I want to Henna my hair.

I added a wee bit of lemon juice, and also let mine sit for about 13 hours in a warm place before using. So I don't think mine is going to fade out.

Here's the before and after, albeit the after is using the flash, before is window light.

How long did you leave it on for?

Technically, I had it in for 3 hours. But that's not counting the 2+ hours it took to apply it. I could have waited longer but the lady I bought from said that with good henna you don't need to wait very long. She only waits 2 hours when she does her own.

So I am three days into having my hair hennaed. Does this mean that it's at the colour it will stay now? I don't see a huge difference from day 1 to now. But I am happy with the colour for sure!

MY HAIR IS SO SOFT OH MY GOD. I love henna lol.

Your color should stay the same. The more applications of henna you do, the richer the color will get, but you shouldn't experience much fading. Your hair looks beautiful!!!

Is it normal for 4 days later, and 3 or 4 showers later (two of which I soaked in a tub and scrubbed my head) for the water to still be quite orange by times? I got in the shower, wet my hair, and then shaved my legs... Went back to get my hair ready to shampoo and BAM the water that rinses out is ORANGE... Even though last time I showered, by the end of it, only the water that was dripping as my hair dryed was liiiightly orange ish. And it is today, too, after getting out of the shower.. is the henna washing out of my hair or what?

Ok, I used the Lush Rouge last night and I LOVE the results. No pics, at least no before ones.

4 showers when you have that much hair? Maybe.

If it continues, no. What quality henna did you purchase? And where did you get it from? I've had tons of issues with low quality henna continuing to wash out, but when I used the mehandi stuff it never did.

Try filling the tub with water and soaking your head for ten minutes or so - submerge all of it and let it soak.

I used 200g of 2013 Fresh Jamila Body Art Quality Henna. It seems to be less and less every shower. I have done what you said with the bathtub, twice. But the colour isn't changing or fading at all, so I don't THINK it's washing out.

I'm inclined to say: don't worry about it.

You used quality henna and you're doing everything right. It's more runoff than I've ever experienced, but you have 5x more hair than I've ever hennaed.

Right, and my friend REALLY soaked my hair in henna. Like, it took us 2+ hours to put it all in. It was crazy. I am not too worried. If the colour starts to fade, I'll be more concerned.

You guys are making me want to try this, but I have no idea how I'd look as a red head

I've gone blonde, and I've gone black, but never red. My natural color is really a dark dark blonde (I was white blonde as a child) it really could be called just a medium/darkish brown.

Only it's all of maybe four inches long at the longest place

It could be that you didn't use enough acidic liquid. You said you mostly used boiling water and only some lemon juice, right? Some folks get away with that and some folks get way more fading using mostly boiling water. The acidic liquid really helps with dye release and holding the colour.

They talk about boiling water vs. lemon juice in that document I sent you.

I just ordered Red Raj to try for the first time. Hennaing later this week/this weekend, hopefully.

I redid my hair over the weekend and this time made sure I covered EVERYTHING. I just don't see much difference in my hair lol it's certainly nothing drastic like others get.

But whatevs.

Does it seem softer/stronger though southpaw? I am considering trying this just for the strengthening properties.

Mine is MUCH softer and more healthy feeling.

Mine might be a little softer. Maybe less likely to frizz, too. It was pretty healthy beforehand though. My friend was pretty impressed with how soft her hair was after, though.

How are you mixing the henna? Mostly boiling water, or at least half acidic (lemon juice)?

You and AgilityPup both seem to have lack of colour/fading issues, and that can be very common if your blend isn't acidic enough. Many, many henna companies, my own Henna Sooq included, suggest mixing with boiling water, but I've learned through extra reading that it isn't enough. The rule of thumb is to "make your mix as sour as lemonade".

http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/hennaforhair.pdf <- this is a handy PDF that is my little henna bible. The info about boiling water vs. lemon juice is on page 25.

Some folks use boiling water without issue, and some have colour fade right away. It's worth trying a more acidic mixture, if you didn't already.