Sunday, January 13, 2013

Henna for hair

To all of you female goths out there, I am sure you can relate to my struggle to find the perfect red hairdye or the perfect night-black dye that won't completely wreck your hair.  In the past, I've bleached, dyed, wrecked and shaved my hair, then grown it out and wrecked it all over again.  After promising myself I would not dye my hair for a while, I tried going natural to give my hair a rest.  Unfortunately, like many women, I abhor my natural hair color as it closely resembles the color of a mouse's fur.  It's cute on a mouse, and that's about it.

Then, a couple months ago I used a "natural dye" that you may have heard about called "Naturtint" and it left me with a migraine and strawlike hair.  So much for natural.  I kept up my search and found Henna for hair and decided to try it.  It left my hair with a brilliant shade of copper red, all without damage.  For those of you looking for a more natural black hair dye, you can follow your henna dye (after washing) with an indigo mix and it will supposedly turn your mane into a silky black miracle.  This all without using parabens, peroxide, and ammonia.  

The hitch?  You have to be patient and have a full day to dedicate to your hair.  You could see it as a pain in the ass, or you can see it as a pamper yourself day.  Hell, stay home, do nothing, watch bad b horror films; paint your nails, record some music, draw!  

The brew; about one packet of body art quality Jamila henna (100 g) mixed with 3/4c STRONG hibiscus tea, 2Tbs olive oil 9Tbs lemon juice, 3Tbs red wine vinegar, 1Tbs paprika.  Top it off with black tea to make it a yogurt-like consistency, add preferred essential oils and let it sit outside of fridge for at least 14 hours before using.
 the mousy 'before' picture (eeeew)
 And the after picture (ahhhhh).
  I applied the mixture with a dye brush smushed it all on top of my head, and put a shower cap on (to retain the moisture).  I left it on for about 4.5 hours and then rinsed it, shampooed once, and applied and rinsed conditioner twice.  It seems like a tedious process, but if you use the right essential oils (lavender, rosemary, peppermint, tea tree) then it can be really soothing to your head and scalp and of course mentally relaxing.  And just look, you get beautiful, shiny color without the chemicals and migraines!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about making your own henna hair mix, and have fun!

2 comments:

  1. Hello there, just popping in to say that I love your blog. I'm undergoing a "do I keep dying my hair forever and ever and ever" crisis. Especially since I am now getting a few grays :(. I've never tried henna though, hmmm

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Underground for Tea,
    Grays are beautiful! I went through a similar crisis myself about a year ago, mainly because chemical dyes give me migraines and serious skin problems. Dying your hair should be done to make you feel good, not because it is some routine maintenance that you begrudgingly do once every X amount of days. I enjoy doing henna because it feels more like I'm taking time for myself; mixing the henna, applying it and just sitting around for a couple hours is quite therapeutic. If you look at it as a way to unwind it's great, but if you think of it as just a way to cover your grays, then I wouldn't recommend it (one could be driven insane with impatience!).

    ReplyDelete