One Way to Wash Your Hair the Green Way - With Baking Soda.

This method of washing your hair fufills every definition of Green.  The best part is the clean feeling you get from something so simple and inexpensive. Go here: A Non-Toxic, Frugal Way to Wash Your Hair Without Buying Shampoo.

How To Lighten Henna'd and or Indigo'd Hair

I am still working on getting just the right dark shade from henna/indigo for my hair.  I have a tremendous amount of white in my hair and my hair very non-porous (hair shaft is thicker to penetrate) so with just henna my white becomes orange which is not flattering to my skin tone.  I applied henna and indigo combinations several times on my hair and new white growth but could never achieve a brown of some sort.  At that time I did not realize that my hair shaft is extremely non-porous and I would have to leave the paste in for much longer than recommended.  I could not go out with orange in my hair so the next day I applied indigo and the results were exactly what I knew they would be - jet black hair.

I rocked the jet black for a minute but I feel it is too harsh and now I'm looking for ways to lighten my hair without chemicals.  If you're like me and need to "lighten up" literally check out this fantastic article by a Long Hair Community Discussion Board poster, Ktani.  All you need is honey, water and coconut oil!

I will be trying it soon and will report back with before and after pictures.

The Men with the Flaming Orange Beards

After reading that a journalist was recently killed in Libya who had produced a documentary about the Afghanistan war I went to Netflix and found the film available for download so I watched it.  The documentary is titled "Restrepo" and is about a group of soldiers who are on a mission to "win hearts and minds" in the middle of Taliban country.  While the film was riveting I immediately knew that the elderly man with the orange beard was a henna user.

While I knew henna is big in places like Afghanistan, little did I know the importance of henna in the Pashtun Muslim culture.


Screen capture from "Restrepo"



Screen capture from "Restrepo"

Screen capture from "Restrepo"

Screen capture from "Restrepo"

Since women aren't allowed in public I have no idea what their hair looks like but this pervasive use of henna by the Afghanistani/Pakistani Pashtun men intrigued me so I did some research.

Firstly, men routinely dye their hands with henna as early as boyhood.

Here are some boys showing off their henna'd hands and fingernails.

Here are the henna'd hands of a male Afghan soldier as he stands at attention.



Secondly, Pashtun men have been using henna on their hair and beards for centuries and do so to emulate the Prophet Muhammed who also used henna.

In fact one Sunni sect wanted to call for a fatwa on muslims who use anything other than henna because Mohammed said "Verily, the best thing with which you can change the colour of hair is al-henna and indigo..." in one the hadiths.

Here are some more pics of henna'd men in Afghanistan:

Source1: The Land of Men with Flaming Orange Beards
Source2: Why Afghanistan Matters
Source3: Free Thinker
Source4: Henna

Go Green With Eco Friendly Hair Curling, Try The Paper Bag Roller Set

Want to save a ton of money and curl your hair like they use to back in the day?

Cassia for Conditioning Only

I found this post on how to use cassia in the CurlyNikki Forum.  The results are phenomenal! Hair doesn't get any healthier than this.

Cassia for Blondes

Cassia Obovata is a plant that is applied to the hair for conditioning.  This plant is great for blondes, particularly if you are trying to restore your hair from a bad dye or bleach job. 

Here's how to dye your faded or graying blond hair with cassia obovata:

• Mix cassia with enough lemon juice or orange juice to make a paste as thick as yogurt.  Let the paste sit about 12 hours.  Section your hair and apply the cassia thick, as you would cake frosting into all the sections and down to the scalp. Wrap your hair in plastic wrap to contain the slop.   Leave the paste in three hours.   Rinse out and shampoo.  Your gray or faded blond hair should feel heavy, thick and silky, and have a lovely youthful golden color. Source

As with all things new, especially for hair, you need to give the treatments with consistency for at least six months before you notice startling results.

How Shea Butter is Made

Shea nuts are picked when they have fallen from the trees.  Harvet time is between May and July.

Ghanian women walk home after picking shea nuts for preparation. 



The nuts are boiled to make the shell soft enough to break apart and retrieve the nut which is used to make the "butter." The shell is used later for fuel.



The global demand has increased for shea butter and foreign companies have established large plants to manufacture the butter that these women make as their ancestors have for the past centuries.

Source:  BBC News

Henna Gloss Recipes

From Curly Nikki Forum: "Letha"
This is top mop maven recipe:
200G Henna [two boxes]
1/2 Cup Hello Hydration Conditioner
1 Cup Lustrasilk Mango & Shea Butter Conditioner
1/2 Cup of Brahmi Oil added to mixture before applying the Henna on my hair.

