Every henna and ayurvedic hair recipe requires a liquid when mixing it into a paste for use. There are so many choices and you might be overwhelmed. Our guide directs you to the best choices and especially to start with where your hair focus is so that you will decide on the right liquid for you and your hair.
There are so many choices and the good news is that there is no liquid that is a wrong choice.
The first question will be to ask yourself: What is the focus of your hair recipe?
Hair Focus: Color
Treatment every 4-6 weeks
- Your liquid must be warm to hot. Not cold, not boiling
- Keep it Simple Recipe: water, green tea or ACV (apple cider vinegar)
- Lemon Juice: this can help boost color results, but it can also drying for normal-dry hair types. We usually recommend adding this as a supplement boost to another main liquid you’ve chosen to use.
- Boost the Red: hibiscus tea, red rooibos tea, beet juice, and any other red liquids/teas
- Boost the Golden: chamomile tea. This would typically be used in an organic cassia recipe. Golden tones won’t come through in a henna recipe
- Boost the Brown: liquid form of coffee, and dark teas
- Moisture: hair oils such as olive oil, grapeseed, Black Raven, Organic Argan Oil, Organic Golden Jojoba Oil, Organic Camellia Oil, Organic Amla Oil (great for growth) and our Organic Aloe Vera powder are perfect choices
- Essentials Oils: these add amazing hair benefits and scent to your recipe
- Exception: Indigo powder can only be mixed with water or distilled water. Other liquids will badly affect the proper dye release needed from your indigo powder.
Hair Focus: Moisture
Treatment every 2-3 weeks
- Creamy Recipes: coconut milk, yoghurt, glycerine, molasses
- Honey: this is added to attract moisture into the recipe. It’s also a natural hydrogen peroxide, and sometimes used to lighten the hair
- Shea Butter & Cocoa Butter: ideal to be added when creating a deep conditioning treatment
- Conditioner: added to create a light, yet moisturizing henna gloss treatment
- Protein: eggs and other proteins. Do note that henna and ayurvedic herbs do act like protein treatments. If you’re hair isn’t fond of protein treatments do not add eggs to your recipe
Things to Remember:
- A Hair Focus of Color can’t be combined into one recipe with a Hair Focus of Moisture recipe. These two categories of Hair Focus must be done on their own at separate times. Usually 2-3 weeks between each of these types of recipes is ideal
- Perishable ingredients that are added to your recipe must be added at the very end as you don’t want to create a rancid recipe
- Every henna and herb absorb liquid differently so you may have noticed that we don’t give specific quantities to add to your recipe. Just add your liquids slowly until it’s of the proper consistency. Hair recipes should be the consistency of pancake batter, depending on how thick or thing you like your pancakes 🙂
- This is: Your Hair, Your Way. Naturally! So keep in mind that you’re creating your very own unique recipe, and you’ve come to Henna Sooq because we support you, and have all the products you’ll need to get started, and maintain a healthy natural hair regimen. There are many recipes out there, but yours is going to be unique to you and your hair
OMG, I MIXED IT ON 6/13/14, IT’S RED RAJ WITH SOME AMLA, MIXED WITH GREEN TEA, HONEY AND OLIVE OIL. I’VE KEPT THE REST IN THE FRIDGE, IS IT OK?
Good day Soraida. Thank you for your message on our blog. It’s still good more then likely but it wont yield the same color results if you were looking to achieve color. You’ll receive all the other benefits you get from that recipe but the color won’t be as strong. In the fridge we recommend the paste be used within 48-72 hours max.
If you mixed 50/50 Henna and Indigo and add a dark tea or coffe to the receipe can you also add olive oil or some other type of oil and still obtain the intended affect of color from the mix?
I use warm ale vera juice or distilled ale vers water to mix my henna. I add a tad bit of nettle extract and ylang ylang after the color starts to release. When I do a henna gloss, I add 50 grams of henna to my DC then add warm avj or Dave until I get the consistency I want.
That’s aloe vera juice and distilled aloe vera water… Sorry for the typos.
