Why Use Henna When Dying Your Hair
By AEvans
Brief History of Henna
Since the late 19th century women have had a fixation with beauty and hair color, the women of Istanbul and Smyrna used approximately 15,000 lbs of henna annually European and American women began to purchase these wonderful henna hair color in several different shades. Black Henna, Red Henna, Blond Henna and Neutral Henna or termed in the early 1900's as rastik, casio, indigo and simply termed henna. Westerners did not ever seem to have any idea what was inside the boxes as the henna dyes were not precisely labeled at that time, no injuries were ever reported just cascading and beautiful locks of henna dyed hair until technology gave way to para-phenylenediamine dye which originated from the textile and fur industry in the late 1930's it was transferred to the cosmetic industry.
They have also found that women who dye their hair have experienced an increase of feelings of being more attractive to the opposite sex and have a higher confidence rate then those who have never attempted to dye there hair.
A case study has shown that 50% of the 205 women who have dyed there hair, did it to get attention by friends, lovers, and colleagues.
Henna "Lawsonia Hermis "
Henna is a small tree or large shrub that grows to approximately 18 feet high and has branches that grow laterally in pairs two to four centimeters long. In its first two years, the leaves do not have a high lawsone (red-orange dye found in the leaves of the henna plant) content and the branches do not have thorns, once matured thorns develop at the leaf buds during dormant phases. When hungry animals try to nibble on the mature plant, their tongues are pricked by the thorns which tells them the Henna plant is nothing to mess with and they move to a hearty plant that will not mess with them.
Henna leaves have a red-orange dye and the highest dye concentration is in the central vein of the tree or shrub. Young leaves have the highest dye concentration, older leaves have the lowest dye concentration. It grows wild near desert oasis and in southern and Mediterranean countries. The plant is cultivated for henna body art, and in slightly less ideal conditions, it is cultivated for hair quality henna hair color.
Will Your Hair Love Henna
People who often have reaction to other hair-dyes will immediately want to change to henna hair dyes. Compound henna often reacts badly with synthetic hair dyes and other chemical products. Never choose to switch to henna hair dyes immediately after you use synthetic hair dyes such as (para-phemylenediamine) your hair may end up being brittle, trashed and may turn many shades of green or sewage black. Imagine walking around looking like kermit the frog or mold. Compound hennas have metallic salts which react disastrously with the ammonia in synthetic dye.
The only way to find out if your henna will cooperate with your hair dye is to take a sample of your own hair from a brush, mix a sample of henna and try it. Henna hair dyes are natural products that will not harm the environment or yourself.
Allergic Reactions
Some are allergic to Henna but that is very rare, the reaction to Henna is sneezy itchy eyes, runny nose, tight chest and a dry cough. This happens soon after a person has been exposed to henna powder or paste, if you believe you may possibly have an allergic reaction test henna by dabbing a little on your arm and waiting an hour. If you do not have any symptoms you will not have an allergic reaction to henna hair dyes.
Natural hair products are much better for you then synthetic hair dyes if you are already dying your hair and are looking to switch to henna hair dyes, talk with your hairstylist to see how you can make this transition beautiful and lasting. If you have never dyed your hair use Henna hair dyes which is an all natural product for your hair.
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Do You Use Synthetic Or Henna
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Hey great post. you want to change There to Their. delete this when you read it.
Good info, thank you and Happy Mom's Day!!
Interesting hub, I occasionally use henna now I know a lot more about it. Thnx
Like Toney0724 said this is not my type of hub but I did want to drop in and wish you a happy Mothers day!!
Interesting Hub about hair coloring and women. I suppose I can see how someone who is not happy with her hair color would feel more confident by changing it. I can't imagine giving up healthy, natural, hair in order to get attention. To each his own, I guess. :)
Not my type either thou, I do what to wish you a Happy Mother and a Happy Day
tony0724: Thank you tomorrow I will definitely have one that everyone will find of interest.
hudson: I do not have any issues with critiquing so I am not the least likely embarassed and have corrected it, thank you for noticing it. :)
RooBee: You are welcome and thank you !!:)
Gypsy: It is natural , the synthetic is not honestly good for our hair, I am glad that you found it informative.
mdawson17: Thank you and tomorow will be a hub you will enjoy. :)
LisaHw: I also agree , I guess we will find out as we get older.lololo just so long as my hair doesn't turn blue, pink, or yellow. Happy Mom's Day!! :D
Sandman: Thank you and tomorrow will be a new day .:)
I would love to switch to henna dyes-but I wonder how you can do that if you use synthetic. Without cutting off all of your hair, how is that possible?
Interesting hub AE! :-)
badcompany: Can you believe it? But it certainly is nice to have choices. :)
K.D.Clement: There is a process , mmmm maybe I will write about that thanks for the idea. I will do some serious research. Happy Mother's Day!!:)
My wife keeps coloring her hair. i love the small shock of grey spouting from just that one area. I find it sexy, but alas, if she wants to dye it that is her bag.
interesting hub....I think I used Henna once but usually I just use Dye from Sally's Beauty Supply..=) HAPPY MOTHERS DAY AE!!!!
Scared I might look to young if I dye,
I got skin rashes when I colored my hair so I don't mind having grey hairs. :)
Cleo, are you that old...
