•ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ• Henna Me Silk 11~4~2012 •ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ• and More on Dye Release w/ pics

Last week I pulled out my Nupur Henna powder from the freezer. I never intended on turning my back on Nupur, I just figured that I always wanted to do the most beneficial henna at any time, being that it is very time consuming. Those of you who follow me understand that I tucked away my Nupur Henna to gain more dye release from my Morroccan henna: Upon observation of my strands, I realized that after a year of Nupur my strands  had not become any thicker at the middle and closer to the base of my strands. This led me to believe that  while Nupur is great at conditioning my hair, this blend of other herbs ( and not purely henna) was why this henna was not building on my strands.  So I went back to what I knew best- My Jamila that definitely thickened by strands, and my Moroccan  that had all the elements of what great henna is supposed to be ( great color, fast dye release, not gritty, etc). 

Well, I'm getting low on my Moroccan henna stash and will not be ordering until the end of the month, black Friday. Also, I do have Nupur henna that needs to be used- henna does go bad where the dye release isn't that potent  and, remember, I want the most out of every henna experience.

So what did I do? Well since I've always trusted other's research on Nupur's Dye release, I figured I'd do some research of my own. The package's directions says to let it sit for 3-4 hours, but my henna sister said that she got great release when she let it sit out for 8 hours plus, like her Jamilia. ***Side note: If you don't have gray hairs yourself, it's best to ask  someone about their henna experience  who does, as gray hairs have lost their pigment and soak up the henna like non other, blond hair being the next best.***  I also understand that this year's Jamila dye release is very quick, so 8 hours may be too much to let it sit out. 

 Pictured below you will find my own  Nupur Henna Dye Release test done on my palm. The blob on the left ( your left as you look at the photo) is the stain it left on my hand after sitting for 4 hours and had been wiped off my hand after 2 mins and rinsed, not scrubbed . The blob on the right shows what the henna looks like after 8 hours, and the blog in the middle shows what the henna looks like after it sat for 8 more hours in the refrigerator ( both applied for 2 mins also and wiped off)... so this picture was taken only after the middle stain had been wiped off. This means that the middle stain is very close in color to the right stain, so if it had time to oxidize like the other two just imagine how much darker this stain would have been!?! I mean, those of you looking for a brown color and not a red- isn't this just beautiful? And if you add indigo to it, just imagine how much darker a chocolate brown you could achieve!?

 This is breaking news my henna friends! I have been using the Nupur incorrectly all this time ( well, incorrectly for what I've been trying to achieve !  When I mixed this batch which made three henna sessions ( really four but I did not split them evenly)  I was sure to freeze them after 8 hours. I plan on doing a henna stain test again  and letting it oxidize over night to see what color it yields.  But in the future, once this batch is done, I plan on doing more extensive henna dye release tests on this  Nupur Henna and on my Moroccan henna, just so I can understand the behavior on different types of henna for myself. 

So what does this mean  for my Moroccan henna? Nothing. Simply put, Moroccan henna can never be replaced :-) I just ♥ ❤ ❥ the warm and chocolate browns that Nupur Henna produces...

•ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ• Henna Me Silk 10~8~2012 •ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ•

Today I did a henna using the Jamila henna I mixed up last  week and froze.  I lined the container with cling wrap to make for a less messy mixture and it worked beautifully. 

This time around I did not add anything to mix. I purchased two moisturizing hair masks from sally's and I plan to see which one will stand up to the henna I am doing today.

With nothing added to my henna I expected it to be a  little drying. It wasn't. My hair rinsed clean and smooth after two cowashes with Trader Joe's Nourish and Spa Condish... Nice! 

Here is what the henna looked like after letting it thaw in the refrigerator from the freezer overnight.

 

I did a spot test on my skin when the henna was cold. I got deep stain on my palm after letting it sit for 30 secs. I usually get this kind of stain within seconds of letting it sit on my skin.

 

Once I warmed the henna up though I got the second stain on the pointer finger after letting it sit for 5 seconds. This is what I was looking for to make sure my freezing process worked.

 

 I scrapped the  henna out of the cling wrap and into my henna bowl. I heated it up indirectly by placing the metal bowl over very warm, almost boiling water into the yellow bowl. I took a shower ( for 15 mins while the henna sat) and washed my hair ( not clarified) with two moisturizing shampoos-  dessert essence coconut shampoo and renpure organics argan shampoo. 

I ended up leaving it in for only 3 hours, as  the back of my head became extremely itchy.. seems to be the case with that Jamila!  My scalp was definitely stained to I do not think this Short amount of time mattered too much.

Please stay tuned to check out my next review on the two moisturizing hair masks from sally's.  Thanks!

•ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ• Henna Me Silk 10~4~2012 •ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ•

I did a henna  this past Tuesday and I really needed to come back strong from the last terrible henna gloss experience. I wanted an  overflow of dye release and didn't want to wonder if the henna that was sitting in my hair for hours was just a vain sequence of mundane steps that yielded less than the least of desirable results.So this  time I pulled out my trusted Jamila henna that would give me everything opposite of that! - An explosion of dye that wrapped provocatively around every strand, making it's presence know in any degree of sunlight!!!!!

