No More Henna For Hair! Why I No Longer Use It.
No more henna for me! Yes, today’s topic is all about why. I am no longer using henna in my hair. Even though it is a natural plant that produces beautiful red dye color, is known for strengthening the hair, including many other amazing benefits. In this blog post, I am explaining why it is no longer beneficial to my hair. Moreover, I hope the information I am sharing helps someone who is considering using henna or is currently struggling with it.
No more henna for me. Why I am not using it in my hair.
I’ve consistently been a big fan of henna and used it in my hair for over 7 years. I loved the fact that it strengthened my hair, colored my greys a beautiful red tone and how soft my hair felt immediately after applying it. Plus its many other benefits which include scalp health.
There is one problem. My hair always felt soft and conditioned but never moisturized. So, there is a big difference between conditioned hair and moisturized hair. Conditioned hair is soft to the touch, shiny, and never looks dry or hard.
Moisturized hair is pliable, hydrated, holds on to moisture for long periods of time and doesn’t easily break with friction. In other words, henna is great with conditioning but with not moisturizing. My hair needs access to moisture. This is the primary reason why I stop using it in my hair and switched my focus to moisturizing.
Henna Hair Problems | What I’ve Learned So Far
Signs of why my hair was not getting the proper moisture. No matter hair much I moisturized and deep conditioned my hair.
A lot of work was involved in order to get my hair to absorb water. Especially several days after my first henna treatment. It will take a few minutes for the water to absorb into my hair whenever I washed it.
Deep conditioning my hair helped a little bit but the effects of the conditioner did not last long. Even after applying a leave-in conditioner and sealing it with butter or oil. Furthermore, after another application, I was always back to square one of the moisturizing process. At that time, I had a goal in mind and that was to master using henna.
How can henna prevent dry hair types from getting much-needed moisture?
Henna lawsone molecules seal the cuticles and fill in cracks or signs of damage along the hair shaft. Also, the molecules are larger than hydrogenated protein molecules. This is why the hair becomes stronger and is left with amazing shine.
Because henna molecules are so large it can also minimize moisture from entering the hair cortex leaving the hair feeling dry. Dry hair particularly tightly coiled hair types needs moisture in order for the hair to be pliable, bendable and less prone to breakage.
Henna For Dry Hair | How To Mix It Using Cream Of Tartar
If your hair is dryer than usual after several henna applications. Here are a few tips to get your hair back to thriving again.
- Minimize the frequency of application. Extend it to every 3 to 6 months and document your hair progress.
- Focus on deep conditioning your hair. Even though henna is conditioning it is not moisturizing creating a strong hair regimen is a most. Your focus should be on moisture retention.
- If you’ve been using henna for a while and your hair is not thriving. Just leave it alone and stop using it.
- It takes about 10 to 12 months for the strengthening effects of henna (lawsone molecules) to wear off. Your focus should be on deep conditioning your hair. After 12 months your hair will easily absorb moisture as usual.
Here Is A Natural Alternative.
That alternative is Cassia Obovata. It is similar to henna but does not dye the hair. Most of all, its strengthening effects last a short period of time right about 2 months. Allowing the hair to absorb much-needed moisture before cassia reapplication.
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Until next post stay tuned,
Ellisha