Hello henna lovers,
today I am going to walk you through the process of how I got bright red hair using henna. Now Henna sticks to the natural color of your hair, so if your hair is dark you will get a dark red, however since I recently bleached my hair I was able to get Ariel red hair.

I used Crystal Collins method but tweaked it a bit. Here is a link to her Youtube channel. I love her videos and I know you will as well. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheThriftyMama

I buy my Henna from www.HennaKing.com . I purchased 2 bags of Wine Red Henna for my shoulder length hair.

Here is what I mixed my henna with:

4 bags of Black Cherry Berry tea. Boiled 3 cups of water then let it cool.

I also mixed in about 3 teaspoons of Red Wine Vinegar. I eye ball the amount. The Vinegar helps the henna stick to the roots of your hair, as well as the red wine enhances the red color. It also conditions your hair. 

I also added in Lavender essential oil that I purchased from Henna King. It makes the Henna smell much better than the normal grass or hay smell. 

You want your Henna to be the consistency of  mashed potatoes or pancake mix. 

Be sure to use thick gloves, as Henna will stain anything it touches. If you use Henna Maiden there are gloves provided, however I do not use them because they are way to thin, so I use kitchen gloves. I also use Vaseline around my hair line and ears to avoid stains. You will also get a hair net. 

Now depending on how dark you want your hair you can choose to let it sit anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. Some people will even leave their Henna on over night, however I am not that patient. I leave my Henna on for 3 hours. 

Here is the final result. I have my Ariel hair. Can't wait to see it in the sun. I only used conditioner. Don't shampoo unless you need to because it can cause the color to come out faster. Use luke warm water, as hot water causing the henna to bleed out more.  Also blow dry hair so it won't bleed on everything. Blow drying will also help the color set. Don't wash your hair again for at least 24 hours. I wait 2 days then shampoo and condition like normal. You will see some orange bleeding in the shower for a week or so.  

I'll update you on what my hair looks like in a few days after the Henna has settled into my hair, as well as take some photos out side in the sun! 

I received a great question asking if you can use Henna on your hair while pregnant. As long as you are using all natural henna, or henna that is mixed with natural ingredients, it is safe to use while you're pregnant. I get my Henna from Henna King www.HennaKing.com. However you can find body art quality henna in your local Indian store, or other places online. Just be sure to look at the ingredients so that you can make sure it contains no metals. 

Also there are many studies that say to never buy the BLACK Henna mix for doing Henna art tattoos because it can cause a burning reaction. If you want to dye your hair black with Henna you will want to get Henna mixed with Indigo. 

There is a tradition in a few different countries that believe when you are in your 3rd trimester of pregnancy you put henna on your belly for good luck, or to lore the evil eye away. 

Here is a blog that gives some more details on using henna while pregnant. 
http://naturalfamilytoday.com/parenting/pregnancy-birth/can-pregnant-women-use-henna/

Tattooing your pregnant belly
http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/123867/tattooing_your_pregnant_belly_with


Keep those question coming and email me at SheenaHennaQueen@gmail.com

KEEP HENNAING! 

Today I did an experiment involving bleach! I have gotten so many questions from all of you asking me, what would happen if you bleach your henna hair, so today I'm going to show you! 

First let me start by saying this is not recommended! Bleach is very damaging, and it could cause you some serious problems with your hair if you're not careful. I had a beautician give me directions on what my hair could handle, and how to bleach correctly without causing sores in my scalp or damaging it too much. 

I started off with unwashed hair. My hair color was Wine Red by Henna Maiden sold by Henna King. It has been about 3 months since my last Henna treatment so I'm not bleaching over fresh henna. 

 I used Splat bleaching kit. I did some research before choosing my bleach. Splat had the best reviews for being more gentle on hair! I will agree that it did not burn, or cause any irritation while on my head. So over all this was a good bleach in my opinion.

I left Splat Bleach on for 40 minutes. I covered it with a plastic bag to heat it up, as well as keep it from dripping on anything. 

Then I washed it with warm water using the shampoo provided in the Splat box. I blow dried it, and here is the first result!

