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About 1/2 - 3/4 cup of henna.
Dash of Ginger, to cut the henna smell.
Two dashes of Cinnamon, cause we like the scent. (be careful with this, cinnamon burns some people)
Lemon/Lime Juice if we can find it.
One pot strongly brewed Earl Grey. Hot.
Take a ziplock bag. Add Henna, Ginger, and Cinnamon. Squirt in lemon juice. Get annoyed at Lemon Juice scent, start adding warm Earl Grey. Squease air out of bag, seal the top, mix.
Check consistancy. If too thick to wrestle into hair, add more tea. If too thin and like juice, add more henna.
Repeat until henna is like gooshy mud.
Wrestle into hair. Usually I take care of the part down the middle of the head first, then start dividing the hair into sections on either side, adding henna to the roots. Then I do the back of my head, starting at the bottom.
Wrap the non-hennaed part of my hair around the head, slick down with any extra henna.
Tie a plastic grocery bag around my head, go chill out in front of the computer for a few hours, drink the rest of the tea, then wash out with cold water.
Acid, such as the lemon juice and the bergamont in the Earl Grey, activate the henna. I usually only have to do the roots, which is why I don't use a lot of henna, despite my hair being past my waist. One 99c box from the Indian spice shops will do 3-5 hennaings, depending on how much I feel like using at the time.
The other thing that activates henna is heat. In the winter, I usually leave it in for 2-4 hours. If it's particularly cold, I put a towel on top of my head to trap the heat. In the Tucson summer in 110f/43c heat, I've been known to go out in the sun with a 2-litre bottle of water, take about 10 minutes to drink the water, then go wash it out, and it's perfect.
My co-workers would probably suggest using gloves, but I kinda like having my hands orange for a few days. It dyes my nails too, which is how I measure when it's time to dye again. When my nails fade from orange to pink, time to dye. Vasaline over the ears and forehead will keep the skin from turning orange as well.
HennaForHair.com is a lovely place for information on hennaing hair. I've also seen about adding egg, yogurt, olive oil, or whiskey to the mix, depending on what you want and hair type. When I was younger, I'd do Camomile tea instead of Earl Grey for a lighter red with more blonde, the cinnamon makes it slightly darker. Indigo will make it even darker, and overdying henna with indigo will turn the hair black.
Just keep in mind a lot of it has to do with personal body chemistry as far as colour and how long it'll last. So it may take some experimenting.
Volia!
Dash of Ginger, to cut the henna smell.
Two dashes of Cinnamon, cause we like the scent. (be careful with this, cinnamon burns some people)
Lemon/Lime Juice if we can find it.
One pot strongly brewed Earl Grey. Hot.
Take a ziplock bag. Add Henna, Ginger, and Cinnamon. Squirt in lemon juice. Get annoyed at Lemon Juice scent, start adding warm Earl Grey. Squease air out of bag, seal the top, mix.
Check consistancy. If too thick to wrestle into hair, add more tea. If too thin and like juice, add more henna.
Repeat until henna is like gooshy mud.
Wrestle into hair. Usually I take care of the part down the middle of the head first, then start dividing the hair into sections on either side, adding henna to the roots. Then I do the back of my head, starting at the bottom.
Wrap the non-hennaed part of my hair around the head, slick down with any extra henna.
Tie a plastic grocery bag around my head, go chill out in front of the computer for a few hours, drink the rest of the tea, then wash out with cold water.
Acid, such as the lemon juice and the bergamont in the Earl Grey, activate the henna. I usually only have to do the roots, which is why I don't use a lot of henna, despite my hair being past my waist. One 99c box from the Indian spice shops will do 3-5 hennaings, depending on how much I feel like using at the time.
The other thing that activates henna is heat. In the winter, I usually leave it in for 2-4 hours. If it's particularly cold, I put a towel on top of my head to trap the heat. In the Tucson summer in 110f/43c heat, I've been known to go out in the sun with a 2-litre bottle of water, take about 10 minutes to drink the water, then go wash it out, and it's perfect.
My co-workers would probably suggest using gloves, but I kinda like having my hands orange for a few days. It dyes my nails too, which is how I measure when it's time to dye again. When my nails fade from orange to pink, time to dye. Vasaline over the ears and forehead will keep the skin from turning orange as well.
HennaForHair.com is a lovely place for information on hennaing hair. I've also seen about adding egg, yogurt, olive oil, or whiskey to the mix, depending on what you want and hair type. When I was younger, I'd do Camomile tea instead of Earl Grey for a lighter red with more blonde, the cinnamon makes it slightly darker. Indigo will make it even darker, and overdying henna with indigo will turn the hair black.
Just keep in mind a lot of it has to do with personal body chemistry as far as colour and how long it'll last. So it may take some experimenting.
Volia!
