Henna Gloss Treatment

 

Have you heard of the

gloss treatment for natural hair? For all, you lovers of experimenting with the color you’re in for a real treat!

The henna gloss treatment is a fabulous way to gently color your hair quicker than a traditional henna session and is less harsh than using a dye. Don’t know what henna is?

What is Henna?

Allow me to share you what you’ve been missing. Henna is actually a type of plant that is grown around the world.

The plant, Lawsonia inermis, is the plant that actual users of henna get their “dye” from. Contrary to popular belief, real henna only comes in one color: reddish orange.

Any company that claims otherwise has added ingredients to their mixture. That’s not to say that the dye isn’t natural.

Plants like indigo, woad, and walnut, can be added to the henna to make different colors; however, most henna gloss recipes for naturals do not have any of the added ingredients. The reddish-orange color from the henna comes from a molecule in the leaves and is not meant to give you a full-blown hair color change.

Instead, think of it more as a subtle highlight to your natural tresses. While many people know that henna can dye your hair naturally, most do not realize the benefits of giving their hair a henna gloss treatment.

Benefits of Using Henna

For one, it is said to help make your hair grow. Yes, that’s right.

in its purest form adds an additional coating to your hair which makes it stronger and much less likely to break. As naturals, we love anything that can help prevent breakage!

On top of helping hair to grow, it also makes the hair thicker over time. Bear in mind that this could easily be due to the buildup of henna that may make it appear thicker; however, it is still something to consider.

Even without doing a henna gloss treatment, the henna itself is in fact both a conditioning agent and medicinal. The use of henna has been known to significantly limit an itchy scalp, help alleviate dry scalp, and also fight off lice and other bacteria that may try to make its way to your strands.

Using henna for dry hair is quite common, and this henna gloss treatment will help to make your hair look even more luxurious. Are you wondering why you haven’t been using it all of your life yet?

There is one thing that you want to keep in mind when doing your henna gloss treatment. For natural women, Henna has been known to loosen up the curl pattern over time.

This is mainly because the henna can be a bit weighty on the tresses. If you have super tight coils, this may not be a big deal to you.

However, if your hair is already somewhat loose, you may not like having even looser curls. Keep this in mind when you’re deciding how often you want to add henna to your hair.

How to give yourself a henna gloss hair treatment

A traditional henna treatment can take several hours at a time. In some cases, it can even be an 8-hour process!

If you’re the average women, you probably barely even have enough time to eat or workout each day– let alone doing your hair for over 8 hours. So, what can you do to get a taste of the henna treatment without committing a workday to the cause?

The henna gloss treatment of course! Before you can do your treatment, there are a few things that you need to have on hand first.

It is important that you have all of these ingredients and tools together before starting your treatment; because applying henna to the hair whether in a traditional treatment or as a gloss treatment can be very messy. First, you’ll need your henna.

Make sure that it’s

. Remember, pure henna can only turn your hair reddish-orange.

The next product to have on hand is oil to protect the perimeter of your skin that meets your edges, neck, ears, and forehead. I like to use Butta Butta Cream to protect my skin. The darker the hair, the less that you’ll be able to notice the difference. Another ingredient that you will need is conditioner.

A conditioner to consider using is

. Another moisturizing deep conditioner is .

Since henna acts a lot like a protein treatment, you’ll want to get a conditioner that does not have any added protein to it. Something like

would be an excellent choice.

Essentially, these are the only two ingredients that you absolutely have to have. The conditioner gives the “gloss” to the henna treatment, and you can add other ingredients to intensify the effects if you so wish.

As far as tools are considered, you want to use the same thing that you would need if you were going to dye your hair. MAKE SURE THAT YOU USE GLOVES WHEN DEALING WITH HENNA.

You know how people get temporary tattoos or get the henna tattoos on their hands and or feet before a traditional Hindu wedding? Well, the fact that it stays on the skin for so long should let you know how much it can stain both your skin and everything around you if you’re not careful.

Make sure you have lots of plastic wraps, newspaper,

, and close by before mixing henna with conditioner and applying to your hair. Figuring out how to use henna gloss is a lot simpler than you may think.

You would simply mix equal parts of

and henna, apply to hair, leave on for about 30 minutes to an hour, and then rinse out. If you want a deeper color and longer conditioning treatment, then you can leave the mixture on your hair for up to four hours.

If done correctly, your hair will feel like you just finished giving yourself a deep conditioning treatment. For those of you that like step by step directions, take a look below at the most efficient way to do your henna gloss treatment.

1. Mix henna with water to get the right consistency. You want to mix it until it resembles cake batter.
2. Slowly mix the henna in with your conditioner of choice, stirring until smooth.
3. On freshly washed, detangled and damp hair, apply the henna gloss onto the strands with an application brush, making sure not to make too much of a mess.
4. Put on a processing cap or use saran wrap. You can use either a
   Bonnet Hood Hair Dryer Attachment by Hair Flair • Suitable For All Types of Hair & Hair Extensions • Perfect For Travel • Award Winning Original Patent • Deluxe Softhood • Healthy & Damage Free (Black)
   on low or a towel to add a little extra heat. You don’t want the henna to dry completely on the hair because it will be difficult to rinse out even with the added conditioner.
5. Allow mixture to sit on the hair for 30 minutes-4 hours, depending on what you want.
6. Rinse out thoroughly. You may need to use additional conditioner to get the henna out of your hair.

Once you get the basics down packed, you may feel a little more adventurous and want to add additional ingredients like coconut oil, coconut milk, or even olive oil. The milk or oil will add extra conditioning properties to your hair, so it won’t be necessary to add too much into your mixture.

If you opt to do this, make sure you cover your mixture tightly with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. The more nutrients you add to it, the healthier your hair will be.

Just make sure that you portion everything out correctly before adding it to your hair. Now, there are some that say you have some control over the henna color depositing onto your hair when giving yourself a henna gloss treatment.

This can be controlled by diluting your henna mixture which will dull the vibrant color by adding more conditioner or  oil. Also, you do not have to leave the henna gloss on your hair for several hours like you would a traditional henna treatment.

Just remember that the longer you leave it in, the more benefits your hair will receive from the henna.

How long does henna last

Using henna is permanent business, so don’t expect to go back to your regular hair color after a few washes. However, the gloss part of the henna gloss treatment depends on a lot of what types of moisturizing agents that you add to the hair.

Most women say that the conditioning effects last about 1-2 weeks.

How often can you do a henna gloss

When deciding how many times to apply henna on hair in a month, you may get conflicting answers. Some women put henna on their hair every time they wash.

Others try to limit themselves to only once every couple of months. My vote: No more than once every two weeks.

Henna is good for the hair, but there’s no need to do it more than twice a month, especially if you are giving yourself some type of treatment every week such as protein or moisture. Henna for conditioning is an excellent way to make those tresses both look and feel healthy.

The henna gloss treatment is good for those naturals who may want to do a subtle henna treatment, but want to spend less time trying to do it.

If you try a henna gloss treat comment below and share your experience.