If you want to change the color of your hair, you don’t necessarily want to use products with chemicals. The best option I think is to dye your hair with henna. With the following information and tips, I’ll show you how you can achieve great color results with this natural hair dye.
Natural hair dye
If you no longer want to use chemical hair color, at some point you will inevitably be looking for a natural hair dye. These are less harmful to us and our environment. With the following products you can color your hair naturally or lighten it or dye it darker:
- Henna,
- Walnuts,
- Lemon juice,
- Black tea,
- Black currant juice,
- Elderberry juice,
- Turmeric,
- Chestnuts and,
- Chamomile
Depending on the original hair color, the color saturation is more or less intense, but this also depends heavily on the exposure time. But since this article is about coloring hair with henna, let’s now see what we should pay attention to.
Dye hair with henna
If you want to dye your hair with henna, then you should first consider which variant you choose. On the one hand, there are ready-made herbal hair colors that you can then simply use as described on the package insert. On the other hand, there is henna powder, which you mix completely you and therefore also have an influence on the amount used, etc.
If you don’t think so, then I would fall back on the finished version.
Tip: Before you dye your hair with henna, make sure that at least 6 weeks have passed since the last chemical dye.
The advantage of henna is that the color just wraps around the hair and doesn’t split it up to penetrate. Accordingly, it is much less harmful to color the hair with a natural hair color.
Henna for hair
There is usually no difference between henna for hair and henna for skin. Accordingly, if you want to mix your henna paste yourself, you can simply buy classic powder. For the first time in particular, however, I recommend that you buy a ready-made herbal hair color so that you know what consistency the paste should have. This will give you the best feeling for it.
Which powder produces which shade?
The classic, pure henna colors in a red shade, which results in a carrot-like orange for light hair and a dark red for darker hair. However, there is the option of adding indigo to influence the red color. Indigo is a blue natural dye which, depending on the mixing ratio, creates color nuances between medium brown and black.
However, it is not so easy to find the right ratio as every hair reacts differently. That’s why you just have to try it out if you want a different shade than the classic henna red until you have found your desired color.
Buy ready-made herbal hair color
There are very different manufacturers from whom you can buy ready-made herbal hair color. Here you can get the henna powder in your desired color with precise instructions on how much water you should use when mixing. You can also buy ready-mixed creams, but most of them still have chemical ingredients, which is why I would advise against them.
Where can you buy henna?
If you want to buy ready-made herbal hair color, you will actually find it in every drugstore, but also in many supermarkets. Most stores have at least a small selection of these natural hair colors. When it comes to pure henna powder, it looks a little different. Here you can still be lucky in an Asian shop or an oriental shop.
What do i need?
In the end, you don’t need much more to dye your hair with henna than with other hair dyes. You should have the following things in mind:
- A big bowl
- A brush to apply,
- Whisk,
- Rubber gloves,
- A kitchen scale,
- Style comb,
- A small saucepan,
- Old towels,
- Petroleum jelly or another cream,
- Old clothes,
- Cling film,
- Hood or cling film,
- The darkest possible towel to dry off,
- large towel for turban to dry.
The henna powder is mixed in the bowl and you should always work with rubber gloves, because henna not only colors the hair, but also the skin. You need the kitchen scales to weigh the powder and you can boil the water in the small saucepan. You should use towels and old clothes so you don’t mess up your good things. At the end, we wrap our head in cling film so that on the one hand nothing drips and on the other hand heat can develop underneath. You can also use a hood, whichever you prefer.
Since you can still see paint residue in the towel when you dry it, I recommend using a dark one. There may also be paint residues on the towel for the turban.
Important! The final washes of hair before dyeing your hair with henna must be with a silicone-free shampoo.
How much henna powder do i need?
The amount of henna you need to dye your hair depends entirely on your hair length. You have to find out the right amount for you. However, there are the following indications:
- Short hair: 50 – 100 gr.
- Medium length hair: 100 – 150 gr.
- Long hair: 150 – 200 gr.
If you notice that the mixed amount is not enough for you, you can simply add a little more water during the dyeing process to make do with it.
Mixing henna powder – instructions
If you have decided on the henna powder, I would like to show you with these instructions how to mix it correctly and how you should proceed exactly when dyeing. It is best to stir the paste a day before dyeing, so it can flow through nicely and the result is more colorful.
Here we go:
Depending on the length of your hair, weigh the required amount of henna powder and place in a bowl.
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Put on rubber gloves and gradually add liquid (hot water, hot black tea or similar) and stir well with a whisk. Add so much until your henna paste has the perfect consistency.
The bowl with a lid or plastic wrap to cover and infuse for min. 2 -3 hours at room temperature, ideally but in the refrigerator overnight.
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Take the henna paste out of the refrigerator and add some more hot water in case the paste has become too dry.
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Rubber gloves and old clothes to put on.
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Comb your hair again and cover your shoulders with a towel. You should also apply Vaseline to all areas around your hairline (forehead, ears, neck). This will prevent discoloration of the skin. Now you need: bowl, brush, style comb.
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Now carefully and gradually spread the henna paste on the head. That works pretty well with the brush. Use the style comb to separate the individual sections of hair. If you prefer, you can simply massage it in with your hands.
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Now that everything is fully distributed, using a head cover or plastic wrap to cover her head.
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If possible, put a turban on top with a towel. The warmth is important so that the color is better accepted.
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Now leave the hair on the head for at least two hours, depending on the desired color intensity, also overnight.
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Wash hair with water until there is no more henna residue on the head. Use only clear water, no shampoo! A silicone-free conditioner would be fine, however. Then let the hair dry.
If you want, you could rub your hair with nourishing oil afterwards. The first hair wash with shampoo should be done at least 24 hours later. Because while the color in the hair is still intensifying.
More intense color
Is the color result not intense enough for you and would you like to influence it before you start coloring? Then you should use one of the following ingredients in addition to or replace the boiling water, because these means have an influence on the intensity of the color.
- Red wine (for a stronger red cast),
- Strong black tea (for a darker shade),
- Lemon juice (intensifies the color).
- Be careful with blonde and gray hair
Gray hair has a special structure, which is why you should always exercise caution when coloring. The same applies to hair that was previously bleached, therefore some information about these special cases.
Dye gray hair with henna
Basically it is not a problem to dye gray hair with henna, but you should first try it on an inconspicuous area with a strand of hair. Due to its special structure, it is not possible to predict how your hair will react to the natural hair color.
Dye bleached hair with henna
With bleached hair, I would wait to dye it until the bleaching has grown out. The henna can react in an undesirable way and in the end bring out a green tinge or a completely different shade. Accordingly, caution is advised here too and you should test it on a strand.
If the starting conditions are unusual, I generally recommend trying out a test strand beforehand. So you can be sure that there will be no unpredictable dyeing accidents.
Tips and Tricks
At the end of this post I have a few tips and tricks for you that will surely be helpful.
Dyeing Hair with Henna
