Henna Gloss How-To:

Henna.
Where do I start with henna? If you don't know much about henna, then I shall try my best to explain the basics. :)
Henna is a natural powder that is formed when the Lawsonia inermis tree leaves are ground up. You then form a paste by adding water. Henna is a dye. People dye many things with henna, including skin (for henna tattoos) and hair. But henna only dyes ONE COLOR. Red. That's it. It does not dye your hair brown, black, blue, or any other color of the rainbow.

If a box of henna SAYS it dyes something other than red, then either:
a. It's mixed with another natural powder like Indigo or Alma or Cassia or
b. It is not all natural and its mixed with chemicals.

Henna does not lighten the hair, either. As a matter of fact, if you put henna on your head, it will most likely darken it a little. Beware.

Henna can also be used to dye skin, but you will have to look somewhere else to know how to do that. I dye my hair, that's it. Never tried henna tattooing. Maybe one day...:)

This post is about a henna gloss. We're not just going to slap henna and lemon juice/water on our heads today. :) Henna gloss is when you mix henna like normal, let it sit in bowl for however many hours to get a dye release, and then right before you put it on your head, you add oils/conditioners, etc. And lots of it. The reason for this is so that you can have the benefits of henna without your hair over-drying (henna can dry out your hair, especially if your protein sensitive, so if this is your first time hennaing, I would suggest a henna gloss first). Henna glosses will still stain your hair, so if your a blonde that want the benefits of henna without the red, I would suggest Cassia. It gives a golden hue, not a red, and it is great for your hair, too.

Henna is AWESOME for your hair. It is full of protein, and strengthens your hair while dying it a natural red tone. It also makes it so shiny. :) If you have curly hair, the curls might loosen for a while after the henna, not too much, but somewhat. Mine do.

More about the protein sensitivity. I have a major protein sensitivity with my hair. If I do a straight out henna, with no conditioner or whatever, my hair will fry up for a week or longer. It will feel like complete straw, and it will be really hard to brush. Not everyone's hair is like this, so test it first! I made the mistake of not testing, and I ended up using a whole bottle of Aubrey Organics conditioner (which is awesome by the way. It's completely protein free and really moisturizing) in a week. If you've fried your hair with henna and either can't find Aubrey Organics or don't want to spend the $10 on it, you can use Suave or VO5 conditioner. They're protein free too. There are plenty of other options, however. Just do your research. I am only saying these brands because I have tried them and they have worked for me.:)

Now, onto the actual process of henna glossing your hair.

These are the basic ingredients needed for mixing your henna the day before actually using it. I used 3/4 cup of henna powder. Don't use metal bowls or spoons, use wood, plastic or glass for your henna.

Add the lemon juice. Some people use only lemon juice and no water, some people (like me) use a little lemon juice and water, and some don't use lemon juice at all. I would recommend some kind of acid, even if it is just a little bit. It gives it better color, in my opinion. You can use lemon juice or ACV (apple cider vinegar). I don't like the smell of the vinegar, so I stick with the lemon. If this is your first time, go for either acv or use a little lemon juice, not a whole lot. Some people don't like using it because it dries their hair a little. ACV moisturizes the hair pretty well, but like I said, beware the smell.

This is what the henna looked like after mixing in the lemon juice and water. Just mix until it is the consistency of thick pancake batter. If it is a little lumpy, that is okay, it will go away later on when you mix it. Some people swear by this, but I NEVER use boiling or really hot water. Ever. It messes up the dye to me, making it weaker and not as strong and rich. But if you have tried it and liked it, good :)

