Henna staining.
One of the most popular natural dyes is henna. Henna is a paint of vegetable origin, which is made from dried leaves of the bush of lavsonia, which grows in India, North Africa, Sudan and Egypt. In these and many other, especially Arab countries, henna is used to decorate the body with a painting for aesthetic and religious purposes. Drawing lasts a long time and, thanks to additives, has a different color scheme. As a hair coloring agent, henna has been used for a long time. The advantage of this staining is a completely environmentally friendly and harmless process, besides it is useful for strengthening the roots and rapid hair growth. When staining with henna, a bright copper color with a beautiful sheen is obtained, but not all of them suit. Therefore, to achieve a rich chestnut shade, henna is mixed with coffee. This mixture is especially suitable for staining of gray hair, since when using henna alone, no additives on the gray hair will have red spots or a rusty hue. It is worth noting that the gray hair against the background of dark hair will be cast in red. And if the gray hair is more than half, then the effect will be even stronger.
Staining of coffee and henna.
On sale you can find several kinds of henna: dry powder in a bag, pressed in the form of a tile and diluted in a bottle. In addition, it can be four colors: red, chestnut, brown and black. For hair coloring, it is recommended to use pressed henna in a brown or chestnut tile. The amount of henna is taken depending on the length of the hair. For the hair to the shoulders, half the tile will be enough. Mixing with henna can be any natural roasted coffee, but it is better to add arabica. A total of 50-100 grams of freshly ground coffee is required. The composition of henna includes cocoa butter to improve the retention of henna on hair and oil from clove buds for a pleasant smell. And coffee will give hair not only an amazing shine, but also a wonderful fragrance.
The tools should be prepared before starting the painting: rubber gloves, a broad brush, a hair clip, a film or a bag, a comb, a dark towel and a medium-sized heat-resistant container. The floor should be carefully covered and any drops that fall on the uncoated surface should be removed immediately. It is very difficult to dye henna hair on its own, so it's worth using someone's help. To the forehead, neck and ears did not remain traces of dyeing the skin along the edge of the hair should be greased with a fat cream.
The process of staining.
So, the mixture of squashed henna and coffee in a fine grater is poured with boiling water and mixed until the average creamy consistency. The container with the resulting mass is placed in a larger bowl with hot water and heated. The brightness of the colored hair depends entirely on the temperature of the mixture - the higher the temperature, the brighter the color of the hair. But you should be careful not to burn your scalp. Before completely applying the paint on all the hair, it is worth trying it on a separate strand. It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions and remember that the hair will be stained for a few hours after the henna is washed away. Staining should be carried out in rubber gloves. Henna is carefully applied to dry and clean hair, starting with the roots, and evenly distributed throughout the length of the hair. After applying a mixture of henna and coffee, the head turns into a film to obtain a reddish hue, and to get a brown shade, the hair is pinched by a barrette and dried for at least six hours. If you keep less henna, you will get a greenish tint. Rinse the color mixture with a shampoo. To get a brighter red color after washing, the hair is dried with a hair dryer, a special hat or bag is put on, and a dark towel is wrapped on top, after a couple of hours, the desired effect is achieved.
The result of staining.
The result of staining can be affected by previous actions with hair, for example, lightening or sunburned hair. That's why it is recommended to pre-test hair strands. If the resulting color does not live up to expectations, you do not need to try to lighten it, as henna only penetrates deeper into the hair and it will be even harder to pull it out. To get rid of too bright color it is possible only with the help of warmed vegetable oil, which should be applied to the hair, massage and bleach with a hair dryer, then wash with shampoo.
If after the first procedure nothing happened, you need to repeat the procedure again. It should be remembered that henna weakens chemical perm, so it is advised to paint after the permanent. When you receive a lack of bright colors, you can periodically tint your hair, but do it no more often than once every two months. Henna is a kind of medicine for the hair and from frequent use, "overfeeding" can occur, which is very harmful to the hair. They can fade and sag with "icicles". After staining the hair with henna, you should not use chemical paint. Sometimes, using more saturated shades of red and chestnut, the chemical paint was well placed on the hair, but in most cases a patchy uneven staining with an unpleasant shade of hair is obtained.
Now you know everything about the coloring of gray hair with henna and coffee, before you use henna to dye your hair, you need to weigh the pros and cons. It is impossible to damage the hair with henna, but it's easy to spoil the aesthetic appearance of the hair. The resulting color will last for several months, and it is very difficult to neutralize it. Therefore, it is necessary to comply with the technology of preparing the mixture and fulfill all the requirements for hair before and after painting, and the result will not deceive expectations.