My First Henna Treatment!

When I first read my girl Shelli's (Hairscapades.com) lengthy description of her henna process, I told myself "now there's no way I'm going through all that." But my opinion changed recently when one of my clients began asking me about henna and if I would do it for her. Needless to say, I had to do some research! First stop: Hairscapades.com. I've been subscribed to and following Shelli's blog for months now, so I trust her completely and value her opinion. I studied her henna process and even got in touch with her to ask for some more tips (and to help calm my nerves LOL!). Shelli was both accommodating and helpful, so on Saturday night I took the plunge!


Now you may be asking yourself, why did you use henna to dye your dark brown hair? Because I'm not after color; I want stronger, healthier, softer and looser curls. From what I read on the topic, henna does precisely all those things. For more information on how to henna your hair, I'd suggest checking out this link. It was recommended by CurlyNikki via Hairscapades.

Prepped my work space

Old towels ready!

I allowed the henna to sit for over 12 hours for dye release. On the left: 2 stretchy black headbands to catch any drips
and 3 plastic caps.

I didn't have any more old towels LOL but this paper bag
protected the wall nicely. I was quite proud of my ingenuity :)

I had washed and braided my hair two days before so it was clean
and detangled. I took the braids out right before applying the henna.

Honey and my favorite moisturizing conditioner that I added to
the henna after dye release.
(Shelli's process explains the purpose of the conditioner)

Mixing in the honey and conditioner

Henna's all in! I wish my curls hung this long and loose when dry :/

Saran wrapped my head, covered my hairline with the 2 headbands,
and topped with 2 plastic shower caps.

Winter hat for my heat source

After church the next morning. After rinsing the henna I slept in my DC
and rinsed it out the next morning. I didn't know what to do with my
hair for church, so I spritzed with water and sealed with my natural oil blend.
My hair felt soft and had a healthy glow.

Took a pic inside to see if I could capture the deep burgundy color, but you can't tell.

See the little coppery hairs at my crown? Those were grey hairs prior
to henna!

Will I henna again? Most definitely. I want to reap the results of stronger, softer hair as well as loosen my curls, and that only comes with repeated use. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to more DC's in preparation for flat ironing my hair later this month! ;) I plan to henna again next month.