Henna for Stronger and Longer Hair

Are you tired of spending a fortune for hair care products? The majority of shampoos, conditioners, perms, relaxers, colorants and dyes are full of chemicals that leave you wondering what the long-term effects will be. As a frequenter of beauty supplies stores, I see the new products as they enter and slowly fade off the market. Because of this, I then decided to search out more natural means of beauty knowing that women from the ancient world were well versed in beauty secrets using natural oils, plants, herbs and spices.
In my quest for healthier and more wholesome hair care products, I found that henna is a marvelous plant that has been around for thousands of years that has promoted the health and beauty of women's hair from women from all over the world.
For over five thousand years, people of Africa, the Middle East and India have used henna as for the art of painting elaborate designs on the body; a popular illustration is the custom of painting of the bride's body in preparation for the wedding ceremony.
Henna was used in ancient Egypt for many purposes as well. It eventually gained much recognition as a strengthener for the hair. Even today, henna is popular and used in beauty as well as in elaborate body painting ceremonies and traditions.

The scientific name is lawsonia inermis. It usually grows in hot, dry climates. With its popularity, henna became in demand and has been transported all over the globe.

Henna actually comes in only one color but there may be slight variations depending on the soil where it is grown. It can also be formulated synthetically with dyes and other plants to yield a variety of colors from black and brown, to auburn and dark blonde. It is very effective in coloring gray. Care must be given though to the selection of color as gray can sometimes alter the outcome. It also takes a few days from the initial use for the true color in come in.

Henna is prepared by the blending with several natural acidic substances such as yogurt, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. It is then stirred and covered with plastic over night,or approximately eight hours, for the dyes to be released. It is then applied heavily to the hair where it will sit for up to three hours, then rinsed off. This can take several times to remove all residual herb. It has also recommended that hair should not be washed the same day after the henna has been applied.