My Henna Gloss Experience and How It Changed My Hair

A year to the day that I started my natural hair journey, and I found myself in the same puddle of terrified tears. The past 11 months of transitioning into daily hair care have had its ups and downs, but I had never felt as helpless and confused as I did that day. My fro was shrunken, dried and fried, and screaming for help. With all aspects of maintaining my hair being handled on a trial and error basis, I was fresh out of ideas on how to handle my newest debacle.

I always find refuge in YouTuber, NappyFu TV. I saw her videos on one of my late-night YouTube binges; I was determined to figure out a hairstyle beyond the two-strand twist. She has become my go-to for every issue for my hair. We have the same hair type (for those who still classify their hair in those methods) – 4C, and through the progression of her videos, I watched her hair grow. I’ve adopted her methods and I haven’t looked back since. My wash routine, my deep conditioner recipes, and knowledge about maintaining your hair – she’s my gal to turn to! I would highly suggest everyone check out her videos.

One treatment that she and I both swear by is the bentonite clay mask. It hydrates, moisturizes, de-frizzes, and softens, while it defines curl patterns and pretty much makes you love everything about your hair. This process is also considered to be a detox for your hair. Bentonite clay naturally cleanses hair while removing a build-up of product from the scalp and hair shaft. It’s said to have the ability to draw out toxins, heavy metals, and impurities. All the hype sounded amazing, and the results had me convinced. Although NappyFu only recommended doing the mask once a month, I noticed a surplus of product build-up on my hair and figured the mask would be the best way to reset my hair…

…. FAST FORWARD TO MY ONE YEAR NATURAL HAIR ANNIVERSARY… to my cracked and brittle tresses.

What went wrong?

I'm hard-headed and I just don't listen. This treatment is not a deep conditioner and not something that should be used as such! I was suffering from a PROTEIN OVERLOAD. I did a protein treatment, followed it up with a protein deep conditioner, and set my twists with a protein leave-in conditioner. My hair felt like hay.

Our hair, type 4 A-C especially, must have a set homeostasis to thrive and that equilibrium lies in a balance of moisture and protein. Think about the protein being the strength on which your hair relies on, and the moisture being around to help it remain soft against life’s daily drying forces.

"The unique relationship that exists between the protein and moisture balances within the hair strand is not simply a case of balancing opposing forces one over the other to prevent hair breakage. These two components work together synergistically to produce a healthy head of hair, and neither can work well without the other. Keeping the hair balances between these two entities is very important." - (The Science of Black Hair)

Once again, there’s no science to it; it’s trial and error. It’s always important to be aware of the signs that are instrumental in determining if one’s hair has too much protein or moisture.

BEGIN WITH A WET HAIR ASSESSMENT and determine how your hair responds in the normal course of combing or finger-handling. DOES YOUR HAIR:

• (When wet/dry) Stretch slightly and return to its original length without breaking: You are balanced! Stick to maintaining the status of your hair.
• (When wet/dry) Stretch a little more than normal, then breaks: You need more protein in your regimen
• (When wet/dry) Stretch, stretch, stretch with no significant breakage: Add a bit more protein to your regimen
• (When wet) Feels gummy, mushy, or limp: You need to add more protein to your regimen
• (When wet/dry) Experiences little to no stretching, and simply snaps or breaks: You need to increase the moisture in your regimen
• (When dry) Feels rough, tough, hard, dry, tangly, brittle, or any combination of those: You need to add more moisture to your regimen

If your hair is over-moisturized, fear not, a protein treatment is all you need. Luckily, over-conditioned hair is pretty easily corrected with a single protein treatment.

For me, unfortunately, a protein overload is not as quickly or easily remedied. It can take several weeks to mend. I didn’t have that kind of time! My hair was in a tragic state and I needed a super boost of moisture ASAP. NappyFu TV uploaded a video (that I felt was), just for me, in the nick of time.

The Henna Gloss Treatment

When I used to get relaxers, every now and then, my mom would demand that my hairstylist give me a rinse. I would always be confused as to what a rinse did to my hair, especially since she swore it was a conditioner but it always had a harsh colored-tint to it. In the end, the rinse was both, a deep conditioner and a color treatment. That is essentially what the henna gloss treatment is, sans the chemicals in a rinse.

Henna, or Lawsonia inermis, is a plant that is mainly used for its “dye,” which is why it can be used as a light natural coloring treatment. In its purest form, it adds an additional coating to your hair which makes it stronger and much less likely to break. So, it helps your hair grow, and it helps it grow thicker. Even without doing a henna gloss treatment, the henna itself is in fact both a conditioning agent and medicinal. The use of henna has been known to significantly limit an itchy scalp, help alleviate dry scalp, and fight off lice and other bacteria that may try to make its way to your strands. ALTHOUGH, it has been said that the henna gloss conditioner does leave with a dryer scalp at first! Watch how it affects your scalp personally.

The “gloss” aspect of the treatment, which is just a form of conditioner, intensifies the properties of the henna. Both together make for a super duper deep conditioner.

