Zenia 100% Pure & Natural Henna Powder (Lawsonia Inermis) | 454 grams (1 lb) | Orange-Red Hair Color | Triple Sifted | Fresh from Rajasthan | No Chemicals, No Additives

I've been using this henna for about 5 months. I have lots of gray and this henna covers it better than any professional or box dye I've ever used, it doesn't damage my hair and doesn't cause irritation. Chemical dyes kept my hair damaged and breaking but I was so insecure about my gray I would use them anyway. Since I've been using henna my hair is being restored to it's natural healthy state, however, it can be very drying so I do a reconstructive mask treatment afterwards followed by hydrating conditioner in combo with sitting under my steamer. I love the auburnish hue it gives my hair. This is officially my go to for color. I let it develop for 3 hours and then let it sit on my hair for 3 hours to process. Letting it develop too long (6 hours max), letting it sit too long on your hair (5 hours max), not using clarifying shampoo before applying and not using distilled water can actually hinder the results- when I made these mistakes it didn't cover my gray as well. Many people say not to wash afterwards but I do my whole wash day routine after rinsing and it doesn't affect my gray coverage or the richness of the color.

I've used henna to color my hair before, but it's been a long time. If you haven't used this before, it's very important for the henna to CURE and OXIDIZE when you make it. You MUST use something acidic to mix the henna or it will not activate. I used: the juice of 1 lime, extra lemon juice, and two black tea bags made into a cup of hot, very dark tea--this is the water I used. You can also use a cup of strong coffee. Basically anything acidic and dark will help you here. Mix this with the henna powder and let it SIT for at least 1-2 hours-- you will notice the top surface goes from a mossy green to a brownish green, the longer you let it sit the more it will oxidize as the henna activates. Put on gloves ;) , Apply to dry hair and let sit at least one hour-- 2-4 is better. The same oxidization happens on your hair, so don't panic when you first rinse it and it comes out Conan O'Brien red. It will darken and deepen over the next couple days. You can also mix it with a little indigo to mellow the red into a darker brown to black, which I will probably do next time. I love the smell of henna too, it's like warm grassy hay, tatami mats and clean earth. I'm sure my coworkers will rag on me tomorrow at work when I show up with red hair, but they'll get over it. ;)

This is the first time I've used henna every and the first time I have put ANY color on my hair for 20 years. I am 48 and my natural hair color is reddish light brown to strawberry blond after time in the sun. I have long straight virgin hair. I followed the instructions on the bag exactly. My plan was to make my natural red a little stronger and color a few grays that have come in. I processed the henna according to directions and left on my head for 3 hours, per the instructions. My hair came out a very dark red - and carrot top orange where it had been gray or blond. It kept getting darker every day for a week. It was shockingly dark orange. The bag came quickly and the powder was clean and fine. I think the product worked exactly as it is supposed to but it was just a little too much change for me. I broke with the instructions and washed my hair with baking soda and lemon juice the next morning after application, then shampood twice. I thought it looked a little less vivid, but after a day or two it was redder than ever and appeared darker. A few days later I tried again with the baking soda and lemon juice and got the same result - it seemed a little less red, but within a day or two it was darker, but maybe the red was a little less? I can say that my hair felt very soft and conditioned after application. Now I am just patiently trying to get my summer blond highlights to return - I've given up on reducing the red, but really just want a few blond streaks like I usually get. I did not study enough before hand and didn't realize henna hair does NOT bleach in sun, like every other dyed or natural hair - but instead it gets darker???? in the sun? I'm almost to the point of trying to put peroxide streaks in my hair. Good product. Too good. If I recover from this very dark mahogany orange copper red head look and every recover my natural color, I will use again sparingly, only on certain strands, and not leave on as long.

My hair started as a very golden, orange-y blonde, that was unevenly pigmented and very damaged from an impromptu at-home bleach job I'd done a few months prior. I was interested in henna for several reasons - for one thing, it's much cheaper than other semipermanent dye, which is good because I'm a broke college student; for another, I had heard and read that it repairs your hair (which is good, because I'm not sure my hair could have handled another round of dye after how much I've processed it); and I know a woman who's mentioned that she dyes her hair with henna and I loved the color. I was perfectly happy with the price point and quality of this product - it smelled pretty strongly, but like a pumpkin, so I didn't mind. The dye itself was very messy, but had a nice consistency, so it wasn't unpleasant to put onto my hair, and washed out fairly easily. I'm also very happy with how much softer and shinier it's made my hair. The dye made my slightly darker roots look intentional (they're trendy right now) and well-blended, while mostly evening out the light/dark/orange areas that were in my hair when it was blonde. I've received tons of compliments on the color, even from people randomly passing me on the street. The dye seems to be lasting a while, I dyed my hair about a month ago with no touch-ups and there has been only a small amount of fading. There are two things that give me reservations about henna dye: Foremost, it is a very involved dying process. I set aside an entire afternoon, which was about right - I started at noonish and I got out of the shower at 5:30pm. I mixed the dye with tea, which took about 40 minutes to brew and cool properly. Then I mixed the henna powder into the tea, blended well, and let the mixture sit for another hour. I then put all of the concoction on my shoulder-length hair (which was probably more than I needed), making sure to saturate every section (tip: wear gloves if you don't want orange hands for about a week, and orange fingernails until they grow out). I then cleaned my skin (so as to avoid dying it) and put a plastic bag on my head and allowed it to sit for another 2 hours, regularly checking to make sure none had dripped out onto my face or my neck. After that time had passed, I washed out the dye with conditioner. I then did not use shampoo on my head for about 3 days, to make sure the color had time to properly develop. To a lesser extent, I was not expecting the color result that I ended up getting with this dye. Most literature online shows what it looks like to dye brown hair with henna, which results in a true red with copper tones in light brown hair, and a conditioning treatment with a reddish sheen in darker brown hair. The henna/tea mixture turned my natural dirty blonde roots into a very nice coppery brown, and my warm blonde bleached ends into a very vibrant copper. When I initially rinsed the dye out, the copper was a very bright and unflattering shade of orange, which was nerve-wracking. After about 48 hours, however, it had settled into a much more wearable color. I don't know if my results have to do with the level of my hair (I was about a 7 or 8), with the tone (very warm), or with the actual chemistry of the dye (in that my hair was bleached, which affects the cuticle that henna binds to); but I would advise other blondes to use a more reliable form of dye if they're looking for an exact shade (because henna adds color to the hair, it doesn't replace the color that already exists) or if they're looking for true, cool, or burgundy red. Overall, I'm very happy with this product and the results I got from it. Shipping was cheap and much faster than they reported; the dye itself seemed to be quality; and the color payoff has been good, albeit unexpected and after a time commitment unlike other forms of hair dye. I would definitely buy this product again if I wanted to return to this color.

