Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Henna Gloss: The Tutorial

[quality may be a little crappy, as the video is still processing]

Hey guys, so I finally got around to editing and uploading this video. This is how I do my Henna Gloss applications every 6 weeks [I apply on dry hair]. I also follow up with an Indigo application for the deep blue black color, but I could not find any ANYWHERE! So I resorted to ordering some online :-/

I will do an updated video once my indigo arrives, but until then, I hope some of you find this tutorial useful!

Why Henna?
  • Help stop/curb breakage
  • Makes hair stronger
  • Thickens strands
  • Temporarily loosens curl patterns for some [enhances curl patterns in others]  
  • Reduces dandruff
  • Imparts shine, and makes hair incredibly silky
Here are a few tips for getting the best out of your Henna application;

  • Make sure you have enough Henna to completely cover your entire head. I have very thick hair, so I use two boxes of Henna which equals 200g [Each box is 100g].
  • I do not add Lemon Juice to my mixture [it is too drying for my hair], if I want to expedite the color release process, I put my covered bowl inside of a heating pad [on low] for about 3-4 hours. 
  • Don't add oil to the mix BEFORE the color has released; it is purported that doing so may hinder the dye release process. 
  • If you have RELAXED hair, please use Body Quality Henna only. If you aren't sure your Henna is BAQ, don't use it. Instead, order from a source [source two] you trust!
  • I use conditioners in my mix, it makes the Henna mix "smoother" and easier to rinse out. 
  • Do not try to comb the Henna through your strands when applying it to your hair. You want to manipulate the hair as little as possible. 
  • When rinsing out the Henna, allow the the pressure of the water to gently rinse out the henna, again, you want to manipulate the hair as little as possible.
  • To combat the drying effects, use a SULFATE FREE shampoo to rinse out the Henna, or even a moisturizing shampoo. I use Keracare Hydrating Shampoo in their Sulfate Free formula. 
  • Make sure you rinse out the Henna thoroughly. If there are remnants of Henna left in your hair, it may appear dull, and will often feel very dry [I know, I have experienced this].
I use the following brands [and I love them might I add]:
Dulhan
Mumtaz [Body Art Quality]
Nupur
Supreme
Jamila [Body Art Quality]
Karishma

My mix consists of:
200G Henna [two boxes]
1/2 Cup Hello Hydration Conditioner
1 Cup Lustrasilk Mango & Shea Butter Conditioner
1/2 Cup of Brahmi Oil added to mixture before applying the Henna on my hair.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section so that I can answer them for everyone!

46 comments:

  1. Great video, dont think anyone ever really does a written and visual explanation. Thank u for that. Do you apply the indigo the same way??

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  2. I apply my henna & other powders on dry hair sometimes and I always wonder if I shouldn't--so it's good to see someone else who does! :)

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  3. alright, this might've just convinced me to give Henna another go...

    awesome tutorial!

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  4. Nice tutorial!!! where do you purchase your henna from? I need to try this one day... Thank you TONYA>>>

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  5. great tutorial! 2 questions: what is the difference between body quality and other types of henna? is the henna gloss you use cassia? if not, does cassia provide similar benefits?

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  7. Thank you for this chica! Much appreciated.

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  8. I'm back!! LOL Love your blog. I just had a quick suggestion/comment... I know you said that you don't have much of a curl pattern (though I disagree, I LOVE your curl pattern)so do you think that the Henna could be the culprit? I believe in the video you said it helps straightens the hair? Just a suggestion! :)

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  9. I've always been fascinated by Henna treatments but in the dark as to how it's supposed to be done. It seems easy enough. I may put this on my list of things to try.

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  10. I know nothing about henna so i really appreciate this post!
    *was your hair clean before applying the henna or is it just week old hair?
    *Does it matter whether your hair is clean or dirty before applying henna?
    *I really like the benefits but I dont want the reddish color I prefer my hair to stay the way it is which is black..does your method prevent the color release? if not what do you suggest?

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  11. Great post by the way..However do you ever just do the whole henna verses the gloss? And if so what is your process for that?

