Summer, summer, summer…
Collegiettes, as soon as we finally climb our ways out of the hell pit known as finals, the arduous journey of studying and monumental lack of sleep certainly will display itself across our beings. Never fear! Summer break is right around the corner, and it is the perfect time to restore our gorgeous selves. Summer is also a time to take huge beauty risks, or try out a totally new look. As for myself, I have never officially endured a summer transformation. (Mainly because I can never come to a decision on which feature I should magically change, or because I have no idea what magically changing any feature actually entails.) As this summer approaches, however, I find myself more inclined to try some sort of interesting, not-too-permanent yet not-too-temporary change, and so my research began.
Luckily, my top notch procrastination skills aided in my kick start for research. As I surfed through Pinterest, I immediately knew that my hair would be that main event of my summer makeover. I figured changing up my hair will be one of the easiest ways to transform my look. However, I know it is also one of the easiest aspects of my look to royally screw up! I thought back to this past fall, and when I first came to school; I took 10 inches off of my hair in hopes to shake things up a bit. Luckily, this was a success, for I loved my new, short, healthy locks. Yet, I knew that the only reason why this look was such a success was because I had put my trust (and money) in a professional to handle the job.
Now, here I am, about 7 months later, broke, bored, and basic as heck. I began sifting through pins about hair color, highlights, and getting *Those Totally Flirty Sunkissed Locks!* Wouldn’t it be nice, I wondered, if my hair could actually have some colorful dimension? This led me to contemplate making an attempt at something I had never done before, changing my do’s color. Let me begin by explaining to you all, I have no prior experience with hair dye, aside from helping my mom touch up her evil grays (sorry, Mom!). But I wondered if there was a way I could try to color my own hair this summer, for this time around, I have absolutely no intention of paying a salon stylist a large sum of money for something that is semi-permanent, and potentially very damaging to my hair.
Most people offer the “Why not use a box?” idea. Well, in my experience, each time my mother dyes her own hair, the house smells like a chemistry project gone horribly wrong, and it leaves her hair looking dry, and fried. Also, the dye can be so strong that it leaves her sensitive skin with an allergic reaction, which she remarks is very uncomfortable. Therefore, when I am cringing at the mere thought of a “boxed dye,” it is for good reason.
So, what is a girl with mousy-brown hair, in need of a fabulous transition, to do?
In my research travels, I finally managed to stumble upon an incredible phenomena called “natural hair dying.” Initially I thought, Kool-Aid, however, it is known more popularly as Henna Hair-Dye. The only knowledge I had about Henna before reading this was that it was used to make beautiful temporary tattoos, and smelled kind of funky. Anyhow, I am a sucker for DIY projects, and consider myself to be rather crafty, so I decided to look up all there is to know about dying one’s hair with Henna. I learned quite a lot just by reading up on the topic for a few hours (time I probably should have spent studying for my Comm final), and what I discovered was very interesting and helpful.
Here is a list of some crucial tips, tricks, and general information that I have gathered about using this natural product to enhance your hair’s hues!
1. There is only one true “Henna” plant, and the color that the Natural Henna plant will make your hair is red. There are products that are also called Blonde/Neutral Henna, and Black/ Indigo Henna, however these other color “Hennas” are not actually from the Henna plant, but derived from similar plants, and share similar properties. The neutral Henna is actually Cassia obovata, which will give you blonde highlights, and/or lighten your hair. Then, there is Black Henna, which is actually Indigofera tinctoria, which will make your hair much darker, with a bluish tint. All three of these “Hennas” come in a green, powdery form.
2. Henna will not completely alter your hair color from one shade to another if you are trying to go from dark to light. (Only bleach can lighten your hair more than two shades… Yuck!) Henna can be thought of more as a “stain” with highlight enhancing properties. This means that if you have brown hair, it will not make you blonde, however it can bring out the natural blonde, or red highlights in your hair or also lighten your hair overall. In addition to this, it is not wise to dye your hair with a chemical, permanent dye after you have dyed it with Henna. If you do not like your original outcome, it is suggested to create another Henna recipe to correct it, or to wait for it to fade.
3. Using Henna may be more expensive and one must be careful when choosing a Henna product. Many “Henna hair dyeing kits” still contain chemicals in them, which is counter productive to the healing properties it has for your hair. Make sure you are either using an all natural kit, or body art quality henna. LUSH has a really great Henna hair dyeing product, which is easier to prep than buying just the Henna powder, and concocting your own formula.
4. There are countless ways you can use Henna to dye your hair, and I have seen many, many recipes online from different users depending on the result they are looking for. Henna will not smell all that pleasant, so some people like to add lavender oil or other fragrant essential oils to give the mixture a nice smell. I have read that some people even add some interesting ingredients such as gelatin as well. The key is to find a recipe that works for you, but be careful because it will get messy!
5. Make sure you block out a large chunk of time when you dye your hair to allow for the dye to set and coat each strand. Many people say to leave the dye in (with your hair wrapped in plastic wrap almost like a towel-turban, to keep the dye warm) for at least 4-5 hours. Most people find the best results while leaving it in for 6 hours or longer as well.
6. The Henna will not damage your hair, in fact, it has a multitude of beneficial factors for your hair and will leave it shiny and strong. Just make sure that when you dye your head, you use Vaseline around your forehead so that the dye does not sit on your skin and possibly dye or irritate it.
7. This is quite important. HENNA IS MESSY! You will definitely need a towel, saran wrap, and especially gloves! You will want to either apply it when you are outside (if the weather is nice) or in the shower to avoid staining your counters, furniture, or rug.
As I have gathered knowledge on this awesome new DIY hair dye, I am interested to see what the outcome will be. There have been countless “before and after” pictures of people using this method, in which the difference is very noticeable and natural looking. I have read that anyone can do it, as long as they follow the directions given by either the kit or the original creator of the recipe. This will not damage your hair, it is safe, natural, and can be done right in your home. I am skeptical to see how my hair will turn out this summer, and I will be uploading my own “Before and After” pictures of my transformation to our Instagram account as well!
If any Collegiettes do try this for their summer transformations, please share your outcomes with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the tag #HennaSummerHair!