%%&* Henna

CurlieGlamourGirlie · 08-12-2007, 05:11 AM

I tried using henna to cover my grays to no avail.

I was thinking of using Herbatint, however it contains Phenylenediamines which is the potential carcinogen. So I'm going to look at L'Oreal Color Gems which has worked really well in the past and is a Demi-Perm, so shouldn't contain the Phenylenediamines.

Anyone else have a recommendation? I can wait till the baby's born, but would like to cover my grays if there's a safe way to do it.

Thanks!

CGNYC · 08-12-2007, 09:38 AM

I think Henna is a mess, but if you've already used it you probably want to go to a professional (Aveda does great color and corrective color) to cover it up. I THINK you're not supposed to use anything over Henna once you've used it. Maybe a professional colorist could help you out there.

I just had my regular color done throughout my pregnancy (my doc does a hand out of common Q&As and hair color is top of the list). I just don't believe there's any harm in it - it's just another way the world gets to say "shame on you" to pregnant women...a pass time that seems particularly popular in the US.

gemini · 08-12-2007, 11:13 AM

My sister dyed her hair while pregnant and had a severe allergic reaction. That was the only time she had a reaction to hair dye, so I don't think the warnings are completely unfounded.

Maybe you could have a patch test done to make sure you'll be okay and then get your touch up once you know how you will react.

Kaia · 08-12-2007, 11:15 AM

Henna is VERY permanent, so I'd go to a professional to dye over it. I've heard of too many disasters after home attempts to dye over henna. I've also been told that hair coloring and highlighting is safe during pregnancy, as long as the area is well-ventilated. I'm actually thinking of getting highlights done before the baby is born.

RedCatWaves · 08-12-2007, 01:12 PM

What kind of henna did you use? This is VERY important, because if you used anything other than a "body art quality" henna (BAQ), you will probably have a terrible hair disaster if you try to use any type of commercial hairdye over it. If you bought it in a beauty supply store in a box, it's probably not BAQ, but rather contained metallic salts and god-knows-what-else. It may not have contained any real henna at all. "Henna" is used as a generic word sometimes...like Kleenex or Q-tips. Those are the products that give henna a bad name. I wouldn't even trust a hair professional to fix a box henna mistake...you may end up with frog-butt green hair. It's best to just grow it out...but you can use a BAQ henna over the top without danger.

BAQ henna is great (I use it all the time) and it does cover gray, which is making me think that you used an unknown box type of henna.

Here's an informative site on henna:

http://hennaforhair.com/

CurlieGlamourGirlie · 08-13-2007, 06:50 AM

Hey guys,

I did use body-art quality, so I was fine. I didn't want to use anything with PPDs in it (just me being overly cautious) so I went to Sally's and found this stuff by Clairol called "Clairol Beautiful" which actually seemed to work and cover my grays. I was just aggrivated because the henna was so time consuming and so messy and yielded absolutely no results at all.

RedCatWaves · 08-13-2007, 10:41 AM

Quote:

I was just aggrivated because the henna was so time consuming and so messy and yielded absolutely no results at all.

Where did you buy your BAQ henna, and how did you prepare it?

CurlieGlamourGirlie · 08-13-2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

Quote:

I was just aggrivated because the henna was so time consuming and so messy and yielded absolutely no results at all.

Where did you buy your BAQ henna, and how did you prepare it?

Got the Lush caca and prepared it to the letter as per their instructions. We used half on me and half on my friend and her hair took beautifully. I think my grays are just uber-resistant. In the past, the L'Oreal Color Gems works great on them and the stuff I got yesterday worked fine.

RedCatWaves · 08-13-2007, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Got the Lush caca and prepared it to the letter as per their instructions.

Lush is very low quality henna, but at least it doesn't contain metallic salts that would turn you green.

Henna your hair is a big time committment with a long learning curve, for sure, but when you see the difference between a good henna and a junk one, it's astounding.

CurlieGlamourGirlie · 08-14-2007, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

Quote:

Got the Lush caca and prepared it to the letter as per their instructions.

Lush is very low quality henna, but at least it doesn't contain metallic salts that would turn you green.

Henna your hair is a big time committment with a long learning curve, for sure, but when you see the difference between a good henna and a junk one, it's astounding.

I've also tried BAQ henna that I ordered from the big henna website. I think my hair is just so coarse that it defies the henna! The stuff I did find worked really well actually and left my hair pretty soft, so I'm happy!

RedCatWaves · 08-14-2007, 09:25 AM

Quote:

I've also tried BAQ henna that I ordered from the big henna website. I think my hair is just so coarse that it defies the henna! The stuff I did find worked really well actually and left my hair pretty soft, so I'm happy!

I have REALLY coarse hair, and henna covers even my stubborn grays (which commercial hair dye didn't). I do have to leave henna on longer than most people, and timing the dye release is critical (too soon and it doesn't give good dye release, too long and the henna dies). Using commercial hair dye is fine if it works for you and you don't have issues with peroxide or PPD's, but I think there is a way to make henna work for everyone if they really want it to.

CurlieGlamourGirlie · 08-14-2007, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

Quote:

I've also tried BAQ henna that I ordered from the big henna website. I think my hair is just so coarse that it defies the henna! The stuff I did find worked really well actually and left my hair pretty soft, so I'm happy!

I have REALLY coarse hair, and henna covers even my stubborn grays (which commercial hair dye didn't). I do have to leave henna on longer than most people, and timing the dye release is critical (too soon and it doesn't give good dye release, too long and the henna dies). Using commercial hair dye is fine if it works for you and you don't have issues with peroxide or PPD's, but I think there is a way to make henna work for everyone if they really want it to.

PM'ed you!