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  12. I am with sky-- is there a way to use henna and keep your original hair color? Without using indigo or amla? For example can you mix it with something but not let it sit for the dye release? I have med/drk brown hair that I want to keep the color with no red tint- I have a feeling its going to catch the light parts of my hair and turn them really bright.

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  13. @Sky My hair was dirty before apply henna

    It actually doesn't matter if the hair is clean or dirty, it is totally your preference. I only want to shampoo once, so I do it on dirty hair

    Just recently I noticed a little red tinge in the light [I didn't Indigo right after like I normally do] so there is some color there. However I normally do an Indigo treatment right after which then gives me a jet black color.

    If you don't want the red color; you can buy the Henna Supreme w/the Amla mixed in, and use immediately. This way there is no color release.

    @Shannon I really don't like the way my hair feels after doing regular Henna; so I just stick to the gloss!

    @Skeeta I would suggest the Supreme Henna [it already has the Amla mixed in it] - Then you just mix it with water, and use it immediately.

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  14. Excellent tutorial, I've got to try the henna gloss because regular henna makes my hair a little dry.

    Thanks for doing this!

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  15. Hi! Great tutorial, lovely blog :) I really like your henna gloss recipe and I'm thinking of trying it ingredient for ingredient...I was curious about why you chose to use the Lustrasilk Shea and Mango, though? I know henna tends to act like a protein and I ~thought~ that Cholesterol was derived from protein? It's kinda scary to imagine that much protein at one time :( I'm sure you have a reason for using it since it's in your routine! Would you mind sharing?

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  16. @Sherriann; thank you very much! it makes my hair dry as well!

    @BrownEmber; I started using that because I wanted to get rid of the conditioner. I used other conditioners and it didn't give me the same results. So I stuck with Lustrasilk.

    Henna does tend to act like a protein; but with the addition of oils etc..the effects aren't nearly as drastic as just doing a regular henna treatment [which makes my hair dry and hard]. This mixture is similar to using a protein conditioner vs something like aphogee.

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  17. Thanks so much for responding! I think my first gloss went really well thanks to your vid :)

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  18. @BrownEmber; Good! I am glad it was successful!

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  19. I tried you recipe and the henna rinse out so much easier! thanks!! Hope you do an Indigo tut too... Indigo is always harder to apply (for me)

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  20. @Ashley; you are more than welcome! I am glad you liked it! I am doing an Indigo application today too, so hopefully I should have the tut up in the next few days!

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  21. I am going to attempt my first henna but I have a relaxer what do you mean by body quality henna?

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  22. @Ariez Body Art Quality Henna is the kind they use for Henna Tattoo's - It has no added chemicals in it!

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  23. Yay thanks for this post. I did my first henna indigo treatment using the Rainbow brand and let's just say it was a clumpy mess. I'm going to order the Jamila brand to see how I like that. Thanks Moptopmaven you're the best ;0)

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  24. Thanks for the tutorial.. I think it will work better for me on dry hair.. I done it b4 and applied indigo after and my hair was so dry and hard to detangle after that I am transitioning..I wash my hair b4 I applied the henna.. Also if you aren't using 2 box of henna do you still use the same amount of conditioner? I'm glad I found your site through word of mouth

    Thanks

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  25. Question about Indigo -- Do you follow the same conditioner/oil method with the indigo as you do with the henna? Or is it just the indigo with hot water? Thanks!

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  26. @Summer; I only use a mixture of water and indigo :-)

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  27. Hi there!
    If I wanted a deep blue or bright black colour, would I do an Indigo treatment after the henna treatment or would I mix it in?

    Thank-you!

