Natasha�s Guide to Henna-ing Your Hair

and reclaiming your natural crowning glory

Natasha Monahan PapousekCrescent Moon Designs Henna Art

Who is Natasha?When Natasha was a little girl, she had naturally flaxen curls, but

these darkened by the age of 7 to a sad, non-descript brown. Natasha envied her flame-haired classmates for years, and then at age 15, she discovered henna. . It was cheap; it was at Walgreens; and it was natural so her Mother approved.

And best of all, Natasha now had gorgeous red curls and felt as beautiful outside as she did on the inside!

Natasha continued to use henna on her hair through high school, college, and beyond. When her beloved Nestle�s Eqyptianbecame unavailable, Natasha discovered henna powder from the health foods store, and later tried henna powder from ethnic grocery stores.

In 1997 while living in Austin, TX, Natasha�s husband gave her a henna body art kit, reasoning that she used henna in her hair and loved to draw, she might like the kit. That was an understatement! Natasha fell in love with henna body art and opened up Crescent Moon Designs Henna Art in 1998, and has been happily henna-ing since.

She still uses henna in her hair!

You�ve reached a stage of dissatisfactionYou look at your hair and are not happy with the color.

Perhaps it is starting to fade.

Perhaps the gray that you hoped would make you look distinguished just makes you feel tired.

Perhaps you want to stop using petrochemicals on your hair and start a natural approach.

But where do you start? You�ve heard of henna, but there are so many questions.

I hope to answer your questions and fire up your interest in dyeing your hair with henna.

Henna can add fire to your color, bring depth and dimension, cover pesky grays and revitalize your look. And it�s all natural, non-toxic to both you and the environment.

Let�s get started!

What is henna?Henna is a plant. More specifically, henna is a shrub

that is native to the hot, dry regions of the Middle East and India.

�Henna thrives in extreme heat and likes it dry in the summer and wet with monsoon rains in the winter.

�Henna is perfectly suited to its conditions and thrives in poor soil with intermittent water, and the very components in its leaves that dye cloth, hair and skin also repel insects.

�Henna plants can be harvested up to twice a year, and can remain productive for more than 50 years.

Once henna is harvested, dried, ground, sifted, and packaged, it is ready to be used as a dye.

A happy henna plant loving the Texas climate

What color will I get with henna?Henna comes in red.If you have white hair, henna will dye your hair a bright, fire-

colored, flame red. Think Lucille Ball: she was a natural blond who dyed her hair with henna!

If you have light brown hair, henna will dye your hair a brilliant auburn color.

If you have dark hair, henna will give you redhighlights.

Herbs you can add to tweak henna�s red�Cassia, Cassia Obovata, is also known as neutral henna. Cassia is an

excellent conditioner that thickens the hair and adds amazing shine and brightness without changing your natural color. Repeated use brings out blonde highlights.

�Amla, Emblica officinalis, also known as the Indian Gooseberry, is excellent for increasing hair volumize and enhancing curls. It tones down the red of henna, adding richer brown tones. Also useful as a facial scrub.

�Indigo, Indigofera tinctoria, contains a deep blue dye which has been used for thousands of years to dye clothing. Blue jeans are a popular item dyed with indigo. The powdered leaves will also dye hair, adding deep color and dark undertones to henna. You must be careful to get indigo that�s meant for hair; fabric-dye indigo has been processed with alkaloids and is extremely harsh and toxic to use on the body.

Teas that accentuate henna�s color

Chamomile tea brings out blonde highlights

Hibiscus or Rosehip tea enhances red tones

Black walnut hulls and coffee will darken the color

A mixture of black tea, rosemary and sage deepensthe henna color.

Henna is an herb not a petrochemicalThe fresher the henna, the stronger the dye.

Since henna is made from plant leaves, it is common sense that the fresher it is, the better it works. Imagine using 10 year old oregano in your pasta sauce; it wouldn�t be very fragrant or delicious after all that time. It is the same for henna. Although stale henna will still dye your hair, the resulting color will not be as vibrant as from fresh henna.

Many henna companies now print a harvest date on their boxes, so you know the henna inside should be usable for 2 years after the harvest.

Companies that sell henna for body art have a vested interest in providing the freshest henna since stale henna does not effectively dye skin.

Check the Resources Guide at the back of this booklet to find a henna supplier near you

*

Queen Elizabeth I, a henna iconQueen Elizabeth I is rumored

to have used henna to keep her royal tresses red.

It would have taken a very long time, indeed, for henna to get from the Middle East to England, especially during skirmishes with Spain and embargoes against non-Christian countries, thus validating the staining power of even old henna.

But fresher is better.�Scanned from Tranya Cooper, A Guide to Tudor & Jacobean Portraits, London, National Portrait Gallery 2008, ISBN

9781855143937 by PKM 31 August 2008

What you will need:� 1 bowl, glass, plastic or stainless steel

� 1 mixing spoon

� henna powder, 100g or 1 box

� approx 1 cup hot liquid for mixing, filtered or distilled water, tea, coffee, chai, hibiscus tea...

� plastic gloves (these can be found in the drug store near the diabetic supplies or in beauty shops; or you can use dish gloves)

� hair clips

� Vaseline or cocoa butter

� 1 plastic cap

� terry cloth cap or towel to wrap turban-style, optional

� hair dye brush from a beauty supply store (these are usually less than $3.00)

I found this brush at Sally Beauty Supply

Steps to hennification1. Pour henna powder into your mixing bowl. Since henna may react with certain metals, it�s best to

use a non-reactive surface for your bowl such as glass, stainless steel, ceramic or plastic. Note that plastic is absorbent and might become discolored after using it with henna.