200G Henna Jamilia Henna (2bxs)
1 cup of Lustrasilk Argan Oil Conditioner
1/2 Hello Hydration b4 the changed the name (can't remember the name)
1/2 cup of GrapeSeed & Walnut Oil ( applied the oil b4 I put the henna gloss in my hair)
I didn't have any Brahmi Oil so I used this mixture

I did let my mixture sit over night for color release. Most people don't do this so this can be your personal preference.

Only used 2 bxs according to length so with shorter length 1 bx will be ok.. I used 2 boxs and had some left over so I freezed the left over.

Amla

From hennacaravan.com:

What it is

Amla, Emblica officinalis, also known as the Indian Gooseberry

Amla powder is from the dried and ground fruit of the Indian Gooseberry tree, Emblica Officinalis. Amla contains natural tannins, vitamin C, ascorbic acid, and acts as a natural astringent. Amla has been used for tanning and dying hides as well as a cosmetic and folk remedy. Amla grows in central and southern India, Burma, and Ceylon.

What it does

• Amla is an excellent hair volumizer and curl enhancer, and facial scrub and toner.
  It will tone down the red and create a deeper, browner tone in henna or henna/indigo hair treatments.

• Adds volume, enhances curl and texture to hair
• Will not dye hair or skin
• Is a facial scrub and Exfolitatant, tones skin, is a natgural astrigent
• Use as often as you like for healthy hair, scalp, skin
• Non drying
• is considered safe for those with chemical sensitivities, doctor should be consulted if you have any concerns

How to use it:

Amla powder may be added to henna and indigo paste to tone down or cool down the reddish color and create a richer, deeper brown color on hair.

As a dye:

• Go Cool Brown. Take the red down by adding amla to henna or indigo/henna for a cooler toned down reddish brown and deep brown colors naturally! It will add shine and boost curl as well.

• Mix henna or henna/indigo according to the directions.
• Add amla to the paste once it’s ready to be used
• Apply the amla spiked henna or henna/indigo paste to dry or damp hair in sections, completely coating al the hair down to the roots
• Wrap your hair in a shower cap or plastic wrap and allow to soak in for 1-6 hours
• Rinse and shampoo to remove any residue
• Repeat: Monthly for healthy, thick and shiny brown-black locks 

As a Facial Scrub:

• Amla may also be used a facial scrub. The fruit seeds act as a natural aexfolient as they gently scrub the skin and astringent quality from the vitamin C and tannins will leave your skin fresh and vibrant. The seeds gently srub and exfoliate the skin while the vitaimin C nourishes.

• Mix Mix Amla powder with hot water until it’s the consistency of yogurt, allow to soak for 10 minutes
• Apply t o the skin and gently scrub to exfoliate skin cells
• Rinse with fresh water for clean, fresh tight skin. 

Storage

Store Amla paste in the freezer
Store Amla powder in a cool dark location

What else you need to know

Disclaimer
*We recommend you perform a strand test before using any of these recipes or products on your hair to be sure you like the color and result. 
Test the product on a small section of your hair or on hair harvested from your hair brush.

When using natural products please keep in mind that every product will react and color your hair uniquely. The result will be different and unique on everyone depending on hair type and condition. There are many ingredients and recipes to try, have fun experimenting!

What it looks like

Amla powder is a sandy brown colored gritty powder from the ground fruit of the tree and smells a bit like tea or a light woodsy scent.

History and Use

Amla has been used for centuries as a beauty and health regimen, in textiles and leather tanning, and in ayurvedic medicine. It has been used to treat dysentery, and aid the healing of snake bits and scorpion stings. The fruits are made into pickles and preserves.

Hibiscus Flower - Part 3 - How to Apply Hibiscus to Hair

The red hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian women. A single flower is tucked behind the ear. It is used to indicate the wearer's availability ...
The crushed dried flowers are used as a hair dye as each hibiscus flower yields a natural dark purplish dye which may be used to color premature grey hairs.

Hibiscus Flower - Part 2 - Benefits

Hibiscus flowers have become popular these days, espcially with the natural hair community.  It is also popular in the long hair community as well and is reputed to promote exceptional hair growth. 

The benefits of Hibiscus treatment:

• Prevents hair loss
• Enhances growth of hair
• Discourages split ends
• Thickens hair
• Prevents premature greying of hair.

A very simple traditional recipe is to cook some red hibiscus flowers (whole, not powder) on low fire in coconut or sesame oil and let it cool. This oil is then massaged into the hair. Red Hibiscus or Jabakusum as it is known in Hindi, is known for its hair growth related properties.  Be sure to rinse the oil out with very mild shampoo otherwise it will nullify th effect of the oil.

For those that do not like to oil their hair, the whole hibiscus flowers can be made into pulp in the mixer and applied to the hair for thirty minutes and then rinsed out with water.  Or the powder version can be used mixed with water to make a paste.

Shop

here very shortly. You will be able to purchase Jamila Henna, we are working on setting up shop here on this blog "Green Hair."