Indian Herbal Hair Regimen: Henna Hair Gloss vs Cassia Hair Gloss
Last updated on September 6th, 2024 at 11:51 pm
Ancient Indian hair growth secrets are no longer a secret. Since the beginning of time, Indian ladies have been using herbal hair regimens consisting of herbal powders such as henna and cassia.
If you look at Indian beauty vloggers such as Super WOW Style and Farah Dukai then you know that herbs are key natural herbs to growing long hair. This is great news for those of us with fine strands looking to retain length so we can grow our hair longer.
It’s time to merge ancient Indian herbal care with our African American hair care routines.
While I’ve been using henna for a while now, I’ve only done the henna hair gloss a couple of times until recently. Add to that the Cassia hair gloss that I’ve been treating my fine hair with a little over a month ago, I’m now prepared to share with you what I’ve experienced to be the differences between the Henna Hair Gloss and the Cassia Hair Gloss.
It’s been about a month and a half since I started using Curly Proverbz’ henna glosses and cassia gloss recipes to strengthen my fine natural hair. There are definitely some notable differences between the two. For starters, here’s what my nake hair look like before I applied either of the herbs:
The Cassia Hair Gloss
Properties & Benefits of Cassia Obovata
Cassia powder derived from the Cassia Obovata leaf is also known as “neutral henna” or senna. That’s because just like henna, Cassia has the ability to strengthen damaged hair by filling in gaps along the hair shaft but if you have dark hair, there will be no color change. It also looks a lot like henna in appearance. However, the two aren’t really related.
A natural herb, Cassia has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. When used in the hair, Cassia has a number of benefits including:
- Thickens hair strands (score for fine African American type hair!!)
- Adds shine to dull hair
- Conditions the scalp to fight off dandruff
The Henna Hair Gloss
Properties & Benefits of Henna
Another herb grown predominantly in the Middle East and southern Asia, henna is also a 100% natural hair dye with a number of properties that can benefit African American hair including:
- Long-lasting conditioning for hair
- Better curl definition
- Adds “weight” to help fatten up fine strands
- Adds shine
- Maintaining the hair’s structure while rebuilding damaged areas
- Providing thorough gray hair coverage. It does not wash out, although it gradually fades over time.
Cassia versus Henna – Differences
While both strengthen damaged hair and share other similarities, there are differences like the fact that for Henna to strengthen and deposit color, the dye within it (lawsone) must be released. Since Cassia does not color dark hair, there’s no need to wait for a dye to release. However, if you have gray or blonde hair, you may notice it get lighter after allowing it to sit in your hair for a while.
I used the Cassia hair gloss three times (on a weekly basis) before moving on to the henna gloss once a week. Since I am not new to using henna, I was more eager to try the cassia gloss right away.
The cassia powder mixed into my conditioner a lot easier and smoother than the henna powder. Both herbs left these fine African American hair strands of mine feeling quite fortified but the effects seemed to be longer lasting with the henna gloss. I also noticed the cassia mask was more visible in my hair (sorry, I didn’t capture an image with the product in my hair) while it was being treated than the henna mask which appeared to absorb right into my strands. The type of deep conditioning product you choose to mix with the henna or cassia can definitely play a role in how much the product is absorbed into the hair.
With regard to rinsing the glosses out of my hair, both henna and cassia appeared to rinse out easily. The only time that was not the case was when I decided to mix the henna powder into some organic honey with a banana. I didn’t mix it as well as I should have so I’ll be trying it again with yogurt and honey vs a banana and honey. Otherwise, the rinsing process was the same for both herbs.
The biggest difference that you may have also noticed is in curl defintion. The henna hair gloss definitely left me with a lot more curl definition.
Henna Gloss or Cassia Gloss?
When it comes to these two hair glosses, I’m pretty torn between using one over the other. I would recommend if your hair appears really weak but not too dried out and/or you want natural hair coloring for any gray hair, use the henna hair gloss. If you want strength with a little more moisture, go for the cassia hair gloss. I experienced slightly more moisturized hair using the gloss made with the Cassia Obavata herbal powder but the curl definition provided by the henna gloss was unmatched.
Having both henna and cassia as a part of your herbal hair care routine will give you options for natural gray coverage by dying your hair with henna, strengthening, and moisture. These two herbs really are the heart (among others) of Indian hair growth secrets. Thankfully, they aren’t secrets anymore!
To read more scientific stuff on henna and cassia, check out Henna for Hair’s Resources:
Hi Mrs. Michelle,
As always I am loving your post, and I am excited to start trying an ayurveda hair regimen. I feel like if my hair does agree with alot of these herbs and Ayuverdic powders. Alot of my scalp and hair issues will decrease overtime. So thank you for making these posts. You are awesome!
I also thought you would like to knoe that there is another Black Owned Business that is selling a Henna Blend that consist of 30+ (I counted 38) different herbs and powders on their site. You can either get a sample size of 100g for $12 or you can go for a subscription where you get 500g for $25 every month, every 2 months or every 3 months. She also sale a few other items on the site as well, and it seems like everything is free shipping no matter the price. Here is the link if you wanna take a look at it. Cornerstone Skin
This is the blend that I’m going to start using to start my ayurveda regimen.
thank you. Yes I’m aware of cornerstone. maybe I’ll try one day. Right now, I really like what I’m using. Thanks for sharing though!
I love this, I was looking for exactly this info! Thanks! I used a more concentrated henna gloss recipe that I let release for 20 minutes, then applied for only 20 minutes and I had really red results. So, gonna try cassia next!
Cassia is great. I love henna though. I don’t mind the red