Product: Rainbow Henna in Persian Medium Brown (Chestnut)Necessities: Money (it's about $6.99 not including tax at Whole Foods)
I wish I would have taken pictures of it beforehand (clearly I suck as a product review blogger...lol). Regular henna is normally just RED (for the Rainbow Henna, it would be called Persian Red); however, Rainbow comes in different colors (http://www.rainbowresearch.com/chart.html) although I kept more towards the dark side of the spectrum. Truth be told, I wouldn't rock with the lighter end of the spectrum because I feel like it kind of defeats the purpose of henna itself and that it might have too many ingredients in order to get it that color. But that's just me and my thoughts. I didn't look at the ingredients on the lighter side of things at all so I couldn't even tell you. The ingredients on the Chestnut henna I got are "lawsonia inermis" and "indigofereae"...essentially the henna plant and indigo. It's a gritty green looking powder and smells like tea, in my opinion.
Product Mixing
Necessities: hot water, henna, plastic bowl/container (I used a cool whip container), plastic knife for mixing
I was doing research and people have all sorts of concoctions for mixing their henna...I decided to go by the instructions and just use hot water. The instructions state to use 1 cup of henna and one cup of boiling water. Well, one cup of the henna is the entire jar, so pow. Put that in the plastic container. I can tell you right now, you're going to need more than one cup of hot water, but start out with one cup. I made mine boil in the microwave and then slowly added it to the powder while stirring with the plastic knife. It became this thick and not very well mixed clump of stuff, so I gradually added more hot water and stirred until it became about as thick as cake batter (imagine green cake batter). And it still smelled like tea...lol.
Product Placement
Necessities: time, patience, gloves, a shirt you don't give a shit about, a hairdye brush from the hair store (it's like $2), a towel, saran wrap/plastic bag/plastic processing cap (the shower caps from the hair salon that they put on you for a deep conditioning) or a friend with all these things
PRODUCT PLACEMENT TIME!!!! I was watching videos on how to apply and they just slapped it on there, so I thought I could do the same thing. Oh, no ma'am. Little did I pay attention that those were natural girls with TWA's (teeny weeny afros) and they could just do that. Not us chicks with long hair. I started out doing it the right way by parting my hair and then applying. Then, somewhere after the first part, I got lazy and said what the hell and just schlacked it on my head. BAD MOVE!!! IF YOU HAVE LONG HAIR, DON'T DO THIS!!! And by long hair...I mean anything past the top of your ear. You NEED to part and place in order for it to coat all of your hair. I didn't part and place and I KNOW I missed some spots. When you part your hair, I recommend going from side to side so it's easier when you get to your hairline and edges. I also recommend parting and not schlacking because...HENNA IS MESSY. That's why I said get a shirt you don't give a shit about (like a shirt you got from a boyfriend but you guys broke up and you dont' care about it anymore). When it dries, it looks (and acts) like mud. Going from bottom to top will eliminate some movement so it doesn't clump off as much (remember, mine is green. It looked like a gerbil and a hamster got together and collectively decided to poop on my floor...lol). IIIIIII thought I was being smart and was just gonna apply it everywhere with no parting and no dyebrush and just use my hands. Very bad move. I had massive clumps falling down my arms, falling on my shirt (because remember, you have to apply it to your hair like cake frosting). I couldn't get inside to the middle of my head because the henna dried up, so I'm pretty sure I have places that are untouched by the henna because I decided to be hardheaded and think I was cute and being fast about it. Once you're done, you can either put a plastic processing cap on, a plastic bag or wrap your hair in saran wrap. I did saran wrap and a plastic processing cap. Then, the package said to let it sit for 60-75 minutes without heat. I sat for an hour and a half. I've read of people sleeping with it on - I'm a wild sleeper and don't really trust myself for it to stay on...lol.
The Rinse-Out
Necessities: a shower, a sponge, a wide-tooth comb, sturdy shower lining (if you don't have doors), shampoo and conditioner
So, 90 minutes passed and I went to rinse out. If you have shower curtains, please make sure your shower liner is stuck to the wall via the water so you don't get what looks like dirt outside of your shower (like I did because I was stupid and didn't think to do that). BE WARNED: because Rainbow Henna has particles in it and because it dries like mud, it will feel like you are rinsing dirt out of your hair. Literal dirt. Like you went to the park, put your head in dirt and just rubbed it all in your hair. Not even joking. You will be in the shower for at least 20 minutes just rinsing. Not even washing your body. The rinsing alone felt like it took me like 20 minutes with hair that doesn't touch my bra strap. If your hair is longer, I'm assuming you'd be in the shower rinsing it out longer (but I don't know...I don't have long hair). I think I'm still finding small particles of henna in my hair. I say you need the sponge, because if you're like me, you will want to do clean up as you go to eliminate the clean-up after (and particularly because I rinsed out at like 12:30am. I wasn't beat for staying up longer and cleaning up after). My hair definitely felt softer as the henna was coming out, though. I will say that. I didn't have my wide tooth comb in the shower to comb out my hair. You'll be able to feel where the henna still it because it'll feel like clumps, but your hair will definitely be softer. I have coarse hair (in my opinion) so it definitely felt softer. Color change, I don't think so, honestly. But you can never tell when your hair is wet. I feel like my ends and roots finally match, so that might be a good sign. I also read that henna dries your hair out a little bit, so I slept with a leave-in conditioner and a little Razac in my hair. It still kinda smells like tea, though...lol.
The End Result
Necessities: blow dryer, flat iron, parting comb, hair clip and hair tie
So, the end result. I actually haven't gotten to this step yet, because I woke up not too long ago and took the showercap off my damn head so my hair could dry. I shall be back with an edit at some point today! Toodles!
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