Qamar Franji Eastern Arts

Henna as Hair Dye and Conditioner

Henna'd hair Henna has been used as a hair conditioner at least back into Pharaonic Egypt. More recently, it was used by: silent film star Theda Bara; Lucille Ball; and countless hippies from the 60s on. It never lost its allure in India and the Islamic world, but until fairly recently most Americans hadn't heard of it. I started hennaing my hair in 1994 and have been nothing but delighted with the results.

Unilke most hair dyes, henna is a translucent coating over the hair shaft. That makes it very strong and very, very shiny. Since the coating is translucent, it allows the normal color variations of your hair to come through, which gives you a completely natural look that is usually not obvious even when the henna is growing out. Henna is semipermanent, which means that it will for the most part grow out, although the color does fade a bit over time. My hair needs henna about 5-6 times a year.

There are a few cautions to using henna on your hair. The first is that even though henna for hair does not need to be quite as good as henna for skin use, a cheap henna will give you a cheap stain. If you have very light hair, cheap henna will turn it sunset pink-orange, or if you have very dark hair, it may not show up at all. Also cheap hair henna tends to be very badly sifted, so you may have what I used to call "twig-head" through several shampoos until all the plant bits are gone.

Henna has gotten a bad reputation among modern hair care professionals that it really does not deserve. Henna is sometimes mixed with metallic salts that can combine with chemical processes to turn your hair into greeny-grey straw. Yuck. You can avoid this problem, even on chemically dyed or permed hair, by only using 100% PURE henna powder. That's the only kind I offer

Recipe:

Here is the most basic recipe. If you want to turn your hair slightly to the magenta side of red, use Red Zinger tea as your water. Coffee will darken the color. You can also use plain yogurt instead of the olive oil in about the same ratio. DO NOT use flavored yogurt! No matter how lovely the strawberry smells, it will not smell so nice on your head for however long because bits are stuck to your scalp and hair. Ask me how I know this...

Procedure:


Okay, so here you can see how my roots were a different color and needed recoloring. Pick a time when you are reasonably free from distractions and nobody is going to be around who needs to maintain their cherished notions of your delicate beauty. You will need about two hours but you'll only be actually busy for ten minutes at a time so you can stop for phone calls, crying babies, or whatever comes up.	I apologize for the crummy lighting in my bathroom. Take a nonmetal container you don't mind getting stained, a spoon you don't mind getting stained, a towel you don't mind getting stained, a button-front or zip-front shirt or bathrobe you don't... well, you get the picture. You'll also need some plastic wrap or a plastic grocery bag and some rubber gloves not used for anything in the kitchen or bathroom previously.	And put them in the bathroom. This much hair needs about 125 grams of powder. Dump however much you need in your bowl and add 1/4 cup of very hot water for every 25 grams of powder.

Stir that for a bit, then add 1tsp olive oil for every 25 grams of powder. Stir until all large lumps are gone. I should mention that all these measurements are by no means set in stone and guesstimating will do you fine once you've done this a couple times.	Leave the mix on the bathroom sink and take a shower. Wash your hair. If you can't comb your hair without conditioner, use a little but it's better to get your hair free of any coating. Towel dry your hair.	Comb your hair. Now is the time to do a pre-emptive baby feed and change, turn off the phone, turn on Sesame Street for the preschooler, put the cat out, and generally make sure you're safe to not do anything else for about 15 minutes.

Give the henna a stir. It should be a little darker on top than underneath. Small lumps are fine but larger will cause problems, so work these out now.	Wear gloves! If you do not wear gloves, you will have mottled orange hands for weeks.	Part your hair and spuck some henna on the part. Take a smallish section of hair next to the part, lift it up, spuck henna all up and down it, and spuck it on top of the previously spucked part area.

This is after the first two spuckings. Continue the spuck-and-pile technique until all your hair is there. Make sure to get the "sideburn" area, especially if you wear glasses, and the back of your head. Get your hairline, too.	There's no reason you can't have a little fun here. Take any remaining henna and massage it into the lump on top of your head, making sure everything is covered. Messing with it in a sculptural fashion helps make sure that every hair gets caught up and covered. End up in a solid Far Side beehive.	Take off the gloves and do some quick rinsing of any henna on your hands. You can see by the picture what a messy process this is.

Start at the back and wrap your head in plastic wrap, making sure to get the crown fully covered and going as low as you can in the back. If your head size is closer to Neanderthal than Grey Alien, and mine is, you can also use a plastic shopping bag and tie the ends at your forehead. The bag doesn't retain enough heat on smaller heads. Wash off any henna which has gotten any of the myriad places you didn't want it. These stains will fade by your next shower.	Put on your shirt or bathrobe, grab a book, and relax for a bit. This is my favorite trilogy. I usually leave the henna on for about 45 minutes, but longer won't hurt anything. If you can't sit in the sunshine, blow dry the hair and/or wrap with a towel to keep it warm.	Take all the plastic off and shower. Rinse your head until you've gotten a good bit out, then shampoo and condition normally. Rinse until the water runs clear.

That's it! Your scalp will be stained for maybe a day and fade. If you used tea instead of water, your hair may be particularly vibrant for the first week or so but will calm down shortly. If you have any questions, please email me.	Apres henna. Lovely, isn't it?