DIY| DYEING YOUR HAIR WITH HENNA | 2021 to present
22-01-2021

Hi Cherries and welcome to my DIY (Do It Yourself) tutorial for dyeing with Henna hair coloring. Also known in the world as natural hair coloring. I've made a DIY about this before, but the hair dye packaging has changed and the content has changed. Hence, I decided to write a new DIY so that it doesn't get confused with the old one. I still get quite a few questions about Henna hair coloring and I hope that I will largely answer it with this DIY.

Henna is a red dye that is used to dye nails, palms and hair. Especially the coloring of the palms is more common. This form of coloring is practiced in Arab, African, Indian, Moroccan and Turkish cultures, but can also appear in more cultures. For example, in many places in India it is believed that the darker the henna, the more the husband loves his future wife. You got it right! Before the wedding, the women are beautifully colored with this dye. Since I don't belong to any of the above cultures, I don't know if it is the same elsewhere. In any case, I think it's a nice thought (^.^)

Henna can also be applied to the hair. That's what this DIY is all about (^.^) Henna is extracted from the henna bush called Lawsonia inermis, the only species in the genus Lawsonia. The plant is mainly found in North Africa and India. The dye is extracted from the green fall leaves of this plant. These are ground and mixed with lemon juice or another weak acid. Mixing with lemon juice is most common. The active substance Lawsone connects the hair with the proteins present there. That's why it's very important not only to look at your own hair color, but also at the tone. For example: You don't use natural hair dye like the one below, but pure Henna. Knowing that your blonde hair has a warm tone. You can bet your hair will turn bright red!

Please read the following warning and cautions. Following this DIY is at your own risk!

• Henna hair coloring is permanent!
• Henna takes on everyone's hair differently! So you cannot always expect the color that is on the packaging.
• Avoid Henna hair coloring if you have a warm tone or too much red pigment in the hair.
• Avoid Henna hair coloring if you have ever had an allergic reaction to Henna.
  If you don't know whether you are allergic to Henna, it's wise to carry out a test first.
• You cannot use Henna hair coloring on hair that has already been dyed with chemical hair dye.
  This also applies the other way around! You can't do chemical hair dye over Henna hair coloring! In other words, let it grow out!
• Always get advice from a specialist in a health store or organic store when it comes to color!
• Never use Henna hair coloring on the eyebrows. This can cause blindness!

Necessities

- Henna hair coloring of your choice. Choose the color you want (^.^)
(Well-known brands in the Netherlands are: Herbatint, Naturtint, Hennaplus and Dabur Vatika Henna)
- Vaseline (I'm using the normal version now, but the cocoa butter and aloe versions of the jars are just as good!)
- Cotton pads
- Hair or detangling brush
- Professional hair dye set
- Shampoo (natural preferred) *
- Conditioner (natural preferred) *
- Plastic or latex gloves *

* Some brands of Henna hair dye don't contain shampoo, conditioner, plastic/latex gloves. In this case, you will need to purchase the above supplies separately.

My personal choice is the Naturtint hair dye. When I first started trying this kind of hair dye, I was a student. Henna hair coloring was quite expensive 4 to 5 years ago and this was the only brand I could afford on a monthly basis. I have stayed with it for convenience. So I'm mainly going to tell about the contents of this package. I occasionally use Herbatint if my color is not in stock at Naturtint.

Below you will find five photos. On the left you will find the old Naturtint packaging. On the right side the new packaging since the summer of 2020. The content is also very different. The button below takes you to an external tab where you can find the content of the old packaging and my previous experience with Naturtint.

As you can see, the packaging is completely different. The new packaging no longer has a shining layer over the box. Only at the front. The new packaging also looks a lot simpler. Very clear! The shampoo, conditioner and CC cream are no longer included with the new packaging, but you will receive another hair product in return and that is a hair mask. A clear description of what is in both the hair dye and mask can be read on the box.

Contents Naturtint packaging (2020-present):
1. Package leaflet incl. protective gloves (The gloves are stuck to the inside of the package leaflet. So don't throw the paper away !!!)
2. Color Developer (60ml)
3. Colorant (60ml)
4. Hair mask (50ml)

Tutorial
1. Take your favorite hair or detangling brush and start brushing your hair well. It's important that there are no more tangles in it. Henna hair dye is quite thick of itself and we absolutely don't want this in tangled hair!
2. Vaseline is your best friend ever! Make sure your hairline, ears and neck are well greased. Henna adheres to the skin. If you shoot out, you can prevent that you will get nasty stains.
3. Mix the Color Developer with the Colorant. This can be done in two different ways. By using the accompanying bottle or by mixing it with a professional hair dye set. My personal preference is for method 2, because I had previously bad experiences with the accompanying bottle. This is of course different for everyone. Maybe someone else likes the bottle better. If you choose to do method 2, make sure you squeeze most of the cream out of the Color Developer as this is very important. Then carefully add the Colorant. Try to keep this in the middle and start stirring gently. Stir until it gives the darkest color it can give. This differs per color! In my case this is dark brown!
4. Start dyeing your hair. Make sure you take everything with you!
5. When you're done dyeing your hair, you can start cleaning up everything. Remove a lot of the petroleum jelly with a cotton pad.
If you have slipped a little, it also takes the Henna that shouldn't be there (^.^)
6. Let the hair dye sit for 30 to 45 minutes. If you apply Henna hair coloring for the first time, 45 minutes is strongly recommended! The following times you can reduce it to 30 minutes.
7. Get into the shower or bath and start rinsing out the hair dye. Preferably use a natural shampoo (regular shampoo is also possible!)  to get the most out of it. Then wash the hair as usual. Use a conditioner or the accompanying hair mask to finish it off.
8. Dry the hair and you are all set! (^3^)

So this was my tutorial/DIY. I hope you benefit from this! If you choose to dye the hair with Henna hair coloring, I'm very curious about the result! Please let me know if there are any questions about this and I will try to answer them as well as possible.

My hair colors with Henna (FYI! Please note that this list will be continued by updating. The present color might not be the same as the one that is used above.):
June 2017 - June 2018 > Naturtint 6G Dark Gold Blonde
June 2018 - June 2021 > Naturtint 5G Light Gold Chestnut > If not in stock Herbatint 5D (same color, but better quality)

June 2021 - July 2021 >  Naturtint 7N Hazelnut Blonde
July 2021 - March 2022 > Tints Of Nature 8N Natural Light Blonde
March 2022 - present > Naturtint 9N Honey Blonde

Love you all a lot - XX. SabrinaCherry