been using henna for about a year and my favorite is the organic henna from Mountain Rose Herbs. Good luck!

WurlyLox

Have you used any of the Mehandi hennas or cassia? If so, how does Mountain Rose compare (plain henna or cassia, not any of the mixes)? That's all I've used, and I like it, but if MR is comparable the their body art grade and available locally, I'd sure give it a try.

mermadelove

auntnett wrote: »

Have you used any of the Mehandi hennas or cassia? If so, how does Mountain Rose compare (plain henna or cassia, not any of the mixes)? That's all I've used, and I like it, but if MR is comparable the their body art grade and available locally, I'd sure give it a try.

I haven't ised Mehandi, but I can tell you that the Mountain Rose henna rinses clean. It's a very fine powder, excellent color. You may be able to go to their website to find out if they have a store locator. Where I live in VT I got it at an herb shop, but now I just order from them directly. http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

WurlyLox

mermadelove wrote: »

auntnett wrote: »

Have you used any of the Mehandi hennas or cassia? If so, how does Mountain Rose compare (plain henna or cassia, not any of the mixes)? That's all I've used, and I like it, but if MR is comparable the their body art grade and available locally, I'd sure give it a try.

I haven't ised Mehandi, but I can tell you that the Mountain Rose henna rinses clean. It's a very fine powder, excellent color. You may be able to go to their website to find out if they have a store locator. Where I live in VT I got it at an herb shop, but now I just order from them directly. http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

Thanks, but I've gotta pass. Looked at the site, but with all the various colors, theirs is not unadulterated plain henna. I'm sticking with body art grade.

I don't trust whatever additives MR's has. They refer to neutral henna when there is no such thing - that's cassia obovata, yet they refer to everything as lawsonia. Only actual henna is lawsonia, and it is only red - you can only vary it by things you add to the mix.

Their additional colors may come from other herbs such as indigo, buxus/kattam, etc., but I just don't trust not knowing exactly what I'm dealing with, be it natural or otherwise. It's not safe to later chemically color over even natural indigo, let alone whatever other additives theirs may contain to achieve their various colors.

kayla218

thank you so much for you guys sharing information & experiences you guys have had...and special thanks to mermadelove....i got alot of info on that thread

mermadelove

How Henna is Colored

"Currently the line of Henna offered by Mountain Rose Herbs is made exclusively with Lawsonia inermis, with other botanical ingredients included for the purpose of creating the many different shades which we have to offer.
Mountain Rose Herbs Henna is colored using one or more of the following botanical methods which are included into the Henna during manufacture.....
Henna leaf (Lawsonia inermis)
Henna Bark (Lawsonia inermis)
Indigo leaf and stalk
Calendula petals
Chamomile flowers
Hibiscus flowers
Alkanet root
Cassia obovata (Neutal Henna Only)
The Calendula and Chamomile are used to lighten certain Henna colors, the Hibiscus and Alkanet are use to add Red highlights, and the Indigo is used to darken some of the Henna colors. The Indigo is a natural shrub in the legume family that thrives in dry and almost poor conditions. "

For those of you who are interested in organic henna, I've included some info to clarify my previous post and respond to another poster. The information above is directly from the Mountain Rose Website. As you can see, they do state that neutral henna is Cassia. Many people call cassia Neutral Henna and that is why it's listed that way. Their red henna is pure henna. The folks there are really nice and if you had any questions about which colors included indigo, they'd be happy to give it to you.

Good luck on your henna journeys!!!! :flower:

WurlyLox

Sorry, I didn't spend enough time at their site to see what they changed the colors of the henna with once I saw all the shades and their referring to cassia as neutral henna - that turned me off since normally people who refer to neutral henna either don't understand the difference or are deliberately trying to confuse customers.

However, based on the above, MR sounds OK and above board, but, again, if you think you even might later want to use regular hair color over it, beware of indigo in the mix - it's completely natural but can have very unexpected results. I don't know anything about how any of their other natural plants/herbs might influence it, except chamomile - I used to use chamomile tea as the acid in my mix because I already knew from the henna site that it was safe and sufficiently acidic.

SHLONNIE

henna helps to put moisture back into your hair as well as beta kerotine..another tratment is apply lemon juice to hair which may highlight ur hair