This morning, my
daughter and I took a short trip over to Elmhurst to the Patel Brothers
supermarket. I grabbed 2 13 oz
cans of Thai Coconut Milk, 1 package of Nupur henna powder, and 1 box of
Seasons Iqra Indigo powder. I was
actually looking for the Jamila Indigo powder since I had read so many good
things about it, but when they didn’t have it in stock at the time. I was careful to select 100% Indigo
that was of good quality.
 |
| Hair in Sun Before Henndigo |
Having found everything
I needed and after having stopped at the convenient beauty supply store on
Roosevelt Avenue, I got home and mixed both powders together. According to some later research, that
was mistake number 1. You are
supposed to mix the henna powder first with the coconut milk and some acidic
solution. I used 4 tablespoons of
red table wine instead of the usual lemon juice. That was mistake number 2. The red wine apparently makes the henna stinkier.
I prepped my hair to be
hennaed by washing it with Shea Moisture’s Moisture Retention Shampoo, and then
followed that with some Come Clean Shampoo by Kinky Curly. Since my hair is fine, a heavily
conditioned shampoo will just weigh my mane down. After I washed my hair, it was soft, tangle-free and really
clean; all ready for my henndigo application.
I will admit I was
nervous about 2 things: 1) my mixing the Indigo and henna together blunder, and
2) the fact that my hair already had some color variation due to an old chemical
dye that over time, had severely oxidized. It was quite unnerving not knowing exactly what color your
hair is going to come out. I
figured if worse comes to pass, I will just bun it and wear it up
tomorrow. To be honest, I was
planning to do that anyway since I found directions for a cute new braided bun
online that I was planning to sport to work anyways.
Having to sit with this
army green glop atop your head wrapped in Saran Wrap for the next 3 hours
without knowing exactly what your hair will look like when the stuff comes off,
is torturous. It conjured up
horrible images of weird clown orange streaks with mousy brown undertones. Oh, boy! But, I decided to champion on
since I had come this far. After I
began rinsing my hair, I did notice that the coconut milk had REALLY
conditioned my hair. I had to
shampoo twice with Come Clean to get out all the henna / coconut milk mixture
out of my hair. I then applied a
light conditioner to my hair to do away with any tangles. After I got out of the shower, I
applied my Devacurl anGel, but skipped my usual Monoi Oil since my hair had
been so heavily conditioned. The
slip of my hair was good. I am
pretty certain it will be soft and bouncy once it dries.
As far as color, I
didn’t end up with green or orange hair…yay! It is a rich dark brown mixed with
bronze highlights. Not all of the stubborn
grey hairs were entirely covered, but most were, so it does give a more natural
look. It doesn’t look as if I
purposely tried to cover up my greys.
They turned a coppery bronze.
I actually like that. I
tend to shy away from too much fake.
I find that whatever blunders I made along the way, worked for me. I was nervous about the premature
addition of the Indigo to the mix, but I had read in several places that it was
ok to mix it while still in powder form.
I found the latter to be true.
It is amazing how much contradictory information there is.
All things considered, I
am glad to report that my first henna experience was a good one. I can’t wait to see the color after the
first 3 days of oxidizing. I would
also like to comment on a few other points that I read most newbies to henna
experience. I didn’t find that the
mix stained my tub, towels, skin, etc.
I didn’t find it necessary to newspaper the entire floor or the
countertop of the sink. Yes, the
application was rather messy, but unless you get copious amounts all over the
place, the henna dries pretty fast, and you are able to remove it with a dry
paper towel, and whatever remains, can be removed with a damp paper towel.
As far as the tub, I
found the henna was gritty as it was being rinsed off, but it did not clump and
clog the drain as others have reported.
It went down smoothly. I do
believe that this is because it was mixed with the coconut milk, which did not
make the mix dry like mud, but instead more like a water-soluble oily paste.
Normally, my hair is not
super curly, but it has quite a pronounced wave to it, and at times, it tends
to spiral in places. I didn’t find
that treating my hair with the henna loosened the wave at all. It is still exactly the same as it was
before the henndigo. The other
thing a lot of people tend to complain about is the smell of the mix. It smells strong and very earthy. I wouldn’t say it actually stinks, but
it does have a pungently strong odor.
I found once I had rinsed and washed my hair, the smell did linger a
bit. It’s not overpowering, but it
is still very much in my hair. It
is the smell of wet tropical forests.
I am assuming this odor will dissipate after the first 2 or 3 initial
washings.
Below are the instructions for what I did this time around; what worked for me.
____________________________________________
Instructions for Henndigo
250 grams for waist length
hair
_________________
1 Pack Godrej Nupur
Henna 150 g
1 Box Seasons Iqra
Indigo 100 g
2 Cans Chaokoh
Coconut Milk
4 Tablespoons Red
Table Wine
_________________
- Mix henna and
Indigo powders while dry. Add warm
coconut milk while mixing to the consistency of yogurt
- Add red table
wine to acidify the mix
- Leave to set in
large sealed Ziploc bag for 5+ hours
- Apply to dry
hair generously and wrap head in Saran Wrap. Finish by slipping on a disposable plastic shower cap
- Leave for 3+
hours
- Wash out with
Come Clean. Use very light
conditioner to detangle
- Do not wash hair
for 48 hrs
