Okay, so I needed to talk about this because, well, I've been trying to turn a lot of people away from chemical hair dyes. And so you should. One alternative I was excited to try was henna. Light Mountain has a suprisingly long list of henna hair colors you can choose from (and they also have amazing box art) and I was looking forward to trying. So I went online, ordered myself a box of Red henna, and waited impatiently for it to arrive.
When I finally got it, I couldn't wait to slap it on my head. It had been months since I'd dyed my hair with chemical color, and my roots were looking a bit ... well, we'll say "shabby," but that's being nice. I had heard from reviews and other websites that henna isn't exactly the easiest way to color your hair, with one of the keywords being "messy." Well, "messy" didn't even begin to cover it.
The directions had me dump a bag of this greenish powder into a bowl with 12 oz. of boiling water. Easy enough. Until the smell hit me. No one ever told me that henna has a very similar to smell to ... uh ... cow manure. Yes. Cow manure. I suppose it makes sense, being botanical and all, but I suppose I wasn't prepared for that.
So, after completing the recommended strand test and carefully following the rest of the directions, I started slapping the stuff onto my head. Let me tell you, not only did the stuff smell of cow manure, but it also had the same unfortunate texture. Kind of like lumpy, green yogurt. So basically, the stuff kept sliding off my head and plopping onto my sink, giving me more disturbing visions of a cattle ranch. I had put a ring of Vaseline around my hairline to keep the henna from dyeing my skin, but that didn't seem to help too much. The second that stuff touches your skin, it's dyed, even if it's only very lightly. Luckily, I have a mass of freckles, so a little splotch here and there wasn't as noticeable.
One other note: I have very short hair. Pretty much a pixie cut. And I had to use nearly the entire box on my head. So ladies, if you have long hair, you might want to buy a few boxes of henna dye for full coverage.
Once I finished putting the stuff in my hair (which took about 20 minutes), I wrapped my hair in plastic as recommended and waited for 45 minutes. Just enough time for my hair to completely absorb the smell of it, even after I rinsed it out (which was also a feat in its own). It had also leaked all over my scalp and my skin was a lovely shade of pizza-sauce orange. However, the color in my hair was nearly non-existent. Just a very small hint of orange-ish highlights and that was about it. At least it dyed my roots, though. Beggars can't be choosers.
Now, I'm sure lots of people use henna to dye their hair. Cleopatra used it, for crying out loud. And I'm sure many of those people have had much better experiences than yours truly. But I think I will be staying away from henna for awhile and just let my hair do its own thing. Smelling like manure for two days isn't exactly my cup 'o tea.
xo
Piękny
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