Common Henna Tips for Hair
Even though henna is used primarily for coloring hair, it has some great beneficial 'side effects', including strengthening and thickening of the hair while giving it great sheen and lustre. You have to bear in mind though that the beneficial type of henna is of the pure variety, but you have to make sure of that before applying it to the hair. You need to primarily perform a strand test. Firstly, to check that the colour you have chosen is suitable and secondly, how long the henna will take to actually colour your hair with that particular color.
Henna usually produces the best results in blonde and brunette colours of hair but it can generally be used with most hair shades. Beware though - while henna may be wonderful for hair, it doesn't mix well with other chemical treatments, so if you have recently dyed your hair using conventional dyes, have permed your hair or even if you are planning on perming your hair in the near future, you may want to re-think using the henna. A good rule of thumb would be to wait at least thirty days from your last perm or hair dye before applying any henna product.
As far as Henna Hair color is concerned, always do a patch test on skin before application on hair. Do not use Henna Hair color for body art, as it is only meant for hair. Buying henna products poses a problem in itself due to the confusing (and sometimes misleading) nature of the packaging and listed ingredients. Hence, always be very well informed and read the instruction leaflet carefully before application.
Some Henna hair color also contain metallic salts which can leave your hair dry and brittle. So make sure you look out for these on the list of ingredients on the henna packaging and try to avoid them. If there is nothing on the packaging to indicate the presence of metallic salts, carry out a strand test to see how your hair reacts. If the paste dries up quickly on hair or the hair brittles up as mentioned above, do not use it!
Do not be alarmed with the precautionary tips, almost all of the henna based products are safer to use as compared to other hair color treatments, since they are 100% natural henna based and not harmful in nature.