This time I mixed up an entire box. I used warmed aloe vera  to mix it up until it became creamy. After letting it sit for at least 10 hours, a split the mix in half and stored the rest in the freezer for an even better dye release. To the mix that I was preparing to use, I added a Tbs of cocoveda oil and then some coconut milk mixed in with a 1-2 tbs of marshmallow root ( believe 2 Tbs) and viola! You've got a moisturizing henna mix! I left the mix in for 4 hours .

Jamila never lets me down. My only reservation about it is that I do not care for the color it yields. Someone once described it as a cool plum color, but only in sun light. That sounds about right. It does darken my hair, and being that I am lighter in color, I have never favored dark hair on lighter, paler skin ( I do get pale in the winter). My natural hair color is closer to a medium brown, a number 4 or 6 if you've ever bought a pack a hair- hehe! I don't mind the darker brown too much, but I do mind the plum. I don't care for it. The darker color does appear to make the hair healthier looking. I always get questions like "What color did you dye your hair?" or "I thought you said you'd never dye your hair?" or " I thought you didn't like dark hair on lighter skin." But these questions always  prepare  for a great segue-way into my hennaing experience ;-)

I froze the rest of the henna and will  use it today to do a another henna. I will write a post on how I stored and thawed the henna.

Hesh Kalpi Tone

 

Aside from Jamila henna, Kalpi tone was the first ayurvedic concoction that I began using on my hair back in 2009. I would mix it into my hendigo mix ( henna + indigo), and it would yield deeper, darker results in color. I then started using it on its own as a conditioning treatment, both with oils and with conditioners, as well as a mixture of the two. 

Mixing kalpi tone with a watery base ( like tea or just plain water) and then with oils yields a very unfavorable emulsion, in my opinion. It's like the two really don't want to mix together, and it becomes very strange to the touch and more difficult to apply. 

I have not tried using Kalpi tone with coconut milk, but I sure plan on to in the near future. It is very moisturizing when mixed with a conditioner and a bit of oil, and tends to run more when mixed with just an oil. I also like mixing it ( into a paste, not a rinse), with black tea so that I can combine my Kalpi Tone and black Tea rinse into one :-)

You can also use Kalpi Tone as a rinse by mixing it with warm tea and then straining it through a stocking hose to rid the particles that people often complain about being left behind. I have yet to use this as a rinse and don't plan on to; although I may be using less product to achieve the rinse, I feel like I'm wasting it when it's done this way. I prefer for all of my treatments to sit on my hair for no less than an hour to ensure penetration.The only rinses that I do are black tea rinses that strengthen the hair and lessen shedding, as well as ACV ( apple cider vinegar) rinses after every hair service to close the cuticles of the hair and allow for better moisture retention.

I have never experienced these residual particles left in the hair after doing a KTT,  and I'm  not sure why this is so- maybe because I use conditioner and add oils???

The smell of this is very herbal-sweet-lemony...I really, really like it! It's a lot less 'in-your-face' than henna, so you don't feel over powered by it. It DOES have a particular smell to it, so please don't think you will not smell anything at all. This is just the nature of ayurveda, which I love♥♥♥! 

So what's in this stuff??

Amla Fruit (Phyllanthus Emblica Linn) 10%, Maka Leaves (Eclipa Aba) 10%, Mandoor (Iron Rust) 10%, Jaswandh Flower (Hibiscus Rosa) 9%, Narangichal (Citrus Aurantium) 8%, Shikakai Fruit (Acacia Conncinna) 7%, Kumari Leaves (hedychium Spicatum) 7%, Kapur Kachili (Hedychium Spicatum) 6%, Brahmi (Herpestis Monniera) 5%, Methi Seed (Trigonalafinum Greekum) 5%, Wala (Andropogan Muricatus) 5%, Khadir Stem (Acacia Katechu wild) 3%, Chandan (Santalum Album) 2%, Neem (Azadirachta Indica), Sitaphal Seeed Powder(Squamosa), Sugandh Dravya.

Did you just say "WHAT," because I did! Just know that they are a lot of good herbs for the hair! Briefly, Hesh Kapli Tone has the following advantages:

• Gives a natural black tinge to the hair
• May help to strengthen hair roots
• Promotes hair growth
• Controls hair loss and premature greying

What does it promise?

A natural beauty therapy for hair, Hesh Kalpi Tone adds a dark tinge to the hair and gives it a natural, dark shade. Made from natural ingredients like Aloe, Amla, Brahmi, Shikakai and other herbs, Kalpi Tone helps control dandruff, hair loss and premature greying of hair. The blend has to be used over the scalp, Kalpi Tone may help to strengthen hair roots and promote hair growth.

The one and only downside of this is that it DOES DOES DOES darken  your hair. Since I am lighter skinned I  do not like the way darker hair looks on me. My natural color is medium brown, and while darker hair does give your hair a more shiny and healthy appearance, it looks really artificial against my skin (especially in the colder months when I'm paler). So this will alter the color of  the beautiful tones you get with henna.

The MAIN benefit is that I've been a long term sufferer of migraines and this has helped to alleviate them, unlike indigo which I have stopped using for 2 years now because of the incessant headaches it was giving me ( and darker hair color that I do not like). 

Now, of course, the obvious benefit is stronger hair!!