2. Slowly add your hot liquid and stir until the henna becomes a thick paste. The amount of liquid varies depending on how humid the air is. Usually about 1 cup per 100g of henna is about right.

3. Cover the bowl and let sit for at least 4 hours; I usually make my mix at night and then return to it in the morning.

4. Return to your henna paste. It should have a light dark brown film on top of the green paste; that means the dye has released.

This bowl contains 100g of henna powder; the grams to cups convertor calculates this as 3/5 cup.

5. Slowly add more liquid and keep stirring until you get a nice pudding consistency.

6. Now it is time to prepare your henna-ing space.

7. Clean your bathroom counter and cover with newspaper. This is just a precaution, but it can save you clean-up time.

8. Wear an old, beat-up t-shirt or drape an old towel around your neck and shoulders.

9. Use Vaseline or cocoa butter to protect your forehead and ears from stray dye. The henna may dye your scalp, but I've found that it usually doesn't look too bad if it does and it wears off fairly quickly. Orange foreheads and ears, however, don't really blend in with the rest of your hair the way your scalp does, so it's a good idea to protect them.

10. I start with dry hair and put it up in sections with clips that I found at a local beauty supply shop. The clips keep the rest of your hair out of the way while you work on one section. They're optional, but very nice to have.

11. Put on your gloves.

12. Next, using your hair dye brush, dip into the henna paste and then gently brush it onto your hair from the roots outward. I usually start from the bottom on my head and work my way up. Try to get the paste as close to the root as possible without getting too much henna on your scalp.

13. Once all the roots are covered, you can scoop the remaining paste with your hands and smear it all over your hair.

and then a little turban (so that I look somewhat presentable should the UPS guy deliver something while I'm waiting.)

When I am done smearing, I coil my muddy hair on top of my head,

add a plastic cap (which keeps any henna from leaking down my neck),

And then I spend a few hours either cleaning the house or reading a good book.

You can get good henna coverage after 2 hours, but if you can wait for longer, then you will get a deeper color and better coverage of gray hairs. I try to keep my henna on for about 4 hours.

Remove the caps and rinse the henna from your hair. You can do this in the shower, but I prefer to rinse my hair in the sink because we have a flexible hose and I can aim it at the places that need rinsing most.

When you think you have rinsed out all of the henna, rinse a bit more. You can shampoo the remaining henna residue out now, or if you have dry hair, doing a deep conditioning pack after you henna is a great way to add extra shine.

And now!

Admire your beautiful, vibrant, henna-ed hair!

The lighter strands are my grays; they look like strawberry blond highlights with henna!

ResourcesHenna Caravan is an excellent resource for more information and high quality

supplies. This is my one-stop henna shop.

HennaTrendz also supplies henna for hair (and body). She�s fast and has great quality products. I like the Jamila brand for both body art and hair. Based in Chula Vista, if you live in San Diego, you can pick up your order and side-step shipping costs.

Hennaforhair.com is a great resource for information and supplies.If you are on the East Coast of the US, check out Henna Sooq for fresh henna

and other hair suppliesIn Canada, try Dragonfly Designs for fresh body art henna.You can get henna hair supplies from Henna Moon in Perth, AustraliaIn the UK, try Hennaboy

You can also find henna at your local Indian or Arabic market (if you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has one). The henna there may not be the freshest, but it will usually dye your hair with some coaxing (hot water and longer wait time)

Special Treat: Deep Conditioners

Cholesterol: This is a fabulous conditioner and it�s less than $3! I use it as a pre-shampoo treatment; I mush it on, put my hair up and do my exercise, and then, when I shower, my hair becomes soft and shiny!

Trader Joe�s Nourish Spa Conditioner:All natural, vegan formula; this stuffrocks! Makes my hair soft and silky,and doesn�t cost an arm and a leg!

Avocado and Coconut Milk: Take a fresh avocado, mush half of it with 1/4 cup coconut milk and apply to dry hair. Cover with a plastic cap and warm your hair, either with warm towels or from the internal heat that exercise generates. Rinse and shampoo and enjoy deeply moisturized and conditioned hair!

Here are a few of my favorite hair

About Natasha Monahan PapousekNatasha is a freelance multi-media artist who works in henna, fabric paint, silk, hand-made paper, and anything else that strikes her fancy.

Natasha got her start as a doodler at the age of 1 using recycled organic materials all over the walls of her mother�s LA apartment � much to her mother�s chagrin. Soon after that, she began using actual paints and other more socially acceptable materials. It was not until she received a henna kit for her 36th birthday that Natasha considered herself an artist. Before then she was just a compulsive doodler, but after people began paying her to doodle on them, she realized her true calling and Crescent Moon Designs Henna Art was born.

HennaHeart, her Etsy shop which showcases her henna-inspired functional artwork, opened in 2009.You can also follow her artistic and philosophical meanderings on her blog,

Musings of a Hennaphile.

AcknowledgementsThere are so many people to thank!

First and foremost, my mother, for raising me to think around boxes and to appreciate beauty in everything

My husband, for being my rock and my star

Catherine Cartwright Jones, whose Hennapage helped kindle the spark

Kree, Kenzi, Debi, Tia, Jessica, Flavia, Lernie, Paula, Anita, Tejal, Betty, Wendy, Kim, Katy, Karen, Kendra, and all the other henna Goddesses who are kindred spirits and spirit guides

Goddess Leonie for giving me the idea to write my own book!

Michelle Nickolaisen, whose Take Back Your Creativity e-course was just what I needed to get back on track

And special thanks to Sara Thibault who proofread this book, gave great suggestions and answered even my stupidest technical questions with grace and wisdom