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  28. Your site+blogs are very helpful! It's great that you've created it and it is definitely living up to its mission. I have a concern/question regarding the henna. I purchased the Jamila henna but was disappointed to know that the ingredients list was in sanskrit. I researched henna as much as possible from blogs to academic articles and medical journals and almost all of them had in their conclsuion the high risk of an allergic response from the henna when used on skin. Granted we are using the henna on our hair for its conditoning and strengthening capabilities but are there brands that you would recommend for consumers such as myself who want to know what is in their product? I would love to try the henna if I knew what was in it...I ended up purchasing naturatint from wholefoods to color my hair instead.
    Blessings! Jacqui

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  29. Here is a source that mentions the concern with henna. It primarily focuses on tatoos but discusses the conerning ingredient parahenylenediamine. A lot of the henna boxes claim "no PPD" but how do you know for sure if everything is written in sanskrit? Here is the link for those interested. Look below
    http://0-galenet.galegroup.com.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/servlet/HWRC/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&bucket=ref&rlt=1&o=&n=10&l=d&searchTerm=2NTA&index=BA&basicSearchOption=KE&tcit=1_1_0_0_0_1&c=1&docNum=DU2601001637&locID=mlin_b_northest&secondary=false&t=RK&s=1&SU=henna

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  30. Thanks for the tutorial! My question is have you heard of adding coconut milk instead of water/lemon juice/tea to the henna mix. And will you get the same color release if you add any of the above. Thanks!

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  31. Great site, beautiful hair. If you don't want the color release and use regular henna or add Amla to regular henna, should you still add conditioner and oil or JUST water.

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  32. what can i do with left over henna or indigo after I mix them up?

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  33. Hi! I am curious how often you detangle your hair...do you prefer to do it before or after a henna treatment? I am new to henna-ing. I did 1 full treatment...and each week I have done a henna gloss. This week, I used a protein vatika conditioner for my gloss and noticed a few clumps of shed hair when I rinsed. I haven't detangled in a few weeks, but I co-wash daily to control tangles and haven't ever noticed clumps. Could it be over henna-ing or the protein mix, in your opinion? I have been henna-ing a lot to get my hair stronger and will slow it down as I approach my desired length...or at least that was the plan. Why do you only do it every 6-8 weeks? Do you ever do a full strength treatment at this point?

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  34. I would like to replace one of the conditioners with coconut oil, what do you think?

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  35. Hi Moptomaven, I just came across your youtube site. Congrats. I was curious about the indigo as I noticed your hair had a beautiful black colour. Have you even done a henna where you mixed the indigo and henna together? Or do you do the Indigo seperate to get a "blacker" look?

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  36. I recently purchased a Brahmi Alma oil on amazon for pre-pooing. I'm guessing the Brahmi ALMA is a bad replacement for just regular Brahmi oil if I still want the colour when doing my henna gloss?

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  37. hi, your hair is lovely. have you always been natural or did you grow it out from a perm?

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  38. I know absolutely nothing about or never heard about a Henna. Is it this that make the texture of your hair so wonderful.

    Ps: I am totally in love with your natural hair

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  39. Im confused, what makes this a 'gloss' vs a regular ol henna treatment? I know quite a few ppl who use conditioner as part of their henna session, my understanding was that a henna gloss was just adding a little henna to your conditioner where as henna-ing was adding stuff [conditioner/oils etc] into your henna batch like you're doing.

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  40. hey can you aplly tis mix to hair which is not dry

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  41. What type of henna do you use and what site can it be found on?

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  42. I want to make my hair and orangish color, my hair is all natural, what should I do???

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  43. Can the Karishma Henna be used on transtioning hair?

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  44. Hello MoptopMaven, I have to say you're blog has the most comprehensive answers to my natural hair journey...thanks so much for this...I'm a Natural Hair Novice, so can you please explain what the INDIGO TREATMENT is? Thank you very much...

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  45. Thank you so much for this post. I have been relaxer free for 2 1/2 years but only wearing my hair out for 6 months. I have very dry course hair and was experiencing hair loss every time I touched my hair to style or clean. I used your henna tutorial with a few modifications...I used neutral henna because I did not want to alter my hair color, for my conditioner I used yes to carrots mask and for my oil I used coconut. I have noticed that my hair is much softer, shinier and more importantly that I am not losing hair whenever I do twists. My hair was growing despite the hair loss but I am confident that I will see even more impressive hair growth with the addittion of henna to my regimen.

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  46. I finally tried your henna gloss mix and i must say I loved it. Normally i use curly Nikki recipe, and use the lustrasilk afterward. But yours provided my hair with tons of moisture with the henna. Thanks for sharing your recipe :)

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