Re: terps for hair henna?

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Posted by Alison on April 22, 2004 at 01:32:09:

In reply to: Re: terps for hair henna? posted by Pierre on April 21, 2004 at 23:53:12:

: : I'm going to henna my hair for the first time tommarrow, and I
was
: : wondering if terps make any difference on your hair. The henna
mix
: : I use on my skin is just henna/lemon juice/sugar/tea tree
oil/clove
: : oil. I was planning on using the same recipe on my hair, minus
the
: : sugar. Do terps affect the color tone, or just allow more dye
to
: : release?
:
: I've never hennaed without terp, but my impression is that it
allows more dye to
: soak into the hair. It doesn't release more dye; once I made a mix
with enough
: terp, but insufficient lemon juice, and it came out pretty poor.

Actually, terps DO release the dye. The thing is, there has to be
enough acid to start the breaking up of the cellulose, and THEN the
terps get to work breaking it up further so more Lawsone is
available. The more Lawsone available, as we henna-for-skin people
have learned, the darker the stain...on skin. I've never noticed any
significant difference between terped and unterped henna on my hair
(the keratin in my hair only picks up so much Lawsone, regardless of
how much is available). Of course, I can't promise that it works the
same for others, and if you've got light hair (as opposed to my
medium to medium-light shade of brown, naturally), terps may give you
a darker end result. The problem with testing that hypothesis is,
well, you CAN'T. Even if you got together 2 people with the same
colour hair, and used the same mix of henna, one with terps and one
without, that had been sitting out the same ammount of time in the
same place, was applied the same way and covered the same way for the
same ammount of time...individual hair differences could entirely
account for any colour variation that was achieved. If the person
who had terped henna got a slightly darker shade, was it because of
the terps, or any of a million other factors like how warm her scalp
was, how dry (like in need of conditioning, not dry or wet) her hair
is, how oily her hair tends to be, how old she is, how often she
swims, how much time she spends in the sun...anything could be a
factor. Henna, in all of its wonder, is unpredictable, not like that
box on the shelf. But, that makes it wonderful.

Oh, look, I had a mini-rant. Sorry. The point is, you're fine with
the terps, and it shouldn't make a difference. Personally, I terp
because then I don't smell like a haystack for a couple of weeks--I'd
much rather smell like lavendar or tea tree! I also KNOW exactly
what's in my terps, unlike fragrance oils, so I don't worry about it
going on my head for a few hours.

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: : : I'm going to henna my hair for the first time tommarrow, and I : was : : : wondering if terps make any difference on your hair. The henna : mix : : : I use on my skin is just henna/lemon juice/sugar/tea tree : oil/clove : : : oil. I was planning on using the same recipe on my hair, minus : the : : : sugar. Do terps affect the color tone, or just allow more dye : to : : : release? : : : : I've never hennaed without terp, but my impression is that it : allows more dye to : : soak into the hair. It doesn't release more dye; once I made a mix : with enough : : terp, but insufficient lemon juice, and it came out pretty poor. : : Actually, terps DO release the dye. The thing is, there has to be : enough acid to start the breaking up of the cellulose, and THEN the : terps get to work breaking it up further so more Lawsone is : available. The more Lawsone available, as we henna-for-skin people : have learned, the darker the stain...on skin. I've never noticed any : significant difference between terped and unterped henna on my hair : (the keratin in my hair only picks up so much Lawsone, regardless of : how much is available). Of course, I can't promise that it works the : same for others, and if you've got light hair (as opposed to my : medium to medium-light shade of brown, naturally), terps may give you : a darker end result. The problem with testing that hypothesis is, : well, you CAN'T. Even if you got together 2 people with the same : colour hair, and used the same mix of henna, one with terps and one : without, that had been sitting out the same ammount of time in the : same place, was applied the same way and covered the same way for the : same ammount of time...individual hair differences could entirely : account for any colour variation that was achieved. If the person : who had terped henna got a slightly darker shade, was it because of : the terps, or any of a million other factors like how warm her scalp : was, how dry (like in need of conditioning, not dry or wet) her hair : is, how oily her hair tends to be, how old she is, how often she : swims, how much time she spends in the sun...anything could be a : factor. Henna, in all of its wonder, is unpredictable, not like that : box on the shelf. But, that makes it wonderful. : : Oh, look, I had a mini-rant. Sorry. The point is, you're fine with : the terps, and it shouldn't make a difference. Personally, I terp : because then I don't smell like a haystack for a couple of weeks--I'd : much rather smell like lavendar or tea tree! I also KNOW exactly : what's in my terps, unlike fragrance oils, so I don't worry about it : going on my head for a few hours.
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