It's really orange. I look like a pumpkin! Because of how orange this turned out I waited about an hour then dyed it again with another application of Splat Bleach! Remember I had a beautician tell me what my hair could handle, and I expected I'd need 2 bleach treatments, but if you do not have healthy hair DO NOT bleach again! Your hair could fall out, or even burn, so this is not a joke! Only bleach once unless you know your hair can handle another treatment!

Here is the results from the 2nd bleaching. It is lighter but still very orange. I left bleach on for another 40 minutes, shampooed and conditioned with the products in the Splat box. I will say that my hair felt damaged and brittle and the bleach smell was horrid! It caused my eyes to water and I needed a fan on to help clear the fumes. I found it much easier to leave the bleach in the bottle to apply. The 1st time I mixed it in a color bowl and used a color brush to apply, but the 2nd time I used it right from the bottle. It was less messy and seemed to go farther that way. Plus the fumes were not as bad when using the bottle.

After seeing how orange my hair still was, I decided to put a toner on it. However I waited a good 2 hours before jumping into dying again! This is Garnier Nutrisse in White Chocolate. Before I started using Henna, this is the brand of chemical dye I used. I love the smell of the conditioner, and the fact that it goes on like a cream. I put Vaseline on my hairline to avoid stains or bad reactions with my skin.

This is the final result! As you can see the Henna is not completely out of my hair. However it is much lighter and almost a strawberry blonde instead of the bright orange.  Getting Henna out of your hair is not easy and I'd have to do this a few more times to get blonde hair. I'm not going to damage my hair anymore so this will be the end result until I redo it with Henna in Strawberry Blonde color.




Chemicals are the worst thing to put in your hair. I did this experiment for all of you, and I hope this will show you why Henna is better for your hair. Henna coats your hair, conditions it, and even treats dandruff. Already with using chemicals, my scalp is irritated and itching, my hair is falling out, the ends are brittle, and my hair feels like straw. I will be putting Henna back in my hair to let it heal the damage I just did.

This is what happens if you bleach your hair after using henna! Let me know what you think about this experiment!

I love Henna, there is really nothing about Henna that I don't like.

Thank you all for your questions. This is for all of you who asked about fading, and wondering about the color after being on hair a while!  I made a video about it just for you!

The questions were as follows:

What does Henna look like once it's been in your hair a few months, and does it fade?

The answer to fading is no and yes. Henna will fade a little (not like chemical dye). The Henna bleeds out for about a week, causing the color to fade slightly, not enough to really tell. No your Henna will not look washed out or faded in that term. So the answer can also be no. Once your Henna has oxidized, it will stay that color until you touch up, or re-dye it. 

To answer the question on what Henna looks like after being in your hair awhile, I'd have to say it darkens a bit. I'd say about 1 week after you Henna, that color will stay in your hair until you change it. My hair is pretty close to the Wine Red I dyed it back in July. 

To ask me questions on Henna please email me at SheenaHennaQueen@gmail.com. 

Enjoy the video! 

Let's talk about what colors you can get using Henna. 

Tonight I got a great question regarding Henna colors.  Here is some information to help you decide on the right color choice for you. 

With 100% all natural Henna, the color you get will always be red. You can mix other natural ingredients into the mix to get other variations, but it won't be purple, blue or anything crazy. 

Henna makes Red. You can get Brown by mixing other ingredients, and black is also possible by using Indigo but Henna is not going to give you an unnatural color!

HENNA FACT: Henna is a plant, not a chemical, or ink. Henna is a natural plant, and it grows in very hot climates. As a natural plant it makes only one color: orange-reddish tones. Typically blueberries stain blue, just as henna stains red. Henna powder is mixed into a henna paste, which can be used to dye your hair 'permanent until it grows out', or to create henna body art designs 'temporary' on the skin.  People also use Henna to dye fabrics, or do nail designs. Some Henna hair dyes contain other things, and are not actually all natural. Look for the plant based ingredients such as Indigo to make the color darker. You can also somewhat alter the color of your Henna by adding other things when mixing. Such as lemon juice (the acid makes it more orange), Red Wine, or Red wine vinegar (this will make a darker red), and tea or coffee to get a more auburn or brown look.

