Henna & Indigo

Henna Update Coming Soon

What I used for Henna:
-2x 100g of Jamila Henna Crop 2009
-4 bags of Lipton Tea (next time I will use only 2)
-1 medium sized lemon (about 1/4 of a cup)
-Hot six oil (about 2-3 teaspoons)

What I used for Indigo:
-2x 100g of Indigo Powder
-1 table spoon of sea salt
-4 cups of warm water

Addition items used for both:
-A wooden popsicle stick
-A pair of plastic gloves
-A plastic shower cap and a large sandwich bag
-A large glass oven dish
-Large Towel (a dye towel or one you don't mind ruining)
-Damp Paper towel
-Old T-shirt

Henna
Step One: The Mix
I boiled 3 cups of water and steeped 4 bags of tea in it. Once the tea was room temperature, I poured it into the henna powder until it came to a nice sour cream thickness. I poured about half of the lemon juice into the mix and just stirred it with the stick. I covered the henna up in a plastic bag and let it sit for about 12 hrs. When I was ready to use I stirred in the rest of the lemon juice and I then added some oil (which made the henna the same thickness as yogurt) and let it rest for about another 10-15 minutes. (The Henna smelled like peas/lettuce/mustard greens and tea it was very strong, the smell lingers but was not bad at all).

Step Two: Hair Prepping
I washed my hair with shampoo (had not co-washed in 7 days) detangled and left a small amount of conditioner in my hair. I also sectioned my hair into 6 parts (3 twist on each side) so the application would be much smoother. I made sure my hair was not dripping wet so that it would be dry or lightly damp by the next morning (henna does not stick well to dripping wet hair).

Step Three: The Application
I started in the back section first. I saturated the roots then worked the Henna down to the ends. I did that to each twist. When I was done I twisted my hair into one large section on each side. Covered my hair with a shower cap. Then covered it with a large sandwich bag. Followed by putting a towel over it to lock in heat. (I did a very good job of not getting it everywhere. I used a wide glass bowl and leaned over. So any excess would fall into the bowl instead of on the floor).

Step Four: The Rinse
I let the Henna sit for about 5 hrs, then sat under a hooded dryer for about 10 before I rinsed. I let the water run over my hair to be the bulk of the henna out. Then I slathered on some conditioner messaging the Henna from scalp and hair. It took about 3 condition rinses to get it out. My hair had a nice brown/reddish color to it.

Indigo
Step 1: The mix
I used about 4 cups of warm water. I sprinkled the salt in and let dissolve. I poured the Indigo and water into the bowl and mixed it. It takes a few minutes of mixing for the Indigo Powder to absorb the water. Once it was all mix the Indigo had a texture like yogurt but after a few minutes it becomes thicker.

Step Two: Hair Prepping
After rinsing the Henna out I just sectioned my hair back into 6 section (no detangling).

Step Three: The Application
I applied the Indigo the same way I did the Henna starting from the back. Starting at the roots and working my way down the hair. This part was kind of messy. The Indigo kind of clumps after its mixed so applying does not go on as smooth as the Henna. You got to really work it into your hair. Just like the Henna, when I was done I twisted my hair into one large section on each side. Covered my hair with a shower cap. Then covered it with a large sandwich bag. Followed by putting a towel over it to lock in heat.

Step Four: The Rinse
I let the Indigo sit for an hour (not including application time) and set under the dryer for the last10 minutes before rinsing. I rinsed until I got the most of the indigo out. Then I co-washed/detangled my hair. After that I shampooed the Indigo out and deep conditioned my hair with my Avon Olive Oil Hair Mask, Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner and oil mixed together. I will be leaving this on until tomorrow when I band or bun my hair. (It is recommended that you do NOT use any Conditioners or Deep Conditioners that are protein based during this process. It could lead to over dry hair and major breakage).


So far I am very happy with the result. I will be babying my hair until it returns to its normal moisture level. And I will take pictures in the next few days to see if the color gets any darker.