Hair Care

Colouring my Hair with Henna

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Today I decided to colour my hair with henna. It’s perfect for this time of year because the henna will turn my hair reddish, which is the colour of Autumn leaves! My red hair will also complement my Autumnal wardrobe.

This is not a new venture for me – I have coloured my hair with henna several times before. I choose to use henna rather than chemical hair dyes because it is a natural product so it doesn’t cause any potentially harmful side-effects. It is also better for your hair than chemical dyes because it doesn’t strip your hair of colour – it just coats each strand. This makes your hair shiny and healthy!

My hair naturally brown so the henna doesn’t make a dramatic difference to my hair colour – it just gives it a reddish tint and makes it extra shiny. I find that it tends to gradually fade back to my natural colour over several weeks. The last time I applied henna to my hair was in May this year, but it had all faded / grown out. I am excited to have reddish hair again!

How did I apply the Henna?

I used this Organic Henna Powder which I bought on Amazon. Last night, I mixed some of the powder with vinegar in a plastic pot. Normally I use lemon juice instead of vinegar, which is recommended because vinegar can leave a strong smell on your hair. However, I didn’t have enough lemon juice so I though I would try it with vinegar this time!

I made sure the mixture was the consistency of yoghurt, then I put the lid on the pot and left it overnight to release the pigment.

My brown, gloopy henna mixture in a plastic pot
This is what the henna looked like in the morning.

In the morning, I washed my hair with shampoo but no conditioner, as suggested on the packaging (the henna comes with full instructions), and blow dried it. Then, I put on some old clothes and applied LUSH’s Ultrabalm to my forehead and neck to stop the henna from staining my skin. I then stepped into the shower and applied the henna all over my hair so that it was thoroughly saturated.

I bundled up my hair and wrapped my head in cling film. Then, I left it that way for 3 hours to allow the colour to build. Finally, I rinsed off my hair in the shower and used shampoo and conditioner, and then blow dried it.

The result

Here are some pictures of my hair before and after colouring it with henna:

My hair, before and after henna. It is brown before and reddish after.

You can see that there is a definite colour difference! I am pleased with how the colour turned out, and I think it is definitely Autumnal. Luckily, my hair didn’t smell of vinegar at all after I rinsed off the henna. So I might use vinegar again next time!

I will be interested to see whether the henna lasts longer this time before fading. I hope my hair colour stays this bright until at least the end of October!

Have you ever coloured your hair with henna?

If so, I would love to hear about your experience with it! Let me know in the comments.

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How to colour your hair with henna - my henna hair dye results - photos included!

4 Comments

  1. Raheela James says:

    Love your hair with the henna. I’ve thought about doing it but only used henna for my hands. Good for you. Love Raheela

    1. Sophie Harriet says:

      Thank you! I think henna looks so pretty on hands too!

  2. I love this! I have never even thought of henna as a hair coloring! That sounds so much better for everything than boxed color! I color my hair fairly regularly and usually go for reddish tones so this looks like a great option! Thank you for sharing! It looks great!

    1. Sophie Harriet says:

      It’s meant to be much better for your hair than the boxed dyes! The only disadvantage is that you can’t use boxed dyes over the top of the henna (I think the henna blocks it from getting into your hair) so if you are not happy with the colour then you have to wait for it to fade or grow out. But it’s a good option long-term!

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