No Lie, it's Natural!

People are often asking me about my hair.
"Is that natural?"
Maybe. Depends on what you mean with natural?

My natural hair color is dark brown/auburn. I started dying my hair when I was about 14ish :). Black, red, streaks, blondish, back to brown, pink, etc. I did it for fun, and change.

When I had my daughter, I began getting gray hair. By time I had my son 4 years later, the sides and top of hair were pretty much gray. Of course, I kept dying, 'cause gray is not my color :).

Unfortunately, or fortunately for my hair experiment addiction, my hair grows very fast. I had to dye every 3 weeks at least to cover my roots.

One day I was reading a research paper on chemicals in our every day cosmetics. I was already using organic cosmetic, making my own lotion, eating well, but I was still dying my hair every 3 weeks with chemicals that were leaching straight to my brain!

A change must be made! I had tried henna as a teen, and it was frickin' mess. But, I found henna was the only "real" natural hair color to my disposal, so off I went and ordered some.

The first three brands I used just did not do it. The color was weak, and it did not cover y grays.  Then I found Mehandi.com (just a note, I am NOT a affiliate, nor do I get free henna for mentioning them :)...) who sells "body art henna". One of their colors was precisely for covering gray. Hey, I had nothing to loose, and they had an excellent tutorial.

This was about 3 years ago. I have been dying my hair with henna since then, and I still only use the henna from Mehandi. So far, it is the only one that covers my gray, plus we like using the extra for tattoos :).

Don't let anyone tell you henna is easy. It is a messy biz, but once you get into your groove, it

becomes second nature. In comparison to using hair color, which often only takes 30 minutes, you do have to plan ahead. The henna needs to be mixed and "ripen". It is messy, and it takes a few hours (at least two) on your head, not the best time to go errand shopping :). The great thing is that henna hardly fades, so when your hair grows out, you can just d the roots. Amazingly enough, the roots always adjust to the rest of my hair, it is like magic. Also, the color LIVES, each hair is a different shade.

I am posting some pics to show you. If you want to try henna, check out the tutorial at Mehandi. com. She really explains it much better than I could.

You will need some good rubber gloves, Saran Wrap, and a good sense of humor :). Don't wear your favorite clothes, or use your favorite towels.

 

This is my hair early this morning. Everyone was sleeping, so I had to do a selfie with my phone.  You can see my gray, this is about 3 weeks growth. Also, you don't want to wash your hair for a few days before doing henna. I don't use shampoo (I do the "no poo" method, will post more soon), but still, I find this way the henna takes better, and my scalp does not take on so  much of the color. Just brush well before you go :).

 This is my hair after about 2 hours of henna. I usually leave it on longer, but this morning something came up so I had to rinse earlier. The longer I leave it on, the deeper the shade gets It is always REALLY bright in the sun when it  is fresh, my hair will darken a bit more over the next two days. But you can see, the roots are covered, and the magic happened. You cannot tell where the old or new henna meet. My scalp will be less red after the first "wash". For those of your that dye your hair red, you know it is a hard color to keep from fading. Henna does not fade.

If you read this and try henna, post a pic!

Have fun!

Much love,

Heike