Henna.

A lot of people are curious about henna.  And why shouldn't they be, it's a natural hair dye that actually improves the condition of most hair.

There are a lot of frequently asked questions about henna.

Is henna permanent?

Oh hell yes.  You probably can't even bleach it out.  Don't henna your hair unless you want red/orange dye in it until the day it is grown out and cut off.

What if I have dark brown or black hair?  Will henna make my hair bozo orange?

No.  The analogy I hear most often is crayons on construction paper.  If you color with a reddish orange crayon on blonde construction paper, you will get a more dramatic result than you will by coloring on dark brown or black.  Henna never removes your natural pigment, only adds its reddish orange onto it.  If your hair is a very dark color, you will only get a red sheen in bright sun or other bright lighting.  However if you have lighter natural (or artificial) highlights, those will turn red/orange.  And if you attempt to bleach or peroxide some highlights at any time while still having the henna in your hair, it is extremely likely you will be unable to lift out the henna, and can only get them to red/orange.

What henna should I use?

I would recommend to use only body art quality henna from a reputable supplier.  There are some sketchy hennas going around.  Even health food stores offer brands of henna that come in "blonde," "brown," "black," et cetera.  Frankly, henna is only orangeish red.  Any other product claiming to be henna and be a different color is lying.  Even some of the "reputable" brands sold at "reputable" health food stores, people have emailed about and the bottom line was that the manufacturer basically had no idea what they were selling.  Take responsibility for where you get your own henna.  Body art quality is the way to go, and IT'S ALWAYS ORANGEISH RED.  On hair, I mean.  It looks green when you buy it.

Do I have to mix henna with lemon juice?  Won't that be drying?

Yep, lemon juice will be drying, and no, you don't have to do it.  I started out that way at first, then switched to mixing it with just my tapwater.  My tapwater is pH 8.3, so it might not work if your tapwater is very alkaline.  Distilled water which is 7.0 (neutral) should always work.  

An interesting note on tea:  a lot of people say if you're afraid your tapwater is too alkaline, then make it into a tea for some acid.  Well.  I made some strong green tea using my 8.3 tapwater, and then tested it.  5.6.  It had acidified.  So I added it to the henna that I have and mixed it.  The mix reached 4.7.  Guess how much the henna was when I just added it to my tapwater?  4.7.  I'm not convinced tea is doing anything, but I only tried the once.

Does henna dry out or moisturize your hair?  What's up with that?

I don't find it moisturizing, at all.  What I do find it is strengthening.  And it adds way shine.  I usually have to moisturize afterwards.  My hair gets stronger, but it's slightly tore up from the floor up from the rinsing process and everything.  Some people have had luck with additives like oil, conditioner, honey, but I haven't even tried that since I've been trying to get as much dye out of it as possible, and these things are said to impede uptake of the dye.

How can I dye my hair brown or black with henna?

Mix it with indigo, or for black, use a two step process with indigo. 

If all this is such a pain in the ass, why would I want to use henna?

It's a natural way of using a plant to dye your hair, and while it may not seem so immediately, it really is beneficial for hair in the long run, at least in my experience.  It is definitely not for everyone though.  Chemical dye was faster, but it smelled horrible and made my eyes water.  And washed out in a week while leaving behind peroxide damage.  I'll stick with henna.