Hi I am new to Henna and need some serious help! I have been using chemical colour for a number of years. IN the last few years I have been using Aveda thinking that would be good for my hair… My hair is fine, curly and thin. My hair was down just above my bra strap. We just came back from a holiday and I realised how frizzy my hair has become. I knew there was harsh water, but for some reason I haven’t realised before how few hair I had left at the temples and how many really short bits I have on top of my head. Because I am busy and my hair has always been curly I must have totally missed it. I noticed with the last colour treatments that each time my hair would be extremely dry. I went to the hairdresser and had my hair cut to my shoulder. I am really stressing out because I feel I can’t colour my hair any longer without destroying it totally. Better gray than no hair!
I have read so much about Amla and Henna and that it’s all very good and conditioning for the hair. But then I also read that hair can break using Amla or Henna. I need some serious help as I don’t want to run around with grey hair and I am frightenend to leave a Henna/ Indigo/ Amla mix for 4 hours on my head and then finding out that I even have less hair left. I read somewhere that using coconut milk instead of distilled water would be great and prevent hair from drying out. Also can someone advise what conditioning treatments would be good and how ofter I should do them. I have heard of Cassia but don’t know much about it. I hope someone can dedicate a little time to help me out.
thanks!!
Hello Manuela. Thank you for your email.
Coconut milk and heavy liquids can dilute the color so typically we recommend you read over this first to help decide which liquids to use: https://hennablogspot.com/how-liquids-affect-your-henna-recipes/
If you would like to color your hair you can follow a hair color recipe and procedures we send to you with your products or start here: http://www.hennasooq.com/hair-care-tips/
If you ad oils to your recipe or our Organic Aloe Vera Powder that really helps.
Sukesh Ayurveda would be a great in between treatment. I hope this helps get you started
Can you get a dark brown and cover grey with out using Indigo?
Hi Connie. Unfortunately no sorry. You have to use indigo with your henna to get that color tone.
Hi I used Henna before then stopped after I had a stroke and it was too much to do. I went back to dying my hair with commercial gel plant based products but now I definitely can’t use that. Now that I’m stronger I want to go back to henna. My last dye was to my natural black to let my greys grow in naturally. However, I want to go back to my reddish brown colour and cover the greys. Can I use 60/30/10 henna indigo/amla? I would love to keep my curl pattern as my hair is natural. I used to know all this off the top of my head but can’t recall now exactly what I should do. My hair loves olive, grapeseed and almond oil and can I use one of them to mix the henna or should I use honey. I want to enhance the colour but make sure the greys are covered. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Alana.So sorry to hear of your stroke. I’m so glad you’ve gained some of your strength back. Yes you can use that recipe for that tone and to cover greys. This would be perfect. You may want to add Red Raj to that blend so as to get the best grey coverage. Let us know if you need anything else.
Hello my name is Ana and I am wondering when adding yogurt to the henna mix if you add water as well, and can you also add yogurt to indigo hairdye?
Hi … I have brown hairs with light natural shade .. I wanted to know if I mix coffee in milk then add henna to it an apply it will it mentain or enhance my light shade
Hi Alicia. Are you adding any henna or other herbs to this recipe?
Amazing post! I was really getting tired (and confused) of reading so many different recipes, none of them containing the purpose and effect of each ingredient. This is the most helpful and informative article I have read regarding henna recipes.
I understand that you should use about 120ml of liquid for every 30g of henna or as much as is needed until it’s like pancake batter. In the recipes above for color focus, if I wish to use Argan oil (love, love, love) or coffee, for example, should they take the place of the total quantity of liquid? That would be a lot of Argan oil. Can I use more than one liquid, both coffee and Argan?
Have you ever heard of using hibiscus extract in liquid form? I know it comes in some packages of henna, but I’m wondering if it can be used as a liquid in the mixture as well.
Also noticed Aloe Vera Juice is not on either list. Would you recommend at all?
Thanks so much for your help!
Akua thank you for posting on our blog 🙂 Yes if you add oils it can make it more runny and take place of some of the liquid. But it’s thicker so do keep your eye on it. I usually only recommend a couple of tbsp oil to powder. You can use both those liquids as oils aren’t a starter/trigger for dye release. Oh Aloe Vera juice is great as an addition but preference is to make sure you have a starter like ACV, lemon juice (a little bit), water, or tea. One of those. I’ve known of people to use hibiscus from tea or flowers when they prepared it. You can do so. I hope this helps. Let me know if I missed any of your questions or comments.
is it okay to mix with raw coconut water?
Micha, yes absolutely.
Hi.i added some yoghurt and tea extract to henna in the right consistency..is it ok to use on hair?
