Hair Recipes
Botanical Name : Lawsonia Inermis
Family Name : Lythraceae
Common Name : Henna, Al- Henna, Al-Khanna, Egyptian Privet, Jamaica Mignonette, Mehndi, Mendee.
There are all sorts of recepies and ingredients that can be added to henna to produce an easier paste to work with and / or create a subtle change of colour.
You will find that people & cultures will have their own ideas and advice all of which can be tried with no adverse effects and can give you much fun. Here are just a few that could be tried - why not let us know how you got on by posting a blog entry.
Add apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to henna when making the paste. This will result in richer deeper red highlights. Also add vinegar or lemon juice to add some golden hightlights to your hair. Adding either to your hair with henna will be helpful for oily hair, if your hair is dry skip the vinegar and the lemon juice.
Use olive oil for dry hair use 1 tablespoon or so up to a 1/4 cup depending on the dryness of hair.
Tea is great for hair. Use proper brewed tea not instant. Add the cooled tea to the paste instead of just water. Helps to maximise the effectiveness of hair conditioning. Use red zinger tea to maximise red highllights.
Eggs are great for hair. Use the whole egg for normal to greasy hair but use only the yolk if your hair is dry. Only use 1 egg, and bear in mind that egg addition will result in a more subtle colour.
Coffee can be added to henna to dampen the redness of the henna colour, this is particularly good for those who are more blonde / fair coloured and do not want a too vibrant colour. If your hair is already dark you have no need to use coffee for colour changing. Adding coffee will help to produce deep brown highlights and darken the red tones. Use fine ground coffee or strong brewed coffee.
Dried gooseberry powder (Alma) will give a darker tint.
Cinnamon, Cloves & Paprika will add deeper red toned highlights
Sort your hair the natural way
Dry Hair : Use olive oil for dry hair use 1 tablespoon or so up to a 1/4 cup depending on the dryness of hair.
Dandruff: two teaspoons yogurt
Oily Hair : Lemon juice or vinegar
Brittle hair : A few drops of Mustard Oil
Don't like the smell of henna? Although henna has a natural sort of musty fresh grassy smell some do not really like the small too much - here are a few things to add to mask the smell.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice,
A few drops of essential oils - lavender or tea tea. (tea tree is a great natural deodoriser & anti bacterial.
