Henna Happiness - w/Result Pics

Overdue...

Early last week I discussed my purchase of Jamila Henna and Cassia from Henna Sooq. I actually henned on Thursday last week, but between then and now, I've somehow mananged to pull a back muscle so I haven't really felt like doing anything other than laying down (I didn't know a back injury could hurt this much :(((((. Thus, I've been a slowpoke and haven't taken the time to upload pics of my henna treatment until now.

My past henna experience was with a couple dusty boxes of Mumtaz Henna that I bought from a local Indian store. Mumtaz made my hair feel dry and wiry, was hard to rinse out and lacked a significant dye release.

But I digress...first of all, I love Jamila Henna. When I added warm water to the powder, the dye release was almost instantaneous. I made the mistake of mixing my henna without wearing gloves, and the palm of my right hand was a lovely bright orange for 3-4 days, and the mix was only on my hands for 5-10 minutes! The henna was super-duper easy to rinse out and I didn't feel like my hair was parched after the treatment. Since my treatment, I have had much success with styling and IMO my hair is softer. I said that I wanted to dive in head first and take my dark brown hair color up to a dark burgundy and after this treatment, I am slowly inching toward my goal. My only problem is mustering up enough gumption to leave the henna on my hair for more than a couple hours. On my test hair, I left it on for 8 hours, and BOY was it red. One day, I will take the time to do a full 8 hours. Nonetheless, on a sunny day, my hair glows brownish red, and even indoors I can see flecks of burgundy red :)

My Mix:
-100 g (1 box) Jamila Henna
-Splash of lemon juice
-1/2 c warm tap water
-Capful of Jojoba Oil
-1 tsp of Amla powder
-Gloves
-Non metallic bowl and spatula

-Mix until you get a thick smooth consistency (like cornbread mix)
-Cover with Saran Wrap and let it sit overnight/12 hours
-After 12 hours uncover and stir mix again
-Feel free to add oils or more water if the mix consistency is too stiff
-Apply mix to hair in small sections working from the back of your head to the front
-Smooth/smush mix into hair ensuring that every strand of hair from root to tips is covered
-Wrap head in Saran Wrap and a then in an old towel to prevent the mix from seeping onto skin
-Leave in hair for up to 8 hours (longer time = more color)
-Rinse mix from hair completely (may take up to 1 hour depending on thickness of hair)
-Deep condition hair
-Style as usual

(Pre-henna color - tinge of red/brown)
(Smells as bad as it looks :P)
(Post-henna color is very subtle)