Hi Rinzi. Yes it’s okay to use but do note that adding yoghurt does dilute the color. The recipe you created is good when your focus is deep conditioning and strengthening. You may have a slight boost in color.
I use Henna for Color. I am going to try one of the following as a liquid: Hibiscus Tea or Beet Juice. I have read the dye release time is anywhere from 4hours to 12hours. Can you please advise on a good time frame to wait to use?
Thank you
Hello Desiree. Thank you for your post. The dye release time needed depends on the henna powder you’re using. Which one do you have?
Hello Khadija. I am using the 2015 Jamila.
Hello! First off, very helpful post! I have been using red henna for about thirteen years. For the past five years, I have been blending ground hibiscus flowers directly with my henna, and it produced a beautiful, rich auburn. Lately, however, I have run into a problem; hibiscus tea with henna works fine, but adding the hibiscus powder seems to cancel out all dyeing whatsoever, and there is no color change. Is there any reason this would suddenly not work? It seems very bizarre; I haven’t changed anything in my mixing process, and the henna manufacturers can’t seem to figure it out, either (have tried three different hennas).
Thank you so much for your time!
-Tia
Hi!
I have dark brown-almost black hair
will the hibiscus still have a very strong effect and create a vibrant red?
Good day Daleelah. Hibiscus powder on it’s own no but when added to our Red Raj henna powder (http://www.hennasooq.com/red-raj/) it will definitely create a beautiful red highlight tone. With added applications the color will deepen as well.
Peace and greetings! I am indian origin and have natural black hair. I have mixed organic henna with room temp distilled water n will leave in cupboard overnight. What colours can i achieve with henna n how long shall i leave it on for. What other ingredients can i use for different shaded for my black hair. I have commercial dyed brown hair at the bottom which i did over a year ago. What colour will it turn with henna
I have a medium to dark brown hair and i was thinking of using jamila henna and hibiscus tea and i was wondering if it would give me an auburn like hair color. I was also wondering if i can just mix the hibiscus powder instead of using the tea.
Hello, Will my hair colour change a lot if I mix Silk and stone Henna with green tea, lemon juice and yoghurt? If it does, what colour will it possibly change to? My hair is dark brown.
Is it ok to use non fruit vinegar while mixing henna for color?
Hi – thank you for this blog post!! Sooo informative:
I made a recipe today I want to cancel the red as much as possible – I have dark brown almost black hair that is having white hairs and thinnning. I used to have very thick hair when I was younger and my mother used henna all the time oh my hair. I want to stop chemical dyes but the white hair grows too fast… So I made a large mix today to keep for touch ups –
Warmed .25 ccaster oil and .5c seseme oil in cast iron skillet – added ground clove until the oil darkened – I then brewed 330 grams of coffee and let it sit. I then added Henna (about 1.5c started with less but added more to soak up liquid) and 1c instant coffee to cancel red. I used the brewed coffee liquid (warm) to mix into the henna and added the oil mix – and mixed in cast iron skillet. I did 2 strand tests – 1st only let mix set for 1 hr and left henna on strand for 45 min – I saw a little orange and a little white coverage which looked copper. I did a 2nd strand test and left mix on haie for 2 hrs – I compared the 2 tests – the 2nd had much better white coverage and instead of a hint of orange I saw a hint of burgandy. I still have not applied it to my hair as I have a few questions…
1. Can I add indigo powder to this particular mix (coffee, seseme oil, caster oil and henna) to cancel even more red as I want to save the mix
2. I have let my current mix sit in the cast iron skillet over night at room temperature hoping it will continue to darken and cancel more red – how long can I keep this mix
I’m trying to create a mix and keep the recipe as close to my natural hair colour as possible to get the hair strenghthening and condintioning properties of henna and avoid chemical dyes. I am doing tests as I don’t want orange or red hair as I did when I was younger – but dark brown or even coffee brown is ok (i used coffee to release colour not black tea it acv or lemon as any lightening agent makes my hair turn orange… Is it possible to keep the mix long enough to recieve the indigo order and is it safe to mix indigo with this mix colour wise?
Hello Divya. Great question! Yes you can use any vinegar you’d like to. I prefer water personally with a splash of lemon juice but many clients use ACV or vinegar and green tea as well.
