Is Henna Dye All That?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably thought of dyeing your hair once and now it consumes your thoughts. And if you have my deep black hair color, you would have to bleach your hair at least twice to lift to a bright yellow to even start to dye any other color. That being said, if I’m going to be dyeing my hair after rigorous and harmful rounds of bleaching, I would like to have a more natural alternative to regular box dye that fries your ends. This is where Henna dye comes in. A natural dye that is supposedly leave your hair shinier, luscious, and overall healthier than the box dyes. Henna usually comes in a green or brown box that has a clear font declaring the dye to be Henna. It usually has a powder packet like all box dyes have and some type of activator with a brush and one pair of gloves. However, before we can jump the gun and use Henna, we need to see the pros and cons of the natural dye.

Henna is extremely messy; it is clumpy and can stain anything and anyone. The mixed dye resembles brown clay that you will have to sit on your hair for up to six hours based on the color you want and the dye. Compare this to box dye where the average is about an hour max for the dye to sink in. Similarly to box dyes and even bleach, you would need some type of oil or balm around the perimeters of your face to protect it from staining since Henna can stain your skin for weeks. Henna doesn’t cover up your mismatched roots to your hair either, you won’t get a clean color compared to box dyes. Along with that, Henna is permanent so it won’t lift out of your hair for months, even a year. The biggest con to Henna compared to box dye is the lack of variety in colors. Since Henna is a naturally occurring plant in Asia, the colors harvested are all under the “natural” hair colors limiting colors to only about six colors, compare this to the plethora of colors in box dyes. Despite all of these cons, Henna is actually healthier. It acts less like a staining agent to your hair which can cause immense damage, but it acts like a tinted conditioner to your hair. Because it acts more like conditioner it’s why you need to keep it on your hair for longer. The properties in Henna close off your hair follicles which means stronger hair and less breakage. It also soothes the scalp which eases dandruff especially in the drier months. Because of that, Henna does grow hair more rapid and healthier.

All in all, Henna should be the next moves in dyeing your hair. Even though it is messy and has limited color options, Henna in the long run will help your hair grow and snap back to the best your hair will ever be.