Henna hair dye

[Merseymum1980]

Hey guys im really struggling to pay for hairdressers these days.
Ive wrecked my hair with home dye in the past.
Has anyone tried the henna home dye range from Holland and Barrett at all?

I used it for a while, quite a few years ago. I gave up on it as it was so messy and quite a long process.

I use Lush henna. It is messy, but I like the results and seems conditioning for my hair.

I like lush henna too. I've been using it for years. I get great results from it.

Why henna, specifically?

Not tried henna but I’m getting great success with the professional wella colour touch plus mixed with the wella emulsion. It’s a gloss semi-permanent dye and I do it every 4 weeks. So cheap and way better than box dyes.

Yes, exactly this.You have to leave it on for several hours, and you can't easily sleep with it on and do it overnight because however well you wrap your head it tends to dry and shed crumbs. It dyes hair a bright orange colour which after a couple of days oxidises to a lovely auburn shade, if your hair is light enough - on darker hair it gives a reddish tint in the light, and it leaves hair in lovely condition. If you can be bothered, it's well worth doing, but the hassle got too much for me in the end and I box dye now.

Don't do it. It goes on patchy,stains everything and you have to leave in overnight. You cannot colour over heenna'd hair either.
It might be marketed as natural but it can wreck your hair.

I used to henna my hair all the time and loved it. It gives a beautiful colour and shine and gradually fades out over time. However it is very very messy so be prepared. You have to really take your time applying it to cover every strand so it’s best to set aside a whole evening and get someone to help you if you can. I am now going grey and curious whether anyone has ever used it on grey hair or whether it just looks horrible and orange.

I’ve used henna for years and the best one I’ve found is the Renaissance Henna BAQ Henna. It’s a beautiful colour and it makes my hair thicker and in great condition. Much better than chemical dyes! They do other natural dyes too:

https://renaissancehenna.com/shop/chemical-free-hair-dye/henna-hair-dye/baq-henna-powder/?srsltid=AfmBOoopZGlW_3GW7w1mK-jnwoq5dIhELFbPfLiV2UmIyHACrzuA6_xC

i used henna as i wanted to cover my first few greys. it worked well at first, but quickly stopped covering the grey.

over 7 years later, i still have henna in my hair and you can’t dye over it, you have to grow it out.

Been using henna for years and years. My tips: buy the body art quality henna powder (organic). Follow the pack instructions, but essentially what you do is mix up a thick paste with an acidic medium (I use lemon juice). Leave your prepped henna paste for about 12-24 hours and be patient! You need to wait for the dye release - when the dye molecules are released the henna is ready to use, and you will see a darker brownish ‘crust’ on top of the green paste. Line your bathtub with some sheets of newspaper. Wear latex gloves to apply the henna paste to your hair, and what you want to do is smoosh the henna into your hair paying attention to your roots. You then wrap your hair in cling film or just leave it, around 4 hours if you can. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Plenty of conditioner. My hair is naturally reddish brown but greying at my temples and henna gives me bright coppery highlights over warm red brown. Henna is a glaze over the hair shaft so, no, you can’t colour over it with chemical dyes. It’s a different way of colouring your hair, and you get used to it. I don’t find I make a mess. I just wear old clothes in case of spills.

I used henna for years, most recently Lush.
It is a bit messy, but I didn't find it that bad.

I never found it went patchy.
It fades gradually, but no more than any other dye (all reds tend to fade)
I found it gave a good colour and left my hair in lovely condition.

Lush henna is excellent. Faffy and messy, but you find a way that works for you. But the colour and condition you get is excellent. You smell quite earthy for a few days afterwards.

Aww this is making me nostalgic, I used to dye my hair with henna from the body shop that came as a powder that you mixed into a paste. In the mid nineties as a teen. I doubt it’s relevant but I have the shiniest hair of anyone I know!!

Henna can be lovely if suit red. But if I remember rightly, once used henna, you can't go back to other hair dyes? Can't remember why though, I presume it trashes the hair.

Also used to use henna. Great for hair condition.

Top tips -
Use warm water for the mix for comfort.
Have an old towel round your shoulders and wrap your hair in it immediately after applying.
Tie carefully a carrier bag over your hair (not your face!) then sleep in it. Have another old towel on the pillow.
Allow 40-50 minutes to wash out.

Find a neutral shade as much as possible for your first go. Adding loose tea to the mix helps create a brown shade.

Henna is great, I used it for decades. If you want to cover greys, go in with red henna first before using a brown henna. The red attaches to the hair shaft and acts as an anchor for the brown henna.

The only downside (apart from time and mess) is that when you come to want to either grow out greys or change to a different dying method, you can't until the henna grows out.

I miss the fabulous conditioning powers and the great russet tint it gave to my mid-brown hair, I don't miss the greys being bright orange, or the time , or the mess, or the smell!

I use Leganza colouring conditioners from Amazon. I am allergic to dye and have a lot of grey which it covers beautifully. I just wash and apply on damp hair and leave for an hour. Top up every couple of weeks or so. It lasts because I only wash my hair twice a week. It’s been a lifesaver for me. I have it on subscription.