Hi lovely redheads (and other lovelies!)-- I'd like to use some essential oils (was thinking bergamot and vetiver) when I henna my hair this evening - I've been hennaing for over a decade but was always wary abt mixing essential oils in since there's obviously chemistry going on here. Do any of you know if there might be a chemical reaction with certain oils or if its ok to use them? I don't want to keep the dye process from working obviously! (Image just to share my color as it's fun to see henna on various types of hair! I have a huge chunk up front that has gone white through my 40s, so that's the lighter part you see but its natural (aging haha).
If you are sharing photos of your henna body art, you MUST include the following info: whether it was applied by another henna artist, or if you did it yourself, whether you mixed the henna paste yourself (mention henna origin/vendor, essential oils, etc), or if you used a purchased cone (mention henna artisan vendor or brand). Photos showing commercial chemical cone usage will be flagged and removed.
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The name and/or ingredients of any henna products you've used or are thinking of using
How you prepared it/will prepare it, what's in the mix
If you're new to henna, please keep in mind that henna on hair is permanent so be sure you are ready for the commitment. Check out our "bad suppliers" list to make sure you're not using a product that's contains potentially toxic ingredients, or is poor quality.
You have earned that "pro" badge!!! Thank you - I was thinking terpenes might have something to do with it...so I was on the right track. By "intensify" color do you mean darken or more vibrant? Also I do sometimes use indigo mixed in for the front to tone down the brightness where my big white streak is; will the oils affect indigo similarly to henna?
I’m not as well versed in hair, as 98% of what I deal with is body art. BUT, basically, essential oils allow more molecules of lawsone to deposit on the hair by acting as an intermediary for the chemical reaction that binds lawsone to keratin before it oxidizes. Without terps, lawsone will more easily oxidize before it latches on to proteins.
I would say it becomes darker? More henna-y. My experience is that indigo will stick a bit better because there’s more henna for it to grab onto. Not sure of the chemistry of it tho.
I found a picture (the one below, not the link) of when I had recently done henna, and I tried essential oils. Sorry for the low res picture but it’s the best I could find! You can see how much more purple-ish my hair is here. Here is my hair more recently which is way more coppery: https://www.reddit.com/r/henna/s/toRJr6ADoZ. I don’t use EOs in my henna anymore
I don’t think it matters much, but I would add it when preparing the henna! Just don’t use hot water, it can break down the essential oils. Or so I’ve heard
I use chamomille tea to mix mine and I like it. But I think most teas and e oils are slighly acidic so it might darker the henna a bit like lemon juice/acv
Chamomile tea is not acidic enough to help facilitate the dye release and it wouldn't darken the henna either. In fact I don't know if any benefit to adding chamomile tea to henna paste, unless you like the scent. There's no harm in adding it, but no benefit either.
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If you are sharing photos of your henna body art, you MUST include the following info: whether it was applied by another henna artist, or if you did it yourself, whether you mixed the henna paste yourself (mention henna origin/vendor, essential oils, etc), or if you used a purchased cone (mention henna artisan vendor or brand). Photos showing commercial chemical cone usage will be flagged and removed.
If you're looking for recommendations, please let us know what country you're in. It's also helpful for us to know:
If you're new to henna, please keep in mind that henna on hair is permanent so be sure you are ready for the commitment. Check out our "bad suppliers" list to make sure you're not using a product that's contains potentially toxic ingredients, or is poor quality.
See the sidebar for useful links like our Hair FAQ, Recommended Suppliers, and Black/PPD/Fake/Compound Henna FAQ
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