THE HOW-TO

It’s very important to follow the directions, or else you could end up in Trial-and-Error Land, like me. The process should be split into two parts in order to accomplish it easier.

Ingredients:

Henna powder

½ an avocado

1 banana

1 cup Coconut milk

Aloe Vera Leaf powder (optional)

Latex gloves

Plastic or wooden spoon

Glass or plastic bowl

Strainer

The Aloe Vera leaf powder is optional. It adds extra moisture and conditioning benefits to the treatment. And everything that increases moisture was a plus for me.

The avocado, banana, and coconut milk are what I used for my DIY conditioner (I wanted the treatment to be as natural as possible). If you choose to use a store-bought conditioner, it CANNOT CONTAIN PROTEIN. The purpose of this treatment is to deep condition WITHOUT protein. Adding a conditioner to the mix that is chalk-filled with protein would be a complete waste of the process.

Directions

1.    The first step is to prepare your henna. I couldn’t find a specific set of directions other than the directions that came in the henna box. With whatever you choose as your liquid (I used green tea), mix with the henna powder until you get it to the consistency of cake batter. Mix the henna powder in a glass or plastic bowl, with a plastic or wooden spoon (if you use metal alongside the henna, it will affect the way the henna reacts).
a.  You must let the henna sit covered with plastic for a couple of hours to allow the dye to release in the henna. [I repeat, covered with PLASTIC. I put mine in a Tupperware bowl and covered it with the lid… it did not work, at all]. You will know when this happens because the henna will change from a green powder to a brown mixture.
b.  A faster option is to mix the henna in the bowl, place it into a (GLASS) baking dish and cook it in the oven for 1-2 hours at 150⁰ - 170⁰. The mixture must turn brown for all the dye and benefits to be released. I checked in on it repeatedly and stirred it to ensure the change.

2.    If you plan on using a store-bought conditioner, skip this section. The next step is to create the conditioner. In a blender, mix the avocado, the banana, and to coconut milk until the mixture is smooth. Once mixed, strain the conditioner. You don’t want the extra strings from the banana and avocado in the mix and ultimately in your hair.

3.    Once both components are prepared, mix the henna into the conditioner. The amount depends on you. Those who want to experiment more with the coloring aspects of the henna should pour more henna into the conditioner. If you have any leftover henna mixture, you can put it in a Ziploc bag (maybe two to be safe) and freeze it for the next time you need it.

4.    You’re ready to apply! I would say, prepare your space for the next step. I’m talking newspaper on the floor, plastic bags across your countertops type of preparations. The henna WILL stain – that means stain your skin and nails too!
a.    Apply Vaseline to the edges of your head, all the way around – forehead, sideburns, nape, and around the ears.
b.    Wear gloves to protect the skin on your hands and your nails.

5.    Apply the gloss to clean and damp hair. Get each section fully saturated with the gloss from root to tip. Finger comb the hair to work the gloss through.

6.    Cover head with a plastic cap. If you have an overhead dryer to sit underneath, do so. Heat will not only help with the conditioning benefits but also help the color to seep and set. If not, let the gloss sit on your head for a few hours. I slept with it overnight. It was pretty messy, but I double-bagged my head and slept with a Twisty Turbie towel.

7.    The best way to rinse the gloss from your hair is to dunk your head into a bathtub and rinse thoroughly. I would also advise running your crappy run-of-the-mill conditioner through to ensure that the gloss has been rinsed out completely. Trust me, you don’t want any leftover henna in your hair – it doesn’t smell the best and is super reminiscent of dirt in your hair after it has sat for long enough.

After you rinse, treat your hair as you would after the “conditioner” step of your wash regimen. I followed up with twisting my hair into the style for my twist-out and letting it air dry.

I immediately noticed that my twist out was much moister than it had been before so I would call this a success. I’m curious to see what follow up steps I need to take to ensure that what little moisture I have sticks around. I might not have rectified my protein overload completely, but I can already tell that I’m headed in the right direction. I can tell an immediate difference because the shedding that I had recently experienced lessened by at least 75%. That, alongside combating dryness, was one of my main areas of concern. So far, so good!

What I wish I could’ve been able to explore with more is the faint coloring aspect of the gloss. I didn’t expect much of a color change for 2 reasons: 1. I did a gloss treatment; the “gloss feature” immediately reduced the coloring element. And 2. I have naturally dark hair which is hard enough to dye even when there are chemicals involved.

With that being said, everything should be done in moderation. I’ve read reviews of ladies who end up with henna build-up on their hair because they did it as a conditioner every time they washed. Others choose to do it once every couple of months. So far, I see myself doing this treatment once every two weeks, alongside a bentonite clay mask once a month. I think that will be the best way to balance moisture and protein.

But, once again, it’s all trial and error. Let me know how it goes for you!

NappyFu TV: Everything About 4C Natural Hair – https://www.youtube.com/user/OLUB20/featured

Davis-Sivasothy, A. (2011). The Science of Black Hair: A Comprehensive Guide to Textured Hair Care. Stafford, TX: Saja.