TIME TO D Y E

I love coloured hair!  I see so many great colours on different heads of different textures and different lengths, and I love them ALL (...most of the time). I'm especially loving the purples, blues, and teals this season!
On full carefree bouncy curls, twist outs with attitude, and demure yet sexy coils.

I have always enjoyed colouring my own hair, even back when I was relaxed.  Now Now, take it easy, I wasn't using harsh permanent colour dyes and brands, and I always enlisted the assistance of a professional...when I wasn't using Kool Aid.  Wait. What? You've never used Kool Aid to dye your hair?!?!? Have you been under a rock?!  I'll definitely have to tell you about that sometime...but, not this time.  

This time I'm using HENNA for the very first time!!
I've always wanted to use Henna...well, not always, but I've been interested in Henna for a few years now.  And after much research I'm ready. Heck, I've always been ready, just never followed through and actually procured some Henna.  I must confess, I didn't this time either; the Henna came to me.  So now, I have some extra Henna stored in my freezer from a previous application in which I assisted. Score*

I came to be interested in Henna after I came across it as a Natural alternative to hair dye when I was looking for some options back in the day.  As we all know, those boxed brands, tubes and packets on store shelves and in salon cases are loaded with harmful chemicals.  Being that I was beginning to dabble in the Natural world I wanted to know what my options were.  Sure as I mentioned before I've used Kool Aid, but that was way long before Natural Living was a 'thing', like I said I'll tell you about that experience another time.

What is Henna

Henna has been used since ancient times in the Eastern world and for a long time was unknown to us Westerners.  The Henna Plant is native to semi-arid zones such as parts of Southern Asia, Africa and Northern Australia. The most rich and pure Henna is harvested in Northwestern India which has the best environmental conditions for growth.  The leaves of the Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) flowering plant contain the colouring pigment Lawsone, which is the red/orange dye released when the leaves are dried, milled and sifted into a fine powder.  Henna powder must be activated by mixing into a paste using an acidic activator prior to applying to hair or skin for dying purposes.

Henna Hair Dye

Henna has been used as a Hair Dye for centuries dating back 6,000 yrs, it is said Cleopatra and Nefertiti were known to utilize Henna.  It is even said that in the 50s Lucille Ball, of I Love Lucy fame used a Henna Rinse to achieve her character's signature mane.

Henna Benefits

Henna has all sorts of great benefits, which even though I didn't understand the importance and impact of them all back when I discovered it, they sounded so good I wanted to try this method I knew I would love.  

Let me tell you, Henna:

• is all NATURAL
• Conditions scalp which reduces scalp problems including Dandruff and Hair Fall which results in Thinning Hair
• Strengthens hair shaft by naturally and gently binding to the Keratin (protein in hair) through restructuring
• adds Shine & Volume by laying the cuticle layer flat
• maintains hairs' natural PH-balance and cleanses dirt from scalp as it extracts residue as it is washed out (like a mud facial)
• prevents hair from Greying as it deposits a deep red tint on hair

Henna a wonderful Mulit-Tasker that I am happy to add to my line-up.  It makes a strong argument for itself and I'll be hard-pressed to find someone who isn't convinced.  

Prep for this post just got me even more excited...*running off to defrost that Henna now!

For more details and knowledge you can Google (I prefer Bing, but it doesn't roll of the tongue as smoothly😁), there's an overwhelming amount of information. The following sites were very helpful for me.

• Black Hair Information Part 1/Part 2
• Fresh Lengths
• Henna Color Lab
• Henna for Hair

~ Josie Jo ~

Coming Soon: First Time Henna