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HENNA -- A little background on Henna (from Hennahut.com - my henna supplier): "Natural henna is wonderful for your scalp and your hair. All the women in India use it to keep their natural shiny soft thick hair" as an indirect quote because they won't let me copy and paste from their site, haha! Oh well. When using henna, make sure you're using an all natural henna source, with no metallic salts or chemicals added. Some hennas with these ingredients have given henna a bad name, so do your research before buying! I follow the directions EXACTLY because that's all it takes, and out comes my beautiful red hair!
I actually purchased the Burgundy shade first to try it out, not wanting to look too "gingery" haha (I can say that, I have a natural red tint to my hair no matter what I do to it, and was born with red hair!). After a few weeks, I realized I wanted my shade to be a little more red, so I purchased the "RED" and hennaed my hair again. Result: More red to my hair, resulting in a very RICH red wine color. And the best part about henna? If you mess up, you can dye it as soon as 4 days to a week afterwards!
SHAMPOO -- Tressa Watercolors in Fluid Fire and Crimson Splash are my shampoos of choice due to lack of the oh so evil SULFATES that strip out the color from your hair, even henna! At first, I was using Riveting Reds by Quantum which actually has red henna - but I found personally that it stripped as much color from my hair as it deposited. Tressa Watercolors is a great color depositing shampoo. I usually just use the Fluid Fire, but sometimes mix the 2 shampoos together to get an in-between. I love it - it's a MUST in my red hair care routine. :) They are the same size, tried to get some identical pictures, go figure, but they both come each in a 8.5oz. bottle.
Anyways, I put a decent amount of the Fluid Fire into my hands (which tends to look like fake blood to me), and lather it in my hair. Leave on for min. 10 minutes, rinse in cool water, and done! :)
WASHING -- Okay, so showering is VERY important, don't ever say I told you otherwise! Washing your body, common knowledge, is best every other day because of the essential oils that your body produces to hydrate your skin and what not. Well, believe it or not, your scalp does the same thing. Your scalp produces natural oils to keep it and the hair it grows hydrated and healthy. I read somewhere that just like your car needs oil to run, so does your scalp and hair. That can be hard to digest at first....trying to live in harmony with the oil on your head and looking like a grease ball!
I'm going to let you in on a little secret....I don't wash my hair but maybe 2-3x a week! Sounds gross to someone who washes their hair everyday I'm sure. I was very skeptical of this idea as well. But, when you wash it everyday, particularly with red hair, you're fading your hair extremely fast and shortening the life span of your new color.
So, how do you get AROUND not washing your hair? Dry Shampoo! I personally use Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo, and use it on the days in between shampooing my hair when it looks or feels oily/greasy. You just spray it about a foot away from your head, paying particular attention to your part and roots, rub it in with your fingers for a few moments, and then brush your hair. Refreshed! This way, you still have essential oils hydrating your hair as nature intended while looking like you actually washed your hair :)
*Note -- just because you are only washing your hair 2-3x a week, does not mean you can't shower the rest of your body every day or every other day. Wear a shower cap! I'm trying to help, not create an epidemic of stinkers :). Thank you. Also, I used to use Batiste dry shampoo in original - worked pretty good, but only had about 3-5 uses in each can. So, I switched to the Not Your Mother's Brand and it lasts 2x as long! I highly recommend it.
CONDITIONING TREATMENTS -- Concentration: Coconut Oil & Pantene for Fine hair.
*This was the spot in my blog where I admitted to not using any conditioner in the shower ever or at all. I'm updating this section because I found out how wrong I was! After weeks of not conditioning, my hair became very very very dry, and I actually developed some dandruff at the area of my scalp next to my ears! I was so afraid my conditioner (which contains alcohol) was going to strip the henna from my hair that I completely took it out of my hair care routine - big mistake. So, I do condition my hair now every time I shower - but limit my hair washings and stick to dry shampoo. :) Thanks.
*Note -- In case you are NEW to coconut oil and it's sudden craze...It looks a bit like, well, Crisco in the jar. Just scoop a little out with your fingers, rub between your palms and it will liquefy itself from the friction. After it's liquefied, apply to hair and smooth from roots to ends. I have read some articles saying to leave only on your ends and not your scalp, but the ends of your hair are DEAD. So, it only makes sense to hydrate and massage the actual source of hair follicles and growth....your scalp!
STYLING -- Fresh out of the shower, I use a t-shirt to dry my hair. Towels have a harsh effect on your hair and actually rub the hairs. I forgot the exact science of it, but I've noticed a lot less breakage, hair loss, etc, from drying my hair with an old t-shirt. T-shirts are much softer on your hair, long story short haha. Next, I will either jiggle my fingers in random places in my hair to separate my waves for a natural look, or I will comb my hair with a wide tooth comb from ends to roots. Without conditioner, this can be a challenge - but I'd rather my hair be natural and thicker than SPRINGY AND THIN. The below pictures are not the exact wide tooth comb nor t-shirt I use fyi!
Okay, so I have always been a straightening fanatic - but, having worked in the dental field and always having to wear my hair pulled back, and learning the damaging effect of straightening to your hair, I have since ceased my straightening. I will admit every once in a while, I still straighten it. But maybe once a month now. Instead, I mainly just blow dry my hair with the barrel facing my shoulders so it straightens as I blow dry! It works very well for me, and my fine, thin hair looks a little thicker. I personally found the Rusk Speed Freak blow dryer at my local Ulta beauty supply store, and love it! At first it was a little like a strong leaf blower but you get used to it. 15 Minutes max blow drying :) A little hairspray goes a long way with my hair as well to minimize any frizzing effect. I like to use Garnier Sleek & Shine Hairspray because I live in the south, and there's quite a bit of humidity!
So, that's about it for hair care! I'm trying to grow my hair out longer, so if anyone has any tips that have worked out well PERSONALLY, comment on my blog and let me know! Also, if anyone else has hennaed their hair and found any certain methods/products have worked particularly well for them please comment and let me know! There's not a certain source for hair care on henna hair, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also, you can click on any of the products (except for the coconut oil I believe, since Walmart didn't have it on their website) to go check out pricing, reviews, etc. I LOVE doing research before I buy something, or anything at all, so do your own research! Thanks for reading, and hope this helped!
-CW
Editor's Note: I am not in any way compensated nor paid by Hennahut.com nor any of these products/suppliers, etc. to sponsor or promote any products included in this blog! Thank you!
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