My first Henndigo Experience – October 6, 2013

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.

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Instructions for Henndigo

250 grams for waist length hair

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1 Pack Godrej Nupur Henna 150 g

1 Box Seasons Iqra Indigo 100 g

2 Cans Chaokoh Coconut Milk

4 Tablespoons Red Table Wine

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- 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