I
started by trying a strand test about a week ago. I mixed up about half a
square of Caca Marron with some boiling water and applied it to a
relatively hidden chunk of hair. In order to mimic the actual effects as
much as possible, I put a zipless sandwich bag around the chunk,
secured it with a hair elastic, and let it sit for four hours before
washing it out in the shower. The following morning there was no obvious
change to the color, but over the next couple of days it did darken up a
bit, so I decided to proceed.
Then I waited. And waited. And waited. Actually, I only waited for four hours, which isn't so bad. Some people keep the henna on for six or eight hours, but since this was my first experience with henna and I wasn't looking for any crazily drastic results, I didn't bother torturing myself for more than four hours.
As for washing it out, that bit sucked. Kind of a lot. I rubbed and I rubbed and I rubbed and then there was still more grainy sandy crap in my hair. So I stuck my head under the faucet. Nope, still in there. I ended up using about half a bottle of 88-cent conditioner to rub it all out, then I shampooed and conditioned with my normal stuff and called it a day. Not as bad as it could have been, and nothing in the shower stained, but still not the most enjoyable part of the process.
Now, about the smell....Everybody complains about the smell, and no, it isn't great, but it also didn't seem quite as bad to me as it does for other people. I did my grating on the deck, cracked a window in the kitchen, and hoped for the best in the bathroom. All in all, yes, my house smells like henna, and yes, my hair smells like henna, and yes, I am getting sick of it, but once it's in your nasal passages, you kind of stop noticing it until you smell something else. The scent itself is similar to a coffee shop, but with a little less coffee and a little more herbal....something. And no pastries, which is sad, but for fantastic hair, I guess I can live with it.
Speaking of fantastic, yes, my hair did turn out fantastically. I LOVE it! The color is even, natural-looking, rich, and gorgeous. I was afraid my hair would turn maroon/purpley or straight up clown red, but I ended up with an awesome brown darker than my natural brown with a coppery red glow in the light. It's nothing too obvious or drastic, which makes me love it even more.
1. Don't go it alone! Get some help. Wrangle one of your friends into giving you a hand so that you have someone to help you with the tricky areas and keep you company while you're sitting at home with your incredibly fashionable cling wrap hairdo.
2. Get one of those hair dye brushes. You will regret it if you don't!
3. Don't do this in the summer. Just a guess, but my head was sweaty enough and I found the smell clinging to everything as it was without throwing extreme heat and humidity into the mix. If you are going to do this in a miserable southern summer, do yourself a favor and crank up the AC for the afternoon.
4. Have something to do. Don't sit around poking your head like I did. Plan to spend the day watching entire first season of Friends or knitting a pair of socks or something. Anything! Don't sit around bored or it will make your day drag like you wouldn't believe.
5. Do utilize the cheap conditioner trick. Your hot water will not last the three hours it will take you to rinse everything out otherwise.
Have you ever used henna? Do you think you ever would? Tell me all about your experiences in the comments!