So, this is actually my favorite henna (I've used SOOO many brands throughout the years), including Jamila. Rajasthani henna is definitely superior in my opinions for bolder reds. BUT it's super important you give this one a LOT of time for dye release, when using luke warm/room temp water for a permanent and more potent stain. A lot of well know bloggers and youtubers will tell you otherwise, but in my experience less time will NOT yield good results, no matter how you do it. I wanted to write this for anyone thinking this brand doesn't work. For a bold "burnished" copper red that covers my brunette/grey/white hair really well, I have to allow it to dye release for at least 12 hours. I typically mix it up when I go to bed on the weekend, when I have an afternoon for a "spa" treatment. Right now I have shorter hair, so use this formula: I dry mix: 1/2 cup Henna 1 tablespoon Amla powder (helps hair retain natural curl patterns, and deepens the stain) 1 teaspoon Aloe Vera Powder (gives moisture to hair) then mix in: Strong steeped warm/luke warm hibiscus tea, until it's the consistency of pudding. It helps push the henna towards a redder dye due to the anthocyanin content. Amla can tend to make henna a bit more ashy and brown, so using both can make a perfect copper red. Then I let the mix sit in tupperware w/ a tight lid (no saran wrap needed) for about 12 hours, somewhere neutral... not too cold or warm. You know the stain is ready when you can see a darker orange sediment on the top of the mix, and your skin stains from contact (the stain washes off fine if you catch it within a few mins). You can apply the mix to wet or dry hair as long as it's clean and free of products. Dry is easier to get to all of the roots, wet is slightly better for full head. If you have silicone in anything used (common in conditioners) you have to clarify a BUNCH. I like Desert Essence Italian Lemon Shampoo for that, used for a few days prior to henna. You can also add a little baking soda to it for silicone removal. I cover w/ a reusable shower cap... I just rinse out when finished (again no saran wrap)... and leave it all in for 5-6 hours. I don't use heat, or do anything special. This mix smells a bit like horseradish and hay, but it's SOOOO worth it!!! The smell lingers a little, but not bad at all compared to some formulas. It's gone after a few washes, and not noticeable when hairs dry after one. You want to rinse really well w/out products, and leave hair untouched for at least 24 hours, if you can. I've found my hair feels dry the first day, but by the following morning you can really start to feel the moisture from the aloe powder. I hope more people turn to henna since it's so much better for us and the environment, but have been so frustrated w/ how it's turned out in the past. Hope this helps someone!!!

I have used henna since 1980-every three to four weeks almost without fail. Initially, it was for relief from migraines. Whenever I went past four weeks, I would get a migraine. It worked-I got that from a book entitled "Medicine of the Prophet." I still use it for that purpose, but now all of my roots are white-only my hairdresser and myself know that! I boil beets and use 2 cups of the water with one cup of henna. I started out using Rainbow Henna, because it came in different shades. This Zenia henna, plus the beet juice, gives me a reddish, purplish, orangish shade I enjoy. It's even better when the sun hits it. I don't find that it needs to sit. Today I boiled 3 chopped beets in 5 cups of water,added the henna as detailed above. , let it cool to warm, and went to work. It's been 3 hours under a plastic cap. About to wash it out.

This review is for Zenia Pure Natural Henna Powder. The product arrived undamaged and in a timely manner. I purchased this for my wife who's been using henna for the past few years. Her favorite brand was from Pakistan, which is no longer available in the US, so we've been buying henna wherever we could find it. This henna is in a very fine powder, which is a good thing. Other hennas we have purchased have been coarse and are generally not pleasant to apply nor easy to wash off the clumps from my wife's hair. The color is the most unnatural looking deepest red of any she has used over the years. Just for kicks she used some of it for tattoo designs on the back of her hand. Two weeks later the tattoo has not washed off yet. This, and the color, is a sure sign that the product has chemical dyes in it. Note that best quality organic henna, when used on skin, will completely wash off in three to four days of normal hand washing/showering. Our search continues.

I love Zenia 100% pure henna powder! It works magic on my hair & I keep coming back for more every time I am out! Natural, good for your hair & easy to use!( P.S. I am using henna for 20y.+ ....and my first time using it was a total mess :)....well - not anymore... , so , keep trying - because everything comes with experience! ) Highly recommend it!!!