Henna Root Touch Up to Cover Gray Hair
Last updated on November 10th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
I don’t use chemicals on my fine natural hair. So, how on earth do I cover my grays??? (and there’s a lot of them!). Easy peasy. I use henna to cover grays.
Henna Tidbits
Henna not only covers gray hair permanently (hair stays stained but new growth must be recolored), it strengthens fine strands, adding “weight” to them.
I’ve been a henna head for many years but as of late, I’ve neglected using this wonderful herb.
That’s because a henna session can take quite a few hours. Therefore, I switched to only doing touch ups of my roots vs. applying henna to my entire head.
After many years of using henna, trying different techniques to process and using various brands of henna, I’ve discovered quite a few things:
- full day henna sessions are no more beneficial to my hair than leaving it in for a couple hours
- It’s not necessary to let the mixture sit for hours or over night. The dye releases pretty fast when you use a brand of henna derived from a crop containing a high lawsone content (the natural dye in henna).
- Henna can be mixed with just water. Acidic liquids aren’t necessary to encourage dye release.
Quick Steps to Use Henna to Cover Gray Hair
- Apply henna (mixed to your desired consistency) to gray roots, working in sections (yes, you’re working on dry and even dirty hair as long as there’s no product build up)
- Put on a plastic cap
- Allow henna to sit in hair for two hours
- Rinse (co-wash) with a silicone free conditioner or co-wash product.
It’s pretty simple and faster than you may think. My prep time was 10 minutes and I allowed my mixture (henna + warm water) to sit for an hour. I then applied the henna to my hair following the steps above.
My results were 100% satisfactory. Reshma henna contains a high lawsone content, leading to a quick release. It’s an excellent choice of henna to cover grays.
Here are some of the other articles I’ve written on the use of henna. Some address covering gray hair but for the most part, they share tips on using henna as well as the benefits and my results:
Wash Day Chronicles Week 25 | A Day of Henna
Wash Day Chronicles: WEEK 13 – “Hendigo”
Tips & Tricks for Applying Henna to Your Hair
