Henna Soap

[mike151]

Hi
I have been making soap for several years and I was recently asked about making a batch of henna soap. The goal is to create a bar that would, over time, slowly darken graying hair. Something that could be used daily so that monthly dye jobs would be unnecessary. It would be nice if this soap would also impart a fake tan to pale skin. Is this something that henna could do? If it is feasible, how much henna should I use? I can do the math for my batch size but about how much henna do you think each bar should contain? When should it be added?
Thanks for your help.........Mike

 

[WilsonFamilyPicnic]

henna doesn't always work well with graying hair....i am not a hairdresser, but i have read lots of hair dye boxes/henna back in the day and gray and white hair react differently to dyes than other hair, i think they soak up more dye or its just more apparent...not sure exactly.

have you looked at a jar of henna in the store, or regular hair dye? they often have a little warning about using it if you have more than x% grey. you could end up with brown hair (or whatever color) and odd looking streaks in it.

there are henna shampoos out there, but you are supposed to leave them on for a few minutes. and in my past experience with henna shampoo, it wasn't that big of a difference. it just gave my hair a bit of a red shine to it if you looked at it in the light.

so, yes, it can work, if you are willing to give it a shot and not worry about how your hair turns out. may want to give your hairdresser a call though....the fake tan though, i don't know if it would turn out evenly....

 

[garland68]

Hello I actually am an ex hairdresser and you are correct Wilson. Working with Henna can be very problematic. Henna will grab on to porous hair and can turn black if not watched. With grey hair the ends have a tendency to be more porous so it would grab there and not the roots.

Also with grey hair is very tough to get color to grab due to it being course.