How To Use Lush Henna on Natural Hair

Henna has been on my must try list for years. No really. YEARS. Why? Because it looks messy, time consuming, and seems a little more complicated than this chemistry flunking chica can handle. Plus I was just plan scurred.

RELATED: Why I have henna on the brain


Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I'm in Lush and I see their Caca henna collection. They did all the hard work for you. Pick your color, chop up the amount of henna you need, add water and then apply. Like---have you ever seen a henna recipe that simple?

So I picked up a block of the Caca Rouge and did a happy dance. Here's how I got started, prepped the henna, and applied my henna.

START WITH A STRAND TEST

 

Have y'all seen this video by Chemese? She had a severe allergic reaction to what she thought was henna. Yeah---enough said. So the day before I decided to do a strand test. I started by chopping off a tiny bit of the henna block, adding a little warm water to it and applying it to a small section of my nape. I left it on for about 3 hours then rinsed. I also tested a patch on the inside of my arm just to make sure.

PREP YOUR HENNA BLOCK

 

The next day, I moved ahead with a full application. Here's how to prep the henna:

1. Break the henna into pieces. 
2. Put your pieces into a glass bowl
3. Add boiling water a few tablespoons at a time. 
4. Then mix and add water until you have a cake batter consistency.  Keep the henna mixture warm for easily application. (I just placed my bowl in a warm water bath to keep it warm)

APPLY YOUR HENNA

 

When I did the strand test, I noticed that it was really difficult to apply the henna to my hair dry. So I decided for the full application, to apply the henna to freshly co washed hair. (I also did this because my hair had a ton of product in it from my previous wash and go style. I didn't want the product buildup to prevent the henna from absorbing into my hair.) Starting with damp clean hair, I applied Lush's Ultrabalm to my hairline and ears to prevent staining. Then I:

5. Apply the warm henna in sections to your hair, cover hair with cling film and leave for 3 hours.
6. Wash the henna from your hair using warm water then deep condition. 

After application, I hopped under my hooded dryer for an hour then I let the henna sit on my hair for 3 more hours. The Lush salesgirl told me that heat would activate the henna even more and allow my hair to absorb more color.

I rinsed the henna for what felt like FOREVER until the water ran clean. Then I did my usual clay rinse.

RELATED: How to get your curls to POP!

I've done two henna treatments over the last month. Here are what my results look like so far:

HENNA RESULTS

The first time that I henna'd it was pretty much impossible to catch the subtle color on camera. But the second time, I really saw a difference, especially in sun. It actually reminds me of what my color looks like after a summer at the beach. The effect of henna on your hair color is cumulative--meaning that each time you do a treatment, your color will get deeper and richer. Which is exactly what I'm looking for! The process was actually easier than I thought it would be and my hair feels thicker and dare I say fuller (as if my hair wasn't already stupid full) than before.

How was your #washdayexperience? Would you ever consider using henna on your hair?

Besitos!
KLP

An InLinkz Link-up