BENEFITS OF HENNA!!!

Henna is a flowering plant that grows in hot dry climates and is also known as lawsonia inermis. The plant was used for over 6,000 years in Ancient Egypt to dye hair, skin, and nails.  It is also used in parts of North Africa, East and South Asia, etc.    Henna has great benefits for hair health.  The lawsone, which is the dye, coats the hair shaft and fills in rough spots on frayed cuticles.  Lawsonia is known to bond keratin which is your hair protein.  This is why henna adds strength and shine to your hair.  Some people claim it loosens curls, some people claim that they lose there curl pattern altogether.  That never happened in my case but everyone is different. The dye inside this plant usually gives a red/brown stain.  Please be careful when purchasing henna because some people add chemicals to it that can irritate your scalp.  Be sure to buy PURE henna.    I usually make a henna gloss.  Henna gloss is used if you want an easier rinse, better conditioning and subtle color change.  It's a whole lot better than using the chemical dyes over the counter because it's plant based not man made chemical stuff.  I have a recipe that works for my thick hair that I would like to share with you.  Just to let you know, henna has the smell of hay and can make your hair feel like hay.  I would suggest using a moisturizing deep conditioner afterwards.  Use a plastic medium sized bowl that you can cover and have plenty of newspaper, on the floor, around the sink, where ever you think it will land because henna can be messy.

Henna Gloss

200 grams of henna
1/2 cup of Hydra Recharge from Garnier Fructis or whatever moisturizing conditioner you prefer
2 cups of hot green tea
2 tbs raw organic honey
2 tbs organic hibiscus flower powder

Stir with a WOODEN spoon, you do not want to use a metal spoon because it will mess the dye up.  Cover and let sit for 24hrs thats how long it takes for the dye to release. Unless you use the jamilla henna but I don't use that one.  I use organic red Egyptian henna which you can purchase here Butters-n-Bars.  I looove the consistency, it's thick and not as messy.  This site also has Jamilla henna which I think releases faster, you can purchase here Butters-n-Bars.  Put a plastic cap on, leave it on for 2hrs or more then rinse.  Henna is usually a greenish powder, when the dye releases it looks brown.  It can also be frozen for more than 2 yrs so if you have some left over you can freeze it.  Down below is an instructional video by the beautiful Mop TopMaven.  She doesn't have the same ingredients as I do but she shows you the proper way to apply the henna.  Have you ever used henna?  Do you plan on using henna?  Leave a comment in the box below and thanks for reading:)