Thank you Su for sharing. How did it come out? Yes adding indigo would be fine to add. Usually you can keep henna max 12 hours for hair use. We recommend our Moroccan henna as it’s the easiest to tone down the red. But our dye release recommendations are of less time so that it still works well. Adding indigo will help. Please let us know how your process continues.
Hello, I used to have black hair but it’s kind of between dark brown and black. I also have Grey hair. I want to go back to black hair and moisturize so well. I have a big green bag of natural henna and 2 boxes of indigo natural…and a lots of hair. I’m also struggling with dandruff right now. Any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance.
Hello wonderful website. I have bookmarked it. 🙂
I have a query regarding mixing of liquids. I bought a box henna(natural brown) with ingredients henna, indigo, amla, bhringraj and neem. Instructions say to add water and immediately apply onto the hair. Because the box says natural brown color, i guess the ingredients might be used in some ratio. However I am thinking of adding coffee or tea powder to it, is it okay if I do that? Or should I add brewed coffee or tea? How long would I have to leave it for the effect of the coffee/tea to release since it mentions to apply immediately onto th hair?
Thank you Aureill. Appreciate your post on our blog. I’d recommend you allow your recipe with tea/coffee to sit at least an hour and then use. Leave it on your hair at least 3-4 hours. You can use tea/coffee powder or make a brew as desired. Personally I’d probably make a brew and use the liquid when it’s cooled down to warm. Enjoy!
Hello Keisha. The henna in your coloring treatment should help with the dandruff and in between you can do a Sukesh Ayurveda treatment from us at http://www.hennasooq.com. For moisturizing adding our aloe vera powder will really help along with one of our hair oils for more moisture. Have you tried our Sweet Honey Hair Nourisher? You must! It’s a great treatment for super deep moisture.
Not true. I’ve used henna for ten years with strictly coconut milk and hot chammomile tea. You can obtain exquisite color and lasting results with the right henna and coconut milk combo. Mix a little hot tea into the coconut milk then add the henna mixture and leave at room temp for 30-60 minutes prior to applying. Depending on how vivid (you can see my results on my website – omitted to avoid advertising) you can leave this mixture in your hair from 2-8 hours. I tend to apply then go to sleep and wake the next day and wash it out. I use no other products and no styling products. My hair shines and retains the vivid wine red color the entire time.
That’s great to hear about the results you have. Unfortunately with our product line and for many of our clients this isn’t the case. While adding heavy liquids like coconut milk might work for some, overall it doesn’t work for the majority nor for best grey coverage. When you start getting a higher percentage of grey hair you might start noticing this and have to leave the heavy liquid out for better coverage. Really do appreciate your insight 🙂
I have a question? How do I keep the color from staining my head scarves and my blouses. I have long locs and although I only color my roots, even after rinsing repeatedly, the color continues to stain my head coverings and the back of my blouses, ruining these items. What can I do to lock the color in so it doesn’t do this? Thanks
That’s a great question. It might be that you will have to wear dark clothing for the first few washes. I haven’t personally experienced this except for the first 2 washes on my pillow cases. It might be that the henna is going throughout your hair and not all coming out. Is there any way you could try a mermaid soak to make sure all the extra comes out?
Hello Valerie. Sorry for my delayed reply. You can mix color and moisture but if you do you aren’t getting as much color. You have to decide really what do you want more the coloring affects of henna or the moisture mainly and some henna?
Hello
The amount sounds good. What color do you want to achieve? Not sure how much of each as I’m not sure what color you’d like.
Hi Avery. Well indigo is really fussy. It doesn’t like other liquids and just doesn’t perform well. Water is best for best results 🙂
You can use our henna on chemically dyed or permed hair safely. Our henna brand doesn’t contain compound henna, metallic salts and other conflicting ingredients.
Could I still use red raj henna if I were to use another brand of henna?
Yes you should be able to do so safely with our brand.
Can I mix henna (jamilla) with aloe Vera gel (99.75% organic aloe Vera, citric acid, potassium sorbate, ascorbique acid, xanthan)? My goals are both moisture and color. I was thinking of mixing the henna and the aloe with some Hibiscus lemon tea and using it as a gloss to brighten up my already hennaed hair that is feeling dry.
Hello! Yes that should be fine. Absolutely. Let us know how it turns out.
I have dirty blonde hair and I’ve been henna-ing for a few months. I’d like to be more on the orange copper side than the deep red side of colour. If I add some honey and lemon juice, should that help? I’ve only used straight 100% henna before.