The great thing about Henna dye is that it's a way to have natural looking hair without really being a natural red head. You can have light hair, and dye your hair black or brown using Henna with Indigo, and no one would know it was not your real color. The only give away would be the roots. I've noticed because Henna sticks to the follicles of your hair, the roots are very subtle, and you can't really tell right away. 

Another good thing to note, is that Henna will NOT lighten your hair. Henna is chemical free, and it's all natural, so it contains no bleaching quality's.  However, if you have bleached your hair, and it's starting to grow out, you can get a beautiful strawberry blonde color by using Henna over the bleached hair.  

I've used a lot of different Henna's, but my top favorite is Henna King. If you look at the ingredients on their website, it shows all that's in the colors. Depending on the color you choose, you will see other plant based ingredients, with no added metals, or preservatives, and it's completely hypoallergenic, not to mention organic. . Natural Red is the one I've been using and that is just 100% Henna with nothing added.  http://www.hennaking.com/

So if you are wanting a vibrant RED RED, like fire engine red, then I am going to say Henna won't work for that look. Because it's a plant, it's going to give you a natural looking red... However with that being said, that does not mean you can't dye your hair fire engine red, wait a few weeks and then dye with Henna. If you do this, the intensity will not be as bright, but Henna will keep the red from fading, and have a much easier upkeep with no bleeding out like chemical dyes.  Remember though once you dye hair with Henna, you can't get rid of the Henna, so make sure it's what you really want before you make that long term commitment!. 

 Got questions? I got answers! Comment below and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

I got an excellent question today and wanted to address it. The question was "Can you use chemical dye over Henna?".. 

Here is my personal experience..  I've been dying my hair red for a very long time. When I first found Henna, I still had a box of chemical dye that I had not used yet. Being the frugal person I am I didn't want  to waste it, so I decided to use it. 

Here is your disclaimer! Henna is permanent , and really can't be taken out of your hair.  If you dyed your hair with Henna, and it's darker than your natural color, you CAN NOT try to lighten it. You'll only end up with a mess, and probably damage your hair.  Because Henna is all natural, your hair soaks it up like a sponge and the color sticks to the follicles of your hair.  Putting bleach in your hair will cause a reaction and make your hair turn green. If you do not like the color Henna gave you, I would suggest trying another Henna product  that will give you another color. Henna King is where I buy all mine, and they have a variety of different colors to choose from.  Also if you dye over it with the same color,  it will be darker the 2nd time around. Best thing about Henna is you can dye it as many times as you want, because it's natural and won't harm your hair! Once Henna has oxidized and reaches its final shade the color will be ingrained into the strand of hair.  Henna will not get brassy like many other hair dyes do, and it has very little upkeep.  The color will remain the same until it's redyed. The only real way to get rid of the Henna in your hair is to grow it out or cut it off. 

However in my experience, once your Henna hair has settled, and has started to reach its final color shade, then you can use a chemical dye over it (darker only). In my case I had a box of Scarlet red chemical dye that I hated to not use.  So after my hair started to grow out, I did use the bright red dye, and it came out very nice.  My hair did begin to fall out again, and I could feel the difference because my hair did not have the body or the fluff that you get with Henna, but it was the last time I ever used chemical dye on my hair, and the only dye that will ever touch my hair again will be Henna!  

So to answer this question due to my own experience, as long as the chemical dye is similar in color, it should be okay to dye over. I think if you had used red henna, and wanted to go brown you'd probably end up with a more auburn look just because the Henna will shine through. Since my hair was red with Henna, going a darker red did not really make a difference when the red highlighs showed through. 

This is not to say it's okay to try Henna, then go out and dye over with chemical dyes. You have to be very careful when using Henna, and know you are ready for the serious permanent color you're getting. Always do a strand test just so you can be sure you like the color first. 

Hope this answers your question on if you can dye over your Henna. It's not recommended, but it can be done and is possible if done correctly.