Dye Your Hair Using Henna

by stoeff

38K2513

Intro: Dye Your Hair Using Henna

Henna is a hair dye for all the people who want to have wonderful red hair and are not afraid of a bit of mess and a bit of imponderability (not sure about the right word..) Henna is the right choice to dye their hair.

Imponderability because this stuff is part of a grown plant and nothing out of a lab. So changes in quality are given. And also the results depend a lot on your personal hair colour and the structure of your hair

I started using Henna to dye my hair about 12 years ago.
My natural colour is a medium blond and the structure is rather flimsy
.
About 3 years ago I was kind of fed up with all the red and decided that it was time to see my natural hair colour again.
That turned out to be a mistake as I couldn't get my hair as shiny and manageable as all the previous years.

So last year I started to dye again and today is the day to renew my colour :)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna

STEP 1: What You Will Need


- powdered Henna (Lawsonia inermis) Quantity depends on the length of your hair, I use about   100g which is plenty

- rubber gloves ( you don't have to bother about them but then you will get nice copper coloured hands and, especially, fingern nails :)

- old clothes

- a washcloth

- hot water (you could also use black tea or diluted apple juice, in this case I used black tea)

- a bowl large enough

- spoon or fork to mix the dye

- plastic bag to cover your head

- a towel which should not be too new and certainly not white ;)

- about 2h of time


STEP 2: How to Start


1. put on old clothes

2. mix together Henna and hot water (tea , juice) until smooth

3. wash and dry your hair, comb it


STEP 3: Now Put on Your Gloves

and start to spread the mixture on your hair.

(You might want to put some cream on your forehead, ears and the back of your head. I don't do it anymore as I don't think it makes any difference.)

I think it works best when you try to knead it down to your skin ( my hair was never longer than down to my shoulders so I can't tell you anything about applying Henna on longer hair)

Try to reduce the mess to a minimum and don't panic stains on your skin will be washed away after a few showers.

After you finished the spreading and kneading use your washcloth to clean the skin on your forehead and in your neck.
Then cover your hair with a plastic bag and wrap your head in a towel.

Clean up the mess, it might stain the tiles if left on for a longer time.

Now get yourself a nice cup of tea/coffee and let the Henna mixture steep on your head for about 1 hour.
You can leave it on your head for much longer, even over night, but I'm not very patient and so I usually rinse it  down after 1 hour.


STEP 4: The Result

After 1 hour or longer rinse your hair well to  get all the Henna out.

The colour first might come as a shock but it will be already much darker when your hair is dry and it will darken over the next 1-2 days.

The colour will bleed a bit when you wash your hair and you should seriously think about putting a towel on your pillow during the night.

Have fun with your "new" hair :)

13 Comments

tuliploveremma 9 years ago

I just want to know how much do you put water or the tea in the mixture?

slalomqueen85 10 years ago

Hey I have a question. I have medium dark brown hair, but unfortunately, I have developed quite a bit of grey around my hairline. (and I'm not even 30! :o( grrr) But I really want to start covering the Grey (and having a red tint all over would be cool too. If i do this.... What would it look like? Will the grey be like bright red compared to the rest of my head?

stoeff 10 years ago

Hello, as I have medium blond hair I don't really know how visible gray hair will be in darker hair after dying. It will certainly be brighter but of course is also depends on the amount of gray. Try it if you are adventurous ;) (and your hair is rather short...)

Bernice Spiteri 10 years ago

Hi, I really want to try this, but my hair is extremely dark naturally (looks black, even though I know black hair shouldn't exist :P) Do you think henna would work?

stoeff 10 years ago

Hi, if you have really dark hair you will only get a red shimmer in bright light. I have seen it and think it looks very nice in sunlight but you will not become a redhead with this method :)

mponceloz 11 years ago

I learn a very nice trick in Bangladesh, when I went to a saloon there. They start applying the henna at the top of your head leaving all your mane down; as they advance on the application they make a round bun on the top of the head and the last thing they color is around the hair line , is less mess and more control. They also apply vaseline all around the sking near the hair line and the ears, so is foul proof. Many of the ladies there used to go to the salon only for application and they will go home with the henna under a plastic cap and them since they cover their head with the scarf nobody notice. I though it was very cool.

stoeff 11 years ago

Thank you, this is a neat trick!
Unfortunately my hair isn't long enough to do so, but if I will ever go for long hair I will certainly give it a try :)

ohnotyou2 11 years ago

If you rub vaseline (preferably) or lotion around the areas of your face and neck that meet your hair line, then that will prevent the henna from staining your skin.

Love your tutorial, very helpful!

Dragontrap 12 years ago

Oh wow! Loving the color henna gives, totally going to have to try this myself!

Ninerini 12 years ago

I use to color my hair with henna all the time. Absolutely loved it! I'm not saying your instructable is wrong, however I wanted to put my two cents in. First only use Body Art Quality Henna. Some of the boxed "henna dyes" contain salts and can fry/ turn the hair green. Second it's recommended to always use an acidic base (even if it's mild ie: Camille tea) and hot water as the henna mixed with hot water tends to fade faster. I used lemon and lime juice because my scalp could handle them. Third it is better to cover the bowl and let the henna sit at room temp about 12 hours for optimal dye release. I added enough juice to make a mashed potatoe like base and then after the time laps mixed in more to a yogurt consistency. . And last a tip for the stains on skin. Rubbing alcohol can help lighten/remove the stains faster. This is how I did it for years.

stoeff 12 years ago

Thank you. It's always good to learn new tricks :)