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Photo courtesy of Blackhairinformation.com |
I’ve never been one to cover my grays but in all honesty I don’t have a ton of them. I do color my hair and choose to use Shea Moisture Hair Coloring System but as a natural I’m well aware many use Henna and Indigo for conditioning their tresses as well as covering grays.
What Is Henna?
Henna is powdered leaves from a tropical plant that grows in hot and dry climates of the Eastern hemisphere. Used by women for thousands of years to decorate the body or hair, it’s become quite popular as a natural way to dye hair for black women and especially naturals. Henna leaves are dried, ground and sifted into a powder and true henna will stain the body and hair reddish brown.
Is It Safe?
It’s perfectly safe if you are using 100% henna but many manufacturers are using low quality henna promising color outside of the reddish brown. They can be cut with additives to create other colors and there is no regulation of it’s use as a hair dye but it is allowed.
Why Do Naturals Use Henna?
It’s pretty effective at covering grays and many Naturals use it for that reason or for conditioning their hair. Henna has also been used for changing their hair’s texture as some tout it loosens the curl pattern.
Loosening your curls is not set in stone, it really depends on the individual on how henna will affect your texture so use caution if altering your hair’s texture is an issue with you.
You can read the rest of my article over at Blackhairinforamtion.com