Untwisted

My relationship with Henna started out great. Back in 2011, I spent hours reading forums, before I purchased my first Henna Treatment. It was from Lush and I enjoyed the results. Then I dove into mixing Body Art Quality Henna on my own, I was careful and consistent and enjoyed the results. Life got busy, so I started to take shortcuts. My primary concern became making Henna as quick and easy as possible, without "drying" out my hair. The dryness from Henna can be fixed with conditioner, the breakage and velcro-like hair I experienced from "Lazy" Henna treatments could not be resolved. I broke tradition and ruined my hair. After much research, cruising forums and watching YouTube, I figured out exactly what I did wrong. It wasn't the Henna, it was me! Henna, even pure Body Art Quality Henna, can damage your hair. People who try to avoid the dye molecule in Henna and want to use Henna for growth and strength are more likely to experience damage. Dye Release is code for Chemical Reaction Henna is most well known for it's ability to naturally dye hair red with is lawsone dye molecule. The truth is in it's dry powdered form Henna DOES NOT CONTAIN LAWSONE! The scientific name for powdered Henna is Lawsonia inermis which roughly translates to "unleashed lawsone". The moment you mix powdered Henna, even 100% BAQ Henna, with a liquid you are initiating a chemical reaction. The Codeword for this chemical reaction is "dye release". This is where the irony kicks in, people with dark natural hair aren't concerned with dye release, the color payoff will only be noticeable in the sun anyway. Instead, folks with dark natural hair like me are concerned with the strengthening and conditioning properties of Henna and the precise color is of little importance. In fact, for some the less color the better! I Disrespected the Henna I got the idea from the internet to toss some Henna Powder into my conditioner to simplify my Henna routine and avoid dryness. This is a TERRIBLE IDEA. This disregards deeply rooted traditions that have recently been backed by science. YOU MUST DYE RELEASE HENNA. Even if you don't want the color. Dye Release is a chemical process, you want that process to take place in a bowl, not on your hair to avoid damaging your hair. Much of the information on the internet about Henna for hair is published by people who sell Henna. The emphasis is often on pure Henna vs. Compound Henna. While 100% BAQ Henna is far superior to those loaded with metallic salts, it is possible to improperly use Henna for your hair. After experiencing the velcro hair, I started trolling Facebook groups for different Henna brands. Anytime someone asked if they could skip dye release because they weren't interested in color, the answer was the same...dye release or use Cassia! If it was possible to get wonderful results from tossing Henna Powder in conditioner, people who sell Henna would market it for that use. They would toss Henna in butter, oils, shampoos, and market it for strength and growth. Unfortunately deeply rooted tradition, now backed by science has shown that this DOES NOT WORK! Putting Henna Powder in Conditioner or oil does not prevent dye release, it disrupts it. It could slow it down or speed it up, ingredients in conditioners are so varied that it is hard to tell. I have no clue what happens to powdered henna after you put it in oil. Does it dye release in the oil? Does the lawsone migrate into the oil and then dye release the water touches your hair? Why is Dye Release so Important in Henna for Hair Henna Powder does not contain Lawsone dye, it contains the precursor to Lawsone. The Lawsone precursor becomes the Lawsone dye...then becomes oxidized. One you add water to Henna Powder, the Lawsone Precursor starts it's transformation to Lawsone dye. The Lawsone dye is adored for it's ability to permanently bind to the hair. Once completely oxidized the Lawsone cannot permanently bind to your hair. This is called "demise". People who want lasting color from Henna need to make sure their dye does not demise. But what if you just want the conditioning? The behavior of Lawsone dye after dye release is well documented . But how does the dye precursor interact with the hair? The Lawsone dye molecule has one Hydrogen and can bind to the hair. The oxidized Lawsone had no more Hydrogen and cannot bind to the hair. Now take a look at the Lawsone dye precursor it has THREE hydrogen. If the presence or absence of hydrogen determines Lawsone's ability to bind to hair, this might mean that the dye precursor can bind to your hair in THREE places. If this is true, this is why non dye released Henna damaged my hair. One molecule could potentially bind three strands of hair together. If all three of these bonds are permanent, only way to separate it is to break one or more of those hairs off. Hence the tangles , breakage and overall broken hair In short, dye release your henna to avoid permanently binding multiple strands of hair together. How to Recover from Henna Damage Olaplex ,silk aminos, and silicones seemed to help. For the first two weeks ... It seemed like NOTHING worked. All of the products and oils that made my hair feel amazing pre Henna, did nothing to help my velcro hair. I left my hair in jumbo braids and hid underneath scarfs and beanies. I used olaplex 0 and olaplex 3 and found that this helped. Not sure of all the science and how exactly it works...but it is a bond repair product and provided some relief. Will I use Henna AgainI'm giving Henna one more shot. However it will be a supporting role, not a primary one. My mix will be 85% Cassia and 15%Henna ...left to dye release for a MINIMUM of 12 hours.

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