Let me get this straight. My henna (in the above picture), isn't the best quality. I have used better, I have used worse. This henna is a bulk henna I bought from Amazon called "Henna Powder from Jaipur (Rajasthan) by All India Store. When I got it, it was in a green canvas like bag, and it was a good bit of henna (1 lb). In the ingredients it said: Henna, Sugar. Not once on the website did it say it had sugar in it. That's not bad, some people put sugar in their henna because it makes the paste smoother, but it kind of confused me. Anyways, then I go to mix it, and this green/blue liquid creeps out the edges. Is it dyed? I don't know. The henna isn't that bad, really, I just can not put this on my head without conditioner. It would fry it. It gives good dye though, I can give them that. I have also tried Henna Hut's henna (which is great quality), Light Mountain Henna (terrible quality, barely any dye and had a lot of twigs), this henna (its okay:)) and Jamila (pretty good). Jamila is pretty cheap, and it is decent quality. The thing about Jamila, however, is that there are two different hennas from their company: Henna for hair, and BAQ (body art quality). If you were going to buy henna from Jamila, stick with the BAQ. The henna for hair isn't as rich and doesn't leave as good a dye. Even if you're dying your hair, go with BAQ. It is better quality. If you ordered Jamila henna already, and don't know which one you got, check the inside of the box. If it is henna for hair, it will say it inside. Also, if it is BAQ henna, it will have a crop date and expiration date on the bottom of the box, and the henna will be wrapped in foil-like plastic, not clear plastic. If your's was wrapped in clear plastic, it is hair quality henna. I'm going to stop rambling now, and get back to the how-to.

Now you just wrap up the henna (I just used a wal-mart bag and stuck a hole for my chopstick). :)
Leave it like this for a while. Here's a chart for how long you should leave it with whatever temperature you're room is. The warmer the temperature, the faster the henna will be ready.

I hope you can read that..
Anyways...

TWELVE HOURS LATER ( I always say that in my head like that guy on Spongebob):

This is the henna after mixing. It is now much creamer and no more lumps. The ingredients I used is Suave coconut conditioner, Virgin Coconut oil, and EVOO.

This is after adding the oils. I added about a tablespoon of each oil.

Then I added the conditioner. This is the conditioner at the top, and I didn't exactly measure. I would say... about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup.

This is the end product :) Looks smooth....
Its a tiny bit runny, if you don't like it that way, add a tiny bit more henna powder. I like it like this because it is easy to distribute through the hair.

Test on hand, if you want. Just dab a little on your wrist and wait five minutes... then wipe off.

This is the dye I got. Not bad... especially for a gloss (its darker in person, I assure you). Glosses obviously still dye the hair a little, so be careful, blondes and light haired people. :)
This is when I put it on my head. I didn't (couldn't) take any pictures (its hard to when you have henna covered gloves on). There are many techniques for putting henna on your hair, but the most used one is when you take a piece of hair from the crown of your head, slather it in henna, then coil it down to your scalp to create a "bun". Then take sections of hair around it and slather, then coil around the first bun, etc etc until you have a massive henna bun on the top of your hair. I didn't do that. When the gloss is semi runny, I just slather it on my head randomly. It's easier and faster for me. Do whats best for you.

Looks like vomit. Sorry for the mental images :P

Bag it up and wait... I used two wal-mart or some store's bags on my head, tied at the front. It's easier to use plastic caps, but I ran out. I waited four hours, and then I hopped in the shower.
Secret ingredient to get it out? Yes, more conditioner. Suave conditioner. It is a life-saver. What I did was let my hair run under the shower until the water was clear, then I used A LOT of suave (you could use vo5, just a lot of a protein free cheap conditioner). When I say a lot, I mean handfuls, until it covered every inch of my hair. Then I massaged it with my fingertips and rinsed. Some people don't shampoo right after hennaing because it can cause the henna to stop dying your hair (henna continues to redden and darken your hair over the next two or three days after hennaing) but I shampooed. I used Macadamia oil shampoo (by Organix) once, then conditioned with Macadamia oil conditioner.

(Above)This is before henna, Indoors.

This was before henna, Outdoors.

This is after, Indoors.

This is after, outdoors. It has slightly darkened and taken on a redder tone. And it feels stronger and looks shinier. :) 

This is my first blog ever. If it sucked, tell me please. :P If you have any questions, feel free to comment them! Thanks for reading :)