I took my hair out about a week ago.  This is what I did after my hair was loose. I henna’d a day after clarifying and conditioning. As I was taking pics to put on the blog I noticed how dreadfully dull my hair looked. I decided I should do something about that. I went back and forth between using a semi-permanent hair color aka a rinse or using a natural hair color or gloss aka henna. Ultimately, henna and other Ayurvedic powders won out.

I went to ebay and ordered Nupur 9 Henna powder, brahmi powder, and cassia obvata powder. Cassia is an herbal powder that colors blond so it’s often referred to as neutral colored henna or henna gloss powder. It provides shine and strength to hair. Traditional henna colors a deep reddish brown and strengthens hair. Brahmi conditions hair without coloring it.

I mixed up the Nupur 9 Henna and some Cassia powder in a 3:1 ratio. I used chamomile tea, apple cider vinegar, and grape seed oil in my mix, but I did not measure anything. I left the mix to sit for about 2 hours. I worked it through my hair and covered it with two plastic caps. I left the henna mix on for about 3 hours while I watched the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. I rinsed in the shower and it wasn’t as messy as I remembered. (I did one ayurvedic treatment when I first went natural 3 years ago.) My hands were stained because I didn’t have any gloves. I wasn’t bothered by that though.

My goal for the henna treatment was to close my cuticle and give my hair some shine. I decided (after my rant on here) that I do like the color of my hair. I like the ombre effect it has as it fades from dark brown to a reddish-brown. That said, I did not want the henna to turn my hair bright red.

So here’s my verdict:

Is my hair stronger after the henna treatment? I haven’t noticed.

Is my hair cuticle laying flatter after the henna treatment? I haven’t noticed. (granted, I’m still getting used to having my hair loose)

Is my hair more stretched after the henna? Yes, but this should go away soon and I like my shrinkage so I’m looking forward to this wearing off.

Is my hair shinier after the henna treatment? No, not that I can tell in natural light or pictures.

Is my hair colored from the henna treatment? Yes, it has a reddish tint in picture but indoors it looks exactly the same. I haven’t checked in outdoor light, but my hair looked very red outdoors beforehand anyway.

Will I henna again? Yep, I’m looking for the strengthening and shine properties so I will use the neutral henna probably in another 6 weeks.

Here are the pics so you can judge for yourself. The hair before is a wash and go with conditioner only. The pics were taken in low lighting. The after pics are a wash and go with conditioner and gel. It was a little earlier in the day so the lighting is slightly better.

Before:

After: