Many of you know of my obsession with the natural world. I am quite passionate about discovering and mastering the use, whether medicinal, edible, or otherwise for every plant I catalogue.
I really, really enjoy playing with Lawsonia Internmis, otherwise known as Henna.
Naturally, my hair is strawberry blonde, and it looks sort of copper in the sunshine, but there's a lot of silver in it too. I have two "Mrs. Munster" streaks down my temples. I like to play with my hair's color and tint it bright red. So I've been playing with henna, about once every six to eight months. It stains the hair, under the cuticle, and naturally fades over the course of a few months.
Henna is a lot of fun. I buy the ground leaves, and mix them with vinegar, water, and other fun herbs to create different tints. Anything from blond to red to purple or black can be achieved with henna, depending on what you mix it with. This time, I just used plain water and white vinegar. I left it on for only 1.5 hours, but the average person leaves it on 3-8 hours.
It's a great hair and scalp conditioner. Many people with dandruff, psoriasis, or frizzy hair report that henna softens their hair and heals their scalp. And I think it's pretty too.
Here is my catalogue of tonight's henna party.
Before

During

Just After Rinsing

I will update with how it looks after it dries.
Lawsone, the active plant molicule in Henna, oxidizes over the course of several days, so I will update with how the color changes during that time. It starts out as vibrantly orange, but by day three, it tones down to a natural reddish brown. I'll update with those changes as well.
During cancer treatment, I lost my hair five times, and I was ridiculed a lot for being bald. It was very traumatic. Henna is a way of celebrating the fact that the thing which was gone, has come back, and life can return to normal.
I really, really enjoy playing with Lawsonia Internmis, otherwise known as Henna.
Naturally, my hair is strawberry blonde, and it looks sort of copper in the sunshine, but there's a lot of silver in it too. I have two "Mrs. Munster" streaks down my temples. I like to play with my hair's color and tint it bright red. So I've been playing with henna, about once every six to eight months. It stains the hair, under the cuticle, and naturally fades over the course of a few months.
Henna is a lot of fun. I buy the ground leaves, and mix them with vinegar, water, and other fun herbs to create different tints. Anything from blond to red to purple or black can be achieved with henna, depending on what you mix it with. This time, I just used plain water and white vinegar. I left it on for only 1.5 hours, but the average person leaves it on 3-8 hours.
It's a great hair and scalp conditioner. Many people with dandruff, psoriasis, or frizzy hair report that henna softens their hair and heals their scalp. And I think it's pretty too.
Here is my catalogue of tonight's henna party.
Before

During

Just After Rinsing

I will update with how it looks after it dries.
Lawsone, the active plant molicule in Henna, oxidizes over the course of several days, so I will update with how the color changes during that time. It starts out as vibrantly orange, but by day three, it tones down to a natural reddish brown. I'll update with those changes as well.
During cancer treatment, I lost my hair five times, and I was ridiculed a lot for being bald. It was very traumatic. Henna is a way of celebrating the fact that the thing which was gone, has come back, and life can return to normal.
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