(1888PressRelease)
April 21, 2007 - If you're a henna lover, you know - it's been part of hair-coloring lore for many generations: Henna doesn't cover gray.
And indeed, used in the traditional way, henna will slip right off the gray after the first washing - if it "takes" at all.
But all that's changed, according to an article in MyMakeupMirror.com. Using a regular 4-ounce box of pure henna from the health food store, you can now cover gray. In one step.
"I was looking for a way to keep gray at bay," says Suzann, the head writer at MyMakeupMirror.com, "and I have done so much research on skin and toxins for other articles on the site that I was hesitant to keep dumping commercial products on my head."
Kale used herself as the guinea pig. "I'm going to figure out a way to do this. If it works, I'm thrilled, and if it doesn't work, I'm going gray because I'm not using the commercial colors any longer."
It worked.
The one step, however, was quite involved. But at least it didn't involve a pre-treatment, which some henna colorants do.
Basically, she applied the mixed henna paste to dry hair, covered it with a plastic cap, and kept it on for six hours. She does recommend that each woman does a strand test to determine how long to leave the henna paste on their head. And that in turn determines the color.
According to the article, the keys are: keeping the henna pack moist during the wait time; making sure every strand of hair is thoroughly covered; applying heat for ten minutes once an hour; and after the treatment is done, washing hair every other day rather than every day.
The article does warn that henna color can vary widely from the picture on the box. Even though Kale used brown henna (henna leaves mixed with walnut), her hair came out red. "But red is good," says the author. "I just wasn't ready to go gray yet."
