All about red henna for hair

We all want to look beautiful and young, no matter how old we are - 20 or 60. Modern technologies allow a woman to always be young and well-groomed. Unfortunately, a large number of chemicals in cosmetics often lead to allergies and deterioration of the condition of our skin and hair.

Until a few decades ago, no one would have thought that a burning brunette could become a blonde or a red-haired beauty. Some women dye their hair all the time and do not notice any particular harm from chemical dyes. Yes, they see thinning hair, slight shedding, but they usually attribute it all to age, nutrition and stress.

However, there are those who develop more significant problems over time: dandruff, hair loss and deterioration of their appearance. There are also allergy sufferers who cannot tolerate the chemical elements in the paint the first time.

Then the ladies begin to think about dyeing their hair with natural substances, and henna comes to the rescue. Depending on the original hair color, whether the hair is natural or dyed, how long ago the last chemical dye was, you can easily select a new shade while maintaining healthy curls.

There are a huge number of advantages when dyeing hair with henna, because it is a natural product. Let's consider the advantages in more detail.

• Henna perfectly envelops and protects hair from the sun, dryness, salt water.
• Perfectly fights against the appearance of dandruff almost after the first use, because the antiseptic substances contained in its composition regulate the microflora of the skin.
• Helps with hair loss, as it contains aromatic oils and tannins that strengthen the hair follicle.
• It is an excellent remedy for oily hair. Dries the roots, so the hair does not become greasy and looks very neat.
• Strengthens the hair structure by filling in exfoliated scales, which makes it firmer and more elastic. Due to this, the hair turns out to be more voluminous and lively.
• It paints curls with natural substances without the use of aggressive chemicals, including ammonia.
• There are absolutely no contraindications to the use of henna by pregnant women and adolescents. There is only a very small percentage of women who develop allergies.
• Perfectly paints gray hair.
• It allows you to achieve bright and saturated colors, which cannot always be achieved using artificial colors.

Nevertheless, with all the advantages, there are also disadvantages that you need to know about before using this natural remedy.

• It is difficult to analyze your hair on your own in order to choose the exposure time and get the desired color. The result is influenced by the condition of the hair, its naturalness or color, how much time has passed since the last dyeing, the amount of gray hair, and a few other significant factors.
• Despite the naturalness, there is an allergy to the components that make up henna.
• If you dyed your hair and you don't like it, it will be very, very difficult to wash off the color.
• It is not recommended to dye your hair with henna after a perm. The components included in the product can lead to the alignment of the curls, and not always evenly. In addition, hair that is already dry will become even drier.
• During pregnancy, you need to be careful - although the paint does not affect the health of the mother and baby in any way, due to a shift in the hormonal background, it may not take on or you get the wrong shade. In this case, you should try to dye one strand, and if the result is satisfactory, dye all the hair.

Most often "guests" on the shelves of our stores are Iranian, Indian and Chinese henna. They differ in composition and percentage of oils and active substances included in henna, as well as in different colors obtained during dyeing.

• Iranian henna is the most common. Colors hair in copper and golden shades. Its disadvantage is that it dries the strands a lot. Contains a large amount of tannins.
• Indian Is the noblest species. It is very rare to find it in regular cosmetic stores. It is most often sold in Indian stores, natural cosmetics boutiques and on the Internet. Such henna is very nutritious, dries hair less, and dyes it in red shades.
• Chinese the variety is quite easy to find, but because of our associations with the word "Chinese" it is more often sold as Iranian. Therefore, be careful when buying.

To get the color you want, you first need to select the country of origin. It depends on which shades you prefer.

It should also be borne in mind that keeping the dye on light and dark hair for the same time, you get a different result, since initially there were different conditions and hair color. The same will happen if you keep it for the same time on natural and colored hair.

For example, if your hair is light and you want to get a light red hue, then first you need to prepare a decoction of chamomile and dilute the henna with it. Leave on blond hair for 5 minutes, then rinse. To obtain a bright reddish hue, the exposure time should be increased. The hairdresser will better orientate in time, because you need to take into account several facts, and a layman will not be able to do this competently.

In addition, at home, you need to carefully try staining on light and light brown curls. With a short-term exposure of the dye, there is a risk of getting a faded color with a yellow or green tint.

On dark hair, depending on the exposure time, you can get red and chestnut-red shades.

Also keep in mind that girls of the autumn color type with chestnut curls will look more natural after dyeing, and will be able to paint over the strands more evenly than blondes with light skin type and light eyes. Brunettes will get a more solid color.

Henna is usually sold in tightly sealed packaging. It is usually a green powder if supplied without additives.

The product is diluted with very hot, but not boiling water to the consistency of thick sour cream. The mixture should not flow, but the spoon should not stand in it either. The color after contact with water should change to red (ideally) or dark red.

Apply immediately after cooling, slightly warm. If desired, to moisturize and nourish the hair, you can add one egg or a tablespoon of oil, for example, olive oil, just before dyeing. This will color the strands and get a nourishing and moisturizing mask. For shine, you can add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice when painting.

Staining is carried out, as with ordinary paint, from the roots. First, we apply the mixture to the back of the head, then to the temporal areas, and then to the remaining area. After distribution on the roots, we coat the strands in the same order, carefully controlling so as not to miss any areas. When finished applying, it is best to comb with a wide-toothed plastic comb for even coloring. Metal combs, as well as bowls for diluting paint from the same material, cannot be used. The metal will react with the paint, and staining will not occur, or the color may differ significantly from what was intended.

This natural dye is applied with a brush, as with conventional chemical dyeing. The mixture should be applied only with gloves, otherwise the effect after staining will be visible not only on the head. It is not for nothing that in India they paint with henna on their hands, and the resulting images last for 3 weeks.

Be sure to wrap your hair with plastic after applying the entire mixture, you can wrap a towel on top. This will help create a thermal effect for the onset of the desired reaction. Use the correct treatment according to the recommendations and tips of your hairdresser. Usually, to obtain a rich color, it is kept from 30 minutes to several hours (when dyeing dark hair).

Henna should be washed off with water and vinegar to stop the ongoing chemical reactions. You will need to add one tablespoon of vinegar per liter of water. It is not necessary to wash your hair with shampoo immediately after coloring, a hair balm will be enough. After staining, it is advisable not to wash your hair for the first 3-4 days, since henna will still nourish the bulbs.

It is also not recommended to do styling during this period, use irons and curling irons, foams and varnishes. It is worth giving the henna time to heal the strands. If, after this time, you constantly do vinegar rinses after washing your hair, the hair will shine and look healthier, and its color will become richer, and it will last longer.

In addition, you can buy colorless henna for the treatment and strengthening of hair. There are a lot of options in the store now. Recently, henna has appeared with different shades, and you should be careful when buying it. Often the manufacturer adds paint and is disingenuous that there are only natural ingredients, so it is recommended to carefully read the composition.

However, if you "tasted" and were able to choose the desired shade of henna, saw its strengthening and healing properties, you will never give up this natural and wonderful natural dye. And your choice will always be in favor of natural ingredients with a healing and strengthening effect. Which, in turn, will allow you to have luxurious and thick curls for a very long time.

Girls can learn about other benefits of red henna for hair from the video below.