Beauty: How I Dye My Hair Red

Today I'm going to show you how I dye my hair red using henna. I don't use any chemical products on my hair, and I've never chemically dyed or bleached my hair. I've wanted red hair for a long time, and I've done a lot of research on henna and it's pros and cons. It seemed like the stuff for me, so in December 2012 I bought some henna, and gave it a try. I am very happy with the result. I get a lot of complements on my hair color, and most people think it's natural! In this blog post, I will be showing you how I touch up my roots and dye my hair.   

Lets talk henna. First of all, what is it? If you don't know, here is a link that explains it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna
When you buy henna, you need to make sure that it is 100% pure. Some companies will add harmful dyes and chemicals to their henna, so do your research. The henna I use is from the Etsy shop  HennaKing http://www.etsy.com/listing/90897464/organic-red-henna-powder-100-grams-for?.

This is the brush I use to apply henna to my roots. It just came in a big pack of paint brushes from Walmart.

Here's what the powder looks like. Time to make the henna paste.

I add juice from half a lemon. People say it helps the dye release. I also add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, because it makes my hair really soft. 

And I add like 10 drops of lavender oil to cover up the smell. Did I mention that henna smells like a horse barn. It smells very green. The smell will stay in your hair for a few days, but it fades over a couple washes.  

I add all those things to the henna powder, then slowly add hot water until I get the right texture.  

Cover it with plastic wrap, and let it sit for like 10 hours to a day. In this time the dye from the powder will release.

Time to prep. I put salve around my hair line to prevent staining my skin. WARNING: Henna is super messy. You can see my brown roots in this picture.

I start applying the paste, to the roots, all around my head, while it's in a bun.  Then I take my hair down and get the rest of the roots. I put on a shower cap and let the roots sit for a few hours, then dyed the rest of my hair.

I put my shower cap back on, and wrapped my head in plastic wrap. Then I just went to bed. 

When I wake up, I just wash it out with my Hugo's Naturals shampoo and conditioner. And this is the color I get for the first few days, once the henna oxidises, it gets a little darker (see photo above). So that's how I get my hair red . I hope this helped you in some way. Have a great day! -Zoe    

My natural hair color.