Tips for Using Organic, Vegan Henna to Dye Your Hair

Chemical hair dyes dry out the hair, damage the ends and sometimes result in strange or uneven hair color. Organic vegan henna is an alternative that leaves your hair healthy, shiny, conditioned and beautifully colored. Here are some tips for getting a great head of hair the henna way.

Choosing your henna - There are a lot of companies promoting henna that is supposed to be all natural and organic but truth be told many henna manufacturers are producing henna that contains metallic compounds.

Most henna sold in beauty supply stores contain these chemicals which can cause you to end up with green or fried hair. When you purchase henna for the first time you should be looking for body art quality, vegan henna which is always all natural.

Premixed henna kits sold in beauty supply stores are not organic. Nor are they considered real henna. Real henna comes from a plant that when dried and crushed creates a stain. No chemicals are required for henna to work properly.

The best place to find real all natural, organic, vegan henna is online. My personal favorite is Morrocco Method which has extremely fast shipping but there are other reputable companies online such as Mehandi dot com and Lush.

Mixing the henna powder into a dye - When your shipment of henna arrives you will find that it comes in a green earthy-smelling powder. How you mix the henna is a factor in what color and shade you will get. Here are a couple of different ways to mix the henna.

1. Green tea. Boil a pot of water, about 3 cups per 4 oz of henna powder, and add 4 green tea bags. Allow the tea to steep until it is cooled to room temperature. Simply pour the tea into the powder and mix until it creates a paste the consistency of body lotion. Any thinner and it will run down your face. Allow the henna to sit for 4 hours before applying to your hair.

2. Lemon Juice - Mix ½ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup of water and henna powder to form a paste. As before, consistency should be that of body lotion. Allow the paste to sit for 2-4 hours and then apply to your hair.

3. Sugar - In order for henna to properly stain the hair it needs to adhere to it. Some henna users will mix a teaspoon of granulated sugar into their tea or lemon juice to help the henna along.

4. Application - there is no right or wrong way to apply henna. You can use a comb, brush, applicator bottle or whatever fits your fancy however most henna users simply scoop it up with their hand and slather it into their hair. I have found this to be the most efficient way to get all my hair covered.

When applying and mixing henna always be sure to use glass, plastic or wooden utensils and always wear rubber gloves. Metallic bowls and utensils have been known to react with henna which creates disaster. Be sure to coat ears, neck and edges of hairline with Vaseline to avoid staining your skin.

Other ingredients - There are different spices and herbs that you can add to your henna mix to vary the shade of hair you will have.

Using chamomile tea instead of green tea is recommended for blondes trying to stay within their natural shade of blonde as it helps lighten and brighten the hair.

Cinnamon is a fantastic kitchen spice that will add more fire to fiery redheads.

There are those that swear by using yogurt with their henna however this actually causes the henna to have a problem sticking to the hair strands.

Coloring time - The color your hair will be after you use henna will highly depend on the natural - or unnatural - shade of your hair but it will also depend on how long you allow the henna to stay in your hair. The recommended minimum time is two hours; however some henna users allow it to sit for up to 6 hours. I, myself, like to let it sit in my hair for 4 hours.

Because henna does not have harmful chemicals in it, letting it sit on your hair for long amounts of time will not harm your hair. It will not fry your hair or cause scalp problems although some report a bit of tenderness after having their head wrapped in a saran wrap plastic beehive for long periods of time.

Rinsing henna out of your hair - Henna looks like goose poop once it's mixed and it looks like goose poop on your head and while you might think it's going to take a miracle to get it out, it really is easy to get rid of.

You can go the shower route but it will take much longer to rinse out. With this message be patient and work the henna out of your hair with your fingers. Do not use shampoo or conditioner for at least 48 hours.

The easiest way to remove henna particles from your hair is to fill up kitchen sink with water and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the water. Submerge the entire head in the water and begin to work the hair loose of the particles. Then drain the water and continue to rinse under the faucet until the hair is free of henna.