MY HENNA TREATMENT

The mad kitchen chemist in me loves concocting so in a need of a henna treatment before my next braids, I decided to mix the following - please read through

* 279g asparagus juice (left over water after boiling asparagus) - for silica content to strengthen the hair

* 148g rosemary leave-in conditioner or thick yoghurt - for extra conditioning
* 121g water
* 86g henna - to strengthen the hair
* 56g garlic - for sulphur content to help stimulate hair growth
* 30g shea oil - for gloss
* 20g dried nettle leaf - for silica content to strengthen the hair
* Cling film (saran wrap)
* Shower cap
* 14 HOURS OF PATIENCE

I never use henna for its colouring effect but rather for its strengthening benefits.

To start this process, I added the nettle leaf to the asparagus juice + water and simmered (not boiled) for 20 minutes. I strained and left it to cool.
I blended the whole cloves of garlic with the shea oil, added the nettle/asparagus juice, blended together before straining into the henna.
I then added a jar of our rosemary leave-in conditioner which had to be used up and left the mix to sit for 12 hours as I was too tired to proceed with the treatment at this point.

I had just taken my braids out so it was ideal to wash it before the henna treatment. I used a small amount of our afro shampoo bar.
Ah - shrunken afro - can't get away from this due to the nature of my hair.
12 hours later, I just love the consistency, not dripping.

First layer of henna applied - just look at how my shrunken afro has bounced back to life.

Second layer of henna. I never thought I would be using this much henna but I managed to slap everything onto my head.

3 layers of saran wrap + shower cap + 2 hours later: Time to wash out the treatment. Make sure you rinse it out with lukewarm water before washing with shampoo. What I did to finish off this treatment was to add a dollop of leave-in conditioner to a small amount of argan liquid shampoo and rinse out the treatment. This treatment was much easier to rinse out that my first attempt at henna some months ago.

Towel-dried the hair and braided it.

I am very happy with this treatment although the garlic scent was quite strong, I could feel it working on the scalp together with the rosemary.

More pictures from the process can be found on our facebook fanpage