If you live in India, odds are that you are familiar with henna. It is arguably the most popular beauty herb in India and surrounding countries, known for not just its hand-decorating features or its use in covering grey hair, but also for its ability to make hair gorgeous, healthy and shiny.
Henna is now known all over the world for its amazing benefits to the human hair, and hundreds of thousands of people testify to the power of henna to make their hair feel thicker, fuller and more lush, with added strength and elasticity, and better hydrated too.
If you have not yet tried henna for your hair before now, here are the reasons you should do so:
A guarantee of healthy hair: If you want your hair to be healthy and glossy, you may want to use henna, as it restores the acid-alkaline balance of your scalp without upsetting the natural balance of your hair. It also helps to bring back the lost health of your hair and repairs damaged locks.
It conditions your hair: Henna covers every last one of your hair shaft (especially when you combine it with hydrating ingredients such as eggs), building a protective layer that defends your hair strands from damage. Using henna regularly locks in the natural moisture of your hair, making it thick and strong.
It gets rid of dandruff: Henna has been proven to effectively cure dandruff by helping to remove dirt and excess grease, including dandruff, from the scalp. When you use dandruff regularly, you do not just cure your current dandruff problems, but also prevents the problem from coming back.
It boosts hair growth: Henna’s natural properties will exponentially grow your hair. One of the ways it does this is that it has a direct effect on the scalp and assists it in improving follicle health, helping to curb hair fall, while preventing and correcting hair thinning.
It covers your grey hair: You don’t want to damage your hair health with chemical dyes but you want to hide your grey hair? Henna is a perfect choice for this because it doesn’t contain chemicals such as amino acid that dehydrates and eventually damages the hair.
It reduces scalp itchiness: With its natural antimicrobial and antifungal properties, henna works to soothe and cool the scalp, and by so doing reduces scalp itchiness.
It allows you enjoy thick and lustrous hair: One of the constituents found in henna is tannin, and this has been proven to bind with hair to make it stronger. What more, tannin does not penetrate the hair cortex, ensuring minimum damage, and thicker, lustrous hair when you apply henna often.
It helps to repair split ends: If you are dealing with dry and damaged hair, you probably deal with split ends as well. Perhaps you have cut off your split needs and it just doesn’t help? This is because you have not yet treated the damaged hair, so cutting off the ends is not just enough. To end the nasty cycle that causes split ends, use henna. As it deeply conditions and nourishes the hair, it automatically takes care of your dry hair problem and all split ends issues as well.
It balances pH and oil production: For those of us with overactive sebaceous glands, here is henna to the rescue. It helps to curb excessive production of oil, also helping to restore the scalp’s pH to its natural acid-alkaline level, and strengthening the hair follicles in the process.
Of course, it’s a natural hair dye: Of course, this is one of the most obvious uses of henna. It is a great hair dye, a fantastic natural alternative to the chemical options otherwise readily available in the markets. It’s also a cost-effective dye solution.
One way you can use henna
Use a clarifying shampoo to shampoo your hair. Once done, towel dry without using any conditioner. Set aside a bowl of henna powder and pour between 12 to 16 ounces of distilled water, coffee or tea onto the dry henna powder. Stir together until a paste forms. Go for the consistency of yogurt. Allow this to cool for between one quarter of an hour to half an hour.
Once cooled, wear a pair of gloves and apply the paste to your clean hair, beginning from the crown of your head. Apply to your roots first, and then massage outward.
Place a grocery bag or plastic cap over your hair once fully coated. Leave the paste in for between one hour to four hours, and then rinse, using warm water. Once done, apply your conditioner, then rinse again.
Completely safe
One great advantage of henna is that it is completely safe, having no recorded side effect.
If you are vegan, henna is completely plant based so the usage shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Other benefits of henna
Henna is pretty self-sufficient, and you may choose not to use any special shampoos or additional products with it (because you don’t have to).
One other reason henna might have a leg up on other hair treatments is because it is very affordable, with a single application costing as little as three euros.
If you want to use henna without colour, this is also possible. You can enjoy healthy hair without changing your look. And if you do use it for colour, it naturally fades out so there are no obvious roots as your hair grows out.
Be prepared to spend some time
One thing you should know about applying henna is that it can be very time consuming and the application can be very messy, so be prepared for that.
In conclusion
If you are prepared to spend the time required and don’t mind a little mess, why not go right ahead and use henna for your hair? In return, you’ll begin to enjoy healthy, nourished and beautiful hair. This could very well be the best decision you ever made for your hair.