PaperMoon: You are such a kind husband and you love her no matter what, it is great that you let her color her hair.:0
badcompany: Yes it is moi' and I will keep the hat. lololo
LAmatadora: You are to funny, be careful of some of the products as they are bad for your hair and can cause other things. :) Happy Mother's Day too!!
men are dorks: I don't think you need to dye as you certainly do not want to look any younger. It appears that you look barely of 21 which is a good thing. :)
queen cleopatra: That is horrible that you had an allergic reaction, some do experience it and at least you feel comfortable with grey hairs that is a wonderful thing. :)
Are yo flirting with me... Did you read cindy's hub about flirting online, I think it was her's..
men are dorks: You do only look 21 and yes I read it lololo :)
Tx fr the compliment hun.
Interesting hub.
men are dorks: You are welcome. :)
Melody: I am glad you found it interesting. :)
Good info AEvans for the ladies. Gray can be beautiful but using a Natural less harmful product is sweet!
I had a henna hedge and used it for a few years, but found it drying out my hair quite a bit...needed to do a lot of conditioning. Your hair looks gorgeous.
Never yet coloured my hair - but now i have a dilemma - the bottom of my hair (almost waist-length - is the strawberry blond colour it has been since late teens (it had been almost white during my childhood) - but the top is a much lighter colour. I know, I know it's called grey - I'm hoping that it's going back to white .... but when I pin my hair up the difference between the ends and the roots is quite something - is their a henna for white (ok grey) hair which will blend in with the strawbblond bits ...... ???? or is henna always that lovely auburny-colour
Cobraski: All natural is good , but many have already used synthetic so henna is going to be a little more complicated to use.
dianacharles: That is the color of my hair, but thank you for complimenting no henna as of yet. lololol
iphigenia: I believe henna's neutral color is for white, henna comes in multi-shades auburn, black, blonde and neutral. Contact a hairstylist and discuss henna with them as I am certain that they would provide you with the answer.:)
hey AE I wish you luck with the 30day challenge. I could never do that many, finding time is the thing with me. You can do it, I will be rooting for you.
Bp: Thank you my cup runneth over, but I am only going to publish one per day as I am looking at quality and I still want everyone to enjoy reading it. ((big Hugs)) thanks for the support. :)
How long would you say AE is the average time it takes you to do one, it takes me like 4-5 hours grrrr.LOl
Bp: Researching, writing in all takes 4-5 hours whoooo lololo:)
I remember St James saying he did 8 hours of research before each Hub and he used to write them one after another. I think to be able to write 30 it would be good for stay at home mums, or anyone who is home all day, for people that work full time or those with families that would make it impossibe.
I work part-time, and with everything else I have on the go yea it is a bit hard for me, it all adds up doesn't it the time factor,even Cindy is amazing, she is a teacher, goes to work everyday,has a family, and is in the process of moving, boy oh boy,I don't know how she is doing it lool.
AEvans, you are amazing girl.
oops, sorry,
I probably ruined your statistic. I do not color my hear, I am the man. :-), Vladimir
Vladimir: I never look at the statistic, and it is good that you do not color your hair. :)
AEvans Another great post Nice to more baout henna
AEvans..great hub!I use henna and I had no idea that it dated back so early and used in European countries as well.I voted too.Thanks for the details!:)
lyla: You are so welcome and it is quite interesting when it comes to the history of henna as women have been doing it for years, thanks for the thumbs up.:)
Thanks for the info - I always enjoy reading your hubs - When I grow up I want to be just like you - LOL
New Life: You are so funny I don;t know if we will ever grow up. lololo :)
Hey AE...I have been coloring my hair since about the age of sixteen.
Started out as a way to experiment with different looks to find my identity. Now it's just to cover the grey. At one time(probably when I was in my 30's)I had so many different colors atop my cute little noggin' they used to call me "Crayola" head. LOL!
Adrianna: You are so nuts, crayola crayon!! lololo :D
Interesting post. I always wondered if henna came from tree bark, but now I know it is from the leaf veins. Cool. I'd love to get totally tattooed up with henna in ivy-like patterns, and other foliage-type designs and then go surfing butt-naked on some deserted beach with radical right hand barrels!
christianesk: You should do it , it should be fun and we defintiely learn something new everyday.:)
I have had grey hair problem since childhood and therefore have been using henna to colour my hair regularily. If someone wants a burgundy hair colour then this is a very effective way. Also to avoid hair breakage one should wash off the henna after two hours of application, using plain water, let the hair dry naurally, apply oil, let it soak in for a few hours and then shampoo and condition as usual. Over a few weeks you will notice that your hair will have that tinge of burgundy in the sun and will be smoother and possibly straighter. Application should once in a forthnight.
Over the years I have met several people that I would be extremely jealous of and they have told me the very same thing as mentioned above. I have tried it and it works wonders.
Henna also gives you a cooling effect and therefore would be amazing in summers. Henna on hands is an amazing experience too. And tattooing with it great as it is not permanent :)
Henna is very common coloring agent in my part of the world. In my farm, I have grown henna plants. The plant is a shrub and does not flower, and the leaves are always green. Henna powder is derived from leaves.
In my country there is a festival when women and girls color their hands, legs and hair with henna.
Vinaya: That is amazing! I hope you can share the festival with all of us on HP. :)
This is one interesting hub. Here in the Philippines, people use Henna for fake tattoos. They don't realize Henna's primarily used as hair dyes.
Voted up for this very informative hub. :)
thesingernurse: Yes, the originally used Henna as hair dye way before the bottled color and sold it to change the color of our hair. Henna is more natural then what we purchase now for hair coloring; but once you use regular color you cannot use Henna on your hair. I believe fake tattoos is better then real at least they wash away. lolo!
tony0724 3 years ago
Not my type of hub , I just wanted to wish you a happy Mothers Day AEvans !