Upping My Red Factor Between Hennas (Without Henna!)

[Phoenix_Red]

I just wanted to let everyone know about a new method that I discovered for upping my red factor between hennas. I wanted redder hair, but as I just henna'd, and my new batch hasn't even arrived yet, I was trying to figure out what else I could use. Here's what I used, and I can tell you that 3 full washed later, I am definite that this red addition is a permanent as the Henna

1 cup aloe vera gel
2 tblsp red bush tea (finely ground)
3 tblsp paprika

I started by heating the aloe vera gel in a small pan on the stove. Then I added the tea (it's ground fine, it just looks like a bunch of small twigs at this point) After about 5 minutes of simmering on low, the gel definitely had a red/orange tinge. Then I slowly stirred in the paprika. After simmering another 10 minutes, the whole mess was very red and how, looking a little thinner. I scooped it in a bowl and put it in my freezer to cool down and thicken up. 20 minutes later, I took it from the bowl and applied it to ly head, just like henna. (Only I forgot to wear gloves, and it stained my hands slightly, so nest time I will be remembering gloves)
Once everything was applied, I put on a shower cap, then blasted my head for 3-4 minutes with my blow dryer. once it was nice and hot, I put a towel turbie on. I wore this for about 2 hours, stopping every 30 minutes to add another blast of heat. I finally wahed with a lot of conditioner (the tea twigs do not come out that easy!)
The final result is even more red that is long lasting. I'm excited I've found a way to enhance my color between glossings!

[Shermie Girl]

That is interesting. May I ask a couple of questions? What brand of aloe gel did you use? I use good old FOTE. Did the aloe retain it's moisturizing and conditioning properties after so much cooking? And, is the mixture thin enough that it could be strained, thus avoiding the twigs in the hair? Oh, and how long is your hair? So I could figure out how much of this stuff I would need to make. Thank you.

[eiyela]

I would worry that the thickeners in some aloe gel would cause problems. You could always check out every ingredient in the list, of course, but maybe aloe juice would be a good substitute?

[Phoenix_Red]

Shermie Girl, I used good old Fruit of the Earth aloe vera gel. To cover my whole head (and I have thick waist length hair) I used about a cup of aloe.

Yes, the aloe still moisturized my hair very well. Today was very hot and moist, which is a combination that usually makes my hair frizz unless I have a lot of EVOO, aloe vera gel, or regular gel on it. I was in such a rush that I didn't have time to add anything to my hair, I just undid my braid and ran. My hair is 2b/3c/f/iii, and it had absolutely no trace of frizz, just perfect braid waves today. I was very impressed with how moisturized it was, so I would venture to say that cooking the aloe didn't make a difference.

As for the twigs, I couldn't strain my mixture because even cooked, it wasn't like liquid, I think it was like very runny yogurt. I was thinking about Eiyela's idea of using aloe vera juice instead of aloe vera gel. If you used that, you could strain it. However, I specifically used gel because I didn't want to have to worry about drips.

If you're determined to use aloe vera juice, I was thinking maybe you could add pectin like Fia does to her henna mix. Ultimately, the twigs were a nuisance, but it's not like they refused to come out of my hair, lol. Hope that answers your questions