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Lisa is our featured Natural Hair Care Lover for January. When submitting your hair journey and progress with us at Henna Blog Spot, you will receive $15.00 worth of free products from Henna Sooq (including FREE shipping). Find out more by emailing us at info@hennasooq.com

Please read her story:

This is my submission describing my journey in natural hair care. I say journey because I don’t believe I am at the end – there is still a lot to learn.

I suppose a good place to start is with my genes – everyone in my family starts graying at a young age. My dad’s hair was completely gray by the time he was my age – 26. I guess I’m lucky, because my hair hasn’t gone that far, but I still have enough gray hair that I want to cover it.

I’d been colouring my hair since I was 12, both in a salon and at home. As I got older, I became more in tune with environmental issues, and my education in Environmental Engineering rendered me especially conscious of the compounds we, as a society, were washing down the drain. I decided to pay the price difference and only go to salons that use low/no ammonia hair dyes and formulations with natural ingredients. As a student, though, this was tough on my bank account. Because of my gray roots, I couldn’t really let my hair go without colouring. I was comfortable dying my own hair, but I didn’t want to buy a kit from a drugstore ever again. My search for alternatives had begun.

I noticed “henna” hair dye kits in an organic store and thought I had found a good solution. Researching these kits, however, I discovered that metallic salts were added to alter the colour of your hair – that sounded a lot like acid mine drainage to me and I was not interested. I discovered that pure henna could be purchased and mixed at home. This was perfect for me. I’d always gravitated towards dying my hair deep red hues, and now I could do it affordably and environmentally!

I’ve attached pictures of the first time I dyed my hair with pure henna powder purchased from Henna Sooq (it was wonderful to find a Canadian supplier that I trust!), both before and after dyeing. I have used various henna powders, mostly yemeni and jamila, and mix them with lemon juice and water. I usually add a few drops of essential oil, such as lavender. I now dye all of my hair about once or twice a year and use the leftover dye to touch up my roots every month or so, in an attempt to lessen the layering effect of henna. My gray hair dyes lighter than the rest, so it looks like I have natural highlights. Once, I mixed in some indigo powder with the prepared henna mixture and used foils to create dark low lights in my hair. I absolutely love what my hair looks like now, especially in the sun. And it feels so healthy.

My hair is cut at the Beauty Parlour in Edmonton, a new, down-to-earth salon that focuses on lessening their impact on the environment. I purchase hair products from stores that will refill old bottles so that I’m reducing waste. I used to blow dry my hair straight, but now I don’t fight nature and let my hair curl naturally, even though it never looks perfect.

I do wish that I could just let my hair be (without being mistaken for my mother’s older sister), but using henna is the next best thing!

Thanks for helping me on my journey.”