Study Hall: Information overload

Since I did a post on Ayurvedic hair care on Sunday, I thought I would expand a bit on one of the practices I use in my hair regimen. Over the weekend, I hennaed my hair for the 4th time since going natural. The first 2 times, I used an acidic liquid. The last 2 times, I replaced the acidic liquid with amla powder.

Henna (lawsonia inermis) is a plant and the leaves are harvested, dried, and powdered. Lawsone is a molecule found in henna leaves that bonds with protein. Lawsone content produces a red-orange dye. Henna has been used to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. Natural, pure henna only comes in ONE color which stains a rich red-brown when mixed with a mildly acidic liquid.

Henna is said to be beneficial to hair in many ways. It boasts to condition hair, color gray hair, thicken hair and give it a glossy sheen. Others have used henna to cure dandruff. Some have experienced a loosening effect with their curl pattern after using henna.

As far as my personal results from henna. . . I can’t say that I have noticed much difference in the appearance of my hair. I could care less about the color deposit but I was hoping to achieve fuller, shinier hair. I expected to notice some difference by the 4th application but I still can’t tell any (of course, I haven’t been taking comparison pics either). I would like to continue monthly henna treatments through the spring (in hopes that it is providing conditioning to my hair) but if I still don’t notice much difference, then I may take it out of my regimen.

Before you make the decision to do henna (or any hair related) treatments, I advise you to thoroughly research it and make sure it’s for you. These sites provide more information for anyone considering henna.

Henna For Hair

CurlyNikki (various posts on henna)

The Natural Haven (detailed answers to many questions that perplex the natural hair community)

Thanks for reading. Be blessed!

CallaLily

*You can click on the “study hall” label in the right-hand column to read any posts you have missed