Note to brownies and not only: safe staining of Henna hair

It would seem that there are so many possible ready-made products for dyeing hair: paints, mousses, and all sorts of tinted shampoos - even the eyes in the store run away, but all the time, the question is undermined - all these are pure synthetic preparations, and what would be more natural?

And most that there is a natural remedy, known since time immemorial, is henna, the powder of which is obtained from dried and crushed leaves of a shrub called lavsonia. Lausonia grows mainly in India, Sudan, Egypt, Iranian Henna is also widely known .

I personally waved this off for a long time, considering that staining of hair with henna is so much yesterday and some older women use it the old fashioned way, and only red color can turn out, until one day I noticed how wonderfully the hair shines brightly in one A fairly young colleague. I could not help asking what color she was painting her hair. And was surprised to learn that this is an ordinary henna. In addition, she said that she dyed her hair not so much to get a color, but for the purpose of strengthening her hair, and even helps with dandruff. But the shade turned out to be amazing, even if it was not consciously achieved - just do not tear off the eye, such color overflows in the sun! In general, some solid pluses, as it turned out.

So how to paint with henna, if it's so wonderful, at home?

In fact, staining the hair with henna at home is not an easy process, and we'll say straight, dirty, but the result is worth it!

According to the recipe, henna (powder) should be diluted in very hot water, heated to 90-95 degrees (almost boiling water, but not very steep). The amount of powder is taken from the length of the hair. On a relatively short hair, say a haircut such as an average length of "quads" will take approximately 70-100 grams (from the thickness of the hair depends).

The principle is that you should thoroughly mix henna and boiling water in a ceramic cup until a homogeneous, mushy (more likely even creamy) mass is obtained. Start coloring immediately, as soon as the mixture slightly cool.

Prepare medical gloves to avoid staining your hands, and brush your forehead, ears and neck with some fat cream, to avoid accidentally staining these parts of your body. Cover your shoulders and protect your neck as much as possible.

Yes, the color of henna must be made necessarily washed, dried towel, but damp hair - this is important!

It is convenient to dye henna hair with a flat brush, dividing the hair into strands starting from the occiput, first at the roots, then spreading along the entire length of the hair. Better, of course, if someone helps you, because the consistency of the mixture is very different from the usual ready-made artificial colors, and henna, drying up, quickly falls, so it's important to do the coloring quite vigorously. I heard that in order to facilitate the distribution of henna in the hair, a small amount of burdock oil is added to the solution, but I did not try it myself.

Distributing all the henna to the hair, you need to wrap them in polyethylene and then in a towel, and maintain to the desired intensity of color - the longer you hold, the brighter or darker (depending on the color of your native hair) get the result. For blondes and 20 minutes is enough to become a red-red hair, but the brown-haired should be kept from 40 minutes to an hour to achieve an intense color, and hot brunettes can and from 1.5 to 2.5 hours withstand henna "under the hood" . And if you want to achieve a blue-black hue, then the simultaneous staining of henna and basma (first henna, and then immediately basma) is recommended.

To wash off henna it is necessary warm water without shampoo, and it is very carefully, thus arms or hand necessarily we protect with gloves.

An important point - unlike synthetic paints that affect the middle layers of the hair, henna as it envelops the hair from the outside and makes it impenetrable. You probably noticed that in all the instructions for coloring the hair with persistent paints it is stipulated that they are not recommended for use on hairs recently stained with henna. And it is true - henna, until it comes down completely, will not allow another paint to penetrate deep into the hair, so it's no accident that it's a warning. And on the hair, painted with synthetic paint, to apply henna is also dangerous - the shade can turn unpredictable.

And yet I recommend trying to make hair coloring with henna and sincerely hope that you will not regret, at the same time and strengthen hair! Good luck in getting the desired shade!