Sarah Tennant's Blog
Posted by Sarah Tennant
I've been hennaing my hair for about three years now, and during that time streamlined the basic hennaing method into a lazy version that works for me! Firstly, I don't henna my whole head. I have hair long enough to sit on, and it's the colour I want; so repeated hennaings would only make it too dark (as well as taking up far more time and considerably more henna). Instead, I just henna my roots, usually a few weeks after they start to annoy me.
When I started hennaing I enjoyed pottering around with different additives, tossing in a bit of this acid and that spice in the search for the perfect colour. Now I know that additives really make very little lasting difference to the final result, and the most important thing you can do is use pure body-art quality henna. That doesn't mean expensive - mine's $2.49 from my local Indian grocer, and one packet lasts for two sessions.
Mixing My Henna
I pour the powder into a plastic tub, add a good slosh of red wine vinegar, and pour boiling water on it until it goes mashed-potato consistency. Then I cover it with gladwrap to wait for dye release. That's it - no terping, no herbal tisanes, no beetroot juice or paprika or rosemary. In a pinch you can even leave out the vinegar, but I like the acid for quick dye release.
Applying My Henna
Once the dye has released a couple of hours later, I assemble a plastic bag, plastic gloves and a hair elastic in the bathroom. (Actually I often don't, and have to creep around the kitchen semi-naked with green goo on my head hunting for a plastic bag; but I don't recommend this.) I then boil the kettle again and water down the henna until it's more of a runny yoghurt consistency. Warm henna feels much nicer on the scalp!
I then strip down to avoid my clothes getting stained, don the plastic gloves, pray that no housefires or home intruders should occur for the next few hours and start scooping henna onto my head. I just dip my gloved finger in the mix and apply it little by little to my roots, starting with whatever partings I usually use to ensure that they, at least, get plenty of coverage. I pay particular attention to my hairline and the hair behind my ears, and work in small sections; occasionally I still miss bits, but it all evens out in the end.
Once I'm covered I smear a little henna on my eyebrows for good measure, twist my hair up into a huge knot on the top of my head, and secure the whole glamorous 'do with a plastic bag and the hair elastic. I don't cover my eyebrows, so the henna dries out fairly quickly on them and only leaves a faint reddish tinge - but that's fine, because who wants flaming orange eyebrows?
Washing It Off
I usually leave my henna on for 3 hours or so. Once you've gotten to the root-touching-up stage, overnight is overkill. And it destroys your pillowcases.
Rinsing henna out is never fun, but I have a vague if unscientific technique of water-blasting my head under the shower and violently attacking my scalp with my claws. I don't use cold water, being a wimp; and I don't use shampoo or conditioner, because I'm into natural haircare. Usually I use an apple-cider vinegar rinse once the water runs clear, and the next day follow it up with an oil or honey treatment to restore moisture to my poor hair.
And that's it! I wouldn't go so far as to say "No muss, no fuss", but I'm a lot more efficient at the process than I used to be, when I cajoled my husband into helping. I re-gladwrap the plastic tub and chuck the henna back in the freezer for next time, too. They say it slightly reduces the quality of the henna, but again, as I'm just doing a centimetre or so of roots each time I know it'll even out with the next batch.
So what's your method? There are a few things I haven't tried, such as piping the henna like icing or mixing it with conditioner for a henna gloss. Let me know your tried-and-true tips - the lazier the better!
Posted by Sarah Tennant
As what is known in the trade as a "longhair" (I can sit on it), I often get comments from people who insist they've tried to grow their hair long and failed. With this in mind, here's how to do it.
Don't Cut Your Hair
Sounds obvious, right? You'd be surprised. A lot of people get discouraged when their hair temporarily slows down growth; as a result, they cut. Sadly, despite a lot of myths to the contrary, trimming or cutting your hair won't make it grow any faster (or thicker, but that's another blog post). If you want long hair and your hair doesn't seem to be growing, leave it; at the very least, you're not making it any shorter! Remember, too, that curly hair takes longer than straight to look long, as the hair grows around rather than straight down.
Technically, if you follow the above rule you will eventually attain long hair. But let's assume you want nice-looking, shiny, healthy hair rather than a ratty tail; in which case, there are a few more things you need to do.
Minimise Damage to Your Hair
Every hair is older at the bottom; the longer your hair, the older your ends are. And the longer hairs remain on your head, the more chances they have to become trapped in your handbag, frizzled to death in a curling iron, dried out in the sun or caught in the car window. All these things lead to split ends and breakage, which lead to a ponytail that looks thin and wispy at the ends.
To prevent these, start using some gentle hair care techniques (even if your hair's still only chin-length!). Shun your straightening iron; eschew your blow dryer; ditch your bleach. Sleep on a satin pillowcase, braid your hair at night if it's long enough, don't rip a brush through it. The longhair adage is to treat your hair "like old lace" - handle it gently and carefully. If you're used to yanking knots out of it with a bobble-headed brush, this will initially seem like a strange and paranoid way to behave; but it pays off!
Take Vitamins and Supplements for Healthy Hair
Fast growth and strong hair can be achieved by supplementing with biotin, omega-rich foods such as fish and flax seed, and silica. Prenatal vitamins tend to be loaded up on these things, which also give you great nails; otherwise, the supplements can be purchased separately. Biotin may even reverse the greying process and help with thinning hair!
Remove Split Ends
Healthy hair that is kept moisturised and not subjected to mechanical or chemical damage shouldn't split too badly; still, splits do happen even on the best-kept heads. Trimming isn't likely to help, as splits occur at any point along the hair shaft (usually in the lower third, but cutting off a third of your hair won't make it long!). Keep a pair of sharp embroidery scissors handy and snip them off at right angles to the hair shaft as you see them. Left to themselves, splits tend to travel further up the hair shaft and get tangled around other hairs due to their fineness.
As the new Feature Writer for Suite's Hair Care section I'll be discussing a lot more about the nitty-gritties of growing long hair in later blog posts. If you've always wanted long hair but never got around to it, jump in!
