Finally tried henna on my 4a natural hair

     Well, here I am a day after I finished the long, messy process of putting henna in my hair. This was my first time using henna, and it was worth it.  I have type 4a hair, and after using henna my hair seemed more defined, stronger, and more conditioned.  In the direct sunlight, I am able to pick up some of the reddish color that the henna deposited on my brown hair.  Here is a close up view of my hair in direct sunlight.

     Instead of ordering henna online or buying from a local natural hair products vendor, I decided to use the much less expensive Sadaf Henna Red that I found in a local grocery store that has a large section of Indian products.  For $6.19, I got 8 oz (227g) of henna, which was enough to do my APL (arm pit length) highly textured hair. 

   I mixed the henna powder with lemon juice in a glass bowl using a wooden spoon.  The consistency of the mixture was like mashed potatoes.  After covering it with plastic wrap and pushing the plastic wrap right up against the surface of the mixture, I let it sit for about 5 hours in a warm place before applying it.

   You must use gloves when applying henna; otherwise, your hands will get stained.  This is the one time that I did find a use for vaseline, so I went to the store and bought some to use for applying around my forehead and nape of the neck to avoid getting henna there.  I applied the henna and lemon juice mixture to all parts of my hair and covered my head with several layers of plastic wrap, a plastic conditioner cap, a headband, and a hair bonnet.  I still had a little bit leaking out, so I pushed a few paper towels up under the bonnet.  After leaving it on for at least 9 hours, I started the arduous task of rinsing it out.  After much rinsing, five co-washes using a total of 30 ounces of cheap conditioner, more rinsing, deep conditioning with JDNatladys' Creations Moisturizing Hair Mask (newly developed product that is not yet available) for a half hour, and rinsing some more, I was finally done.  I did a wash and go and only used a little bit of an oil mixture that I scrunched on the outer portion of my hair, I was relieved to have made it through my first time using henna.  It will not be my last time using henna, but I think I need to order a truckload of water for the cistern before trying this out again.

  I will put a link up later here on my blog to my YouTube tutorial that shows you the process that I used to mix, apply, and remove the henna.