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Mad Scientist's Mix
“I use a very simple mix of
henna powder, water, citric acid, and essential oils for mixing up the
henna paste. For chin length hair I will mix up 100 grams of
henna powder with 10 grams of citric acid and enough water to make a
thick paste.  I like to put everything in a plastic bag and knead the ingredients together. Then wrap the bag of paste with a sheet of white facial tissue and place it inside an airtight jar. I allow the bag of paste to sit until I can see an orange stain on the white facial tissue that the bag was sitting on. It helps me to determine when the paste is ready. Usually it takes about 24 hours.  At that point I will add several drops of Tea Tree or Lavender oil to help the dye penetrate the hair better particularly since I am trying to cover my mom’s gray hairs. I will also add more water to thin the paste to the consistency of pancake batter. It is important to get the consistency perfect because if it is too thin the henna paste will drip but if it is too thick it is very difficult to incorporate into the hair. One way to tell if the paste is thin enough is to open up the bag of henna paste and see if the henna paste clings to the sides of the plastic instead of pulling away.  I put a salon cape around her neck to keep the henna off her clothes. I will then apply petroleum around the hairline and ears to help keep the dye from staining the skin. Then I clip up sections of hair so that I can work on a small section at a time to ensure that every strand is coated with henna paste. I wear gloves to keep my hands clean. Working from the back I will mix a glob of henna paste into the hair. I keep working towards the front incorporating henna into each section of hair. When every strand has been coated I will place a cotton coil around the hairline to catch any drips. Then I cover the head with a disposable plastic shower cap. Then I put a cloth shower cap over everything. My mom would be able to sleep with the henna on her hair having been completely covered.  After leaving it on overnight, she will rinse off the henna paste under the tub faucet and then shampoo as usual. The resulting color on her gray strands is orangey-brown at first and her hair feels rough, stiff and appears dull for the next couple of days. After a few days it will become shiny red-brown and feel very smooth and soft. Before
henna, you can see gray roots growing out from a previous henna.
 After henna, you can see gray covered with henna.  The process for my friend’s short hair is very similar and simplified. I use the same henna mix made in the same way. I don’t have to clip up sections of hair because his hair is very short. I just start applying henna paste from the back and incorporate it into his hair. I cover his head with plastic shower cap and let him keep it on for about an hour, which is all he can tolerate. Then he washes it out and shampoos as usual.  The original hair color was an ashy dark brown with a lot of gray hairs in the front and temples. Now that we have been applying henna, his hair is dark auburn with lots of coppery-red colored strands that were originally the gray strands. So now I re-apply henna mostly to cover the gray strands that are growing out.”  Mad Scientist  |
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